The end of the small parcel exemption is being answered with European warehouses
The regulatory basis of cross border low cost e-commerce has changed on both sides of the Atlantic, with the US clamping down on the de minimis exemption and the EU introducing a customs duty of three euros on every e-commerce parcel. The answer being built is inventory closer to the customer: logistics hubs opened in Poland and the United Kingdom, with further European warehousing in preparation and a harder push into third party marketplace volume.
- 3 Euros EU Customs Duty, Per Parcel
- $25bn US And Europe Net Revenues
- 2 European Hubs Opened
A fixed charge per parcel does not scale down with the value inside it, so the low value single shipment is exactly what it penalises. Consolidation, forward stocking and multi item fulfilment stop being efficiencies and become arithmetic. The answer being built is inventory closer to the customer, and a footprint decision on a compressed timetable pulls a long supplier tail with it: racking, automation, labour, transport procurement, customs capability and returns processing. Read it as the template for every cross border direct to consumer seller into the EU, not as one company's problem.