Expanding your business internationally can be one of the most daunting prospects.
There are many regulations and rules that you must know and understand, and the cost to ship internationally can be particularly high.
Despite these costs, the benefits of shipping your products overseas are staggering, particularly the access to a much larger audience. There are seven billion potential customers in the world but the US has only 320 million.
In addition, very few of your US competitors actually trade internationally, only 1% of the estimated 30 million businesses based in the US do so. This is a much lower percentage than found in other nations.
Finally, out of the 300,000 companies that do trade internationally, the majority of them will only trade with one other country. This means that you don’t have a lot of US competition in areas where there might be a demand for US products.
The Costs Of Shipping Internationally
There is no doubt that shipping internationally is going to be more expensive. As well as fuel costs, other transport methods are likely to be more costly. However, there are ways that the costs can be brought down for your international ecommerce company.
One of the most effective ways is to buy shipping space in bulk (i.e. you take up more room). However, this isn’t always possible. You might only have a couple of orders for certain destinations and this can be highly frustrating.
Another problem for international shipping is managing the rules and regulations:
Not applying the right documentation or packaging can delay deliveries and cost you in fines. Researching the latest changes in rules and regulations can also be time consuming, and if you don’t manage to get around to it, you could miss that a regulation has changed.
The final cost of shipping internationally comes from needing a larger storage space due to the number of additional orders you are going to receive. Warehouse space and teams are very expensive and sometimes, in addition to other costs, the value is not worth it when you are starting out or even over the long term.
Finally, consider the time to process all the orders. Internationally shipped products require extensive planning and logistical management to make sure that the orders get there on time. This can be very time consuming, which again costs your business.
Finding A Logistical Partner
To ship to international customers, one of the best answers would be to form a partnership with a logistics partner.
They will know the local regulations, rules and what paperwork is required for any shipping consignment to most destinations across the world. This will save you time and therefore costs.
The international logistics provider will also know instantly when regulations change.
You can also save money by taking advantage of the buying power of the logistics company in the space on international transport and within their own warehouses. This allows you to offer your products for less money or to increase the profit margins you generate per sale.
Therefore, a logistics partner, like Floship, can help you increase the range of your customer base without it being too expensive. This can make selling internationally not only look attractive, but also profitable and lead to an expansion of your business with greater security for the future.
Conclusion: Global Trade is in Reach
Selling internationally is not a popular activity within the US. Only a small proportion of the 30 million businesses selling in the US sell to more than one foreign country.
One of the main reasons for this is because many businesses don’t think they can do it cost effectively. However, by partnering with Floship you can sell internationally for a fair price and achieve good profits.
- Do you sell internationally?
- What is preventing you from selling internationally?
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