How to ship parcels into the EU without customs refusals, delays, and problems

• The Problem
• The Solution
• Want to know more?

Start shipping with SAMOS | Request a demo

Let’s take a closer look at why your parcels are being delayed, refused and returned by customs in EU member states

We know it's frustrating that parcels containing your customer’s orders seem to face huge issues shipping into certain EU countries on one day and not the next. There appears to be no reason for it. You waste time trying to sort it out, it’s impossible to maintain good customer service and it costs you money.

You’re not alone. Every day we speak to new customers who have experienced this with other providers.

#The Problem

Why does it happen? There are several reasons:

1. The product you are shipping is restricted into certain EU countries
2. Your parcel delivery company is not declaring your parcel correctly
3. Your parcel has been allowed to be shipped to the destination country with incomplete information
4. Customs have changed their import policy on the item you are shipping
5. General customs delays and IT issues

However, there is one much more obvious reason here – your parcel delivery company is shipping directly into 27 EU member states. This means 27 different types of restrictions, 27 different customs declaration processes, 27 different information requirements, 27 different import policies, types of delays, and IT issues. Essentially 27 different set of rules, processes and regulations about what they will and won't accept from the UK. It massively overcomplicates the process, and is totally uneccessary.

#The Solution

The solution now seems obvious. Rather than having uncertainty across 27 different import points, why not just have one?

This is what SAMOS does. We import parcels via one EU entry point, and ship across borders from there without further unnecessary customs entries. It’s immeasurably simpler.

You may ask why the large parcel delivery companies don’t do this too. They can’t. They are shipping hundreds of thousands of parcels from UK to EU every night via a vast hub and spoke distribution and sortation system. It is impossible for them to divert all UK to EU parcels through one EU entry point. It would inundate the point of entry. They simply would not have the infrastructure to cope with the volume of parcels.

SAMOS is small and agile enough to pass all volume through one entry point. But what does this mean? It simply means that rather the uncertainty of 27 entry points, we only have one.

This means:

1. Subject to import regulations in only one EU member state
2. All parcels are declared properly
3. We clearly understand the information you need to provide and make sure we have it before the parcel is shipped
4. Only one set of customs compliance
5. One customs IT system

For example, we recently took on a customer that was having difficulty shipping to Ireland. Most parcels were refused and sent back. The problem was so severe that they stopped shipping into the EU altogether, which had a significant affect on their turnover.

Then they found SAMOS. We exported their parcels to Ireland via an alternative EU entry point. This meant that parcels could be cleared, shipped and forwarded onto Ireland uninhibited - and delivered. This customer recovered their entire EU customer base.

If you are experiencing customs delays and returned parcels, hopefully you’ve had the ‘lightbulb moment’ after reading this.

Please contact us and let’s talk about your individual needs and how the SAMOS service will help you recover those valuable EU customers.

#Want to know more?

How the SAMOS service works

Frequently Asked Questions about the SAMOS service

View the SAMOS full tariff

SAMOS integrations