Cross-Border Crunch Time With Jonathan Witt From Sendle

Peak season shipping can get complicated. International shipping can be a major headache. Combine the two, and it might seem like stress is inevitable. 

But if you follow the best practices recommended by Jonathan Witt, senior partnerships manager at Sendle, your peak season cross-border shipping can be successful and stress-free.

The best way to get started 

If your business hasn’t yet expanded to international markets, Jonathan highly recommends getting started. His advice? Start small. 

“You don't have to ship everywhere. You don't have to sell globally. It's probably better that you are intentional and selective with countries that you want to sell to, because you want to understand the customer base, as well as all the requirements for shipping internationally.”

Avoiding customs delays

Delays lead to frustrated customers—something you don’t want to deal with during the busiest time of the year. By understanding and complying with cross-border shipping regulations, you’ll ensure your goods clear customs and arrive on time.

Jonathan shares a few things to watch out for. “Why do shipments get stuck? Usually because of missing or wrong documents, [like] your commercial invoice, which has all the product information.”

He continues, “Make sure that on the commercial invoice, you're associating your products with the right HS code. Make sure that you're listing the country of origin correctly in case that package does get inspected.”

DDP vs. DDU—what’s best?

If you’re shipping internationally, delivered duty paid (DDP), “where the buyer or the receiver has to pay all the shipping costs and duties and taxes upfront at checkout,” is generally the best way to handle things. 

While delivered duty unpaid (DDU) can work in some situations, it’s best to avoid surprise fees upon package delivery.

As Jonathan puts it, “Being a little bit more transparent … just makes a better customer experience.”

Links

• Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-witt-372a65b4/
• Visit Sendle’s website: https://www.sendle.com/en-us