AI image
Knowledge base
UK and Brexit
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.
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Carrier Central: How Delivery Slot Booking Works for Amazon UK
Discover how to book delivery slots in Amazon Carrier Central in the UK, what data is required, and how to manage…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
"Regime 42", "barcode" and smart border clearance: what it really means
In haulier slang it is often one and the same France to UK crossing. We explain the barcode, the ELO envelope and…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
UK customs and EU import: EAD, ENS, GMR, GVMS, CDS | OTSL
What actually happens during clearance to the UK and import into the EU: documents, systems and controls, step by step.
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
GVMS from the driver's seat: the GMR at Calais, Dunkirk and Folkestone
The driver's view of the GB border: where to present the GMR at the ferry terminal and Eurotunnel, and what to do when…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Botched customs, and a crew that waits. How we prevent it
One missing document can stop a project and a crew of a dozen people. We show how thinking about the whole process…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
UK customs clearance after Brexit, step by step | OTSL
How to clear customs step by step when exporting to the UK after Brexit: documents, ENS, GMR and the order of actions.
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Amazon Warehouse Gate: Check-In, Yard Rules and Driver Requirements
Gate check-in procedures at Amazon warehouses, yard safety regulations, ramp controls, and essential driver…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Amazon UK Warehouse Codes (LTN, BHX, MAN): Meaning and Routing
Amazon UK warehouse codes use airport acronyms. Learn why Seller Central assigns the destination facility and how to…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Multi-drop delivery to Amazon in the UK: how logistics works
Learn how to organise multi-drop transport to multiple Amazon fulfilment centres in the UK after single collection in…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Amazon Partnered Carrier vs Own Freight Forwarder
Comparison of the Amazon Partnered Carrier programme and independent freight forwarding for international deliveries…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
What customs clearance really costs: the price components you learn about from the invoice
The advertised price usually covers a basic declaration under standard conditions. Extra HS codes, T1 transit…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Missing EORI or wrong VAT: why customs blocks the shipment and how to prevent it
A missing EORI or an invalid VAT number stops the customs declaration, and the truck sits idle at your cost, no matter…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
No ENS/ICS2 or GVMS/GMR: why your truck gets stuck at the UK border and who pays for the delay
Without an ENS/ICS2 declaration and a GMR number from GVMS, a truck will not board the ferry and can be held or turned…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Missed Amazon delivery window: what happens to your delivery now
A jam before the ferry, a slow customs entry, and the slot is gone. The truck is loaded and the site will not take it…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
FBA or FBM from Poland: the logistics and costs of both models
FBA means stock in Amazon fulfilment centres and bulk deliveries on appointments. FBM means your own warehouse and your…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Amazon pallet requirements in the UK: how to build a pallet that gets in
Pallet standard, height limit, wrap, labels and load weight: the rules are stable, the numbers change in Seller…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Rejected Amazon FBA delivery: the usual causes and plan B
FBA sites turn trucks away over missing appointments, bad labels and non-compliant pallets. Here is what happens to the…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Deliveries to UK retail distribution centres (RDCs): slots, specs, rejections
Retail distribution centres accept only booked-in, compliant deliveries. How a delivery to a UK RDC works and what gets…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Booking-in for deliveries in the UK: how it works and how not to lose a slot
British warehouses accept goods only in agreed time windows. We explain how booking-in works, which details are needed…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
First UK export for a small business: we guide you by the hand
A small business is sending goods to the United Kingdom for the first time and does not know where to start: EORI…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Customs clearance with incomplete or wrong documents: what we do
Documents for clearance are missing, invoice data does not match, the tariff code is uncertain and the sender has no…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
E-commerce transport and logistics to the United Kingdom: returns, VAT and the 135 GBP threshold
Mail-order sales to the UK after Brexit mean B2C and B2B models, the 135 GBP consignment value threshold, GB VAT…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Customs abbreviations glossary: CDS, GMR, GVMS, T1, EORI and the rest of the border alphabet
CDS, GMR, GVMS, MRN, ENS, EORI, EX, EAD, T1, T2, EUR.1, REX, ATA, LRN, C88/SAD, HS, CN, EIDR, CFSP. We gathered the…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Returning goods from the UK to Poland: how customs clearance works
A complaint, unsold stock or a return from a fair: goods coming back from the UK are an EU import. We explain returned…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
EORI number: what it is, who needs it and how to get one
The EORI number identifies a company in EU customs systems. We explain who needs one after Brexit and how to obtain it…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
How long does transport from Poland to the UK take and what extends it
Delivery time to the UK is the sum of stages: transit, customs, crossing and the consignee slot. We show what really…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
How much does transport to the UK cost? What drives the price
There is no single rate for transport to the UK. We show what makes up the price: load, crossing, customs, deadline and…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Choosing a customs agency matters. How one weekend stopped a whole truck
A truck sat at the UK border for a whole weekend because the customs agency works only Monday to Friday, while fixing…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
T1, EUR.1 and certificate of origin, when you need them
Three documents that get confused most often. How transit T1 differs from the EUR.1 proof of origin and a certificate…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Import from the UK to Poland, procedures and costs | OTSL
Import from the UK is not just transport but a customs declaration, VAT and possible duty. What makes up the cost and…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Incoterms in transport to the UK: who arranges and pays for customs
EXW, FCA, DAP or DDP: the Incoterms rule in the contract decides who arranges and pays for export, carriage and GB…
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Regime 42, EU import clearance with deferred VAT
What regime 42 is, when it is used and the benefit it brings for import combined with an intra-EU supply.
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Amazon FBA UK deliveries, labels, booking, requirements
What to prepare so your delivery to an Amazon UK warehouse is accepted without delays: labels, slot booking and customs.
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
Export to the UK, required documents | OTSL
The list of documents needed to export goods from Poland to the UK after Brexit and who prepares them.
Image generated with AI — read our AI transparency notice.
ELO, ENS, GMR, what they are and when you need them
Three terms you cannot move UK cargo without: ELO, ENS and GMR. We explain what they are and who prepares them.
Need transport or customs clearance?
Tell us what you need, a forwarder replies, not an autoresponder. Operations available 24/7.