TheIndustry.fashion LIVE! Noatum on how retailers can tackle shipping internationally

Reporting from TheIndustry.fashion LIVE! ‘A New Era For Fashion E-Commerce’, Matt Fullard, Director Business Development at Noatum, and Hannah Porter, Strategy Manager at Noatum, join Lauretta Roberts to discuss how to take e-commerce abroad.

Noatum Logistics is a Spanish business established in 1963. Today, it boasts 105 offices in 26 countries. It provides its customers -  including Charlotte Tilbury, French Connection, Whistles and more - with supply chain management both at home in the UK and across seas. They work with both early-stage brands and international brands, no matter their size.

Noatum helps facilitate brand growth by providing warehouse space in the UK and couriers to deliver good to over 220 destinations. They work with 15-20 carriers on the current books, so customers can utilise multiple companies without negatively impacting their customer service. Noatum then acts as the middleman, so if anything goes wrong they will resolve it with the courier.

With their research the company has noted key changes in consumer expectations, such as customer’s wants for reduced delivery rates, faster times and the increasing demand for eco-concious options. It data collects customer behaviour, providing businesses with a solution to increasing sales and improving their margins.

Porter said: "It’s about personalising the experience. Put your brand as many places as it can be seen. The more exposure the better." She continues that  adding personalisation on order tracking, for example, increases customer loyalty.

We don’t like paying for things that aren’t tangible, like delivery. For example, 39% of global online shoppers admitted to over ordering with the intention of returning. Many do this with the intention of hitting free delivery spend.

So, when it comes to international orders. The experts told TheIndustry.fashion how to tackle overseas shipping with ease and profitbility.

Porter and Fullard told the crowd that, "transparency is key for international orders". For example, duty charges that come as a surprise on delivery may cause them to shop elsewhere in the future. Global VAT charges range from 14 to 21%. Here in the UK, it's 20%. However, there are many tools that retailers can implement at checkout to calculate tax. What's more, Porter advises retailers to keep an eye out for UK free trade agreements, to help tackle import costs.

Global Currency

Most consumers expect to shop in their own currency and language. So, make sure e-commerce sites are compatible with audiences.

Omnichannel

When shopping online, price ranges may require various couriers. For example, higher-end items may require more expensive, reliable delivery. Where’s retailers can retain mark ups by sending cheaper products with cheaper couriers. In other words, segment supply chains like you would a marketing campaign.

One supply chain manager

By using one partner across the entire supply chain, this reduces cart abandonment, allows ease of flow of data and reduced times to manage multiple relationships.

If retailers already use three couriers, DHL, for example, know the client have more to give. For example, if there are 100 packages being send out by DHL, there are an additional 200 being sent out by a competitor. The courier considers the retailer a 33% customer and treat them as such.

Overall, 52% of UK consumers are spending less online. To combat this, the duo recommend size and fit tools, easy returns portals and for retailers to be transparent about return processing times. A hot topic of today is ‘To charge or not to change for returns?’ Noatum's representative recommend if charging is necessary, explain to the customer why, circling back to the importance of personalisation and customisation.