erics75
Headphoneus Supremus
the logistics of shipping to foreign countries is pretty straightforward, but what most people don't see or understand is the added burden on the company to do so. having been in the accounting department of a small company that started only selling domestically (USA) then expanding to international business, it's pretty eye opening what that entails. without going into detail the cost can be quite large. you'll have to work with lawyers specializing in international sales to safeguard your organization. you'll have to work with tax personnel specializing in international sales to ensure you understand all the tax liability you'll be subject to. you'll have to ensure your ERP is multicurrency/entity capable. ideally you'll create a separate tax entity within your organization exclusively for your foreign operations. you'll have additional staff training as well as possibly hiring additional staff. you'll be upgrading your insurance at significant cost. that's just some of the top level stuff the organization will be dealing with. once you start transacting all manner of unexpected issues can and will arise. it cost my company almost $3M to get it's international sales capabilities and safeguards in place. that's before we ever had one sale recorded. it's not as simple as just tossing widgets in a box and shipping outside your home country. it's a very complex and costly endeavor. if you don't properly prepare for it, it can literally bankrupt you with unforeseen costs and/or liability. trust me, it's no fun when a foreign government notifies you that your operations violate some import law of theirs, and seize all incoming shipments pending substantial penalty payments to them. Brazil, i'm looking at you....
