Expanding globally can be challenging for e-commerce businesses. This article explores actionable strategies to simplify logistics, reduce costs, and streamline operations with insights drawn from real-world success stories.
Global e-commerce is booming, offering unprecedented opportunities for businesses to reach new customers across continents. However, scaling internationally brings its own set of challenges, from navigating complex logistics to managing costs and integrating diverse sales channels. By adopting smart strategies and leveraging the expertise of seasoned logistics partners, businesses can simplify operations and achieve sustainable growth.
E-commerce challenge 1: Entering new markets
Expanding into new markets is an exciting milestone for any e-commerce business, but it also comes with significant logistical and regulatory challenges. From navigating customs requirements to managing last-mile delivery, businesses must carefully consider how to streamline their operations while maintaining cost efficiency and meeting customer expectations.
One of the most effective strategies is partnering with a logistics provider that has a strong presence in the target markets. A robust network of warehouses, distribution hubs, and regional expertise can help businesses overcome common hurdles. Cross-border returns in particular are generally not developed well enough, which is why domestic presence is so important. A fast and smooth return process has a direct influence on customer retention, by allowing quicker refunds as well as opportunities to incentivize consumers to refill their shopping cart.
Patrick Mariak, Corporate Manager BPO / IT & Digital Business eFulfillment at cargo-partner, emphasizes the importance of this approach:
“Take, for example, a German e-commerce seller aiming to expand into the UK market. If every product has to be shipped individually from a warehouse in Germany, the costs quickly become unmanageable – long-distance transportation, customs duties, and higher parcel rates all add up. Instead, by storing inventory in a local UK warehouse, businesses can drastically reduce delivery times, eliminate unnecessary customs processing, and benefit from the UK’s lower parcel delivery costs. This isn’t just about cutting costs; it’s about optimizing operations to deliver the best possible service to customers.”
In addition to reducing costs, having local expertise offers several advantages. Logistics providers with a strong regional presence often have established distribution routes, local trucking networks, and in-depth knowledge of customs processes. They can also leverage partnerships with local carriers to ensure reliable and fast last-mile delivery, as well as efficient return and refurbishment processes. These factors help businesses scale operations smoothly and provide customers with consistent service quality.
Ultimately, the key to entering new markets successfully lies in working with partners who understand the local landscape. Businesses should prioritize providers with experience in their target regions, scalable infrastructure, and the ability to offer transparent and reliable solutions tailored to their needs.
Key takeaway: Expanding into new markets requires logistics providers with local expertise and strong regional networks. By storing inventory closer to customers and streamlining cross-border operations, businesses can reduce costs, improve delivery times, and ensure a seamless customer experience.
E-commerce challenge 2: Costs & flexibility
Controlling logistics costs while maintaining flexibility is a constant challenge for e-commerce businesses. Fixed expenses, such as warehouse leases, employee salaries, and transportation contracts, can quickly erode profit margins – especially during off-peak periods when order volumes are lower. For growing businesses, the key to overcoming this challenge lies in transitioning to a variable cost model where you only pay for what you use.
Traditional logistics setups often lock businesses into fixed costs. Renting a warehouse, for instance, requires paying for space regardless of how much inventory is stored. Similarly, employing a team for picking, packing, and shipping orders means covering labor costs even when order volumes decrease. A flexible fulfillment model eliminates these inefficiencies by aligning costs directly with demand.
Under a pay-as-you-go model, businesses avoid fixed expenses for warehouse space and labor. Instead, they pay only for the space they need, the orders they process, and the services they use. This also includes customized solutions with value-added services such as set-building or kitting, local label requirements (e.g. for food supplements), refurbishment and the like. This approach does not only reduce costs but also enables businesses to scale operations up or down in response to demand fluctuations, while allowing online retailers to focus on their core competencies of product development and excellent customer service.
Patrick Mariak highlights the benefits of this approach with a recent example:
“Our warehouse in Bucharest typically processes up to 1,500 orders per day for an electronics retailer. During peak periods like ‘Black Month,’ we seamlessly scale to handle as many as 18,000 orders daily – over ten times the usual volume. By leveraging flexible warehouse space, on-demand labor, and advanced systems, we meet heightened demand without compromising service quality or taking on unnecessary overhead. This is the power of a pay-as-you-go model in action.”
By adopting a scalable, pay-as-you-go model, businesses can keep costs variable and predictable while maintaining the agility needed to respond to market demands.
Key takeaway: Flexible fulfillment models minimize fixed costs by allowing businesses to pay only for the resources they use. This approach ensures profitability during off-peak periods while enabling rapid scaling during seasonal demand spikes.
E-commerce challenge 3: Marketplaces & integration
Managing multiple marketplaces has become a defining challenge for e-commerce businesses. As sellers expand their reach across platforms like Amazon, Zalando, eBay, TikTok Shop, and more, the complexity of handling inventory, pricing, and order fulfillment increases exponentially. The number of active businesses on TikTok Shop in the UK has doubled over the last year, now exceeding 200,000. Social media shopping leads to unprecedented “ad-hoc peaks”, making fulfillment service providers especially vital in managing fluctuating demands for personnel and equipment. This is typically unmanageable for online retailers, especially when considering the varying demands of different target groups. For many online businesses, efficiently integrating these platforms with a central logistics system is the key to maintaining operational control and delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Marketplace integration goes beyond simply connecting a business’s e-commerce shop to its logistics provider. Sellers often use a mix of platforms to reach their target audience – for instance, selling a selection of products on Shopify while listing others on Etsy or AliExpress. A centralized order management system allows sellers to decide where and how products are listed, while orders from every platform flow seamlessly into one warehouse. This eliminates the need for manual intervention and ensures accuracy in inventory updates, order processing, and shipping.
Patrick Mariak explains the value of this approach:
“E-commerce sellers today are not limited to just their own web shops – they’re simultaneously managing sales on platforms like Amazon, Zalando, and TikTok Shop. Without proper integration, this can turn into an operational bottleneck. Our approach ensures that every order from these platforms is funneled into one centralized system. Sellers retain full control of inventory and can decide how much stock to allocate to each marketplace. This level of automation not only reduces administrative overhead but also ensures orders are processed quickly and accurately.”
The benefits of marketplace integration are clear. The cargo-partner e-commerce fulfillment center in Hong Kong processes up to 3,000 daily orders for brands selling through Shopify and the local platform HKTVmall. By integrating the warehouse with the customer’s warehouse management system, the operation eliminated manual tracking workflows, improved order accuracy, and reduced administrative effort. Similarly, in Slovenia, an API-driven integration between Shopify web shops and cargo-partner’s supply chain management platform transformed operations for a U.S.-based retailer. Real-time inventory synchronization and automated processes saved time and drastically improved customer satisfaction.
Key takeaway: Integrating multiple marketplaces with a centralized logistics system ensures efficient inventory management, streamlined order processing, and enhanced scalability. Automation is critical for minimizing errors and meeting the demands of today’s multi-platform e-commerce landscape.
E-commerce challenge 4: Last-mile delivery
Last-mile delivery – the final step in getting orders to customers – is often the most challenging and expensive part of e-commerce logistics. Customers expect fast, reliable service, but meeting these expectations without eroding profit margins requires strategic planning and advanced tools. For online retailers, leveraging the right fulfillment solutions is key to staying competitive.
Focusing on parcel delivery
In e-commerce, the priority is not moving truckloads but ensuring parcels reach customers’ doorsteps or PUDO (Pick-Up and Drop-Off) points quickly and efficiently. For example, cargo-partner combines local expertise with innovative solutions to provide a seamless delivery experience. While their established regional transport network creates a solid foundation for efficiency, it’s their e-fulfillment tools that truly set them apart.
Patrick Mariak explains:
“Last-mile delivery is where efficiency meets customer satisfaction. With SPOT Parcel, we’ve built a system that ensures fast and cost-effective parcel delivery while providing transparency and reliability. This platform enables us to offer tailored solutions for economy, priority, and PUDO deliveries, ensuring the best service for our clients and their customers.”
SPOT Parcel: Enabling seamless fulfillment
SPOT Parcel, a feature of cargo-partner’s proprietary supply chain management platform SPOT, is integral to their e-fulfillment operations. It connects the logistics provider’s warehouses to a vast network of courier, express, and parcel (CEP) service providers, enabling them to:
- Offer the best delivery option for every parcel based on service needs and local expertise.
- Leverage integrations with both global couriers and local champions to provide flexible and efficient delivery options.
- Automate warehouse operations by streamlining processes like label printing and carrier selection, ensuring every step is optimized for cost and service quality.
Key takeaway: A robust fulfillment solution, supported by tools like SPOT Parcel, allows e-commerce businesses to focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional service to their customers. With cargo-partner’s expertise and integrated approach, the company helps online retailers achieve the perfect balance of speed, cost-efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
cargo-partner’s commitment to “taking it personally,” combined with a “passion for excellence,” ensures that the logistics provider delivers solutions that are “better than others.”
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