E-COMMERCE

CASE STUDY: import duty optimization

Industry:
European E-Commerce Company
Company Size:
100+
Project Location:
Europe
Problem Statement:
After years of substantial growth in the field of tandem and e-bikes, our customer, a European e-commerce company, faced two challenges that threatened their sales volumes in Europe: increasing purchasing prices and limited import quotas for bikes from China. If our customer would not find ways to reduce purchasing and logistics costs for the bikes from China, they would be forced to develop a completely new supplier base and supply chain in an alternative low-cost country (e.g. Thailand) or lose substantial business to competition.
STREAMLINERS’ Approach and Solution
Meeting:
Get overview of Chinese supplier base, current supply chain, volumes and relevant HS Codes (harmonized codes for customs clearance)
Deep Dive:
Get overview of Chinese supplier base, current supply chain, volumes and relevant HS Codes (harmonized codes for customs clearance)
Hypothesis:
The deep dive revealed that there are no quotas on bike components or spare parts from China and that import duties on components and spare parts are ~20% lower than on preassembled bikes. If we could set up and train a European 3PL for assembling major bike components (e.g. axle, frame, wheels), our customer could order components and spare parts instead of preassembled bikes from their Chinese suppliers. This would save ~10% in freight due to better container utilization and ~20% in import duties. The cost increase for the actual assembly in Europe would be ~7%.
Project:
1 consultant
8 weeks
Deliverables:
3PL for component/bike assembly set up
SOPs implemented, assembly staff trained
New customs clearance process set up with customs broker
Bottom Line Impact:
Import quotas bypassed
Cost reduction ~21%
Annual savings >$0.3 M

Cost Reduction

 

Fees vs. Bottom Line Impact