You have to know what the regulations are and how strict countries are about enforcing them, said Mariano Ferrari, CEO of Healthy Discounts. A customer could order 35 items, and if one of them is not approved for sale in that country, they could kick back the whole order. And we would have to pay the freight charge. Using ClearCross, Healthy Discounts processes orders to customers in foreign countries in minutes, Ferrari said, compared with the two to four hours it took previously. Calculating the costs of delivering goods overseas is another obstacle to global e-businesses.
International shipments involve customs tariffs and delivery fees that frequently change.
The ClearCross service helps companies calculate true shipping costs, including value-added taxes, freight and handling fees, which can vary greatly from country to country. Before using the ClearCross service, Healthy Discounts had to calculate taxes, duties and shipping fees on each order, Ferrari said. And every country has different fee structures. Oracle, which draws 43 percent of its revenue from outside North America and expects to get a growing share of its e-business sales outside the United States, has struggled with customs regulations. Customs is always fluid.