Q&A with Northline’s International Freight Management Customs Manager
We recently sat down with Dave Batchelor, Northline’s International Freight Management (IFM) Customs Manager.
With a wealth of knowledge from his 33 years in the logistics industry, Dave shares his insights into international logistics.
Describe your current role.
I’m approaching 6 years with Northline and have been in the industry for 33 years – time stops for nobody!
As IFM Customs Manager, I am responsible for the delivery of Customs and Biosecurity clearance services to Northline’s import customers at the International Border.
This task includes ensuring compliance with a myriad of regulations across multiple Government Agencies in a fast-paced environment while continually achieving seamless flow in the supply chain.
What has been your favourite aspect since joining the business?
Applying duty minimisation techniques such as tariff concessions or free trade agreements on Customs Declarations to ensure our customers’ expectations are exceeded. In a world where costs continue to increase, it’s great to facilitate cost savings. It’s definitely a point of difference at Northline. Not all companies in the industry go this extra mile!
What are the main obstacles for IFM and how does Northline overcome these?
There are many obstacles that IFM must overcome daily, including dynamic global market conditions, supply chain challenges, and extreme weather events… to name a few!
Change is also a massive part of IFM and it surely is the one constant! What we did yesterday is different from how we will handle a logistics problem today and most likely different from those of tomorrow.
How has Northline adapted to customers changing international logistics requirements over the past year?
During the pandemic, we’ve seen unprecedented changes in logistics needs for our customers, particularly those in the health sector.
Northline has been able to increase resources and leverage strong working relationships with our service providers to enable the best possible outcomes for our customers.
What are the advantages of using Northline’s International Freight Management services?
We have an experienced team that has been working in the industry for most of their lives. We pride ourselves on excellence in service delivery and continued focus on providing exceptional customer service!
The ability to seamlessly merge the international supply chain into our domestic networks to get products to market in a fast and cost-efficient manner is a massive advantage for our customers.
