How International Logistics Works: Key Processes, Challenges, & Strategies

In the past, going global was only an option for enterprise brands and the largest retailers. Today, ecommerce businesses of all sizes have more resources than ever before to expand internationally.

The international ecommerce market is competitive. So how does an ecommerce business expand into international markets with a competitive edge?

It all comes down to having a strong international logistics strategy. Shipping international orders is complex, costly, and time-consuming. But with the right technology, fulfillment infrastructure, and logistics expertise, you can launch into global markets and grow faster than your competition.

In this article, you’ll learn the ins and outs of international logistics to stay competitive, save on logistics costs, and meet customer expectations around the world.

What is international logistics?

International logistics is the process of planning, managing, and executing the movement of goods across national borders. It covers everything from sourcing and inbound freight to customs clearance, warehousing, order fulfillment, and last-mile delivery in the destination country.

But the reality of how international logistics works has shifted dramatically in 2025 and 2026. The suspension of de minimis exemptions, escalating tariffs, and new trade requirements have forced ecommerce brands to rethink how and where they fulfill international orders. According to ShipBob’s State of Ecommerce Fulfillment data, 67% of brands already ship outside the US, and 30% plan to start physically fulfilling orders in new countries in the near term.

What makes international logistics more complex than domestic? Consider the difference: a domestic order ships from a nearby fulfillment center, clears no customs, and arrives in a few days. An international order may cross multiple borders, require customs documentation and HS codes, incur duties and taxes, and take weeks to arrive.

Multiple regulatory jurisdictions, currency and tax differences, longer transit legs, customs clearance requirements, and landed cost variability also add more layers of complexity that domestic shipping never touches.

Why is international logistics important? 

International expansion opens the door to new revenue streams and larger addressable markets. Today’s consumers expect fast, affordable delivery no matter where they live. Brands that meet those expectations earn loyalty and repeat purchases.

Tariff volatility and trade policy shifts have also made international logistics a cost-management priority. Brands that distribute inventory globally can sidestep per-shipment duties and deliver locally. Those relying solely on cross-border shipping face rising costs and longer transit times..  

Key international logistics processes explained

Though it’s never been easier fordirect-to-consumer (DTC) brands to break into new markets, establishing an internationalecommerce supply chain adds an extra level of complexity.

From the types of products you can sell and transport overseas to additional costs ofshipping internationally, there is much more involved in inbound and outbound logistics when building a global brand.

Here is an overview of what internationallogistics operations involve.

Inbound freight and origin handling

International logistics starts before fulfillment begins. Moving goods from manufacturers or suppliers to your warehouse or fulfillment center is the first link in the chain.

The most common inbound freight modes are ocean (lowest cost, longest transit), air (fastest, highest cost), and rail or intermodal (a middle ground for inland and cross-continental routes). Your choice of freight mode directly affects lead times, inventory planning, and cash flow.

Transport modes and tradeoffs

Once goods arrive at your fulfillment network, you need to choose how to ship orders to end customers. Each transport mode has different cost, speed, and capacity characteristics.

For most ecommerce brands, the goal is to use ocean or rail for inbound freight to keep costs low, then ship orders to customers via ground from a fulfillment center close to them.

Mode	Speed	Cost	Best Use Case
AIr	Fastest (1-5 days)	Highest	High-value, time-sensitive, or lightweight goods
Ocean	Slowest (15-45 days)	Lowest per unit	Bulk inventory replenishment
Ground/truck	Moderate (2-8 days)	Moderate	Cross-border (e.g., US-Canada, intra EU)
Rail	Moderate (5-15 days)	Low to moderate	Large-volume inland routes, EU/Asia corridors

Customs, duties, and trade compliance

Customs and trade compliance are the most operationally demanding parts of international logistics shipping. They’ve gotten even more challenging in 2025 and 2026.

The biggest recent change is the suspension of de minimis exemptions. Previously, shipments valued under $800 (in the US) or under £135 (in the UK) could enter the country with minimal or no duties. That threshold allowed many ecommerce brands to ship cross-border affordably.

With the US de minimis suspension effective August 29, 2025, every inbound shipment now faces duties and formal customs entry requirements, which is why 80% of brands said the 2025 US tariff changes increased their business costs.

To clear customs efficiently, brands need several key documents:

• Commercial invoices
• Packing lists
• Certificates of origin
• HS/tariff classification codes
• Bills of lading

One critical decision for cross-border shipping is whether to use DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) or DDU/DAP (Delivered Duty Unpaid). With DDP, ShipBob calculates and collects duties and taxes at checkout, so customers know the full cost upfront.

With DDU, the customer is responsible for paying duties at delivery. This often leads to refused deliveries, surprise fees, and poor customer experiences. ShipBob offers DDP shipping to 250+ destinations, giving your customers a transparent checkout experience that builds trust.

Warehousing, inventory distribution, and fulfillment

Where you store and fulfill inventory internationally is one of the most impactful decisions you’ll make. Brands have two broad options: centralize inventory in one country and ship cross-border for every international order, or distribute inventory across multiple countries and fulfill locally.

Centralizing is simpler to manage. But it means every international order crosses a border, incurring import duties, longer transit times, and higher shipping costs. Distributing inventory closer to customers enables domestic-speed delivery and avoids per-order customs fees, but it requires more inventory planning and safety stock in each location.

The right answer depends on your order volume per market, your margin structure, and your customers’ delivery expectations. The next section breaks this decision into a practical framework.

How to decide between cross-border vs. local fulfillment vs. hybrid

Choosing the right fulfillment model for each market is the most important strategic decision in international ecommerce logistics. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but there is a clear framework for making the call:

Cross-border shipping means fulfilling all international orders from one domestic location. It’s the lowest-complexity option: you manage one warehouse and one set of operations.

But it comes with the highest per-order shipping costs, longest transit times, and per-shipment customs requirements. This model works best for testing new markets or serving countries with low order volume.

Local (in-market) fulfillment means placing inventory in fulfillment centers within the destination country. Orders ship domestically within that country. This means faster delivery, lower last-mile costs, and no per-order customs duties. This model works best for markets with proven, consistent demand.

Hybrid fulfillment combines both approaches. You keep cross-border for lower-volume markets while localizing inventory in high-volume ones. This model works best for scaling brands expanding into multiple countries at the same time. It lets you match your fulfillment approach to the economics of each market.

With these options in mind, it’s easy to see why 44% of brands plan to ship to or fulfill in new countries in 2026. The industry is moving toward distributed models.

“Leveraging ShipBob’s global network to fulfill and ship locally reassures our customers, so that when someone in a key market like Australia or Canada buys from us, they’re not worrying about their order getting stuck in customs or wondering if they’ll ever get their items. They also know it’s not going to take two weeks or more to be delivered, and they don’t have to pay exorbitant international shipping rates.”

Sergio Tache, Founder and CEO of Dossier 

When to shift from cross-border to local or hybrid

Moving from cross-border to local fulfillment is a data-driven decision. Here are the concrete criteria to evaluate:

• Order volume per market: When a country consistently generates enough orders to justify holding local inventory, it’s time to localize.
• Delivery time expectations: UK and EU customers typically expect three- to five-day delivery. If cross-border transit takes 10-25 days, local fulfillment closes that gap.
• Margin impact: If duties and cross-border shipping costs erode your contribution margin below a viable threshold, local inventory eliminates those per-order costs.
• Product characteristics: Heavy or bulky items benefit more from local fulfillment because shipping costs are highly sensitive to weight and distance.

If even one of these criteria points toward local fulfillment, it’s worth running the numbers for that market.

How ShipBob supports all three models

ShipBob gives you the flexibility to run any combination of cross-border, local, and hybrid fulfillment from a single platform:

• Ship cross-border from US fulfillment centers
• Place inventory in ShipBob’s fulfillment centers in the US, Canada, UK, EU, and Australia
• Run your own facilities on ShipBob WMS while also using ShipBob-operated centers

Aroma360 used ShipBob’s UK fulfillment center to reduce international shipping time by 88%, from 25 days to three days, and save $6 per international shipment.

“Distributing inventory across the world with ShipBob also drastically cut our transit times. When we were only shipping from our Miami, FL warehouse, it would take us 25 days to deliver an order to a customer in the EU, while using ShipBob’s UK fulfillment center, it takes only 3 days. That’s an 88% reduction in shipping time for those international customers!”

Rachel Tannenholz, President of Aroma360

Our Place also expanded from two to four fulfillment centers with ShipBob, saving $1.5 million in freight costs and cutting fulfillment times in half to 2.5 days.

“Expanding our warehouse network from 2 to 4 warehouses has translated into $1.5 million in freight cost savings for Our Place. It also cut our fulfilment and shipping times in half, from 5 or 6 days to just 2.5 days.”

Ali Shahid, COO of Our Place

These results show what’s possible when you match your fulfillment model to the reality of each market, rather than defaulting to cross-border shipping for every international order.

How to build a smarter international logistics strategy

With the right approach, international logistics becomes a growth engine rather than an operational burden. Here are four strategies that matter most in 2026.

1. Get your customs documentation in order

Accurate customs documentation is the foundation of smooth international logistics and transportation. Start with your HS codes: incorrect classifications lead to unexpected duties, shipment delays, and potential fines.

Make sure you have complete documentation for every shipment, including commercial invoices, packing lists, and certificates of origin. This is especially important in the post-de minimis environment where every shipment faces formal customs entry.

ShipBob’s Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) model lets brands defer duties until goods leave the zone and consolidate customs filings from per-event to weekly entries. This reduces administrative burden and improves control over imported inventory.

True Classic deferred approximately $4 million in duties on their inbound FTZ inventory, launched in three weeks, fulfilled 300,000 orders during peak, and freed up more than $12 million in working capital.

2. Calculate landed costs before you set pricing

Landed cost is the true total cost of getting a product to your customer: product cost plus shipping, duties, taxes, and insurance. Many brands set international prices based only on product cost and shipping, then get surprised when duties eat into their margins.

Inaccurate landed cost estimates lead to margin erosion if you absorb the duties, cart abandonment if surprise costs appear at checkout, and refused deliveries if you use DDU and customers face unexpected fees at their door.

DDP shipping solves this by calculating and collecting all duties and taxes at checkout. What your customer pays is what they expect to pay.

3. Distribute inventory closer to your customers

The most impactful strategy for international logistics in 2026 is placing inventory in the markets where your customers live. Use the cross-border vs. local vs. hybrid framework above to determine which markets justify local inventory.

Remember that 44% of brands will increase the number of fulfillment centers they ship from? The trend is clear: brands are moving toward distributed models to reduce shipping costs and speed up delivery.

“”Canada is our biggest market outside of the US. We were shipping from our Chicago area warehouse to Canada for a long time. We were missing out on revenue by taking on import fees and taxes. We wanted to outsource fulfillment there to reclaim some of that. We also wanted to help improve customer satisfaction by speeding up their order delivery time and avoiding those frustrating customs hold-ups. Being in ShipBob’s Canadian fulfillment center has been great for us.”

Adam LaGesse, Global Warehousing Director at Spikeball

Storing inventory in the markets where your customers live can be the single biggest lever for reducing international shipping costs and improving delivery speed.

4. Invest in visibility and centralized operations

As you expand internationally, operational complexity multiplies. You need centralized visibility into inventory levels, order status, and shipment tracking across all markets and channels. Without it, you’re managing multiple disconnected systems and guessing at stock levels.

ShipBob uses a single inventory pool across DTC, marketplace, and B2B retail channels, with EDI-compliant workflows that automate wholesale orders. Whether you’re fulfilling from one country or five, one dashboard gives you real-time visibility into your entire operation.

How to evaluate an international logistics partner

Choosing the right global fulfillment and logistics partner is one of the highest-impact decisions for your global expansion. Most brands start by evaluating traditional 3PLs, but the right partner today does more than a traditional pick-and-pack operation. They combine fulfillment, technology, and a global network on one platform. Here’s a framework to evaluate your options:

• Geographic coverage: Do they have fulfillment centers in your target markets, or just shipping agreements?
• Customs and brokerage support: Do they work with customs brokers, or do they leave that entirely to you?
• DDP capability: Can they calculate and collect duties at checkout for a transparent customer experience?
• Technology: Do they offer real-time inventory visibility, order tracking, and integrations with your sales channels?
• Scalability: Can they support you from hundreds to 10,000+ international orders per month?
• Exception handling: What happens when a shipment is held at customs? Is there a clear process?
• Pricing transparency: Are there hidden fees for duties, storage, or international returns?
  

“We knew we needed a partner with a global presence, who could handle fulfillment for us wherever we go. Thankfully, ShipBob has fulfillment centers in strategic locations not just across the US, but all over the world. We’re able to store inventory on both coasts of the US and in the UK and EU, which cuts our average shipping costs and shipping times considerably.”

Natalia Lara, CMO of Oxford Healthspan 

Signs you’ve outgrown your current setup

If you’re experiencing rising cost-per-order on international shipments, frequent customs delays, an inability to offer competitive delivery times, or manual processes consuming your operations team’s bandwidth, it’s time to evaluate a partner built for global scale, one that goes beyond a traditional 3PL with an integrated platform, WMS, and global fulfillment network.

How ShipBob powers international fulfillment

ShipBob is the ecommerce fulfillment expert and supply chain enablement platform built for brands serious about international growth. As a partner that goes beyond a traditional 3PL, ShipBob combines outsourced fulfillment, a proprietary WMS, and a global logistics network. Here’s how it supports international ecommerce logistics at every stage.

• Global fulfillment network. ShipBob operates dozens of fulfillment centers across the US, plus locations in Canada, the UK, EU, and Australia. You can fulfill locally in your highest-volume markets and ship cross-border to the rest from a single platform.
• Hybrid operations. Run your own facilities on ShipBob WMS alongside ShipBob-operated centers. This gives you full control where you want it and hands-off fulfillment where you need it, all managed from one dashboard.
• DDP shipping to 250+ destinations. ShipBob calculates duties and taxes at checkout, so your customers see the full landed cost before they buy. No surprise fees at delivery, no refused shipments.
• FTZ warehousing. ShipBob’s Foreign-Trade Zone model lets you defer duties until goods are sold, eliminate duties on re-exported goods, and consolidate customs filings into weekly entries.
• Omnichannel visibility. A single inventory pool across DTC, marketplaces, and B2B retail means you never oversell or stockout because of disconnected systems.
• ShipBob Plus (US). For scaling US-based brands that need higher-touch support, ShipBob Plus includes in-person onboarding, custom network topography studies, direct access to supply chain architecture teams, and quarterly business reviews with a dedicated executive sponsor.

“Leveraging ShipBob’s global network to fulfill and ship locally reassures our customers, so that when someone in a key market like Australia or Canada buys from us, they’re not worrying about their order getting stuck in customs or wondering if they’ll ever get their items. They also know it’s not going to take two weeks or more to be delivered, and they don’t have to pay exorbitant international shipping rates.”

Sergio Tache, Founder and CEO of Dossier

“The tariff exemptions closing in July 2025 threw a bit of a wrench in things for shipping to the US, but that only makes us more thankful to have a global fulfillment partner like ShipBob that can help us fulfill orders locally in the US and bypass a lot of the complexities. It gives me options that I wouldn’t have had if I kept managing fulfillment myself.”

Luke Rolls, Founder and Director of The Protein Pancake

Whether you’re shipping cross-border today or ready to localize inventory in your top markets, ShipBob’s platform and global network give you the infrastructure to scale internationally without adding operational complexity.

Get started with ShipBob

International logistics is more complex than ever. But it’s also more critical to your growth. The brands that invest in the right fulfillment infrastructure and technology platform today will capture global market share tomorrow.

ShipBob gives you the global fulfillment network, the technology, and the expertise to expand internationally with confidence. Whether you’re shipping cross-border for the first time or localizing inventory in your fifth market, ShipBob makes it simple.

Need a fulfillment partner that does more than a traditional 3PL? Connect with our team to get a customized quote.

International logistics FAQs

Here are answers to the most common questions related to international logistics:  

What are the benefits of international logistics?

International logistics allows ecommerce brands to reach customers in new markets, diversify revenue streams, and reduce dependence on a single country’s economy. ShipBob helps brands expand globally by providing international fulfillment centers in the US, Canada, UK, EU, and Australia, along with DDP shipping to 250+ destinations, so brands can deliver a fast, transparent experience to international customers.

How do I choose the right international logistics partner?

Look for a partner with fulfillment centers in your target markets, DDP shipping capability, real-time inventory visibility across all locations, and transparent pricing. The strongest partners today do more than a traditional 3PL: they combine fulfillment, WMS, and a global network on one platform.

ShipBob, the ecommerce fulfillment expert and supply chain enablement platform, offers all of these along with a hybrid fulfillment model that lets brands run their own warehouses on ShipBob WMS while also using ShipBob-operated centers in other markets.

What changed with de minimis exemptions, and how does it affect my international shipments?

The US suspended de minimis exemptions effective August 29, 2025, meaning shipments that previously entered duty-free under the $800 threshold now face formal customs entry and duties on every order. ShipBob helps brands manage costs through FTZ warehousing that defers duties, DDP shipping that provides cost transparency at checkout, and local fulfillment that avoids per-order cross-border duties entirely.

What is the difference between DDP and DDU shipping?

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) means the seller calculates and collects duties and taxes at checkout, so the customer knows the full cost upfront. DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid) means the customer pays duties at delivery, which often leads to surprise fees, refused deliveries, and a poor experience. ShipBob offers DDP shipping to 250+ destinations, helping brands provide a transparent checkout and reduce delivery friction.

What is FTZ warehousing and how does it reduce duty costs?

A Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) is a designated area where businesses can store, handle, and process goods without paying customs duties until the goods leave the zone. ShipBob’s FTZ model lets brands defer duties until goods are sold, eliminate duties on goods you re-export or dispose of, and consolidate customs filings from per-event entries to weekly filings, reducing both costs and administrative burden.

What does a hybrid fulfillment model look like for international ecommerce?

A hybrid fulfillment model combines outsourced fulfillment with self-operated warehouses. With ShipBob, brands can run their own facilities on ShipBob WMS while also using ShipBob-operated fulfillment centers in other markets. This gives brands full control where they want it and hands-off fulfillment where they need it, all managed from a single dashboard with unified inventory visibility.