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Knowledge base
Guides
Practical guides on transport to the UK, customs clearance, exhibition logistics and warehousing.
What is in the OTSL knowledge base?
The OTSL knowledge base is practical articles on international road freight: customs clearance and border procedures (SIVEP, GMR, PBN, ATA carnet), transport to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Switzerland, trade fair logistics, warehousing and returns. We cover the real risks and how to prevent them before they hit your cargo.
Articles are coming soon.
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Supply chain risks: what can go wrong and what it costs
A guide to the risks salespeople prefer not to mention: bad documents, rejected deliveries, clandestine entrants, theft…
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Supply chain management in practice: how forwarding holds the chain together
What supply chain and supply chain management mean, what a supply chain is made of, and where the freight forwarder…
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Furniture transport to the UK: how not to deliver a dented wardrobe
Furniture means high volume, delicate surfaces and strict booking-in. Here is how furniture logistics works on the…
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How to choose a forwarder for transport to the UK
A checklist for choosing a UK forwarder: customs and GMR, a network instead of an exchange, out-of-hours contact…
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Has your forwarder let you down? Urgent transport when time matters
The carrier did not show up, the goods are stuck and the deadline is closing in? We step in where others failed, with…
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Time-critical delivery, when every minute counts
A 7 pm call, a few kilograms, almost 1000 km and a morning deadline. How we run deliveries when a line stoppage is at…
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Why we do not buy loads on freight exchanges, the OTSL model
Many brokers buy transport on exchanges and lose control over who carries the goods. We work differently and explain…
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Customs advisory, how to avoid costly mistakes | OTSL
Most problems at the border come from mistakes made earlier, at the desk. How customs advice up front protects against…
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How freight forwarding works from A to Z, step by step
Forwarding is more than sending a truck. We show the whole process, from enquiry to delivery, and who is responsible at…
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Delivering where there is no ramp: how to prepare so the truck does not leave loaded
Failed tail-lift deliveries are rarely about the vehicle. A checklist of what to confirm with the consignee before the…
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Tail lift, lorry crane or dock: how to unload where there is no ramp
Three ways to unload without a ramp. Tail lift up to 1.5 t, lorry crane for heavy or awkward loads, dock where the…
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Free zone (free-trade zone): how it works and when it pays off
A free zone is a fenced area treated as outside the EU customs territory for duty and VAT. See what you can do there…
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Inward processing and duty drawback: how to recover customs duty on re-export
You manufacture in the EU from non-EU components and export the finished goods? Inward processing lets you avoid paying…
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Phytosanitary and health certificates: exporting food and plants from Poland, step by step
Exporting food, plants or products of animal origin from Poland? Before the truck moves you need a phytosanitary…
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Intermodal and combined transport: when rail or short-sea beats road for the whole trip
Intermodal, multimodal, combined transport: what the three words actually mean, when shifting the main leg to rail or…
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CEMT permits and road transport: when a Community licence is not enough
A Community licence (Regulation 1072/2009) covers carriage inside the EU and EEA, but outside that area you need…
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Simplified customs procedure: entry in the declarant's records and simplified declaration
Simplified declaration, entry in the declarant's records (EIDR) and centralised clearance under the Union Customs Code…
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Fiscal clearance and the tax representative: EU import with VAT settled in the country of destination
Fiscal clearance releases goods for free circulation in one EU country with an immediate intra-Community supply to…
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TIR carnet: goods transit outside the European Union | OTSL
A TIR carnet moves goods by road across several countries under a single customs cover and a single guarantee, where EU…
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Lead times and delivery reliability from Poland to the UK: what affects them
A UK buyer planning inbound deliveries from Poland needs a delivery date that holds, not a best case. Driver hours, the…
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Who pays customs duty and VAT when importing from Poland to the UK
A UK buyer's map of who pays what on a Polish import: how the Incoterm decides duty and VAT, why the UK-EU trade deal…
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Groupage and part loads from Poland to the UK: how it works and what drives the cost
You have three pallets, not a full truck. This is how groupage and part loads from Poland to the UK actually work…
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Choosing a Polish freight forwarder or haulier: what a UK importer should check
A UK importer's checklist for vetting a Polish carrier or forwarder: Community Licence, OCP and cargo insurance with…
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Importing from Poland to the UK: a step-by-step guide for UK buyers
You buy from a Polish supplier and the goods have to clear two customs authorities before they reach your door. This…
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T2L and the customs status of Union goods: how to prove goods are Union goods
Customs status (Union goods, T2L/T2LF) is not the same as preferential origin (EUR.1) or transit (T1/T2). When you need…
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The Mobility Package: driver posting, minimum wage and why rates went up
The EU Mobility Package brought cross-trade and cabotage under the host-country minimum wage, mandated returns of the…
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Three insurances in road transport: carrier liability, forwarder liability and cargo. Who actually pays for your loss
Carrier liability (OCP), forwarder liability and cargo are three separate policies covering three different things. A…
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Handling symbols on boxes: what the package marks mean (ISO 780)
Umbrella, wine glass, up arrows: the handling symbols in ISO 780 tell the warehouse worker, driver and forklift…
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Winter equipment for trucks in Europe: tyres, chains and country rules
Winter tyres, snow chains and the M+S marking: what a truck really has to carry in winter across Germany, Austria, the…
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Securing cargo in practice: straps, anti-slip mats, blocking bars and corner protectors
A practical guide for loaders: how to secure a load with straps, anti-slip mats, blocking bars and corner protectors…
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Transporting pharmaceuticals and medical devices: Good Distribution Practice (GDP) in practice
Controlled temperature, vehicle qualification, thermal mapping, continuous monitoring with a record, deviation handling…
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Where is my shipment: track and trace, monitoring and real visibility in road transport
How a forwarder knows where the truck is: GPS telematics, driver status updates, booking-in. Why road transport FTL and…
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Intrastat: when statistical reporting applies to your company
Intrastat is the statistics of goods movements between EU member states, not a customs declaration. See who files after…
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AEO (Authorised Economic Operator): what it is, the benefits and how to obtain it
AEO status is the European Union's customs trust certificate: fewer inspections, priority at the border, easier access…
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Shipping chocolate, cosmetics and candles in summer: what happens in a trailer without a reefer
Chocolate softens, creams separate, candles lose their shape: in summer a curtain-sided trailer gets far hotter than…
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Upholstered furniture into the UK: fire safety rules, permanent labels, rejected deliveries
A sofa without a permanent fire safety label cannot legally be sold in the UK. We explain the Furniture and Furnishings…
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