In this edition, we are excited to present Justin Keable, who is our export and transit operations manager working out of Customs Support Felixstowe, in the UK. Justin works with our teams to optimise our procedures relating to quality, environment, safety, and health.
Join us as Justin shares his experience with Customs Support.
Who are you?
I’m Justin Keable, the export and transit operations manager for the UK. I’ve been with the Felixstowe team here for over four years now, starting with them when they were UK Customs Solutions.
My background is in freight forwarding, and I joined UKCS to bolster their knowledge of this side of the logistics world. Many forwarders, shipping lines, and other carriers use terminology that is foreign to customs brokers, so I joined so that we could provide a more informed service.
What does an export and transit operations manager do?
I am responsible for ensuring that we are completing our export declarations and transit clearances on time and in a compliant manner.
What is your typical working day like?
The first thing I do is check the system for updates, make sure that urgent issues are given attention, and work on sending reports to our clients that require them daily.
After that, I communicate with the team to make sure that no one is struggling, and that customers are getting good turnarounds and answers to their questions. In most cases, we respond to everyone within an hour or two.
What do you like the most about your job?
The variation really. Even though it is all exports, no two days are the same.
What has been the most exciting change that you've seen since the UKCS joined the group?
The strength of the team. We have a much larger family of brokers both within the UK and internationally now, so we have that strength in both knowledge and location that we can call upon to give more to our customers.
What do you like to do outside of work and how does that influence your work skills?
I swim often, and I like watching rugby. Being active outside of work is important for us office workers, and I like the teamwork that you see in rugby. It’s important to assist each other and know you’re working towards the same thing.
What's the most important thing a client should look for in a customer's broker?
Knowledge and a high-quality service. We need to know what you need, what we need to do, and what you expect from us. Additionally, we are there to guide you and you need to know that we can be trusted to give it.
You now work with a Europe-wide network. If you were to visit an office location of Customs Support, which city or country would you want to go and see first and why?
Probably headquarters in Rotterdam or any of the other offices in The Netherlands. It’s such a laid-back country: clean, polite people, just a good place to relax.
