Order Fulfillment Service Europe

Our Order Fulfillment Service gives foreign companies a local presence.

Operate like a Multinational

Use the same tools and techniques multinationals use

See how Order Fulfillment allows you to serve your European customers directly from your overseas factory without the hassle and expense of setting up and operating a European entity and without any distributors or agents.
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Create a European presence without requiring a European entity

CAPLINQ's order fulfillment service gives your company a distinctly European presence and puts you on a level playing field with European suppliers without the hassle and expense of setting up a European company.

There is a lot more to CAPLINQ's order fulfillment service than simply a logistics supply chain into Europe. Though logistics and supply chain services are important elements, our order fulfillment service is more about making your company look, act and feel like a European company.

European customers don't ask European suppliers about duty or VAT

If you walk into your local hardware store, you don't question how they calculated the sales tax on the hammer that was made in Vietnam. If you go into your local supermarket, you don't ask whether duty has been imposed on the bananas from Costa Rica.

You just assume that these business owners have complied with the necessary import guidelines to be able to offer their products at their listed prices. CAPLINQ's order fulfillment service complies with European customs authorities to do the same with your products in Europe.

European customers don't expect 10-week leadtimes from European suppliers

European customers expect their suppliers to have products on stock when they need them. CAPLINQ's order fulfillment service makes this happen.

Use the same tools and techniques multinationals use to save money

Play like a big boy. CAPLINQ's order fulfillment service allows you to use the same techniques and legal strategies that multinationals use to import goods into Europe and serve their European customers.

Multinationals have advantages over small foreign companies, they:

  • Treat foreign entities as factories and import against manufacturing costs
  • Tax-defer sales to their customers, deferring VAT as high as 27%
  • Warehouse in bonded warehouses to delay import

Foreign companies however, sell their goods ex-works their place of business and make their European customers pay duties against the delivered sales price.

Import goods and pay duty against the cost-of-goods sold (COGS)

CAPLINQ's order fulfillment service uses our fiscal representation license to allows you to import the goods against the manufacturing cost rather than the sales price. Learn more about our fiscal representation licence.

Offer your goods tax deferred to your European customers

CAPLINQ's order fulfillment service uses our VAT deferment license which allows your European customers to not pay VAT on goods sold. Learn more about our VAT deferment license

Offer Just-in-Time Delivery to your customers

CAPLINQ's cutting edge logistics and distribution systems allow us to ship, custom-clear and finally deliver the product to your customers cheaper and faster than either you or your customer could do.

Beyond simply supply chain monitoring software, CAPLINQ employs state-of-the-art technology to monitor and track stock levels and sales activity. Our monthly reports, let you know exactly how much of each product is sold, what the monthly usage of each product type is and how long each product has been on stock.

Your inventory is considered a local safety stock

Suppliers using our order fulfillment service enjoy offering their customers a local stock. With 75% of customers within a 24 hour drive and 99% of customers within a 3 day drive, customers consider this a local safety stock.

On a level playing field with European suppliers

Having a warehouse outside of Europe makes European customers nervous. Having a stock held locally in Europe, puts foreign suppliers on a level playing fields with European suppliers

Container Shipping

CAPLINQ has regular shipments of 40 foot (12m) containers traveling from overseas into Rotterdam. Yearly, CAPLINQ moves more than 500MT (metric tonnes) of goods through the Rotterdam port.

Air Shipments

Due to the volume of goods moved, CAPLINQ has preferential rates and arrangements with UPS, FedEx, DHL and others to move goods directly from the supplier’s loading dock to the customer’s receiving dock.

Truck Forwarding

Every day, CAPLINQ takes orders from customers and dispatches products from our Rotterdam warehouse to locations all over EMEA. By refrigerated truck (if needed), we can reach 99% of our customers within 72 hours.

A sales price list for your European customers

CAPLINQ’s order fulfillment services allow you to keep and maintain a specific sales price list for your European customers. Our simple logistics adder means no more guessing how much duty, taxes and delivery charges you need to charge separately.

Unlike traditional distributors or agents, our costs are completely transparent and you know exactly how much your customers paid for your products, duty, shipping and delivery charges. That is our order fulfillment service.

One simple, clear, logistics adder for order fulfillment

CAPLINQ provides a simple, clear logistics adder that is easy to understand. Regardless if you're shipping pails, drums, barrels, pallets or boxes, our logistics adder follows a clear simple formula. Learn more about how the logistics adder is calculated.

Your European customers still pay you directly

CAPLINQ's order fulfillment service acts as an enabler to save your European customers money. The benefits of those savings are for you and your customer. The payments for those goods are still between you and your customer directly.

Unlike traditional agents or partners, we do not charge commissions or fees for our services. Everything above is included in the logistics adder. We like to say that CAPLINQ's order fulfilment services are free. We make our money by taking a part of the savings!

Please refer to the USER GUIDE for our Order Fulfillment Services

Below is the User Guide on how to use CAPLINQ's order fulfillment services, and what is expected from each party.

(Click to view)

PROCESS FLOW

1. Order is placed

Customer orders direct from supplier. Supplier notifies CAPLINQ to make delivery.ORCustomer places order directly with CAPLINQ.

2. CAPLINQ notifies

Notification is sent to supplier of reduced stock level to determine if a new shipment should be made. If so, order is arranged to be picked up at supplier factory.

3. CAPLINQ ship goods

CAPLINQ picks up goods EXW factory, pays trucking, shipping, duty, taxes and all others charges and acts as supplier's limited fiscal representative for VAT obligations.

4. CAPLINQ stores goods

Local warehouse can store products frozen (-40°C to -20°C), refrigerated (+4 to +7C) or at room temperature and ship to customer on received orders. CAPLINQ also handles dangerous goods & aerosols.

5. CAPLINQ delivers goods to customer

CAPLINQ picks the order, packages it and delivers it to the customer. CAPLINQ can deliver 75% of customers in 1 day, 90% of customers in 2 days and 99% of customers in 3 days.

6. Customer pays sales price

Customer pays Sales Price directly to supplier on agreed payment terms.ORCAPLINQ invoices the customer directly, collects payment and pays supplier the purchase price. This is settled in the Monthly Delivery Report.

CONTACT

Want to know more about order fulfillment and how CAPLINQ can help you to bring your business to the European Union? Contact us, we will be happy to help.

Frequently Asked Questions about European Order Fulfillment

What is so special about the delivery of specialty chemicals?

CAPLINQ is particularly skilled in the delivery of specialty chemicals from outside Europe to European customers. This includes but is not limited to epoxies, urethanes, and silicones. What makes this supply chain so tricky is that the products need to be shipped, customs-cleared and comply with REACH regulations while often needing to be kept cool. This makes it a very time-sensitive supply chain operation, to be sure that all steps are completed without the goods being damaged in the process.

Our initial European fulfillment orders are only 10 per month. Can you work with such low numbers?

Absolutely. In fact, you have just described our typical customer. On the very low end, we have customers who have orders only every couple of months. The flexibility of the model allows you to start with very low volumes and therefore have very low fixed costs. As the business grows, the model scales up as well - keeping your costs always in line with your top line sales performance.

Are CAPLINQ's order fulfillment services equally relevant to B2B and B2C relationships with EU customers?

Our services are equally relevant for B2B and B2C EU customers. Customers without a valid VAT # (ie most B2C customers) will have VAT levied. The rate of VAT levied is determined by the company that ultimately invoices the customer.

I like to know my exact costs upfront. Can you give me the exact price for order fulfillment for each item I want to sell?

Absolutely. We can normally give you all the prices in a day or two once we load the foreign supplier's products into our system. We need only to know the dimensions, gross weight, COGS, and sales price, and the system provides these numbers immediately. The number we give you is fixed for each product. Fixed, predictable, and known ahead of time - this is why we tell you that you can have a European price list.

How are the issues of taxes and duties dealt with when using CAPLINQ's European Order Fulfillment service?

At the time CAPLINQ and the foreign supplier enter into an order fulfillment agreement, there is also an agreement to appoint CAPLINQ as the foreign supplier's fiscal representative.

How can CAPLINQ's logistics platform compete against DHL, UPS or FedEx?

It's simple, we don't. The companies listed above are freight-forwarding companies that ship goods from A to B. The supply chain management of goods to manufacturers is totally different. In this supply chain, there are borders, duties and tariff codes. On top of that, there are warehouses, delivery schedules, and order call-offs. Add to that just-in-time delivery, consignment stocks and minimum inventory levels and you see that there is a lot more to it than simply the delivery of goods. DHL, UPS and FedEx supply delivery services, CAPLINQ provides a logistics platform.

Does CAPLINQ charge a fee for such invoicing transactions?

The fee is the "order fulfillment fee" which is a price per order processed and includes picking, packaging, labeling, shipping and invoicing (if supplier prefers CAPLINQ to invoice). It also includes the accounting required as part of the fiscal representation agreement. There are no other transaction fees.

You mention the high fees involved with accepting wires from overseas. How exactly does CAPLINQ help with this?

Several ways: 1. We minimize the number of transactions by grouping all transactions into one per month instead of all individual. 2. We have very competitive foreign exchange rate fees that are a fraction of banks, PayPal, or other. 3. We can accept most payment directly in the end customer's original currency.

Are there any countries that you are not able to ship to? (eg. Russia, etc.)

No. We can ship anywhere. The fiscal representation portion is only relevant for EU countries where we facilitate the actual import.

Are we able to send shipments from your warehouse to our customers via our own shipping companies (FedEx, DHL, etc) if we want?

Yes you can. There is a pick-up fee associated with the last mile delivery however if you do not use our carriers. The pickup fee depends on the billable weight of the product.

Can we receive a quote for your current shipping rates for us to compare?

Of course. What we need specifically are the box dimensions and the gross weight. We also need to know if you will provide products in "ready-to-ship" boxes or if we need to repack them into shipping boxes.

You mention that CAPLINQ is able to handle customer inquiries? What exactly is the scope of the customer service that is meant by this?

This depends on the customer. If the customer likes, CAPLINQ can handle the communication of the delivery to the customer, or we will provide you with tracking information to provide to the customer. If there are any questions, refunds or returns necessary, we can also handle these for you.

In your example, you give prices “per unit” and “per item”. If we send out a shipment of 500pcs, is that considered 500 items?

The idea of the example is to try to give you a "cost per unit" so that you can really calculate a "European Price List" based on these numbers. In reality, each of the steps will be invoiced separately: Inbound Shipping, Order Fulfillment Fee, Last Mile Delivery and Warehousing. In the case of a 500pcs shipment there will be one charge for inbound, separate charges for each order (or multiple items together), and then the warehousing charge is per unit.

As a foreign company, if I appoint CAPLINQ as my Fiscal Representative, does it mean that I don't pay VAT?

It is never the foreign company that pays VAT, but the domestic European customer. If the customer is a European company with a valid VAT number, then the product can be sold to them without VAT. If it is an individual or a European company without a valid VAT (all legitimate European companies have a VAT number), then you are responsible for collecting the VAT and submitting it to CAPLINQ to pay on your behalf as your Fiscal Representative. More details are available in our user guide.

What about the sales I will make during the year? Do I have to declare it, or does CAPLINQ do this? I read that after a certain threshold, I would need to register for a VAT in that country. How does that apply using CAPLINQ for order fulfillment? I want to make sure that everything concerning my operation in Europe is ok concerning fiscal issues.

Lots of questions in one, but the core message is this: Once you appoint CAPLINQ as your Fiscal Representative, it is CAPLINQ's responsibility to ensure you comply. CAPLINQ has insurance for this purpose and the risk to the foreign company is limited once the Fiscal Representative is appointed. By appointing CAPLINQ as your Fiscal Representative, there are no more "reporting" obligations other than the responsibilities to CAPLINQ as your fiscal representative.

How is the billable weight calculated?

Billable weight is the greater of gross weight or dimensional weight.

How do you apply the maximum dimensions listed at the bottom of the fee table?

Dimensions are cascaded. If the largest dimension does not fit into the largest of the sizes, it cascades to the next until all dimensions fit.

What else separates you from DHL, UPS and FedEx?

CAPLINQ is particularly skilled in the delivery of cooled goods. This means that the entire supply chain has to be refrigerated or even frozen. Along with room-temperature stable materials, we deliver goods that must be stored at 5°C, -20°C and even -40°C. Shipping at these temperatures often requires cold supply chain solutions such as dry ice and temperature monitors to be sure the goods are not damaged during transit. DHL, UPS and FedEx do not always understand these things. We thrive on it.

We want to offer our customers an "all-inclusive" price that includes product, duty and all taxes. Can you do that?

Absolutely, this is exactly the point of our EU Order Fulfillment service, that both suppliers and customers have essentially a "European Price List" that includes all these so that there are no surprises or hidden costs.

In B2C cases, where the customer has no valid EU VAT number, will not the location of the goods and the location of the buyer influence which country VAT is paid to?

No. The location of the invoicing party is leading, not where the buyer or goods are located. If CAPLINQ invoices Germany or Spain, we add 21% VAT to invoices to customers with a valid EU VAT number.

For foreign suppliers with an online store, how should the VAT be addressed for B2C customers? Who is responsible for collecting the VAT when the goods are imported into the EU?

VAT is not paid on import of the goods, it is paid on the sale of the goods. It's not about reclaiming VAT, but collecting and remitting VAT to the proper EU member state (country). Indeed, it is the fiscal representative's VAT number that would be used in the online store, and that is where the VAT would be remitted.

For foreign suppliers with an online store, how should the VAT be addressed for B2C customers? Who is responsible for collecting the VAT when the goods are imported into the EU?

VAT is not paid on import of the goods, it is paid on the sale of the goods. It's not about reclaiming VAT, but collecting and remitting VAT to the proper EU member state (country). Indeed, it is the fiscal representative's VAT number that would be used in the online store, and that is where the VAT would be remitted.

For foreign suppliers with an online store, how should the VAT be addressed for B2C customers? Who is responsible for collecting the VAT when the goods are imported into the EU?

VAT is not paid on import of the goods, it is paid on the sale of the goods. It's not about reclaiming VAT, but collecting and remitting VAT to the proper EU member state (country). Indeed, it is the fiscal representative's VAT number that would be used in the online store, and that is where the VAT would be remitted.

For foreign suppliers with an online store, how should the VAT be addressed for B2C customers? Who is responsible for collecting the VAT when the goods are imported into the EU?

VAT is not paid on import of the goods, it is paid on the sale of the goods. It's not about reclaiming VAT, but collecting and remitting VAT to the proper EU member state (country). Indeed, it is the fiscal representative's VAT number that would be used in the online store, and that is where the VAT would be remitted.

Do you have standard agreements and contract already drafted for these purposes?

Yes, we have two standard contracts actually - one for order fulfillment and one for fiscal representation.

If the customer is B2C and is not VAT-exempt, how will the customer be able to pay through the online store upfront?

This depends on how the foreign supplier prefers to set up the arrangement. They can either have CAPLINQ invoice the customers, or they can have the customer pay them directly, and then you collect the VAT and remit this to the fiscal representative (CAPLINQ).

We would like to offer an all-inclusive (product + shipping + tax and VAT) in the online store up front tp B2C customers. Can we do this?

Absolutely. Unexpected "after-the-fact" costs are very customer unfriendly and leave customers with a bad experience. What CAPLINQ offers is that foreign suppliers can offer a "European price list" that you can advertise on your site (we will calculate that price together). The customer will pay the foreign supplier the invoice and CAPLINQ will send you a monthly fee for order fulfillment based on orders fulfilled - all behind the scenes.

How long is the shipping time to EU customers?

Good question and the answer is it depends. Our processing time is the same day, which means we pick, pack and ship the order the same day it comes in. We work with a number of freight forwarders including PostNL, UPS, FedEx, and DHL and we generally let the customer decide which service and delivery time they want to accept. Shipping times vary depending on forwarder selected and service selected. We have the options to ship from FedEx overnight delivery starting from €17/order to 14 day delivery with tracking starting as low as €1.65/order depending on the final destination.

Can CAPLINQ's Order Fulfillment service integrate with Magento, Virtuemart, Shopify, Ecwid or any other e-commerce software?

Yes. One way or another, we define a process that fits into your existing sales platforms.

Do I need to pack all my products with the same harmonization code in the same box to send to CAPLINQ, or can CAPLINQ unpack each of the packages and sort them prior to delivery?

You can pack as many different products together as you like in the shipping box. Once we receive the box, we unpack it, make an inventory of all goods received and acknowledge them. For the single "order handling" fee, we will take the boxes as received and ship them to your customers. Of course, we can do (almost) anything, including packing, unpacking, repacking or any other special handling, and for this, we charge an hourly rate according to our rate schedule.

Can I combine my Amazon channel with CAPLINQ's?

You can, of course, continue to use Amazon, but you cannot combine the services with Amazon and CAPLINQ. We hope you will agree that CAPLINQ offers a better, more customized service for a better value than what you would get at Amazon.

Do I continue to use my own e-commerce site?

Yes. The interaction with your customer is yours to keep. Once an order is placed, notify us using the tools outlined in the Order Fulfillment Guidebook. and we will arrange shipment to your customer.

Is the payment from my customer my responsibility?

Yes. The sale is done directly between you and your customer, as is the payment. As always, if you would like CAPLINQ to assist (by assisting with payments in Euros and returning USD to you for example), you may ask us to assist.

Do you offer shipping insurance?

Our standard delivery is not insured, but if your goods need insurance, we can absolutely accommodate such a request. The details of how much insurance and the premiums for such insurance can be discussed and agreed upon.

Do you offer returns management?

Yes. Our standard service includes returns management. Our user guide explains how these returns are handled.

How do "repacks" work? What happens if I want to combine two "no-repack" items?

The intent of the "no repack is that the box gets pulled off the shelf, labelled and shipped. This is more difficult with items that are not already prepacked. The data shows that >93% of orders are single orders. This means that multiple orders are the exception, and for these exceptions, Caplinq absorb the cost to pack multiple items into a single box for delivery and is therefore included in the rate.