International fulfillment

[yingiyn]

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Hi guys, first post here ☺️

We sell through Shopify so only online presence but have received a fair few international enquiries since launched.

As we know shipping from Australia is very costly and the cheapest shipping to US/Singapore easily starts from $26 in a single unit 0.6kg items

Does anyone ship internationally or use overseas fulfillment ? Any recommendation on overseas 3PL to engage ?

thanks so much !!

[Paul – FS Concierge]

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Hi And Welcome to Flying Solo [USER=116352]@yingiyn[/USER] .

Hopefully some helpful members will be along soon with some advice to point you in the right direction.

Cheers

[LucasArthur]

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yingiyn, post: 267994, member: 116352 wrote:

Hi guys, first post here ☺️

We sell through Shopify so only online presence but have received a fair few international enquiries since launched.

As we know shipping from Australia is very costly and the cheapest shipping to US/Singapore easily starts from $26 in a single unit 0.6kg items

Does anyone ship internationally or use overseas fulfillment ? Any recommendation on overseas 3PL to engage ?

thanks so much !!

Howdy

Second Pauls welcome

Great that you are experiencing success internationally , always a great thing… And re pricing, you appear to be quoting retail AusPost standard rates.. we ship that weight to the USA or Singapore for a little less than that (around 30% less).

Re your query on international 3PL, to make recommendations it will always come down to how many you ship as to whether it is worth it or not.. Eg: based on your advice, you may be seeking both Singapore + USA options, this alone has double the fees to get a little savings of say $8 per item… Furthermore, there will be storage fees, pick fees, consignment fees and so forth levied to each shipment..

PLease, note trying to sound discouraging, just do your numbers as there will be a viable cross over point of items shipped per week that will justify all of this .. just ensure its consistent sales you are measuring.. We have clients setting up internationally that do large volumes of international orders and warrants the exploration of this avenue, also assists with international returns , and then we have others that only ship 1 or 2 a week international and just want the option to send – they absorb the costs and fulfil from here..

If you can indicate how many you send to those locations, ball park, it may help with the referrals.. Also, if you can advise the type of item (not specific but area maybe) as this can also have influence on the suggestions.. Oh, and one more, is the item imported from China and will you be shipping straight from supplier to these international warehoused 3pls?

Cheers

Jason Ramage | Lucas Arthur Pty Ltd | E: [email protected]   P: 61 3 8324 0344    M: 61 412 244 888

[yingiyn]

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Thanks for your input. The indicative rates are based on Sendle international shipping from Perth. Can you provide a direction for discounted rates mentioned? We have tried DHL, pack and send and Aus Post business account.

Happy to absorb the no return cost, at this stage anticipated 1-2 international order a week to begin with. Item is kitchenware and yes able to ship them direct from China to destination 3PL.

[LucasArthur]

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Sometimes freight rates will come down to your ability to negotiate, also the history you have with the supplier (read this as volume, length of contracts and commitment long term to this supplier) and sometimes engaging the right intermediary such as a domestic 3PL or other..

Again though, on the last point, it needs to be viable to outsource.. Saving $8 on a single parcel could be negligible if you select to house non profit making items with a secondary warehouse (outsourced).

Its really difficult to give comprehensive advice in a forum and without knowing your complete objectives or even business model.. If its purely to save money, other components of the model may need to be reviewed to assess who you compete against, your margins, your movement counts and so forth.. Always remember, tackling the international market and spreading assets across continents can be extremely fruitful, and can also be a stretch to far for some..

Cheers

Jason Ramage | Lucas Arthur Pty Ltd | E: [email protected]   P: 61 3 8324 0344    M: 61 412 244 888

[JDSpring]

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Hi yingyin

In regards to US, maybe consider using fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

FBA can be used in conjunction with your Shopify store, there are many tools out there can setup the connection.

What this means at a high level is:

• Sale occurs on Shopify
• Order data is transmitted to FBA systems
• FBA warehouse picks, packs and delivers the order domestically inside the USA

You just need to get your inventory into the FBA warehouse in US.

Whilst this doesnt solve everything, it can work out cheaper than doing the entire delivery journey from Australia.

Hope that helps push your thinking on this matter.

If you have any questions, send me a DM

James

yingiyn, post: 267994, member: 116352 wrote:

Hi guys, first post here ☺️

We sell through Shopify so only online presence but have received a fair few international enquiries since launched.

As we know shipping from Australia is very costly and the cheapest shipping to US/Singapore easily starts from $26 in a single unit 0.6kg items

Does anyone ship internationally or use overseas fulfillment ? Any recommendation on overseas 3PL to engage ?

thanks so much !!

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