Company Spotlight: Landmark Global

Jonathan Simons, Deputy CEO, Landmark Global:

“We are a global cross-border ecommerce logistics company. We support retailers in shipping their parcels worldwide and use our expertise to improve shoppers’ experience and optimise the time and cost of managing international deliveries.”

What does your company do and what is your USP?

Landmark Global is the international division of bpost. We are part of the Elogistics business unit that helps retailers with all aspects of the ecommerce supply chain, including delivery, warehousing, fulfilment and much more. In particular, we specialise in cross border distribution and for over a decade have been helping retailers deliver their international orders.

2021 was a year like no other, as we felt the continued impact of Covid-19 as well as managing Brexit and Import One Stop Shop. Over this period of managing Brexit & IOSS Landmark Global remained ahead of the curve thanks to our in house customs brokers.

What retailer need do you fulfil?

We work with retailers of all sizes from small startups, to multichannel retailers and help them navigate the complex landscape of global ecommerce. Equipped with our expertise, retailers can better understand their customers and identify their unique shipping needs. . Landmark Global understands these requirements in the key ecommerce markets and have built our solutions around them.

How do you deliver on this USP?

Our company vision is embedded across the entire Landmark Global network. We are fully focused on delivering an excellent service to our customers whilst developing new products and services to the market. For example, we help retailers to optimise their returns management, which is a key pillar in today’s ecommerce world. With the challenge of Brexit and the world being more connected than ever, our expertise on cross-border customs clearance is also of great value to our customers. Doing this right is all about data. Customs control and customs clearance is data-driven nowadays . We help retailers ensure the data is complete and correct for a smooth clearance process.

How would you describe your vision?

Our vision is to become the go-to ecommerce logistics provider for retailers looking to expand their international business into new markets. We are quality-focused and driven by the desire to help retailers develop a competitive advantage when it comes to global ecommerce.

How would you describe your growth, what have been the main points in your expansion and what has been key to your success?

We have experienced phenomenal growth over the past few years – especially since the global pandemic started in 2020. While planning for Brexit, we suddenly had to deal with the enormous peak in our retailers’ sales as a result of store closures and lockdown.

Over this period, we have relied on our people, planning and capacity. We are lucky to have highly skilled transport and network teams that had the necessary expertise and foresight to guarantee the consistent flow of customers’ orders. Landmark Global also increased the capacity of its distribution centres close to Heathrow Airport to be able to handle the increased parcel volumes.

Our continued growth has meant that in 2022 we are moving into a new UK facility that will double our capacity which enables our growth to continue.

What challenges are you addressing for multichannel retailers who aim to meet peak season demands?

Peak is always a huge challenge for retailers and our aim is to ensure our service does not fluctuate during this period. Our solution has been built so that we are able to provide choice and in key ecommerce markets we have access to multiple delivery partners. This means that over peak we can move parcel volume very easily between carriers. As a result, the retailers we work with are able to maintain service levels and keep their consumers happy.

How are you using the emerging technology to support the retail growth?

We have an inhouse software called Mercury which is at the centre of everything we do. Logistics and cross-border provision of data from our customers is more important than ever and we pride ourselves in having software solutions that help retailers move their orders across borders into international markets. Through one simple integration, retailers can access a suite of Landmark Global services. Our software is connected to most of the ecommerce platforms which means that the development time for retailers to access Landmark Global is minimal.

What do you see as challenges for the retailers and suppliers over the coming years? How are you prepared to meet those challenges?

It has to be consumer driven returns. The past 12 months has emphasised to online retailers that having a robust returns policy is a must. As cross-border trade continues to grow, returns will only increase. It is essential that retailers review how this works so that they offer a more positive experience to their customers. If the returns experience is positive the consumer is more likely to follow through with future purchases.

An important part of the returns process is to understand the logistics of how to retrieve the unwanted items.

The main options are:

• Provide a pre-paid label to your customers

• Write them off and let the customer keep them – mainly for low value goods.

• Let the customer post the items back and wait for their postage refund

• Engage the services of a returns solution provider

As the world becomes even more connected, dealing with returns is as important as delivering the original order to the consumer.

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