How Small Businesses Can Remain Optimistic When Shipping Internationally

Small business owners are seriously worried about their prospects for driving revenue. A survey carried out by the Job Creators Network Foundation (JCNF) reported that 67% of small business owners are concerned that they might have to close their doors due to the current economic conditions, a full ten percentage points higher than in 2022. 

The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) paints a similar picture. Its in April, its lowest level since December 2012. Nor is this a flash in the pan; April is the 27th consecutive month that the Index stood below the 50-year average of 98. 

There are good reasons for this pessimism. Inflation is a leading concern, along with filling job positions during a general labor shortage and the burden of complying with federal and state regulations. For the 80% of small businesses that leverage ecommerce, these are compounded by the difficulties of international shipping. Intensive paperwork, confusing processes, opaque costs, and the risk of lost or damaged goods are all potential pitfalls. 

While these challenges affect businesses of all sizes, small and medium businesses (SMBs) feel them to the greatest extent. With limited resources and a smaller workforce, it’s harder for them to leverage efficiencies of scale, cover unfilled roles within the company, and complete time-consuming admin and packing tasks. 

In contrast, large corporations are better placed to sharpen their competitive edge, which could lead to them taking over even more of the market share. Here are some of the main obstacles that SMBs face when shipping products, together with some tactics they could use to overcome them. 

Limited manpower

When it comes to time-intensive tasks such as picking, packaging, and labeling shipments, the lack of workers in small businesses can cause significant delays. Customers have high expectations around delivery speed, so businesses that perform longer fulfillment times lose out to larger competitors that can pack and label a box in a fraction of the time. 

Rushing through the packaging process is no solution. It can result in goods that aren’t packed properly and get damaged on the way. Even when products aren’t fragile, they need to be packed in a way that makes the most efficient use of packing materials, so as to reduce costs. 

To help resolve this, SMBs are turning to packaging software like Packsize, which calculates the optimal box size and materials and can automate tasks like verifying addresses, generating barcodes, and printing labels. Some choose to outsource packaging entirely, using services like Land Mark Industries to handle their packaging needs. 

Low priority for shipping providers

Logistics providers and freight forwarders tend to prioritize large corporations that have bigger accounts and higher-volume shipments. SMBs that ship small volumes of goods frequently end up paying more for the same routes and shipments, which further erodes their smaller profit margins. 

SMBs also struggle to find providers that commit to taking their shipment within the necessary window of time. Sometimes, they discover that the shipment they booked has been bumped to make space for a different company. This may cause them to disappoint customers by adjusting the delivery date, which undermines their reputation and damages customer loyalty. 

Small businesses need to carefully compare different shipping options, so they can find providers that have the most cost-effective routes. It’s also important to work only with reliable partners, who value their business and treat their shipments with the same care as those from a large organization. 

The need for dedicated expertise

Sending goods across borders or long distances requires complying with numerous different shipping regulations, but smaller workforces are often short on individuals with deep knowledge of the complexities of international shipping. 

Tariffs can be confusing to understand and challenging to calculate correctly, and each country tends to have its own rules and requirements for customs. Simply keeping on top of all the relevant rules can be a full-time job, but small businesses don’t usually have anyone in that dedicated position. 

The alternative is to seek out trusted partners who can guide them through the process. Freight forwarders designed for SMBs, like Ship4wd, have the experience to steer small businesses through the maze. Ship4wd is a digital freight forwarder that works exclusively with SMBs, fighting to guarantee them container allocation, affordable prices, and provides  a dedicated expert available 24/7 to tend to issues in real time. Freight forwarders for SMBs will guide them each step of the way, which is becoming even more critical as the market gets more convoluted with the continued expansion of ecommerce globally. 

Damaged or lost shipments

There’s always a risk that your shipment could be delayed, lost, or damaged en route, but those risks increase for small businesses. Without experienced employees, they are more likely to find that documentation goes astray or has errors. 

Larger companies have dedicated account managers who can pull strings to make sure their shipment receives a berth when ports are overcrowded. But smaller shipments don’t have these advantages, so they are more likely to be squeezed out and suffer even more delays. There’s no surefire way to prevent these risks, but robust, broad cargo insurance can help mitigate their impact if they do occur. 

Poor visibility into shipment progress

Unlike large companies, small businesses rarely have a dedicated employee who tracks the progress of their shipments. They have no way of knowing if their products have shipped yet, whether they encountered an issue which requires resolution, or if there’s a bottleneck that could be avoided by changing to a different route or transportation method. 

It’s not unusual for shipments to be held up at port because a single document is missing or incorrect, but the business can’t resolve it if they don’t know that it has occurred. Full visibility into the shipment’s progress can also help stop items from getting lost entirely. One solution is to use effective shipment tracking technology like AfterShip, which can follow the progress of each shipment and automatically notify you and/or the customer about any delays or changes. 

Small businesses can overcome the odds

With so many obstacles and challenges on the road to success, it’s no wonder that small business owners aren’t feeling very optimistic right now. However, there are tools and tactics that can help them beat the odds. The right set of solutions and strategies can empower small businesses to forge through and succeed.