Automation a solution to 'cliff-edge' Brexit delays By James Ridler Siemens Digital Logistics development consultant Phil Lavin and Digital Industries head of food and beverage Keith Thornhill discuss how automation technologies can be used to compensate for the delays caused by our ‘cliff-edge’ Brexit. Phil Lavin Phil Lavin, Siemens Digital Logistics development consultant It is a problem with holdups and delays in the food supply chain, which is really down to documentation, interpretation of documentation or lack of preparation for companies who are importing from Europe The way the problem can be resolved is to have automation through customs processing. In the UK the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) was introduced in August 2018 to phase out Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system.