Customs Clearance Challenges: Why Data Has Become the Foundation of Cross-Border Success

CBM: Customs regulations seem to be becoming more complex every year. What are the biggest customs clearance challenges online retailers are facing today?

Guy Cliffe: Interestingly, the biggest challenge isn't necessarily the regulations themselves; it's how quickly customs requirements are evolving across the world.

Authorities are moving away from paper-based processes and placing far greater emphasis on advance electronic data, automated risk profiling and supply chain transparency. That means retailers need to start thinking about customs much earlier in the fulfillment process.

Businesses are also selling into more international markets than ever before, each with different thresholds, documentation requirements and customs rules. Managing that complexity while still delivering the seamless customer experience consumers expect has become one of the biggest operational challenges in cross-border e-commerce.

The retailers that perform best are those that stop viewing customs as an administrative obligation and start treating it as a strategic part of their international operation.

CBM: Since Brexit, how has the customs landscape changed for retailers selling between the UK and the EU?

Guy Cliffe: Brexit fundamentally changed how goods move between the UK and the European Union. Customs is now part of every shipment. Most businesses have adapted remarkably well, but I still see companies underestimating the importance of customs preparation.

One of the most common mistakes is assuming customs only matters when goods are ready to leave the warehouse. In reality, customs begins with the quality of the product data inside a retailer's own systems. Incorrect commodity codes, incomplete product descriptions, or inaccurate customs values all create unnecessary delays, additional costs, and poor customer experiences.

Returns are another area that is frequently overlooked. Many retailers are missing opportunities to recover import duties or simplify reverse logistics because customs isn't being considered as part of the overall returns strategy.

CBM: Many retailers struggle with customs delays. What usually causes shipments to be held at the border?

Guy Cliffe: Most delays aren't actually caused by customs authorities. They're caused by the information businesses submit. Missing shipment data, inconsistent documentation, inaccurate classifications, or discrepancies between commercial documents are what typically trigger additional inspections.

As customs authorities increasingly rely on automated risk assessment systems, data quality becomes the deciding factor. Retailers often assume they need a faster logistics solution when, in reality, improving the quality and consistency of their customs data will have a much greater impact.

CBM: Product data seems to be becoming increasingly important. How critical are accurate product descriptions and HS codes?

Guy Cliffe: They're absolutely fundamental. Good customs clearance starts long before a parcel reaches the border. Every product description, HS code, declared value and shipment detail contributes to how customs authorities assess risk.

Generic descriptions like "gift" or "clothing" are no longer sufficient. Retailers that invest in detailed product information don't just reduce delays—they improve compliance, minimize manual intervention and ultimately create a much better customer experience.

CBM: Regulations such as ICS2 are changing customs procedures across Europe. How should retailers prepare?

Guy Cliffe: The most important thing is recognizing that ICS2 isn't a standalone regulation. It's part of a much broader shift towards digital customs. Authorities increasingly expect shipment information before goods even begin their journey.

Retailers should review the quality of their customs data today, work closely with experienced customs partners, and ensure their systems can support different international reporting requirements. Businesses that build flexibility now will adapt far more easily as new regulations continue to emerge.

CBM: How do customs challenges differ between marketplaces and mid-sized online retailers?

Guy Cliffe: Large marketplaces benefit from enormous scale and sophisticated technology, but they also have to manage millions of products from thousands of different sellers. Maintaining consistent customs data at that scale is extremely challenging.

Mid-sized retailers usually have much greater control over their own product information, but often lack dedicated customs expertise or experience entering new international markets. Despite those differences, the fundamentals remain exactly the same. Success depends on accurate data, robust processes, and choosing the right customs partner.

CBM: Returns aren't usually associated with customs. Why should retailers think differently?

Guy Cliffe: Returns should be part of every retailer's customs strategy. Every returned item may involve import duties, VAT, and customs procedures. One of the biggest missed opportunities is the recovery of duty.

Many retailers are entitled to reclaim duties on returned goods but simply don't have the processes in place to do so. A well-managed returns operation doesn't just improve customer experience; it improves cash flow and reduces unnecessary costs.

CBM: Technology is transforming customs. Which innovations are having the biggest impact?

Guy Cliffe: Automation is removing much of the manual work that has traditionally slowed customs. Direct integration between retailer systems and customs platforms helps ensure information is captured accurately and submitted consistently.

We're also seeing automated validation tools identify missing or inconsistent data before shipments even reach customs. Looking ahead, intelligent technologies that provide better supply chain visibility and identify compliance risks before goods move will become increasingly valuable.

CBM: Finally, what should retailers prepare for over the next two to three years?

Guy Cliffe: Customs authorities will continue to place greater emphasis on advance electronic data, digital compliance, and security screening. Manual processes will continue to disappear, while scrutiny of low-value e-commerce shipments is likely to increase.

The retailers that invest today in robust data, integrated technology, and flexible customs processes won't simply remain compliant; they'll be the businesses best positioned to compete internationally while delivering the frictionless customer experience consumers increasingly expect.

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By Go Global - This 25 October Go Global Ecommerce and Sendcloud are co-hosting a webinar to help merchants navigate cross-border trade from the UK to the EU, and vice-versa. 

Go Global Ecommerce is the #1 cross-border e-commerce solution provider in Europe, simplifying the complexity of D2C sales for companies that are looking to expand into new international markets, while Sendcloud is the all-in-one shipping platform accelerating international growth.

Selling Cross-Border post-Brexit: UK and EU

Join us online for this 30-minute webinar and find out everything you need to know about selling cross-border between the UK and the EU post-Brexit. Receive expert advice from Veronica Comito (Legal Advisor, Go Global Ecommerce), Joe Newbold (Team Lead Enterprise, Sendcloud), and Rehab El Hadari (Partner Manager, Sendcloud), with extra time added to the end according to demand. 

The webinar is packed with essential, practical information to help you sell cross-border. It’s been almost two years since the UK exited the EU and we know how confusing keeping up with new regulations, changes to duties and taxes, and restrictions on shipping can be. But fear not, that’s why we’ve hauled the experts in. In this easy-to-follow discussion, we cover the topics detailed below so that you leave confident and clued up on all things cross-border. 

Firstly, learn about current statistics for cross-border e-commerce sales to the UK – for some extra motivation! – and get tips on what to focus on when selling cross-border to the UK. Next (and tricky but necessary), swot up on data privacy regulations, changes to duties and taxes, and customs declarations. We also give the lowdown on changes made to shipping, and its subsequent effect on delivery times, to leave you as informed as possible.

We provide examples of, and solutions to, potential complications when selling to and from the UK so as to eliminate any doubts you may have. In addition, there will be advice on how to sell via Amazon and other relevant marketplaces. Crucially, we also discuss communications and tax calculations, with a view to helping you keep those customers from straying. 

We don’t want to give away any more spoilers but, rest assured, you’ll emerge from this webinar armed with knowledge. So, what are you waiting for? Sign up today!

The post Selling cross-border in a post-Brexit Europe! Learn from Go Global Ecommerce and Sendcloud appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

A spokesperson confirmed to the new agency that registration of Panasonic's European headquarters would move in October. Up to this moment, it is not clear what the number of people who would have to move to Amsterdam is.

In the meanwhile, the European Union and the United Kingdom are still struggling to reach a consensus on the terms of the UK's exit. Panasonic might just be the first of many Japanese companies that will move their HQ from London to another European location. Japan is a major investor in the UK and, like Panasonic, other firms, including Nomura, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Daiwa already stated they will move their headquarters away from the UK as well.

The post Panasonic moves Europe headquarters from UK to Amsterdam appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and was designed to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens data privacy and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy. The aim is to enable information to be freely shared internally across borders for companies that operate across the EU, but at the same time aims to make it clearer and give more control to individuals as to what companies can do with the data they hold on you.

Many small marketplace traders need not be overly concerned about the implications of the GDPR. However, entrepreneurs still need to be aware of its reach. Comply if necessary, fines can get up to 4% of your (global) turnover. The full impact of the GDPR is only applicable for data controllers and/or processors, i.e. when organizations store information on your customers. If you purely trade on marketplaces and take payment through services such as PayPal, then the impact of the GDPR may be minimal. It’ll be down to the marketplace and payment provider to keep the customer’s data safe and secure. However, if you download customer data and store it on your local hard drive or on a web server then the GDPR definitely applies to you.

The same situation arises if you have your own website/ web shop. If it is a hosted service then you won’t be storing customer data yourself. Again, download your customer data and you need to take a lot more notice of the GDPR. Ultimately, organizations should familiarise themselves with the GDPR requirements which classify more identifiers as ‘personal data’. Under the GDPR even an IP address can be construed as a personal identifier.

If you’re unsure as to how to proceed, the Information Commissioners Office has a data protection self assessment survey to help you get ready for the GDPR. Find key changes of the GDPR here.

The post Will the General Data Protection Regulation apply to you? appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

So far in 2016, the average order value recorded in the index each month has been increasing compared to the same months last year. In June this trend reversed however, with the order value for EU and non-EU destinations falling.

Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics, IMRG, commented: “The data this month provides a reasonably clear indication that there were some early impacts on delivery orders following the EU referendum, but it’s worth keeping in mind that June’s data only included one week of post-Brexit tracking – it’s just too early to say if we are seeing the start of a genuine shift in trends. We knew that sterling would take a sudden sharp hit in the event of a vote to leave, but over time it would be expected to recover again – the more important factor for retailers will be how shopper confidence fares in the long-term.”

However, none of these trends allow any conclusion of consequences of an actual Brexit. Only after the actual exit of the UK of the European Union, with new trade agreements negotiated and a clear picture of selling conditions in Europe and the UK, will the real impact become evident.

The post Uk: Lower cross-border basket values following Brexit appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

by Janine Nöthlichs, Editor-in-Chief

Just to sum up a few things that have happened since the vote: Cameron resigned, Scotland announced it will strive to find a way to remain in the EU, stock-markets reacted negatively, the pound dropped, and allegedly thousands of Britons residing in Belgium have inquired whether they can apply for the Belgian nationality, and companies headquartered in Britain are looking for alternatives. “Uncertainty” may be the word that sums all this up in the best possible way.

Point of no return?
The president of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, made very clear that he wanted negotiations for Britain to leave the EU to start as swiftly as possible “It will not be a pleasant divorce,” he  stated, “But is has never been a marriage of love anyways.” In an interview with BILD/ Business Insider, he made his perspective on the procedure and possible consequences very clear: “The will of the British people must now be put into effect as quickly as possible. Under Article 50 of the EU Treaty the UK must leave the European Union within two years at the latest. Between now and then, after 43 years of European marriage, the whole body of legislation will therefore have to be disentangled. That entails a whole range of specific and very complex questions: what will be the future legal status of the millions of EU citizens in the UK and the millions of Britons on the continent? How will the exit affect thousands of British pensioners living in Portugal or Spain who will lose their access to the welfare and health systems? Fifty-three free-trade agreements, which were negotiated by the EU on behalf of all Member States, are also hanging in the balance for the UK.” Just as Juncker, also the German chancellor Merkel has made clear that the new treaties to be negotiated should in no way become a ‘cherry picking party’ for the UK. But can one live without the other? Economically speaking, the EU and the UK will always remain partners, trade will continue, even if the circumstances have to be adapted.

The big “why”
To many, it has been quite surprising that the British have been the first Member State to officially leave the EU. As the Wall Street Journal points out, "Britain had managed to get itself a deal where it got only the good bits of the EU — free trade and an integrated market, and free movement of people within the union — while keeping its own currency and its own passport controls. The British relationship with Europe was a model for what a slimmed-down, good-parts-only EU should have come to look like." A possible motivation for the ‘Leave’-campaigners might have been raising up the pressure: “Boris Johnson, a leader of the Leave campaign and Britain’s probable next prime minister, hinted at his real thinking back in February, when he said: “There is only one way to get the change we need — and that is to vote to go; because all EU history shows that they only really listen to a population when it says No.” (Source: FT.com)

Already in May, European Council President Donald Tusk admitted in a speech quoted by the Wall Street Journal that “Obsessed with the idea of instant and total integration, we failed to notice that ordinary people, the citizens of Europe, do not share our Euro-enthusiasm.” The threat of Europe to fall apart has shown the political class that an ‘ever closer union’ will only work if the citizens can trust in what they are served.  “The specter of a breakup is haunting Europe, and a vision of a federation doesn’t seem to me like the best answer to it.”

This sentiment was echoed by MEP Nigel Farage (UKIP) in the Europen Parliament on June 28, where he accused EU officials of having “by stealth and deception, and without telling the truth to the rest of the peoples of Europe, […] imposed upon them a political union.”

To Brexit…or not to Brexit?
Another voice that is increasingly heard is that of people that believe that Britain will in fact not leave the EU at all: “Any long-term observer of the EU should be familiar with the shock referendum result. In 1992 the Danes voted to reject the Maastricht treaty. The Irish voted to reject both the Nice treaty in 2001 and the Lisbon treaty in 2008,” writes journalist Gideon Rachman in an article on FT.com. He continues: “And what happened in each case? The EU rolled ever onwards. The Danes and the Irish were granted some concessions by their EU partners. They staged a second referendum. And the second time around they voted to accept the treaty. So why, knowing this history, should anyone believe that Britain’s referendum decision is definitive?” What if Article 50 is never triggered? What if the outcome of all this will indeed be a ‘European Makeover’ instead of Member States leaving the institution?

E-Commerce and cross-border trade
If there has been a European success story of cross-border e-commerce, it is definitely the UK. Europe’s most mature online retail market has not only been a favourite shopping destination for many international webshoppers, it’s retailers also profited from a large international audience. This success was not only fuelled by the market’s maturity and the technological advancement, but also by the fact that English is the most common second language in the world. According to a report by the Ecommerce Foundation, in a world-wide comparison, the UK ranks third, only behind global giants China and the United States. It is the world’s second most popular cross-border destination behind the US, and in terms of per capita online spend, the UK even tops the bill. British e-commerce pure players such as Boohoo.com or ASOS see major shares of their buyers come from abroad. So can we predict the consequences of a (possible) Brexit for cross-border online retail, in Britain and the EU in general? As I said before, this is hard to predict.

The Cross-Border Magazine has gathered some ideas by a panel of experts from diverse fields to shed some light on the possible consequences. Please feel free to share your thoughts as well! I am happy to be part of a vivid exchange!

Luc Delany, CEO Delany & Co, Former European Policy Manager at Facebook:
Whilst the dust settles on the result of the UK’s referendum on UK membership many of us are trying to figure out what this means for our country and for our businesses. What is clear, is that the new Conservative Government will be formed with an un-elected Prime Minister. She or he will pursue a Brexit policy but it would be a foolhardy move to trigger Article 50 immediately and without Parliamentary debate. They may even need to call a General Election as a new Government will not technically have a mandate from the electorate (UK-referenda a purely advisory).

For cross-border business; plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. For the time being the UK is a fully paid up member of the EU and will be until two years after Article 50 is triggered (which may never happen). A savvy PM will want Parliament to back them for the sake of democracy and to share the blame for what happens next. Parliament does not want to leave the EU.

Whatever happens the UK has one of the world’s strongest economies. The EU will want to trade with the UK and vice-versa. That could mean a 3% trade tariff which could be absorbed by currency fluctuations or reductions in other taxes on the UK side. It’s not the end of the world, just the world as we know it.

Sjoukje Goldmann, Cross-Border E-Commerce Researcher, PhD Candidate and lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam:
What we see in our research ‘the state of cross-border e-commerce in Europe’ is that the UK is one of the leading countries on our continent with regard to (1) the number of online retailers offering international shipment in their web stores (50 – 70%) and (2) attracting a good share of cross-border web visitors (> 30%, whilst the European average is 23,6%). Differences in rules and regulations between the European countries are, unfortunately, still one of the main barriers to the success of cross-border e-commerce in the European Union (EU). The EU works hard on harmonizing rules and regulations between its member states, but with BREXIT the UK will not be part of this anymore. If it is both easier and cheaper for European customers to order from other countries on the main land than from the UK, we expect this will negatively impact the number of European customers in the UK web shops.

When the Digital Single market is in place and fully operational, it is more attractive for companies to legally register in one of the EU member state. If BREXIT would not have been there, companies from overseas continents might have chosen the UK as the UK has been known to be a good gateway to Europe. And UK based companies will consider moving to the mainland for the same reasons. So yes, BREXIT will definitely impact the current success the UK online retailers have in Europe and diminish future opportunities they would have had if they had stayed part of the EU.

Lily Varon, Forrester Analyst:
“While the long-term implications of "Brexit" will be hammered out in the next few years, the short-term uncertainties will definitely have an impact on eCommerce and cross border trade in the region. Regardless of outcome, online retailers can expect a) shaky consumer confidence to impact spending, b) uncertain immigration laws to impact staffing and hiring, and c) product delivery and innovation to slow as retailers spend more time wrestling with uncertain trade rules and privacy regulations than improving the customer experience. While certainly a political crisis, whether this will be a short-term hit to business or have a longer term impact depends heavily on Parliament's decisions going forward and, in the case of an exit, the trade agreements established.“

Frank van den Berg, Country Manager and export expert for the UK (Salesupply):
While in the medium to longer term details of trade and other relationships will undoubtedly be impacted, some fundamental things will stay the same:

1. The UK is and will remain the largest e-commerce country in Europe by far, in size equal to France and Germany together. It is also the fifth largest economy in the world, and will continue to be a part of Nato and have a seat on the UN security council;
2. The central financial and fiscal management is exceptionally strong. The national debt as % of GDP has been brought down from 11% 6 years ago to 3%. In other words, the UK economy is one of the healthiest in the Western world;
3. The continent will continue to be the main trading partner for the UK, and the UK one of the main trading partners for the countries of Europe. The fundamentals of the economy and trade will not change;
4. This was not a vote against working together with partners across Europe and the world, not a vote against other people - rather a vote against an institution many people had lost faith in, it is a wish to work together differently;
5. The more structural things like trade agreements will take a few years to sort out. Until then existing deals will remain in place;
6. Based on the Norway and Switzerland examples it is likely that by far the most rules and regulations will remain the same as within the EU and that free movement of people will continue in some form or other;
7. All parties including the EU and UK will have a strong interest in making any changes smoothly without affecting international commerce;
8. The UK has always been on the periphery of Europe, not only in geographic sense. It is also the one country with its own currency, so in that sense nothing is changing;
9. While in the short term the £ will stay lower against the Euro and potentially affect your selling price, local competitors now will have to pay more for imports - putting upward pressure on their prices too;
10. English is still the dominant language of e-commerce and a great UK web shop will continue to be a great shop window to the world;
11. You have and will continue to have a stronger team in the UK standing ready to respond to any opportunity and deal with any challenges.

After the dust has settled, I expect the reality could well be a scenario where it is mostly 'business as usual' within a trend of well-managed change.

No doubt there will be surprises, but these might create as many opportunities as challenges, for our countries, our companies and teams. Let’s keep a close eye on developments and be ready to respond to these and move things forward positively and working together even better.

 The Cross-Border Magazine is a new print magazine on cross-border online selling throughout the world. We will at all time strive to be up to date about all things cross-border, be they financial, political, economical or else. Don't forget to order your free copy!

The post The Brexit: Why? - Really? - And cross-border e-commerce? appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.