The U.S. market is huge, but for a small business to really reach its full potential, it needs to think about expanding internationally. However, international shipping for a small business is daunting. Just as the Internet and online shopping have allowed local businesses to expand beyond their immediate region, package forwarding services can solve a lot of the problems that may make international markets daunting for small businesses.
Some of the problems small businesses encounter when they start to think about expanding internationally are:
International shipping
If you don’t already have an established overseas carrier, or if you aren’t sure how much product you’ll be able to sell in a given market, it might be difficult to negotiate a profitable rate with your domestic carrier. Because package forwarding services regularly ship internationally, they can offer you competitive rates, even on low-volume expectations.
Customs
Each country has its own regulations about how consumer products are allowed in, as well as how they will be taxed. Preparing international shipments, and the accompanying paperwork, can create a lot of extra work for you and your staff. Package forwarding services include all customs preparation and paperwork, shipping your international orders is just as simple as shipping domestic ones.
Fraud
Many small businesses are not equipped to verify the authenticity of international transactions. Package forwarding services can act as a gateway or checkpoint since all your international orders will be reviewed by experienced staff and any suspicious transactions will be verified or returned.
Once you're ready to open your business to international markets, there are wealth of opportunities for growth:
- New markets help you expand the sales of existing products.
- A presence in various markets makes you less vulnerable to fluxuation in your primary market.
- Low periods in regular business cycles can be offset by countercycles in new markets.
- You can learn more about your own products and business through the habits of your new international customers.
Expanding into international markets is easy. Just direct your customers to sign up for a package forwarding membership, let them follow your usual checkout process, and all you have to do is ship their product domestically like you always do. Presto, you’re now a global business!
What markets are you most interested in reaching? Let us know and we’ll tell you how we can help you target a specific region.
I need to ship musical instruments globally and domestically coming from Weifang, China.
My manufacturer is in Weifang, China.
I will need to ship orders from there to anywhere, US and abroad.
Possibly anywhere I get orders from.
Ed, we can definitely help you with expansion internationally, but I am afraid we do not have an office in China to arrange shipments from that market to the US. Our business focuses on distribution of products from the US and Japan markets to other countries.