Ep 226: Will Brexit and the STOP Act kill cross-border e-commerce?

Is seamless global cross-border e-commerce a thing of the past? Brexit has already disrupted international parcel delivery. Martyn Noble and David Spottiswood, co-founders of Hurricane Modular Commerce join me to discuss: Barriers coming up in cross-border e-commerce How data can facilitate a return to seamless cross-border e-commerce The "wild west" days are over! Data is now hugely important The size of the global cross-border market - and how much is being carried by the world's postal operators Going from a hybrid paper/data international model to a huge scale market that requires data and digital processes The doorstep surprise - customers having to pay extra duties/customs charges to the delivery company for receipt of their cross-border purchases Mainstream media coverage of the doorstep surprise phenomenon The need for cost transparency at the point of purchase What happens to refused deliveries? The costly and inefficient returns process - in a very tight air cargo market Delivery companies, retailers, and 3PLs having to respond to Brexit, ICS2, Stop Act, and new VAT regulations Carriers don't want to deal with payments at the customer's doorstep ICS2 coming into effect on 15 March - implications for selling into the EU The importance of the UK and EU markets STOP Act - new implementation date of 15 March Risk of non-compliance with STOP Act for articles bound for the USA - could up to 750m parcels be rejected per year? Have retailers been lulled into a false sense of security over cross-border compliance? Item data: Product description, commodity description, customs coding, consignee/consignor information Regulation - cost or opportunity? 2021 is not the end of increasing regulation of cross-border e-commerce, including duty on inbound parcels China's increasing interest in compliance New export controls - including denied parties - for parcels coming out of China Increasing scrutiny of description of goods - "gift" will no longer be acceptable! An example of how bpost is already enforcing this at the post office counter (harmonised codes, HS6, etc) The importance of data in driving customs codes and customs inspections The first file to the last mile