Philippe Juin
Director Smart Border at Getlink,
1. What is Sherpass ?
For the first time in freight trade with the United Kingdom, we are able to automate customs and border crossing formalities with a one-stop shop model.
Getlink has undertaken the development of Sherpass, a platform to digitize and simplify document management and to automate the processing of formalities. This platform features additional customs and border services for Eurotunnel customers, allowing them to address their own clients’ needs.
No paper to print, less scans and time wasted on declarations, more visibility on border procedures, alerts and notifications, expert assistance if necessary 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The aim is to streamline the freight cycle, eliminating the printing of documents, repeated or redundant email exchanges and administrative errors related to the complexity of customs declarations.
In the near future, we also plan to offer other services to the entire transport ecosystem, such as the provision of a data visibility API service for tracking document and freight flows to be integrated into the logistics management systems of contractors.
2. What was the starting point of Sherpass project and what are its first applications?
Did you know that the number of customs formality requests in France increased by 54% after the implementation of Brexit in 2021 compared to 2019?
The implementation of customs controls between the European Union and the United Kingdom has had a very high cost and has forced all freight players (shippers, forwarders, carriers, customs agents, etc.) to adapt, with not inconsiderable disruption, to these new procedural constraints with a high impact on crossing costs and times.
Eurotunnel has implemented a digital wallet, the “Border Pass” from 1 January 2021, allowing its freight customers to centralise and upload the references required when crossing the border; these references being paired and collected by Eurotunnel for transmission to Customs before boarding.
But this was not enough to integrate the complexity of customs declarations related to Brexit. Because it is often up to 24 hours that declarations must be made and validated, between the departure warehouse and the arrival at the border crossing of the tunnel.
This is why Getlink has decided to roll-out through Sherpass a new digital offer covering the whole process with a one-stop shop model: #Simplyborder.
3. Can you describe Sherpass’ new service, #SimplyBorder ?
The aim of #Simplyborder is to offer a one-stop shop service to automate customs declarations and border crossing formalities. Indeed, with Brexit the formalities have become more complex and can turn into a puzzle. The problems to be solved are of several kinds:
- Process export and import formalities before the trip for each type of goods in a few hours
- Ensure a smooth border crossing and monitor its progress with the correct pairing of each trailer and/or truck
- Simplify and reduce the delays of inspection and customs clearance procedures
With #SimplyBorder, we offer a new range of services with a one-stop-shop model and packaged services:
- Border Pass: for customers who have already completed or received customs formalities, the documents are centralized in a digital wallet (by them or by Sherpass) to ensure and simplify the border crossing and its follow-up on the digital platform.
- Customs Pass: for customers who are looking for brokerage services, we offer a simple user journey to manage their import/export declarations (transit procedure, export/import, SPS etc.) with the ability to provide the required expertise.
4. What are the advantages of Sherpass for fleet managers?
By simplifying customs declarations for cross-Channel transport, we allow fleet managers and organizations to save money by accessing our services with transparent pricing, save administrative time while also providing real-time visibility on the flows. This will allow them to spend more time on other value-added tasks.
Sherpass will also provide solutions for empty trucks, mainly returning from Great-Britain, where the share of empty trailers can reach 60%.
In a nutshell, the advantages of #Simplyborder are:
- Integration between customs services and transport booking on Eurotunnel shuttles
- Access to a digital tool and Sherpass support services, including RDE specialists, to carry out and organize the process of customs and transit files
- Real-time visibility on the progress of formalities and the situation of goods with alerts and notifications, allowing if necessary personalized exchanges with our transit and customs specialists.
- Ensuring the conformity of goods declarations before arrival at the tunnel and after the border crossing.
- Reducing the downtime of trailers, trucks and drivers 24/7.
- Reducing administrative costs related to the complexity of post-Brexit customs declarations with a transparent summary of budget lines for each operation
- Tracking of documents and formalities in a digital format.
5. Is Sherpass already live?
Yes, the Sherpass technical base is available and in production for all Eurotunnel customers on Unaccompanied Freight services.
They use the digital platform to book their crossing of trailers, manage their border crossing requirements and track the trailer status. We use the same technology and technical platform to deliver #SimplyBorder services.
