• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » How to Navigate Cross-Border Shipping to Latin America

How to Navigate Cross-Border Shipping to Latin America

May 5, 2021
AJ Hernández, SCB Contributor

The fastest-growing regional e-commerce market in the world is Latin America, where last year total retail e-commerce sales grew 36.7%, to $84.95 billion. In fact, the Latin American market represents a major opportunity for U.S. e-commerce. The region has a total population of more than 656 million; Brazil, where e-commerce sales jumped 57% in the first five months of 2020, is the world’s seventh most populous country, and ranks among its top 10 economies in terms of GDP.

Much of the reputation for difficulty in the Latin American market stems from merchants’ attempts to access it via the U.S. Postal Service, and encountering delivery times of over three weeks and sometimes longer. The USPS international service works well to places like Western Europe or Japan, but badly for Latin America. It’s not USPS’s fault; the post office is only as good as its partner in the destination country, and Latin America is dealing with bankrupt and dysfunctional postal authorities that provide highly unreliable service.

Encountering this situation has led many merchants to believe that their only alternative is to ship via the large, well-established (and expensive) international carriers. In most cases, this isn’t a reasonable business proposition, as the shipping cost can easily outweigh the value of the parcel.

To fill the gap between unacceptable postal service and unaffordable international shipping rates, merchants should turn to private delivery networks that understand Latin America’s complex taxation and custom issues, and offer timely, trackable, reliable delivery service throughout the region, at rates far below those of the major international carriers.

Looking to the future, e-commerce, and the logistical capabilities it requires, will play an increasingly large role in the Latin American retail economy. Before the pandemic, there was a trust barrier, with many Latin Americans afraid to put their credit card information online. That included American citizens reluctant to do business with Latin America for fear of credit card fraud. Then came COVID-19, stores shut down, and shoppers had no choice. The last year has created a level of confidence that will sustain the region’s growth in e-commerce even after the pandemic has lifted.

To retain that level of confidence, merchants should use specialists in Latin American logistics to handle their shipping. The most important aspect of logistics is data: the better it is, the better the results, and vice versa. Bad addresses, missing tax IDs or missing harmonized tariff codes result in bad deliveries and unhappy consumers.

AJ Hernández is CEO of SkyPostal Inc.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Logistics Global Logistics Logistics Outsourcing Transportation & Distribution E-Commerce/Omni-Channel Latin America
  • Related Articles

    How to Manage Cross-Border E-Commerce Costs to Booming Latin American Market

    How Can I Improve Cross-Border Shipping Visibility?

AJ Hernández, SCB Contributor

More from this author

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Medical drone

    Amazon May Be Proof That Delivery Drones Aren’t Practical

    Last Mile Delivery
  • Warehouse worker

    Why Higher Wages Alone Won’t Solve the Supply Chain Labor Shortage

    Warehousing
  • Adidas

    From Sneakers to Teslas, China Lockdowns Upend Global Supply Chains

    Coronavirus
  • SEC building seal

    Get Ready for the Next Phase of ESG: Mandatory Corporate Due Diligence

    Regulation & Compliance
  • ESG Guide

    Confronting the ESG Imperative in Supply Chains

Digital Edition

Scb may 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain ESG Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • 3PL Doubles Productivity With Robots to Fulfill Medical Supply Orders

  • E-Commerce Company Cuts Order Fulfillment Time by 40%

  • Fashion Retailer Halves Fulfillment Time With Omichannel Automation

  • Distributor Scales Business by Integrating Warehouse Automaton Software

  • Fast-Growing Fashion Brand Scales E-Commerce Fulfillment With Whiplash

Visit Our Sponsors

Yang Ming Alithya Barcoding
Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics Generix
GEP GIB USA GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated Inmar
Keelvar Kinaxis Korber
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Lucas Systems
Nvidia Old Dominion Parsyl
Redwood Logistics Saddle Creek Logistics Schneider Dedicated
Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD Shipwell
Tecsys TGW Systems Thomson Reuters
Tive Trailer Bridge Vecna Robotics
Whiplash    
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2022 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing