Ready to expand into international markets? fulfilrr can help you with every aspect of your global fulfilment.
We can help you make the best decision on how to use our UK, EU and USA fulfilment centres to meet all of your global fulfilment needs. With fulfilrr’s high standards, you can be confident that all of your shipping will be carried out with the same, consistently high-quality service across all of our locations.
Why fulfilrr?
One of the key markets in global fulfilment is the EU and our EU fulfilment operation based in North West Germany offers quick and easy access to order fulfilment and shipping to any EU market.
Shipping time to any address in Germany is normally just 24 hours from dispatch. Other EU countries can be delivered to within 24 to 72 hours.
As a fulfilrr client, you’ll be assigned a Client Manager who will use our order management system (OMS) to help you through the setup process quickly and efficiently.
Help with the VAT and duty process
Fulfilrr’s team and network of contacts make the set-up of a One Stop Shop (OSS) quick and easy.
This means you can register for VAT in a single EU country and take advantage of OSS which has an EU-wide VAT threshold negating the need to register for VAT in every country you sell to. This helps to make your transition to global fulfilment easier.
Along with VAT registration, our network of advisers can help you apply for an EORI, which is needed in order for you to import your stock into the EU quickly and easily.
Although many shipments to the EU from the UK do not currently attract VAT or duty, each shipment still needs a CN22 customs form, we can complete this on your behalf meaning you can focus on shipping your goods out rather than completing lots of paperwork.
How do I reduce my costs and keep my CO2 emissions low?
Working with fulfilrr in both the UK and EU couldn’t be easier. You’ll have the same team and same order management system (OMS) looking after your account for both locations.
Shipping goods shorter distances across Europe does, on the whole, reduce shipping costs as well as transit times. The team at fulfilrr will work with you to choose the best option for the location of your inventory and suitable carriers to choose from.
We’ll provide you with a simple pricing structure for fully tracked delivery, with a single cost price per country for any shipments of the same size.
The only real downside of working with two fulfilment centres is that you’ll need to maintain stockholding in both locations. This may mean an increase in your cost to get your stock to our warehouses, although if you are sourcing stock within the EU, you will of course benefit from both reduced transport costs and potentially, a reduced cost in duty.
fulfilrr will help you work out your financial calculations to work out the best way of managing this, so you get the most benefit from your global fulfilment operations.
Can fulfilrr help me choose a fulfilment centre in the EU or US?
Absolutely! We will help you with all of your global fulfilment needs and our first fulfilment centre in the US is based in California giving you direct access to a network of ports and transpacific shipping routes.
You’ll be able to access all orders through our order management system (OMS) and this will give you the same systems across all of your global fulfilment destinations in the UK, EU & US.
If you’re new to the US we can quickly get you up and running with everything you need, including contact centre services and support.
We ship across the EU, US, worldwide and are Amazon FBA certified.
If you’re an overseas eCommerce seller looking to sell in the UK, fulfilrr can help
If you’re new to the UK market, we can get you up and running quickly and efficiently.
Our team has considerable experience in helping international customers launch into the UK market and fulfilrr has set up UK operations to meet global fulfilment requirements for clients in Asia, the EU and US.
With the wide choice of global fulfilment centres that we offer and our tailored service suited to the needs of your business, you can feel confident that your sales operations in the UK will go smoothly.
Where should I store and ship my inventory?
This is no easy decision to make, but as you split your inventory between locations the complexity of not only your order fulfilment but also your supply chain and management increases substantially.
We can help you understand the costs and benefits of each option as we help you with your global fulfilment business planning.
When is the right time to set up internationally?
- Are you prepared for the increase in costs and your inventory requirements?
- Do you already have a global fulfilment demand from another country? And is this a consistent or one-off demand?
- Will your existing website cover this demand?
- Will you need a new website or a new language/currency added to manage your global fulfilment?
- Is your marketing proposition for the new market the same as your existing market?
- Can you repeat how you grew your business before and scale up?
- Have you exhausted all the opportunities that you have with existing markets before using resources to enter a new market?
Understanding your duties around tax
As a fulfilrr client, you can speak to our advisors for guidance on tax rules and exemptions.
It can all be a bit mind-boggling so we’ve listed a few terms to help explain them.
VAT
Is value-added tax. It’s a consumption tax that is added to a product’s selling price whenever value is added at a stage of the supply chain. This includes from production to the point where the product is sold.
Each country defines its own VAT rates and how they are applied to products and services. Rate variations include standard VAT, reduced VAT and some zero-rated exemptions.
VAT Registered
VAT-registered businesses have a responsibility to:
- charge VAT on their goods or services within the UK and EU
- charge destination VAT to EU customers on their OSS
- reclaim any VAT they’ve paid on business-related goods or services
- report to the relevant tax office the amount of VAT you’ve charged and the amount of VAT you’ve paid
- report this through a VAT Return, which is usually due every month or quarter, depending on the jurisdiction.
VAT Obligations
Managing VAT registration and compliance.
Many companies have an in-house VAT function that takes care of their local VAT obligations. These are usually relatively simple and easier to manage.
When cross-border/foreign VAT obligations arise as a result of global fulfilment, many companies prefer to employ a specialist to help them. We have a number of specialists in our network of advisers.
Import VAT
In order to clear goods into either the UK or the EU, you are required to pay import VAT. This is calculated at the VAT rate of the country on the value of the goods being imported. It is a one-off fee and it has to be paid each time goods are imported into the country.
EORI
Is an Economic Operators Registration and Identification number. It is connected to a VAT registration number and is required in order to have goods cleared into the country.
VAT registration number
You’ll need a VAT registration number in order to sell in the UK or the EU and if you are carrying out taxable activities in the UK or the EU but do not have a physical presence in the country.
The very basic rule for VAT registration is as follows: if your orders are fulfilled from a country, you must register for VAT in that country. It’s as simple as that. So if your orders are fulfilled in the UK, you’ll need a UK VAT number, in Germany a German VAT number and so on.
The warehouse location will be recorded as the country of origin when your goods are then shipped to end customers in other countries.
UK Warehouse
Fulfilling from our UK warehouse.
The storage of stock in the UK for resale triggers the need for a UK VAT registration.
If you’re also selling to EU customers from your UK located stock, our team will help you through this process.
EU Warehouse
Fulfilling from our EU warehouse.
Once you’re registered for VAT you can create a One Stop Shop (OSS), which means, with some exceptions, no further registration is required.
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