Intelligent CXO Issue 06 | Page 25

BUSINESS STRATEGY

Putting customers first :

Navigating an international business post-Brexit

Citrefine International is a British company , founded over 25 years ago . It is a leading , trusted and reliable partner to insect repellent manufacturers and brands , and produces a naturally sourced , plant-based active substance for insect repellent products . As well as working with international suppliers , Citrefine has a global customer base , including companies across the EU . Jacqueline Watson , Citrefine ’ s Managing Director , discusses successful strategies for navigating the operational changes caused by Brexit and key learnings for businesses going forward .

As the Managing Director of a British company that works with both suppliers and customers from around the world , when the result from the European Union ( EU ) referendum was announced on June 23 , 2016 , my reaction was shock . Our initial concern , like many other businesses operating between the UK and EU , was around how we could reassure , and minimise the impact on , our customers and our own business .

As the dust – and exchange rate – slowly settled , we knew that leaving the EU wasn ’ t going to happen overnight and that we would have time to plan , ensure we had resources in place to deal with the additional administrative work and , importantly , communicate the changes to our international network of customers . From the day www . intelligentcxo . com
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