In this edition of our “Ask the Experts”, Trade Duty Refund spoke with international trade and logistics expert, Ben Bagnulo who is based in the UK, about his experience with international e-commerce and the growing challenges for retailers operating in this space. As these retailers face everything from regulatory compliance in different geographic areas to high return rates, Ben talks to us about breaking it all down and working with an ecosystem of partners to be able to tackle e-commerce successfully.

Can you tell us about yourself: what is your background in international trade and eCommerce and what led you to start your own business?

I started my career in logistics working at UPS as a driver, which was an unexpected choice for me but definitely one that brought me into a huge and diverse world I had no idea about at the time. UPS was a great company to work for because of their policy to promote from within, enabling people and giving employees exposure to different areas of the business. I received a promotion every couple of years until I ended up being a Managing Director for one or their new e-commerce products in Europe some 15 years later. It was a great foundation and a great opportunity I never expected to have. Following the big eCommerce boom around 2012, where we saw huge uptake of businesses selling to consumers, one of my jobs at UPS became to support the big eCommerce customers. It was a new challenge, and I was lucky enough to be part of the team that was continually pushing the boundaries and coming up with new ways to support eCommerce. After five years in that role and following some personal changes in life, I felt it was a time for a change for me. I realised there could be a gap in the market for a smaller, more focused, delivery company. One that concentrated on just one or two markets and did it well, rather than catering for the whole huge world of e-commerce. That’s how SAMOS came about.

Can you tell us a bit about what SAMOS does. What sets you apart from other eCommerce delivery companies?

My business partners and I created SAMOS to keep shipping simple for eCommerce companies. We started in 2018 – and set out to provide a service that was solutions focused, transparent and able to adapt to our customers requirements (instead of the other way round). We’re different because we’re smaller than the big delivery companies, so we can be a lot more agile in the way we work, and this makes our service consistently reliable and cost effective. And you’ll always get someone on the end of the phone who knows their stuff – there’s no escalating calls at SAMOS. We believe that’s important, so that everybody is fully informed, and problems can be dealt with quickly and effectively.

How is eCommerce becoming more complex for retailers who operate globally?

When I started out in e-Commerce, back in 2012, there were old rules based on the customs rules that had been around for many years. With the rise of e-Commerce volumes, the government has become a lot more targeted in putting regulations in place, as a lot of tax revenue was being lost. So now they know exactly what is coming in and out of the country and what tax revenue they are getting from eCommerce. That is necessary, but it does create more delivery challenges. It’s pretty much guaranteed that we will see more complexities to delivering e-goods as the process becomes more streamlined in the future and we are prepared for that. The good news is that as the process does become more streamlined it will become more transparent and straightforward for both businesses and consumers.

SAMOS eCommerce works with its clients to make shipments easier. How do you help them deal with customs compliance and processes?

We make sure that we are connected into the data source of our customers seamlessly and all the points that we need to ensure a unified delivery are established. We can then communicate that information to all the various agencies, logistics companies and customs departments around the world that play their part in the delivery. We can also communicate back to our customers when things have been actioned and charged, or if there is any duty to be paid, so the whole process is transparent. It’s all about getting the set up right and making that routine. We also take time to ensure that we are up to date with any changes in legislation, so we are prepared for it and can pass that information on to our customers.

What are the challenges in managing returns and what recommendations might you have for retailers?

I think the biggest issue that consumers face is that there are not a lot of companies providing a good returns service, cost effectively. SAMOS aims to do both. We aim to do it well, and to offer a cost-effective solution for the markets where we offer a returns service. If the solution is a good one and it’s affordable, then many of the challenges retailers face with returns can be rectified, such as making sure that customers get refunded at the right time or making sure that if they need a replacement, it can be done fairly cost effectively. A common issue that retailers face is not being able to reclaim the import duties that they have paid on the customer’s behalf. It’s a shame not to get that back – even if it’s just a few pounds. So we help our customers to get that money back as part of the service. We are excited to partner with Trade Duty Refund to make this happen and expand that service to the UK, EU and U.S.

How do you collaborate with an ecosystem of partners and experts in the field?

No-one is an island. We are a small company, so we rely on expert partners for expert tasks. We rely on them for clearance, air freight, trucking, final mile deliveries and more. Our service is very much like a spider’s web – everything is connected. You need to touch various points to move back and forth in the delivery journey and keep in constant communication. We rely on the strength of those connections; all our partners are incredibly important to us.

The intense business of international trade and logistics requires an ecosystem of players who are experts in their respective areas. Trade Duty Refund is proud to be part of this ecosystem of partners like SAMOS to help retailers make their businesses thrive by removing the costly hassles of global trade. Contact us at contact@tradedutyrefund.com to learn more about managing returns and how to claim back customs duties on returned items.