Our Order Fulfillment Service gives foreign companies a local presence.

What is so special about the delivery of specialty chemicals?

CAPLINQ is particularly skilled in the delivery of specialty chemicals from outside Europe to European customers. This includes but is not limited to epoxies, urethanes, and silicones. What makes this supply chain so tricky is that the products need to be shipped, customs-cleared and comply with REACH regulations while often needing to be kept cool. This makes it a very time-sensitive supply chain operation, to be sure that all steps are completed without the goods being damaged in the process.

Our initial European fulfillment orders are only 10 per month. Can you work with such low numbers?

Absolutely. In fact, you have just described our typical customer. On the very low end, we have customers who have orders only every couple of months. The flexibility of the model allows you to start with very low volumes and therefore have very low fixed costs. As the business grows, the model scales up as well - keeping your costs always in line with your top line sales performance.

Are CAPLINQ's order fulfillment services equally relevant to B2B and B2C relationships with EU customers?

Our services are equally relevant for B2B and B2C EU customers. Customers without a valid VAT # (ie most B2C customers) will have VAT levied. The rate of VAT levied is determined by the company that ultimately invoices the customer.

I like to know my exact costs upfront. Can you give me the exact price for order fulfillment for each item I want to sell?

Absolutely. We can normally give you all the prices in a day or two once we load the foreign supplier's products into our system. We need only to know the dimensions, gross weight, COGS, and sales price, and the system provides these numbers immediately. The number we give you is fixed for each product. Fixed, predictable, and known ahead of time - this is why we tell you that you can have a European price list.

How are the issues of taxes and duties dealt with when using CAPLINQ's European Order Fulfillment service?

At the time CAPLINQ and the foreign supplier enter into an order fulfillment agreement, there is also an agreement to appoint CAPLINQ as the foreign supplier's fiscal representative.

How can CAPLINQ's logistics platform compete against DHL, UPS or FedEx?

It's simple, we don't. The companies listed above are freight-forwarding companies that ship goods from A to B. The supply chain management of goods to manufacturers is totally different. In this supply chain, there are borders, duties and tariff codes. On top of that, there are warehouses, delivery schedules, and order call-offs. Add to that just-in-time delivery, consignment stocks and minimum inventory levels and you see that there is a lot more to it than simply the delivery of goods. DHL, UPS and FedEx supply delivery services, CAPLINQ provides a logistics platform.

Does CAPLINQ charge a fee for such invoicing transactions?

The fee is the "order fulfillment fee" which is a price per order processed and includes picking, packaging, labeling, shipping and invoicing (if supplier prefers CAPLINQ to invoice). It also includes the accounting required as part of the fiscal representation agreement. There are no other transaction fees.

You mention the high fees involved with accepting wires from overseas. How exactly does CAPLINQ help with this?

Several ways: 1. We minimize the number of transactions by grouping all transactions into one per month instead of all individual. 2. We have very competitive foreign exchange rate fees that are a fraction of banks, PayPal, or other. 3. We can accept most payment directly in the end customer's original currency.

Are there any countries that you are not able to ship to? (eg. Russia, etc.)

No. We can ship anywhere. The fiscal representation portion is only relevant for EU countries where we facilitate the actual import.

Are we able to send shipments from your warehouse to our customers via our own shipping companies (FedEx, DHL, etc) if we want?

Yes you can. There is a pick-up fee associated with the last mile delivery however if you do not use our carriers. The pickup fee depends on the billable weight of the product.

Can we receive a quote for your current shipping rates for us to compare?

Of course. What we need specifically are the box dimensions and the gross weight. We also need to know if you will provide products in "ready-to-ship" boxes or if we need to repack them into shipping boxes.

You mention that CAPLINQ is able to handle customer inquiries? What exactly is the scope of the customer service that is meant by this?

This depends on the customer. If the customer likes, CAPLINQ can handle the communication of the delivery to the customer, or we will provide you with tracking information to provide to the customer. If there are any questions, refunds or returns necessary, we can also handle these for you.

In your example, you give prices “per unit” and “per item”. If we send out a shipment of 500pcs, is that considered 500 items?

The idea of the example is to try to give you a "cost per unit" so that you can really calculate a "European Price List" based on these numbers. In reality, each of the steps will be invoiced separately: Inbound Shipping, Order Fulfillment Fee, Last Mile Delivery and Warehousing. In the case of a 500pcs shipment there will be one charge for inbound, separate charges for each order (or multiple items together), and then the warehousing charge is per unit.

As a foreign company, if I appoint CAPLINQ as my Fiscal Representative, does it mean that I don't pay VAT?

It is never the foreign company that pays VAT, but the domestic European customer. If the customer is a European company with a valid VAT number, then the product can be sold to them without VAT. If it is an individual or a European company without a valid VAT (all legitimate European companies have a VAT number), then you are responsible for collecting the VAT and submitting it to CAPLINQ to pay on your behalf as your Fiscal Representative. More details are available in our user guide.

What about the sales I will make during the year? Do I have to declare it, or does CAPLINQ do this? I read that after a certain threshold, I would need to register for a VAT in that country. How does that apply using CAPLINQ for order fulfillment? I want to make sure that everything concerning my operation in Europe is ok concerning fiscal issues.

Lots of questions in one, but the core message is this: Once you appoint CAPLINQ as your Fiscal Representative, it is CAPLINQ's responsibility to ensure you comply. CAPLINQ has insurance for this purpose and the risk to the foreign company is limited once the Fiscal Representative is appointed. By appointing CAPLINQ as your Fiscal Representative, there are no more "reporting" obligations other than the responsibilities to CAPLINQ as your fiscal representative.

How is the billable weight calculated?

Billable weight is the greater of gross weight or dimensional weight.

How do you apply the maximum dimensions listed at the bottom of the fee table?

Dimensions are cascaded. If the largest dimension does not fit into the largest of the sizes, it cascades to the next until all dimensions fit.

What else separates you from DHL, UPS and FedEx?

CAPLINQ is particularly skilled in the delivery of cooled goods. This means that the entire supply chain has to be refrigerated or even frozen. Along with room-temperature stable materials, we deliver goods that must be stored at 5°C, -20°C and even -40°C. Shipping at these temperatures often requires cold supply chain solutions such as dry ice and temperature monitors to be sure the goods are not damaged during transit. DHL, UPS and FedEx do not always understand these things. We thrive on it.

We want to offer our customers an "all-inclusive" price that includes product, duty and all taxes. Can you do that?

Absolutely, this is exactly the point of our EU Order Fulfillment service, that both suppliers and customers have essentially a "European Price List" that includes all these so that there are no surprises or hidden costs.

In B2C cases, where the customer has no valid EU VAT number, will not the location of the goods and the location of the buyer influence which country VAT is paid to?

No. The location of the invoicing party is leading, not where the buyer or goods are located. If CAPLINQ invoices Germany or Spain, we add 21% VAT to invoices to customers with a valid EU VAT number.

For foreign suppliers with an online store, how should the VAT be addressed for B2C customers? Who is responsible for collecting the VAT when the goods are imported into the EU?

VAT is not paid on import of the goods, it is paid on the sale of the goods. It's not about reclaiming VAT, but collecting and remitting VAT to the proper EU member state (country). Indeed, it is the fiscal representative's VAT number that would be used in the online store, and that is where the VAT would be remitted.

For foreign suppliers with an online store, how should the VAT be addressed for B2C customers? Who is responsible for collecting the VAT when the goods are imported into the EU?

VAT is not paid on import of the goods, it is paid on the sale of the goods. It's not about reclaiming VAT, but collecting and remitting VAT to the proper EU member state (country). Indeed, it is the fiscal representative's VAT number that would be used in the online store, and that is where the VAT would be remitted.

For foreign suppliers with an online store, how should the VAT be addressed for B2C customers? Who is responsible for collecting the VAT when the goods are imported into the EU?

VAT is not paid on import of the goods, it is paid on the sale of the goods. It's not about reclaiming VAT, but collecting and remitting VAT to the proper EU member state (country). Indeed, it is the fiscal representative's VAT number that would be used in the online store, and that is where the VAT would be remitted.

For foreign suppliers with an online store, how should the VAT be addressed for B2C customers? Who is responsible for collecting the VAT when the goods are imported into the EU?

VAT is not paid on import of the goods, it is paid on the sale of the goods. It's not about reclaiming VAT, but collecting and remitting VAT to the proper EU member state (country). Indeed, it is the fiscal representative's VAT number that would be used in the online store, and that is where the VAT would be remitted.

Do you have standard agreements and contract already drafted for these purposes?

Yes, we have two standard contracts actually - one for order fulfillment and one for fiscal representation.

If the customer is B2C and is not VAT-exempt, how will the customer be able to pay through the online store upfront?

This depends on how the foreign supplier prefers to set up the arrangement. They can either have CAPLINQ invoice the customers, or they can have the customer pay them directly, and then you collect the VAT and remit this to the fiscal representative (CAPLINQ).

We would like to offer an all-inclusive (product + shipping + tax and VAT) in the online store up front tp B2C customers. Can we do this?

Absolutely. Unexpected "after-the-fact" costs are very customer unfriendly and leave customers with a bad experience. What CAPLINQ offers is that foreign suppliers can offer a "European price list" that you can advertise on your site (we will calculate that price together). The customer will pay the foreign supplier the invoice and CAPLINQ will send you a monthly fee for order fulfillment based on orders fulfilled - all behind the scenes.

How long is the shipping time to EU customers?

Good question and the answer is it depends. Our processing time is the same day, which means we pick, pack and ship the order the same day it comes in. We work with a number of freight forwarders including PostNL, UPS, FedEx, and DHL and we generally let the customer decide which service and delivery time they want to accept. Shipping times vary depending on forwarder selected and service selected. We have the options to ship from FedEx overnight delivery starting from €17/order to 14 day delivery with tracking starting as low as €1.65/order depending on the final destination.

Can CAPLINQ's Order Fulfillment service integrate with Magento, Virtuemart, Shopify, Ecwid or any other e-commerce software?

Yes. One way or another, we define a process that fits into your existing sales platforms.

Do I need to pack all my products with the same harmonization code in the same box to send to CAPLINQ, or can CAPLINQ unpack each of the packages and sort them prior to delivery?

You can pack as many different products together as you like in the shipping box. Once we receive the box, we unpack it, make an inventory of all goods received and acknowledge them. For the single "order handling" fee, we will take the boxes as received and ship them to your customers. Of course, we can do (almost) anything, including packing, unpacking, repacking or any other special handling, and for this, we charge an hourly rate according to our rate schedule.

Can I combine my Amazon channel with CAPLINQ's?

You can, of course, continue to use Amazon, but you cannot combine the services with Amazon and CAPLINQ. We hope you will agree that CAPLINQ offers a better, more customized service for a better value than what you would get at Amazon.

Do I continue to use my own e-commerce site?

Yes. The interaction with your customer is yours to keep. Once an order is placed, notify us using the tools outlined in the Order Fulfillment Guidebook. and we will arrange shipment to your customer.

Is the payment from my customer my responsibility?

Yes. The sale is done directly between you and your customer, as is the payment. As always, if you would like CAPLINQ to assist (by assisting with payments in Euros and returning USD to you for example), you may ask us to assist.

Do you offer shipping insurance?

Our standard delivery is not insured, but if your goods need insurance, we can absolutely accommodate such a request. The details of how much insurance and the premiums for such insurance can be discussed and agreed upon.

Do you offer returns management?

Yes. Our standard service includes returns management. Our user guide explains how these returns are handled.

How do "repacks" work? What happens if I want to combine two "no-repack" items?

The intent of the "no repack is that the box gets pulled off the shelf, labelled and shipped. This is more difficult with items that are not already prepacked. The data shows that >93% of orders are single orders. This means that multiple orders are the exception, and for these exceptions, Caplinq absorb the cost to pack multiple items into a single box for delivery and is therefore included in the rate.