E-commerce: Four “make or break” challenges

Although growth and reaching new customers across continents is a good sign for any business, global expansion in e-commerce brings its own set of challenges: from navigating complex logistics to managing costs and integrating multiple sales channels. By adopting smart strategies and leveraging the expertise of experienced logistics partners, businesses can simplify operations, achieve sustainable growth, and focus on what matters most – delivering exceptional services and products to their customers.

E-Commerce Challenge 1: Entering New Markets

Expanding into new markets comes with significant logistical and regulatory challenges. From customs requirements to last-mile delivery, businesses must carefully consider how to streamline their operations while maintaining cost efficiency and meeting customer expectations.

One of the most effective strategies is partnering with a logistics provider that has a strong presence in the target markets. A robust network of warehouses, distribution hubs, local trucking providers and regional expertise can help businesses overcome common hurdles. Cross-border returns in particular are generally not developed well enough, which is why domestic presence is so important. A fast and smooth return process has a direct influence on customer retention, by allowing quicker refunds as well as opportunities to incentivize consumers to refill their shopping cart.

Take, for example, a German e-commerce seller aiming to expand into the UK market. If every product has to be shipped individually from a warehouse in Germany, the costs quickly become unmanageable – long-distance transportation, customs duties, and higher parcel rates all add up. Instead, by storing inventory in a local UK warehouse, businesses can drastically reduce delivery times, eliminate unnecessary customs processing, and benefit from the UK’s lower parcel delivery costs. This isn’t just about cutting costs – it’s also about optimizing operations to deliver the best possible service to customers.

Key Takeaway: Expanding into new markets requires logistics providers with local expertise and strong regional networks. By storing inventory closer to customers and streamlining cross-border operations, businesses can reduce costs, improve delivery times, and ensure a seamless customer experience.

E-Commerce Challenge 2: Costs & Flexibility

Controlling logistics costs while maintaining flexibility is a constant challenge for e-commerce businesses. Fixed expenses, such as warehouse leases, employee salaries, and transportation contracts, can quickly erode profit margins – especially during off-peak periods when order volumes are lower. For growing businesses, the key to overcoming this challenge lies in transitioning to a variable cost model where you only pay for what you use. A flexible fulfillment model eliminates inefficiencies by aligning costs directly with demand.

This may also include customized solutions with value-added services such as set-building or kitting, local label requirements (e.g. for food supplements), refurbishment and the like. This approach does not only reduce costs but also enables businesses to scale operations up or down in response to demand fluctuations, while allowing online retailers to focus on their core competencies of product development and excellent customer service.

For example, one of cargo-partner’s warehouses in Romania typically processes up to 1,500 orders per day for an electronics retailer. During peak periods like “Black Month”, the company seamlessly scales to handle as many as 18,000 orders daily – over ten times the usual volume. By leveraging flexible warehouse space, on-demand labor, and advanced systems, cargo-partner meets heightened demand without compromising service quality or taking on unnecessary overhead.

Key Takeaway: Flexible fulfillment models minimize fixed costs by allowing businesses to pay only for the resources they use. This approach ensures profitability during off-peak periods while enabling rapid scaling during seasonal demand spikes.

E-Commerce Challenge 3: Marketplaces & Integration

Managing multiple marketplaces like Amazon, Zalando, eBay, TikTok Shop and more, has become a defining challenge for e-commerce businesses. As sellers expand their reach across several platforms, the complexity of handling inventory, pricing, and order fulfillment increases exponentially. Social media shopping leads to unprecedented “ad-hoc peaks”, making fulfillment service providers especially vital in managing fluctuating demands for personnel and equipment. This is typically unmanageable for online retailers, especially when considering the varying demands of different target groups. For many online businesses, efficiently integrating these platforms with a central logistics system is the key to maintaining operational control and leading to drastically improved customer satisfaction. Otherwise, selling products on all these platforms can turn into an operational bottleneck.

The benefits of marketplace integration are clear. For example, the cargo-partner e-commerce fulfillment center in Hong Kong processes up to 3,000 daily orders for brands selling through Shopify and the local platform HKTVmall. Similarly, in Slovenia, an API-driven integration between Shopify web shops and cargo-partner’s supply chain management platform transformed operations for a U.S.-based retailer. In both cases, integrating the warehouse with the customer’s warehouse management system eliminated manual tracking workflows, improved order accuracy, and reduced administrative effort.

Key Takeaway: Integrating multiple marketplaces with a centralized logistics system ensures efficient inventory management, streamlined order processing, and enhanced scalability. Automation is critical for minimizing errors and meeting the demands of today’s multi-platform e-commerce landscape.

E-Commerce Challenge 4: Last-Mile Delivery

Last-mile delivery – the final step in getting orders to customers – is often the most challenging and expensive part of e-commerce logistics. Customers expect fast, reliable service, but meeting these expectations without eroding profit margins requires strategic planning and advanced tools. For online retailers, leveraging the right fulfillment solutions is key to staying competitive. The priority is not moving truckloads but ensuring parcels reach customers’ doorsteps or PUDO (Pick-Up and Drop-Off) points quickly and efficiently.

Key Takeaway: We recommend choosing a logistics provider that combines local expertise with innovative solutions to provide a seamless delivery experience. cargo-partner offers an established regional transport network, thus creating a solid foundation for efficiency.