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~ Ranpak ~

Selling abroad: dealing with sentimental purchases
Consumers who are buying furniture and other home
decorations usually make their purchase decision for a
large part based on a feeling. There is sentimental value in
the products they buy. Consumers feel it fits their person-
ality, their own designed home. It expresses a lot about
themselves. Sirbu: “When we started selling abroad, a
major concern was how we could interact best with cross-
border consumers. How could we convince them to choose
Vivre Deco?”

The company these days sells in nine countries, expanding
its business with local partners while remaining in strict
control over all activities. “Recently, we entered the Greek
market, which is challenging in logistics. In most coun-
tries, we settled for a solution with an international active
partner who could adapt their business to our local desires.
Once a cross-border purchase has been made, we ship the
goods to our local partner who takes care of the last-mile
delivery. As that is one of the few moments our consumer
really is in touch with a personal face, we find it extremely
important this is a positive interaction for the consumer.
Therefore, we aim to be as close to the last-mile carrier
services as possible. Another challenge is legislation. While
the European Union promotes itself as being a free trade
region, we still must meet all kind of local regulations,”
explains Iuga. “It can be quite challenging to stay up to
date on all policies.”

Cross-border sales also come with numerous opportunities.
“We believe the local consumer might be the biggest chal- pack large furniture with delicate glass items. How would
lenge and the biggest opportunity at the same time. In order you do that, knowing that most couriers aren’t that focused
to meet their needs, we must be the outstanding service on quality delivery? For most, volumes are just too large to
provider they desire. It means focusing on the client, taking deal with that,” explains Sirbu. “We partnered with Ranpak.
care of every experience they have with our organisation and They could provide us with a solution in which we could
making sure it is as convenient as possible,” says Sirbu. “We pack a huge number of products the same way, providing
do this based on trust, something that develops over time. If our customers a unified delivery style no matter the product.
we can’t meet our supplying demands, all we do upfront has The packaging machines help creating a great experience
been no good. To be as convenient as possible, we localised among our customers. Vivre Logistics makes it able for us to
our shops, as foreign consumers might not speak English. be in control of the last-mile delivery, enabling us to really
We use native customer service agents to service our com- invest in a satisfying delivery model.
munication channels. Now, we are trying to get to learn
a lot more about local habits. The challenging part about A bigger network of connections
sentimental purchases is that it creates its own expectations, Growing bigger comes with ambitions. Context is the
which can differ in our mind and in the consumers’. It is biggest enemy. How do you deal with all partners, all sup-
something completely different from buying a smartphone, pliers and consumers in different countries? “These are
of which everyone knows what to expect. To prevent disap- the questions we will be facing in the near future,” admits
pointments, we aim to culturally translate our content too. Sirbu. “We aim to shorten the supply chain and simplify
all processes to gain as much control of the process. IT will
Working on a feeling play a major role in this. In the future, it is our goal that
Vivre Deco is never sure how products are packed upon technology tells people what to do, and our coordinators can
ordering. “You have to find a solution as you go. We are take care of the people. That way, we can eliminate risks,
working on that every day. It is the reason we get products focus on improving our business even further and grow all
shipped to our Vivre Logistics warehouse first. Our logistics through the supply chain, courier to supplier.” ••
company serves the customer experience the most. We must

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