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Africa
Any company looking to enter the European market should brace themselves for the competition. To give yourself the best chance of success from the outset, the aim should be to hit the ground running. What are the challenges facing you?
Challenge 1: Handling orders
It is not easy to take orders when your team is based thousands of miles away, speaking another language. When there is a significant time zone difference, it can also impact the speed at which businesses can answer customer queries, such as checking product specifications and stock availability. This slows down orders going through to the fulfilment center - potentially delaying hte distribution of goods by days. The lack of local team, therefore, will most likely have an impact on the service received by the customer, the perception of a brand by end users and the overall competitiveness of the business. That is why putting feet on the ground is crucial. Without a regional partner in place, this will require the recruitment, onboarding, and training of a new team, and they will need to be managed on an ongoing basis. This is neither a quick nor an easy problem to resolve.
Challenge 2: Order Fulfilment
Meeting demand quickly and efficiently means having goods available and ready to ship to the customer. This requires storage within a regional warehouse and a fully functioning logistics operation, to ensure rapid deployment and smooth distribution across the continent's many borders. This supporting infrastructure cannot be built quickly, and the local knowledge and experience needed to operate it is not simple to acquire. It is highly likely you will need a regional partner to support this activity.
Challenge 3: Ensuring Payment
The ability to take orders and fulfill them is only worth anything if payment is also received. To enable this to happen, however, businesses will need to evaluate buyers, check whether they have good credit, and determine if prepayment is necessary, or if an invoice can be raised. When customers are slow in paying, it is a huge disadvantage for any team trying to settle an account if they are based thousands of miles away. If there is ever a dispute, it is more beneficial if both parties are working the same hours, speaking the same language, and if both are familiar with local legislation and cultural norms.
Challenge 4: Dealing with the Authorities
Any business trading in Europe is required to comply with various local authorities. You might find the legislation governing their action to be quite different to other regions of the world. For instance, a medical device manufacturer looking to gain a CE marking to declare their product meets EU health and safety standards, will need to meet separate requirements to those laid down by the FDA in the USA. To meet their taxation obligations, such as import customs duties and VAT, businesses not based in Europe may also need to register an EU subsidiary. Managing all these requirements without local support can be complex and time-consuming.
This can be a significant undertaking for an SME, however. It can prove expensive, time consuming and risky to venture into Europe without the support of an experienced regional partner.
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