Distribution, Freight and Logistics
Yes! Here’s why now, more than ever, companies in this sector must assess their R&D tax relief opportunity.
COVID-19 is disrupting global distribution on an unprecedented scale. While the majority of the population is urged to stay at home, the country is relying on the transport and logistics sector to maintain the delivery of goods, food and medical supplies.
As a result, businesses are having to quickly adapt by accelerating their digital transformation agendas. Driven by heightened consumer expectations from interactions with online retailer giants, incumbent businesses are being forced to innovate and adopt new digital tools faster than ever to minimise disruptions. Companies are having to introduce capabilities such as end-to-end inventory visibility, real-time order monitoring, and super reverse logistics experiences.
Responding to new conditions and maintaining business operations, ultimately creates the opportunity to launch digital capabilities and rethink traditional logistics operating models. By doing so, companies will emerge from the present crisis with more resilient supply chains and may have the opportunity to claim R&D tax relief on the time spent revolutionising their systems.
The R&D tax relief scheme is an opportunity to claim either a reduction in corporation tax of up to 24.7p in the pound or, for loss making companies, a payable tax credit of up to 33.35p of any pound spent on qualifying R&D activity.
At YesTax we have been busy securing valuable Research and Development (R&D) tax credits for many clients in this sector and we wanted to highlight why R&D tax relief should be high on your priorities.
Below is a summary of some of the claims.
- The development of a software solution to provide industry wide, full supply chain visibility between all stakeholders including synchronous and asynchronous data exchange between HMRC through the Customs Declaration System (CDS), thereby uniting all parties in the supply chain, with additional benefits of speeding up transit times, reducing data errors and allowing more accurate tax and fiscal declarations to HMRC.
- The development of a software suite integrating warehousing, distribution and stock management solutions, for both under-bond and duty paid products
- The development of a digital signature capture solution to be used as a standalone system or as an integrated feature within a traffic management system. By introducing electronic signature capture, the company was able to offer their members and customers a completely traceable five-point delivery service from the initial collection through to the final signed confirmation of delivery.
- Developing an innovative software system for recognising and translating offshore import and export documents using optical character recognition.
- Using AI to monitor inventory levels and assess when new stock levels are required
- Using robotic process automation to replace labour intensive activity
If you believe you are advancing technology through the creation of new systems, it might be worth a conversation with YesTax. Whether you are making a claim or not, there isn’t a question we can’t answer about this sector. If you would like a complimentary health check to ascertain your eligibility, please get in touch at hello@yes.tax!