The promise of international e-commerce is clear: fast delivery, worldwide. But once you cross the border, you face customs formalities that can significantly delay your fulfillment process. Delays at the border lead to dissatisfied customers, extra costs, and negative reviews. Fortunately, these delays can largely be prevented with proper preparation and a smart customs approach.

At Van der Helm, we ensure your international orders smoothly pass through customs. In this blog, you’ll learn how to prevent delays while simultaneously improving the customer experience.

Understand where Things Often Go Wrong

Many delays arise from incomplete or incorrect information in the customs declaration. Think of missing HS codes, incorrect value declarations, or unclear product descriptions. Incorrect country codes of origin or missing necessary permits can also lead to inspections or blockages at customs.

These errors are often the result of manual processes or a lack of up-to-date knowledge of legislation. Especially in e-commerce, where many shipments are processed quickly and in high volumes, error-proneness is a risk.

Digitalization as a Solution

At Van der Helm, we use an advanced platform that digitizes your customs processes. This reduces the chance of errors and speeds up processing. Our systems check data for accuracy and completeness in advance. This way, errors are detected immediately, even before the declaration is submitted.

For large volumes and recurring shipments, we work with templates and batch processing. This saves time and keeps control over quality. We also integrate with fulfillment and webshop software, so data is automatically transferred.

E-commerce Customs Handling via IOSS

Do you sell to consumers in the EU from a country outside the EU? Then IOSS is the way to prevent delays. You calculate the VAT directly during the ordering process. The customer pays nothing extra upon delivery, and your shipment is released faster by customs.

Van der Helm handles the complete IOSS process for webshops and platforms, including declaration, control, and digital integration with your e-commerce platform. This not only offers your customers speed but also transparency.

Prevent Surprises in the Final Meters

In addition to customs formalities, pre- and post-transport also play a role. We take care of the entire journey of the goods. From arrival at Schiphol or the port to your customer’s doorstep.

Our experience with e-commerce logistics means we can also integrate your return flows, customer communication, and inventory into one clear approach.

Ready to Prevent International Delays?

Don’t want to lose time and money on customs issues? Van der Helm helps you with a complete and digitally supported process that matches the speed of e-commerce. We ensure your packages arrive quickly and flawlessly at the customer’s location, anywhere in the world. Curious how we get your e-commerce logistics through customs without delay? Read more on our page about customs handling.