DHL Global Trade Services: How it works?

International trade can be complex and with the impact of the pandemic on a fast-changing regulatory environment, things are getting a lot more complicated. Market distortions with high tariff rates on certain goods as well as country-wise regulations for import and export of various commodities are key concern areas of global trade. Therefore, in order to deal with these concerns, DHL has introduced Global Trade Services (GTS), also commonly known as Trade Automation Service (TAS). 

GTS is our suite of free tools to help businesses calculate duties and landed costs, understand the paperwork, determine the classification and other common tasks encountered in international shipping. Our goal is to simplify the complexities of global trade and help businesses keep abreast of the frequently changing trade protocols.

This article will outline everything you need to know about Global Trade Services and Landed Costs, thus making your international shipping journey smooth and easy.

What is a Landed Cost Quotation Service?

A Landed Cost Quotation (LCQ) is an estimate of the entire cost of transporting a product from a merchant's warehouse to a customer's doorstep. It covers the product's original price, including all transportation fees (from pick-up to delivery), such as tariffs, customs charges, shipping costs, taxes, and insurance, as well as any applicable handling and payment fees that can be determined at the time of shipping.

Why is Landed Cost important for e-commerce business? 

Knowing the true value of Landed Cost enables you to better understand your true costs per product sold, thus allowing you to set more competitive and realistic rates for your customers and end-users than your competitors. In addition:

• It also allows you to provide fixed pricing to your customers while lowering the chance of unexpected costs for your company.
   
• It assists in making the estimation of unforeseen costs in the destination country.
   
• It enables your customers to have a great buying experience with no hidden charges and quick processing at the delivery location.

Benefits of Global Trade Services (GTS) and Landed Costs Quotation

• You'll have virtual access to enormous volumes of global trade data and rules from over 220 countries and territories throughout the world, assuring you get the most accurate duty and tax rates based on your items descriptions.
   
• Provides product catalog pre-classification (full HS Code) of your product catalog (all SKUs or line items) on your specified trade lanes. This advises you what HS Codes, duty, and VAT rates your SKUs attract for the destination countries you are shipping to.
   
• Receives alert to any trade lane-specific prohibited or restricted items based on your product catalog submission and SKU’s classification, for example, shipping jewelry, precious metals, and animal by-products.
   
• Get notified on any import or export documentation or paperwork requirements based on your product catalog submission and SKU’s classification.
   
• Help you with any specific Customs compliance requirements at export or import by our brokers based on your product catalog submission and SKU’s classification. For example, if you are shipping more than 5,000 quantities of shirts then it needs to be cleared under cargo mode or if your goods’ value is more than EUR 50K, you will need to provide pre-authorization for duty payment.
   
• Real-time API call during checkout returns the estimated import duties and taxes of the items in the shopping cart.
  
  Note: The Landed Cost Quote API can be only called in real-time with the help of a DHL account via the DHL Express Global Web Services platform.

Important Features of Global Trade Services

a) Restricted party screening

Verify shipping restrictions from government and international authority maintained databases of denied party lists.

b) Landed cost estimator

Identify the cost to ship parcels between countries by giving an estimate of duties and taxes and other import fees.  

c) Product compliance check

Ensure that your goods comply with each country’s import and export regulations.

d) Comparative services

Assess sourcing options between countries in a single report stating the landed cost estimates, product, and shipping regulations.

e) Address book

Save your contacts to expedite the form completion process.

f) Trade document library

Obtain a comprehensive collection of import and export documents organised by countries.

g) Product catalog

Store commodities in GTS for easy access to current information.

h) Interactive classifier

Receive Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCN), Harmonized System, Schedule B, ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) codes for any item.

i) Service reports

Store up to 100 shipment profiles for 90 days with the ability to update saved reports for the most current information.

Our DHL Express team cares about you and your customers’ shipping experience, and therefore we want you to benefit from our Global Trade and Landed Cost services. Keeping these features and benefits in mind will help your e-commerce business to grow more effectively in the international market. So, go ahead and start shipping now!

Visit tas.dhl.com and click on ‘Get Started’.