Last week’s (13 March) MemberCon25 event in Leeds was an opportunity for members from across the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade to network, learn from one another and hear from leading industry experts.
With topics discussed ranging from practical customs guidance to navigating a more turbulent global trade environment, there was useful advice for every role and sector.
Five Chartered Institute members shared their experience of the day and explained how membership supports their business to trade effectively and compliantly.
‘Delighted’
Mark Sutcliffe, the co-founder of supply chain management firm Boex, was at the event last week, calling it “sensational” and noting his appreciation of the “dozens of people” who had come to visit the firm’s exhibitor stand.
The attendance of so many from across the supply chain in Leeds demonstrates that “there's a real appetite for people to understand how they should trade digitally”, Sutcliffe said, “because we know it saves them time, money and delivers”.
Speaking on Boex’s gold membership with the Chartered Institute, he said:
“I think with my co-founders so far, we're delighted. It's the experience of the complete team, from top to bottom, left to right, [that] makes our journey into the SME community so much easier."
Learning opportunity
“I first joined in 2021, right after Brexit” said Paul Odoe of design and manufacturing firm Hayward Tyler, “and it was a massive learning curve.”
At the time, Odoe had a host of questions about what Brexit meant for customs. That’s why he attended the 2022 edition of MemberCon in Birmingham, where he started to get answers.
Hayward Tyler’s business membership with the Chartered Institute has helped him further since then and has proven “very beneficial”, Odoe added.
“I am the compliance officer in my business, and being a member of the Chartered Institute has been very beneficial, [particularly] the webinars, where I've got to listen and learn a few things.
“For example, the most recent Lunchtime Learning we had was to do with sanctions. That was very, very beneficial to me and to the business.”
The issue of sanctions was a key motivator for Odoe’s attendance at this year’s conference, he said, noting that the “questions regarding Russia sanctions” are “very big” for his work.
Attending MemberCon is “a very good opportunity to come down here and listen to what's been said, and perhaps pick a few brains”, as well as for “upskilling and learning”.
A ‘focal point’
The CEO and founder of EORI, Robert Hardy, said MemberCon25 had been a “really valuable” event for him and his business, not least for the “really informative” conversations had on the exhibitor floor.
“We've been able to help people already, or at least take something offline later on if necessary,” Hardy noted.
“We're always very keen to be involved in these things because they're like-minded people. In a room, locked in a room at the same time, discussing opportunities and challenges – or challenges that can become opportunities. I've attended quite a few of the events so far today, and they've just been so informative.”
EORI, a sponsor of the event, is a business member of the Chartered Institute too – and “we have been since pretty much day one”, Hardy explained.
The reason for that, he added, “is the job”. The information provided by the Chartered Institute, particularly on updates to regulation and government policy, is “applied by us on the ground”, Hardy said.
“There’s almost too much advice out there,” Hardy suggested, and “so you need a focal point”. That focal point for EORI, he explained, is the Chartered Institute, and events like MemberCon.
‘Right at home’
Having carved a niche for herself as an international trade advisor within the pet sector, Sue Hendry was initially a bit concerned about whether MemberCon would have anything to offer her, but said she “immediately felt right at home”.
“[The pet sector] was mentioned twice in the opening to sessions. I thought: ‘I've got some people to talk to and make some good connections with’ and the day has just continued like that.”
She described meeting professionals from vastly different circles but with overlapping interests, from a Turkish shipper to a Grimsby-based fishery owner.
“All these connections have just happened quite naturally and organically, and that's been really nice.”
As an advisor, Hendry credits the Chartered Institute with keeping her informed with minimal effort.
She values her individual membership for the member-exclusive insights she gains through the Daily Update newsletter and Lunchtime Learning webinars, which make her feel like she’s “kept up to date without having to go find the information”.
“It's all just put there for you in a very easy, accessible way. It’s brilliant, because you can just stay on top of it while you're doing everything else.”
As someone who runs their own business, she says reclaiming that time is really valuable, “it just helps you to keep on top of things as you're going around your business”.
Networking opportunities
Elizabeth Davies, customs systems manager at Tarifftel, which provides software solutions to help firms with their goods classification, said that she especially valued MemberCon for the breadth of networking opportunities it provided.
She praised “the vast amount of experience” the event gathered together from different industries, “from aerospace, automotive and shipping companies.”
“It's really important that you look at exporting from [the perspectives of] all the different parties involved, and appreciate the different challenges or opportunities that they have, depending on what sort of business they're in.”
This is especially the case for classification, which Davies highlights is a key aspect of customs compliance for all firms.
However, she adds that it’s crucial that she and colleagues keep up to date with other elements of customs to better support clients. She says this is something the Chartered Institute’s gold membership has supported her with.
“We have to understand all the other topics surrounding [classification]: the valuation and the origin.
“We have to understand all the new regulations that are changing constantly and the Chartered Institute helps us keep up to date with those, we always get emails about Lunchtime Learnings.”
Formal education has also played a part in this, with Davies taking three separate qualifications through the UK’s Customs Academy, facilitated by the Chartered Institute, along with several team members.
The experience has given them the confidence to “carry out our day-to-day roles… understanding what we need to do our jobs properly”.
