Previously, there was a direct crossing between the UK and Denmark, which was often used by UK exporters with customers in the country. But the crossing from Harwich to Esbjerg has not sailed since 2014, which means that another option must be found. Fortunately, there are plenty of other ways to get pallets from the UK to Denmark these days. If you need to send a pallet to Denmark quickly, but cost-effectively, what should you do?
Contact a forwarder
For starters, use a reputable forwarder to ship one pallet to Denmark will mean that it will be much easier to get orders for Danish customers. Look for British International Freight Association (BIFA) membership as a sign of a freight forwarding company’s professionalism and reliability. What you should get from a freight forwarder is a door-to-door service. This means that you quickly collect your pallet from your warehouse or production facility and send it there by road without further delay.
Air freight, on the other hand, is often prohibitively expensive and will not always be faster than express courier services. Getting a pallet to Denmark by road could be possible within three days with the right support. Sometimes airfreight goods remain in Danish airports waiting to be picked up, when a forwarder can arrange a direct delivery for you directly to your customer’s goods-in department.
Send a pallet to Denmark via France or the Netherlands
Since you can no longer send a pallet directly to Denmark, the best ferry routes are to choose from Dover to Dunkirk or from Hull or Harwich to Rotterdam. However, note that you do not need to rely on roll-on/roll-off ferry services at all when shipping a pallet to Europe. It is also possible to send vans loaded with pallets to the continent via Le Shuttle from Folkestone.
Regardless of which route is chosen, it is possible to drive to Denmark through Germany. Bundesautobahn 7 is the best German motorway to use to get to the Danish border. It is fast and well-maintained, so shipping a pallet to Denmark by road usually does not cause delays. From the border to the Danish capital Copenhagen, it is only approximately three and a half hours by road.
Make sure your customs clearances are in good order
According to Barrington Freight, a company with many years of experience in shipping pallets of commercial goods across Denmark, it is essential that shipments have the correct customs papers. Without an EORI registration, it is not at all possible to send a pallet to Denmark. As such, you should register online and then complete the appropriate web form for each shipment you make. As long as this matches your physical paperwork exactly, your items should proceed without being held up.
Use a customs agent if you are new to this type of export bureaucracy. Many smaller businesses face significant problems if they attempt to complete such declarations on their own. Better yet, seek out a freight forwarding company that offers both customs clearance work and logistics expertise at the same time.
Source: The Nordic Page