At Barrington Freight, we have a wealth of knowledge in providing freight forwarding services to our customers all over the country. Not that long ago, it was manufacturers of components and finished goods who needed to access our expertise and experiences when they were exporting goods outside of the European Union. Nowadays, exporting to the trading bloc requires more knowledge of the customs system than ever before. Likewise, we tended to deal with wholesale imports of goods from places like Indonesia, China and India for our clients. Of course, we still offer those services but it should be also acknowledged just how much e-commerce has changed the way forward-thinking freight forwarding companies work.
What has changed? Firstly, the growth of e-commerce in the UK has been astonishing. Today, Great Britain is ranked as the fourth biggest market for e-commerce globally. That means it is ahead of both Japan and Germany, two countries with significantly larger populations, of course. More and more enterprises are springing up to get in on the action, too, with much of the most rapid growth being in the most recent period. In other words, it is not just giants like Amazon and Tesco that account for this growth.
The problem many smaller e-commerce platforms, especially start-ups, face is that they often have little idea how to import goods successfully from overseas and even less of a clue when it comes to exporting to markets in the EU. That’s completely understandable, of course, given how complex it can be to make the right declarations for all the different classes of goods that are traded through e-commerce platforms. What’s even trickier for many smaller enterprises is that they will often be dealing with low volumes. If a customer orders one or two items, then ordering said goods from a supplier in the Far East and arranging the associated importation documents, for example, can take a huge amount of time and be so expensive as to wipe out the margin involved.
This is why so many online shop managers and e-store owners need help. And, of course, it is Barrington Freight that can provide the required assistance. In particular, we have noted a distinct rise in the popularity of dropshipping among e-commerce operators in recent years. It is understandable why so many online sales and marketing firms would prefer to dropship than to keep stock. After all, overseas suppliers can ship directly to customers to fulfil orders. Why not adopt this low-risk, low-cost business model?
The answer is that it can be tough to run a dropshipping enterprise successfully if your customers’ goods are delayed being shipped to the UK and, worse still, subject to lengthy customs checks when they get to British shores. Again, all of these matters are things that Barrington Freight has specialised in as the changing landscape of the world of e-commerce has evolved. We can even help you to export items directly to your overseas clients from your Chinese or Taiwanese suppliers, for example. So, the sky is the limit when you have a professional team of freight forwarders behind you. Why not call us to see how we can help?
