Case Studies

Here are some of our customer success stories.  Contact us soon, to start yours!

AgustaWestland - UK

Honeycourt provided the customs consultancy and implementation resources to bring import and export processes in-house for the Italian-owned aircraft manufacturer.

Formerly known as Westland Helicopters, the UK arm of the company now uses SAP Global Trade Services (GTS) software to manage all customs-related processes in the UK.  The implementation - possibly the most complex yet undertaken with this advanced software - went live in November, 2011, and now tracks inventory for Customs Warehousing, Inward Processing and Outward Processing, and generates Customs Declarations in real time directly from data in their SAP ERP system, automatically handling import transactions for civil and military aircraft appropriately to take full advantage of available duty suspensions.

In addition to the implementation, Honeycourt has also won the contract for on-going support of the system.

Rhodia - UK

Since May 2011, Rhodia have been using SAP GTS software to power their UK Import and Export processes. Operated by their customs agent, Kerry Logistics, the system creates and processes electronic customs declarations using real-time data from their ERP system to improve data accuracy and reduce administration.

The implementation project, which included Export Compliance management and Trade Preference determination, engaged Honeycourt to provide UK Customs expertise, system development, training, and process support during the go-live period.

C&J Clark - UK

Clarks, the UK's leading footwear supplier, successfully implemented SAP GTS in September, 2010. The system includes a Customs Warehouse, introduced to save duty and VAT payments on shoes destined for their expanding Export market.

Comfortably processing over 1000 Declarations per day, the system is the UK's first high-volume implementation of GTS, and features automatic assignment of GSP Certificates to take advantage of preferential duty rates. Honeycourt has been proud to provide the consultancy for this major project.

Ecco shoes - Denmark

The Ecco shoes headquarters, based in South Jutland, Denmark, chose SAP GTS as their Customs Management system and went live in April 2010.  Honeycourt provided the specialist expertise needed to specify and configure the solution, which included development of electronic real-time messaging to and from the Danish Customs TOLDSKAT system for Imports and NCTS, not then available as standard in the GTS system.

The functionality covers Import, Export and NCTS Transit processes, including Bonded Warehouse functionality, with instantaneous RFC data transfer interfaces from the ERP system.  The solution, which replaces a legacy system, now allows the Ecco Forwarding Department to make almost all of their Customs Declarations without re-keying any data.

Givaudan - UK

Fragrance and flavouring manufacturer Givaudan undertook the first UK Export implementation of the SAP GTS Customs Management system in November, 2009, following their successful experiences in Switzerland and Germany.  Honeycourt was pleased to undertake the configuration and process development design work for the UK project, together with UK-specific training and go-live support.

The new system provides Export Declarations interfaced directly from the relevant Outbound Shipments in the ERP system, electronic message exchange with UK NES, and production & printing of the EAD and SAD documents.

Airbus - UK

March 2009 saw the first UK go-live for the SAP GTS Customs Management system.  The Airbus UK implementation was carried out by a small internal team, with Honeycourt providing the essential know-how and training.  The development has provided a fully-integrated SAP environment linking GTS with the existing ERP system for Import and Intrastat declarations, and has enabled Airbus to gain CFSP accreditation.

A key feature of the project was the development of an interface and agreed file format for data exchange with the principal forwarding agent, avoiding the need for manual data keying and allowing automated matching of Frontier Declaration data to corresponding Goods Receipts.

Aker Kvaerner Subsea - UK

Honeycourt enhanced AKSL's SAP R/3 implementation and developed interfaces to their Grosvenor Ricardo® customs management system to improve visibility of customs-controlled inventory and address compliance issues.  The project also included improved and integrated Intrastat reporting.

The main challenge involved the tracking of End-Use duty suspension from imported components to finished products through multi-level bills of material.  New industry-standard Transportation forms were also introduced; replacing a legacy system and providing clarity on the customs status of despatched goods.

Extensive product classification was also undertaken, and the end of the project in Spring, 2007 was marked by a successful HMRC customs audit.

Cadbury Trebor Bassett - UK and Ireland

Honeycourt's Principal Consultant, Dave Willis, implemented a full export solution for Cadbury's export operations in Ireland and UK, which was completed in 2005.

Based around their SAP R/3 installation, the new functionality replaced an outdated legacy system to include EDI links to the HMRC National Export System (NES) with active workflow for error reporting, and a comprehensive set of SITPRO licensed documents to cover virtually all of their export requirements.

A major feature of the implementation was a fully integrated solution for CAP restitution and IPR, with recipe management, automatic refund calculation, CPC determination and claim management, linking to the EDI messaging, Accounts Receivable and Profitability Analysis.

The solution has since been enhanced to provide EDI messaging to the Irish Revenue export systems, and NCTS messaging in both UK and Ireland.  Full training and support were provided throughout, to ensure a smooth transition to the new system with minimal disruption to business.

Panasonic Industrial Europe - Germany and Belgium

PIE set up a European Distribution Centre in 2001 as part of a major business improvement project.  Honeycourt Associate Corinne Nabavi was responsible for import and export process design, and Dave Willis led the systems development, which included interfaces from SAP R/3 to the Interchain® Customs module and the local WMS.

Customs warehousing was a key business requirement, and the solution provided both duty deferment and suspension, with automatic duty calculations.  Preference handling, linked to vendor declarations, was also developed as part of the project.