Australian border officials have granted Hoya Lens Australia a special status that will reduce red tape and smooth the supply of its products into and out of the country.
The lens manufacturer and supplier revealed this week it has been awarded Australian Trusted Trader (ATT) status by the Australian Border Force (ABF) following an independent assessment.
Hoya Lens Australia supply chain manager Mr Raj Shankar said throughout the robust accreditation process the company demonstrated its secure supply chain and compliant trade practices.
“Customs clearance for us is going to happen a lot faster especially with most of the manufacturing happening in Thailand after our lab in Sydney closed in March last year,” he said.
“Beforehand, a lot of the work was getting done locally, but now we rely a lot more on the supply chain to be working 100% to get all our goods back on time. The model we work on right now involves the goods being manufactured in Thailand, and sent here [via air freight]. We do the packaging, and then we send it out to our customers.”
Shankar said the company received daily deliveries to its Banksmeadow facility in Sydney.
Since the “VIP status” was implemented on 7 November, delivery times have been cut by up to two hours resulting in an immediate flow-on effect to customers.
Hoya now also has a direct line into Australian Border Force to resolve clearance issues.
“At the end of day, this is helping customer satisfaction as well,” Shankar said.
“If our goods get back to us faster, it means we can ship our goods to customers faster.”
According to ABF, it only accredits businesses it deems as low risk.
In addition to priority border treatment, other benefits include use of the ATT logo, the opportunity to partnership with ABF on initiatives related to its industry, data reports, a simplified visa process for overseas skilled workers and deferral of duty payment on most goods to a consolidated monthly payment.
