How to offer fast delivery for international customers
Offer fast, predictable international delivery by localizing checkout and payments, calculating duties and taxes upfront, and shipping duty-paid to prevent customs holds. Contract carriers with service-level guarantees and route orders from the closest viable node. Centralize inventory visibility and order management to select fastest lanes automatically. Display transparent landed costs and precise delivery windows at checkout, provide end‑to‑end tracking and proactive updates, and monitor carrier performance to continually optimize transit times and reliability.
FAQ
### How can I guarantee a delivery window for cross-border orders?
Use historical lane data and carrier SLAs to set country-specific windows, ship DDP to avoid customs holds, respect order cutoffs, and add a small buffer for reliability.
### Is duty-paid (DDP) shipping faster than duty-unpaid (DDU)?
Duty-paid is typically faster and more predictable because taxes are settled upfront, reducing clearance delays and payment holds; duty-unpaid often causes fees, holds, and delivery failures.
### Do I need local entities or warehouses to deliver quickly internationally?
No. A centralized cross-border setup with localized checkout, upfront duties and taxes, and SLA-backed carriers delivers quickly without establishing local entities or warehouses.
### What tracking details reduce international “where is my order” inquiries?
Share real-time pickup, export, customs clearance, in-country handoff, out-for-delivery, and delivery confirmation. Include duty-paid status and estimated window updates, with proactive alerts for exceptions.
