This month, we welcome Owen Birkby to the CustomsLink team as our new Group Head of Customs & Growth.
We sat down with Owen to have a chat about his career in customs, joining CustomsLink and what he thinks the future holds for the customs industry as a whole.
Hi Owen, welcome to CustomsLink. Tell us a bit about your career journey and what led you into the world of customs
My background is probably a little different to most people working in customs. I started my career in the military before moving into customs and border operations in 2002. Over the following two decades I worked my way through operational and leadership roles, eventually holding senior positions within Border Force.
That gives you a broad view of customs landscape
That's right. It gave me experience across virtually every side of the border, from frontline customs operations and compliance through to large-scale change programmes, infrastructure, intelligence, risk and international trade. One of the biggest periods of my career was around the UK's exit from the EU, where I was heavily involved in preparing border operations for the new trading environment. That included the changes at ports such as Holyhead and the introduction of entirely new customs processes.
I believe you've been in a slightly different part of the world recently
Yes, I spent two years as Head of Customs and Immigration for the St Helena Government. That broadened my experience again because I was responsible not just for operational delivery, but also customs policy, legislation, revenue, digital transformation and international relationships.
So why the move to CustomsLink?
Moving to CustomsLink was a chance to take my broader customs and leadership experience into the commercial world. I’ve spent much of my career looking at customs from the government side of the border, and now I’m experiencing the other side of that relationship, understanding the challenges businesses face and helping to develop services that make international trade simpler, more efficient and, importantly, compliant.
What excites you most about joining CustomsLink?
There are probably three things: the people, the technology and the potential.
There's a very strong team here with a huge amount of customs knowledge, but there's also a real appetite to keep improving rather than simply doing things the way they've always been done; that's important to me.
CustomsLink already has some really strong foundations. We're an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) and operate to an ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system, which demonstrates the importance the business places on compliance, consistency and quality. At the same time, we're investing in technology and developing how we deliver customs services. Customers can choose between managed, self-service and hybrid solutions depending on what works best for their business.
We're also part of the Stena Line family, which gives us a wider understanding of freight, logistics and what actually happens to goods as they move across borders.
Where do you think we can go next?
I see a big opportunity to combine strong customs expertise and established compliance standards with better technology, automation and AI. The goal isn't technology for technology's sake. It's about removing repetitive work, identifying problems earlier, improving accuracy and ultimately making international trade easier for the customer.
What are your priorities for your first 100 days?
My starting point has been to listen.
When you join a successful business it's very easy to arrive with a list of things you want to change. I'd much rather understand the people, customers, processes and technology first. So my initial priorities are around understanding where we're strong, where customers experience friction and where we can make things simpler.
It sounds like you're focusing on certain areas
Yes. Firstly, making sure we continue to deliver a really strong, compliant customs operation.
Secondly, looking at how technology and AI can support our people and our customers, particularly by reducing duplication, improving data quality and spotting issues earlier.
And thirdly, growth. That means expanding the services we can provide, developing our European capability, strengthening partnerships and making it easier for customers to use CustomsLink for more of their cross-border requirements.
Ultimately, I want us to make customs feel less like a collection of individual transactions and more like one joined-up service.
In your view, what are the biggest customs and trade challenges facing UK and EU businesses today?
Complexity is probably the biggest challenge.
Cross-border trade isn't just about completing an import or export declaration. A single journey might involve customs declarations, safety and security requirements, transit, sanitary or phytosanitary processes, port systems, licences, certificates and different requirements depending on the countries and ports involved. The systems are becoming increasingly digital, but that doesn't necessarily mean the experience has become simpler.
Digital solutions definitely seem to be the way things are going
Definitely, because we're seeing governments expecting much better quality data much earlier in the supply chain. The EU's ICS2 system is a good example, with safety and security information increasingly being used for pre-arrival risk assessment. For businesses, that means data quality is becoming as important as customs knowledge.
If the commodity code, origin, value, consignee information or description is wrong at the beginning of the process, technology can simply allow you to make the mistake faster. That's why I think the future is about combining good technology with genuine customs expertise.
What do you think makes CustomsLink different from other customs brokers in the market?
I think it's the combination we offer.
We have the knowledge and experience you'd expect from a traditional customs broker, but we're combining that with a much more modern and digitally led approach. Importantly, that innovation sits on top of strong compliance foundations. CustomsLink holds Authorised Economic Operator status and is ISO 9001:2015 certified. For our customers, these demonstrate that compliance, governance, quality and consistent processes are fundamental to how we operate. That's particularly important in customs because customers are effectively trusting their broker with part of their regulatory compliance.
We then combine those standards with flexibility. Customers can use our managed service, complete declarations themselves through our technology, or use a mixture of both depending on their requirements.
Customs clearance has such a broad scope
It really does and that's why we're also looking beyond the customs declaration itself. Our capabilities cover areas such as import and export customs clearance, transit, safety and security declarations, port requirements, SPS processes and a growing range of European customs services. Increasingly, customers don't want five different providers solving five different parts of the same journey. They want somebody who understands how those pieces fit together.
My ambition is for CustomsLink to become that one customs partner for our customers: combining compliance, technology and genuinely knowledgeable people.
What advice would you give companies that are struggling with cross-border trade complexity?
Don't treat customs as something that happens when the truck arrives at the port. By that point, most of the important decisions have already been made so customers need to look upstream.
Are your commodity codes correct? Do you understand the origin of your goods? Are you using the right Incoterms? Who is responsible for the import declaration? Are licences or certificates required? Is the data being captured correctly when the order is first created? A surprisingly large number of border problems begin much earlier in the supply chain.
There's a lot to know and it can potentially become pretty stressful
Certainly. And that's why I'd also say, ask for help early. Businesses shouldn't feel they need to become customs experts themselves. A good broker should understand your operation, identify the risks and then make the process as simple as possible.
The best customs problem is the one the customer never knows they've avoided so ensure you partner with trusted, experienced and qualified customs professionals.
What does excellent customer service look like in the customs industry?
For me, excellent customer service in customs is about accuracy, accessibility and ownership. Speed matters because freight doesn't wait, but being fast and wrong isn't helpful.
There has to be quality and consistency behind the service as well. That's one of the reasons standards such as AEO and ISO 9001:2015 matter. They reinforce the principle that good customs service shouldn't depend on who happens to pick up a particular job that day. Customers should be able to expect the same level of care, control and professionalism every time.
Sounds like it's not all plain sailing, Monday to Friday, 9 till 5
Unfortunately not. Customers also need somebody available when something doesn't go according to plan … and customs has a wonderful habit of becoming most interesting late on a Friday night, over the weekend or on a bank holiday!
The really good customs providers go one step further. They don't just solve today's problem. They work out why it happened and try to stop it happening again.
What regulatory developments should businesses keep an eye on over the next few years?
There are quite a few, and I think the important point is that customs regulation is moving towards more data, earlier data and greater accountability.
In the UK, HMRC published a new Customs Intermediary Standard (PAS41201:2026) in June 2026 and has signalled further work towards certification and potentially mandatory registration of customs intermediaries. That should raise expectations around competence, governance and compliance across our industry.
The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or CBAM, entered its definitive regime on 1 January 2026, bringing additional obligations for businesses importing products such as steel, aluminium, cement and fertilisers. We're also seeing major changes to e-commerce and low-value imports on both sides of the Channel. The EU introduced changes for small parcels from July 2026, while the UK has announced plans to remove its existing £135 customs duty relief and introduce new arrangements for low-value imports.
Perhaps the biggest longer-term development is the wider reform of the EU Customs Union. Plans include a new EU Customs Authority and a single EU Customs Data Hub, beginning with e-commerce in 2028 before expanding more widely.
That's a lot to keep track of
It is, but businesses shouldn't necessarily try to follow every individual regulatory announcement themselves. That's part of the value a good customs partner should provide. Our job is to understand what's coming and help customers prepare before a new requirement becomes a problem.
What does the future of customs look like in five years' time?
Much more digital, much more connected and increasingly data-driven.
I think we'll gradually move away from customs being viewed as somebody manually typing information from an invoice into a declaration. More information will flow directly from customers' own systems into customs platforms. Technology will validate that information, identify anomalies, suggest classifications and flag potential compliance issues before goods begin moving.
I imagine AI features in the conversation somewhere
Yes, AI will play a significant role in that, but I don't think customs professionals disappear.
Technology will increasingly handle the repetitive processing, allowing skilled customs professionals to spend more time on the areas where judgement really matters: compliance, complex movements, problem solving, advisory work and helping customers build better supply chains.
At the same time, customs authorities are becoming much more data-driven themselves. HMRC is giving businesses greater visibility of their customs data and strengthening its ability to analyse that information. Combined with increased investment in compliance activity, I think that signals a future where discrepancies, unusual patterns and areas of potential non-compliance can be identified much more quickly.
For businesses, that means customs compliance will become increasingly proactive rather than reactive. It won't be enough to simply get a declaration accepted at the border. Companies will need confidence that their underlying data, classifications, valuations, origin decisions and processes can stand up to scrutiny afterwards.
Ultimately, I think the customs declaration itself should almost become a by-product of good supply-chain data.
That's the direction I want us to move in at CustomsLink: expert people, strong compliance and really good technology working together to make international trade simpler for our customers.
Finally, the important question - salt and vinegar or cheese and onion?
Salt and vinegar.
Although after more than 20 years working in customs, I should probably check the commodity code before committing to that answer 😊
Thanks Owen. If you'd like to discuss your customs clearance requirements, connect with Owen on LinkedIn.
