The Ultimate e Commerce Toolkit

1 THE DHL EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING TOOLKIT
THE ULTIMATE
(AND FREE)
E-COMMERCE
TOOLKIT
SET UP YOUR INTERNATIONAL ONLINE
WEB STORE WITH THIS STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
DISCOVER.DHL.COM. Global Shipping

© DHL
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any
information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © Deutsche Post DHL 2020
2 THE DHL E-COMMERCE
EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL
GUIDE SHIPPING TOOLKIT
INTRODUCTION
The business world has never experienced such uncertain
times, but the online retail sector offers one of the few
glimmers of hope in a recession-hit global economy.
IS THIS
As bricks and mortar stores struggle, business is booming
online. It’s a good time to join the e-commerce club and go
digital. This guide tells you everything you need to know
GUIDE
about starting an e-commerce business, from setting up
your website to getting online shoppers through your
virtual doors.
Think of it as a checklist to success, one that will let you go

after the 2.1 billion people expected to buy goods and FOR
YOU?
services online in 2021 – up from 1.6 billion in 2016,
a 29% increase in just FIVE YEARS.
To make sure you know where you stand,
E-commerce is one of the here’s exactly what this guide covers.

Reading this guide will help you:
global economy’s brightest • Create a winning online

retail presence
stars. You’ve got an idea – • Attract customers from
around the world
now let’s turn it into reality • Choose the right shopping cart
and payments features
• Understand inventory
management systems
But that’s not the whole story.

You’ll need more than that to get a
business off the ground. There’s plenty of
things this guide doesn’t deal with, such
as writing a business plan, developing
your product, or international shipping.
This toolkit covers the middle phase of a business:

the ‘digital’ period – after you’ve found your
products and developed your business, but before
digital marketing, inventory management and
order processing.

DHL.COM/DISCOVER
© DHL
STEP ONE
BUILD
YOUR
WEBSITE
EASIER SAID THAN DONE...
BUT FOLLOW THIS GUIDE
AND WE’LL HELP YOU CREATE
A WORLD-BEATING WEBSITE.
Unless you’re solely selling through marketplaces like Amazon

or Alibaba, you won’t get very far in e-commerce without a
website. But you can’t have any old website – you need an
e-commerce website, designed to effectively display your
products to potential buyers, letting them quickly and easily
pay for goods.
The explosive growth of online shopping worldwide in the last

20 years has created a whole new industry – one dedicated
to helping entrepreneurs and start-ups like you trade
to a global audience.
It’s a great time to get started.

DHL.COM/DISCOVER
© DHL
4 THE DHL E-COMMERCE GUIDE
WHERE DO
WE START?
YOU’VE GOT A BUSINESS PLAN. YOU’VE GOT A BUSINESS NAME.
NEXT, YOU NEED A DOMAIN NAME AND A WEBSITE.
How to buy a domain name

If you’re not confident in your tech and internet skills, don’t worry – you’re not alone.
The first step is to register a domain name for your e-commerce business.
1. Think of domain name for your website. DHL’s is www.dhl.com.
2. Go to a domain name provider and see if your chosen domain name is available. There are hundreds of domain
name providers out there, so look around first. Examples include Namecheap and GoDaddy. Some e-commerce
platforms like Shopify can also handle domain name purchases themselves or use a domain name registered
through a different provider. It’s up to you. Some people like the convenience of having everything under one roof.
3. Decide how long you want it for and select your optional services. Domain names are purchased by yearly
subscription. The price you’ll pay depends on the domain name you’ve selected and how many years you
purchase. It’s easy to renew, so go for 1-3 years to start with. Domain name providers love to throw optional
extras at you, such as domain protection, DNS security features, and email and hosting options. It’s up to you
what you choose, but we recommend leaving email and hosting purchases until later – you might not need them.
4. Hey presto, you’re done! Depending on how you choose to go ahead with the next step in the process – building
your website – you will probably need to log in to your domain name provider later to change some settings.
Keep your username and password safe!
How many domain names do I need?

Surely just one, right? Not necessarily. Keep one eye on the future – you might want to register the local country
versions of your domain name to give you better search engine rankings and a reassuringly local presence for your
overseas customers. You may also want to register a few domains with names very similar to yours, so that if a
customer gets your url wrong, they can still get directed to your site. This also prevents competitors creating sites on
similar urls that take customers elsewhere. Get in touch with your domain name provider to find out how to register
multiple domain names.
When it comes to creating a website and getting your web shop live and ready for customers, you have some choices.
Thankfully, they’re all good choices. Gone are the days when you needed to be a pro computer programmer to create
a decent website.
“ IT’S NEVER BEEN EASIER TO SET UP AN E-COMMERCE WEBSITE. BUT

DOING IT WELL STILL TAKES TIME, EFFORT AND INVESTMENT.”
Leendert Van Delft
Vice-President Sales Programes and (Digital) Marketing
Global & Europe at DHL Express
DHL.COM/DISCOVER
© DHL
You’ll still need a web developer

But remember, you don’t just need a website, you need an e-commerce website –
so unless you’re running a small hobbyist online store out of your garage, you’ll almost certainly
need some specialist help somewhere down the line. If you’ve budgeted properly, you will have
allowed some funds to spend on a web developer with experience of working on e-commerce
sites similar to yours.
You may be tempted to save some money and build the whole thing yourself –
certainly, this is possible through a website builder if you’re confident – but think of it this way; if
you were opening a bricks and mortar store, would you decorate the interior and build all the
furniture yourself? Maybe, but you’d probably bring in a professional to do it. Your e-commerce
store is no different.
Jargon Buster
You’ll also need to know a few key terms: Frontend refers to the user-facing parts of your
website. The interface and content your shoppers will see and interact with. Backend refers to
what’s under the hood – the unseen technical parts of your website. Some web developers will
describe themselves as being specialist in one or both of these areas. For smaller websites, look
for someone with both skills.
Tools that help you build websites

Once upon a time, building a website took a team of coders and designers (and for the big hitters
out there, it still does). For startups and sole traders, you had a choice between painfully basic
website building software or rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck in with learning how to
code in HTML.
That was then. This is now. Today there are plenty of websites out there that let you build
a website in minutes. Here are some of the biggest names out there.
Shopify
Shopify needs to be on your shortlist of e-commerce options. Unlike many other website building
tools, it’s designed solely for e-commerce businesses. It offers a range of pricing tiers to suit any
e-commerce business, and its thriving app store makes it easy to add new features. For example,
DHL’s Shopify app lets you offer on-site shipping options and makes it easy to create shipping
labels. There are around 3,200 apps available on the Shopify app store.
Get started on Shopify
1 Million Businesses Use Shopify
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© DHL
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus is Shopify’s enterprise pricing tier, adding the features large global e-commerce
businesses need: high-bandwidth servers that can cope with huge numbers of simultaneous
buyers and support for multiple currencies and web stores. It also gives you access to advice and
consultants - it’s expensive, though, so may be worth considering as an upgrade path once your
store is established and bringing in revenue.
Get started on Shopify Plus
Wix
Wix is quick and easy – for around usd$10 per month you can get a website up and running in no
time. E-commerce takes a little longer, but features and plugins are available to make Wix a more
capable e-commerce platform. As with Shopify and Squarespace (below), you don’t need your
own hosting provider. Wix takes care of that for you. Wix is a good option for total novices, but
be warned, it’s not as adaptable as other systems and won’t last you long if you’re serious about
your web store.
Get started on Wix
Squarespace
Squarespace, like Wix, makes it easy to create good-looking websites using a simple
drag-and-drop interface. Squarespace is equally well equipped for international e-commerce
as Wix – it’ll come down to your personal preference between the two. LIke Wix, it specialises
less in e-commerce than others on this list, but is a decent basic option.
Get started on Squarespace
Magento
Adobe’s Magento is arguably more flexible, but it needs more specialist development skills
– making it best suited to larger, more established businesses. It’s not as easy to use as Shopify,
Wix or Squarespace, but it is much more flexible and customisable – and that makes it a powerful
tool for creating a serious e-commerce website. Magento’s reputation also means it is widely
supported. DHL, for example, has its own Magento plugin that helps you offer easy international
shipping options and quick label printing for your backend systems. Magento is one of the best
e-commerce platforms available, but it is complicated and expensive. Select this option if
you are confident that you will need to scale your web store in the short term.
Get started on Magento
37% of the world’s websites run on Wordpress
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WooCommerce (for WordPress websites)

Before we talk about WooCommerce, we need to explain WordPress. WordPress is a free piece of
software used around the world to run all different kinds of websites. But it’s not designed for
e-commerce – and that’s where WooCommerce comes in. WooCommerce lets you use
WordPress as a fully functioning e-commerce website. Unlike Shopify, Wix and Squarespace
(and other all-in-one services), WordPress requires you to buy your own hosting package.
This can be bought from your domain name registrar or from a separate hosting company,
like SiteGround or Bluehost. Be warned: taking the DIY hosting and WordPress route
can get technical, although most providers make it as easy as possible.
Get started on WooCommerce
BigCommerce
Similar to Shopify, it offers a dedicated all-in-one platform for setting up an e-commerce store.
BigCommerce boasts over 5,000 apps and design partners, and has taken over $25 billion in
merchant sales since being founded in 2009. It supports multi-channel selling, and has the
most built-in features of any e-commerce platform, making it a good choice for established
online sellers, but maybe not for first-timer e-retailers.
Get started on BigCommerce
There’s a dizzying range of other e-commerce platform providers out there. This list is just a selection.
Our tip:
Take a look around and try to get in touch with other e-commerce businesses to find out what
they use. Not sure how to find that out? Use Builtwith.com to find out what technology
other e-tailers are using.
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© DHL
THERE IS
ANOTHER OPTION...
ALL OF THESE OPTIONS ARE GREAT FOR ALMOST ANY SIZE OF
E-COMMERCE BUSINESS. BUT YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING
HOW THE WORLD’S BIGGEST PLAYERS DO IT?
Good question – they’re all different. Most large multinational retailers will use a custom-made
website built by large, expensive teams of specialists. They might be built on custom-made
software or something like Drupal Commerce.
If you have enough funding to invest and believe you’ll be competing with the world’s biggest
and best retailers, then this could be the route for you. But for 99% of e-commerce businesses,
the likes of Shopify and Magento (or any of the above) are the best starting point -
don’t forget you can always scale later on when the revenue is coming in.
5 TIPS FOR A FIRST-CLASS WEBSITE

1. MAKE IT EASY FOR USERS TO FIND YOUR PRODUCTS.
It might seem obvious, but your products need to be front and center.
If the user needs to think ‘how do I buy?’, then you need to change your website’s design.
2. DON’T BE SCARED OF CALL-TO-ACTION BUTTONS.

There is an entire industry – the ‘user experience’ (UX) industry – dedicated to helping
digital entities like yours improve the online experience for the user. UX experts know that
users want to be directed: don’t be scared of adding ‘Buy now’ or ‘Shop here’ CTA buttons.
Users are on your site to buy – make it easy for them.
3. CHECKOUT IN THE LOWEST NUMBER OF CLICKS OR TAPS.

Make it as easy as possible for each user to add an item to their cart and take the payment.
The fewer clicks needed in the checkout process, the more likely you are to secure the sale.
4. USE IMAGES.
Our brains process images 60,000 times faster than text. And that makes photography
and images so important for e-commerce websites. Make sure you have great product
photography. If you can do it yourself, great. But make sure you do it well.
It often pays off in the longer term to hire a professional product photographer.
5. UNDERSTAND HOW CUSTOMERS READ AND USE WEBSITES.

Long blocks of text won’t cut it. Users scan quickly over words on a screen.
They want to pick out the essential information quickly and without effort.
Ensure that the website design makes it easy for them. Use short bullet points
and always ask yourself ‘can I make this piece of text shorter?’
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QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

• What kind of website do I want?
• What kind of websites have I seen that I would like to be like?
• How am I going to showcase my products on my website?
• Who is the best person or agency to help me create my website?
• How can I make it easy for the user to find and pay for products?
Taking payments
Every online store needs a way to take payments. These are called payment gateways, or
payment processors. They allow you to take card payments like Visa, Mastercard and American
Express, but today’s consumers also expect mobile and digital payments like Apple Pay and
Google Pay. Although Apple Pay and Google Pay aren’t payment gateways, the dominance of the
mobile phone in modern life makes them essential payment methods
on your e-commerce website.
Payment gateways include:
• World Pay
• PayPal
• Stripe
• Ingenico
• Amazon Pay
• Shopify
Money, money, money

Services like this charge a flat rate for every transaction, in exchange for using their payment
processing platform. They’re essential for doing business online, so you need to make a
judgement for yourself between the fee they charge and the services (and types of payment)
they process.
WooCommerce, for example, comes with PayPal built-in for credit card and PayPal payments,
BACS, and cash on delivery.
Payment gateways charge 1-3%

plus a fixed fee per transaction.
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Apple Pay and Google Pay

Apple Pay and Google Pay are the new kids on the block. And while they’re not payment gateways,
they are convenient for users and don’t charge you, the merchant, anything to use.
Shopify and some other e-commerce platforms have payment processing platforms built in.
PCI DSS
E-commerce doesn’t work if no one trusts online payments. That’s why American Express,
Discover, JCB International, MasterCard and Visa created the PCI Security Standards Council in
2006. It sets the global benchmark for online payment security, and all businesses that sell
online need to comply with the PCI’s Data Security Standard, often called ‘PCI DSS’.
Make sure your chosen payment platform is compliant with PCI DSS – and, crucially, is able to
handle card payment data without it touching your website or servers. If you store or handle
card data, things get A LOT tougher for your business.
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© DHL
STEP TWO
GET READY FOR

INTERNATIONAL
E-COMMERCE
THE ESSENTIAL TIPS AND TRICKS TO HELP
YOU SELL TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE.
The global e-commerce market is booming. Its

already-impressive growth has only been accelerated
by the pandemic, with e-retail revenues projected to
hit US$5.4 trillion in 2022. And it’s not just the obvious
markets – the US, China, Europe – you should be
paying attention to. Thanks to rapid digitalization and
growing internet penetration rates, Latin America,
South Korea and the Tiger Cub economies are proving
lucrative targets for e-commerce businesses, too.
The good news is, thanks to the advances in

international shipping, it has never been easier to
reach cross-border customers. All you need is a digital
storefront and a little local knowledge and you’re
good to go.
TAKE THE E-COMMERCE

HEALTH CHECK
Get our free quick assessment of your e-commerce
website and find out how you can better attract
international buyers.

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© DHL
Currency conundrums
Customers feel much more comfortable purchasing in their local currency. Adding currencies isn’t
as difficult as you might think. Tools like Global-e make it easy to offer different currencies to users.
98% of online shoppers prefer

to pay in their local currency
Global website, local languages

Make your site as accessible as possible by offering local language options. Studies have shown
that conversion rates increase by 70% when websites are fully localised. But how? Once you’ve
identified which languages to support, you can choose to:
• Use a professional translator
• Use an app or plug-in
Using a professional translator won’t be as expensive as you might imagine, but maintaining your
site will become a major headache. If a product description changes in the original version, then it
needs to change in the other languages too. The complexity is compounded if certain products or
services are only offered in some regions.
If you’ve chosen an e-commerce platform like Shopify, Magento or WordPress/WooCommerce,

then you can install an app or plug-in to do the job for you. Langify (Shopify) and TranslatePress
(WordPress/WooCommerce) are good examples.
The world’s most-spoken languages
• English 1.35 billion

• Chinese (Mandarin + Standard) 1.31 billion
• Hindi 637 million
• Spanish 572 million worldwide
• French 276 million
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Preferential payments; card or …cash?

If you think every online shopper pays via debit or credit card, think again. Consumers’ payment
preferences differ by country. The Swedes favor invoicing; the Brits opt for digital wallets; whilst
in China, where mobile commerce is a big part of daily life, WeChat Pay has 900+ million monthly
active users. In some developing countries, cash on delivery is still the norm (although hygiene
concerns during the pandemic may have reduced this practice.) And that’s just a small snapshot.
Doing a little research into the most popular payment services within your target market will
ensure customers don’t abandon their purchases at checkout.
59% of shoppers abandon carts due to

unfamiliar or untrusted payment options
Make a big deal of your international deals

It may seem obvious, but it’s good practice to be clear from the moment a customer arrives on
your site. Our advice is to place a clearly visible banner on your storefront so your users know
right away that your goods are accessible to them, wherever they are in the world.
Everyone wants an express option

International express options deliver higher basket values with no additional marketing effort.
Customers tend to spend more and returns tend to decrease the further away the online
shopper is from the website’s home country.
Do you deliver globally? Or offer global express shipping options? Make sure your customers
know it – add a callout or banner to your homepage.
Duties and taxes

Duties and taxes will vary for your customers, depending on where they are in the world. But how
much will they need to pay, and on which goods? There are a huge number of variables at play
here. Firstly, it depends on where you’re shipping to. Some countries’ trade agreements mean that
very little or even no duties will apply (for example, trade between EU countries). But the good
news is that partners like DHL Express offer delivery options that take care of this for you.
The customer can select this option at the checkout, giving them peace of mind and the
reassurance that they won’t get saddled with additional taxes and duties on top of the
original cost of the product.
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Double your growth rate

Delivery and Taxes Paid options (sometimes known as Delivery Duties Paid, or DDP) will help you
navigate the choppy waters of international customs and excise. It’s not just good for your
customers, it’s good for you, too: retailers who offer a Delivery Duties Paid service grow
at double the rate.
To find out more about the DHL Express Delivery and Taxes Paid service, get in touch today.
91% of consumers actually want to see shipping and

delivery information before reaching the checkout.
Need for speed

It’s no secret that consumers want fast shipping. In fact, 25% of online shoppers will abandon
their carts if same-day delivery isn’t available. Furthermore, research shows consumers spend
more per order when an express shipping option is available. So, can you afford not to offer this
at checkout?
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STEP THREE
ADD A DASH
OF MARKETING
MAGIC
HOW WILL YOUR CUSTOMERS KNOW ABOUT YOUR
WONDERFUL WEB STORE UNLESS YOU TELL THEM?
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Your first foray into the marketing world should be online. Online advertising, including social media and display
(Facebook ads, Twitter, Google search ads, website display ads) are cost-effective marketing techniques that will get
your brand in front of lots of eyeballs. Here are three types of online advertising you can use:
• Pay-per-click banner ads
• Search engine ads
• Social media sponsored posts and ads
Banner ads
Display ads appear on third-party websites. The largest platform for these ads is the Google
Display Network. Sign up with your Google account to start advertising on other websites
around the web.
Revving your search engine

Google is the world’s largest search engine – and it makes most of its revenue from advertising.
When a user searches for ‘vegan shoes’ or ‘cat flaps’ or anything else, Google (and other search engines
like Microsoft Bing or Baidu) will serve that user contextual ads above or alongside the organic search
results.
These ads are called ‘pay-per-click’ ads. You only pay the search engine money if a user clicks on it.
Essentially, it’s a bidding system, in that the price you pay for each click will vary depending on two
factors – the keywords that you want your ad to appear around, and the number of other brands that
want to appear around the same words. Benefits include a low cost of entry and a global reach
(or hyper local, depending on your preference). Cleverly targeting specific keywords and keyphrases
can deliver good results. But remember, these ads only bring customers to your site –
whether they buy or not depends on your website, products and prices.
Take a look at Google AdWords to get started, but also consider other search engines like Microsoft Bing.
Social Media
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, QQ, Sine Weibo and WeChat have
a combined global audience of billions. Facebook alone has around 2.89 billion monthly active users.
How to get started:
• Create a Facebook business account to start advertising on the world’s largest social network
• Create short videos to promote your business. These videos can be used on your website
and as YouTube pre-roll ads.
• Don’t assume you need to advertise on every platform. Instagram is great for fashion,
while LinkedIn will better suit business-to-business products
• Take a test-and-learn approach to using social media. Try different channels and see how the audience responds.
• Follow these 10 tips to make your social selling strategy a success.
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OTHER
Hit send on email marketing and CRM
Email is one the most powerful ways to drive
MARKETING
traffic to your site. Sending out discount offers
and promoting short-term sales events always
work well, but to really take full advantage of
TACTICS
the power of email, you need a consistent,
long-term strategy.
To get started, you first need to get some

email addresses to send to. These can be
existing customers (as long as you’ve asked
SEO for their permission first, ideally at checkout)
or email addresses you gather by offering
Search Engine Optimization isn’t really advertising – great content, promoted on your site or
it’s a tactic you can use to improve your ranking in organic through sponsored social posts or online ads,
search results. SEO is driven by keywords or phrases, in exchange for someone’s email address.
the basic unit search engines use to determine what
your site is about and what it offers. You can buy email databases, but we advise
you proceed with caution. It’s difficult to
SEO tips prove the quality or provenance of the data.
• Start a blog on your site and post at least two To start sending emails, sign up to one of the
times a month many excellent email services such as
Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor, HubSpot
• Use Google Keyword Planner to create a list of or Constant Contact. But be careful, send too
keywords to use on your website many and you’ll see your unsubscribe
• Make sure your metadata fields are completed numbers leap.
• Sign up for Google Search Console to improve Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
your ranking software helps your business manage and
store your customer data, including email
addresses. Beware data protection laws
– GDPR in Europe is the new global
benchmark, and it carries heavy penalties if
Influencers and affiliate marketing
your business doesn’t take steps to secure
Influencers are ‘celebrities’ operating in a smaller circle and protect your users’ data.
online. They may not be nationally or internationally
known, but they have the trust of their audience, and that
means a product recommendation carries much greater
power. Get the right influencer, one that fits your audience,
and success can follow – but be warned, the more
influential the person, the higher the fee is likely to be!
Kardashians don’t come for free...
Want to know more?

Read our guide to influencer marketing.
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STEP FOUR
MAKE YOUR
SITE WORK
HARDER
Your site is live and your marketing
is bringing in customers.
Is the hard work over? Not yet…

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“ THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY IS DOING THE SAME THING

OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS.”
Albert Einstein
The same goes for your e-commerce website. You might be happy with the way it is performing,
but you can always make it better. In fact, your customers expect your online store to change
and evolve over time.
Test, test, test

A/B testing, also known as split testing, is the process of experimenting with two live options on your
website. It could be two different color schemes, or two different banner images, or two different
headlines or call-to-action buttons. Which one leads to the most sales? A/B testing lets you find out.
It’s one of the many advantages of running an online store: you can see what works best.
A/B testing works by splitting traffic to your website or individual page 50/50.
Each half gets a different alternative. The user has no idea they’re the guinea pig.
An introduction to analytics
However you’ve built your website, you’ll need analytics. These are the numbers that tell you how many
people visit your website, how long they stay on the site, what pages they visit and a mind-boggling
array of other metrics.
Almost all of the major e-commerce platforms offer their own analytics. But you can also use Google’s
industry-standard Google Analytics (GA) tool. You’ll need a Google account to set it up and a special
code to get it working for your website (look for GA apps on your e-commerce platform). It’s relatively
easy to set up, and gives you access to a hugely powerful suite of tools that will help you understand
your customers better.
Useful terminology
If you’re just starting out, it pays to know what people are talking about. Here are some useful pointers:
SERP Search Engine Results Page. Google, Bing, whoever else... This is where you
appear, and where people who might not know you exist will find you.
Bounce Rate The percentage of single site visits divided by every visit to your site. This will
help you see if people stick around once they find your site, or leave after the
first page.
Dwell Time How long a visitor to your site spends there, before heading back to the SERP
they came from.
Time on Page The average amount of time someone spends on your page when they find it
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TOOLS YOU
NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT
IN YOUR QUEST TO FIGHT CART ABANDONMENT AND MAKE
YOUR WEBSITE EVEN BETTER, THESE MAY BE USEFUL.
• OPTIMIZELY
Built for Google Analytics, lets you easily create A/B tests
• GOOGLE OPTIMIZE
Google’s answer to Optimizely
• HOTJAR
See heatmaps of your user’s cursor movement to find out
what they’re interested in
• ORIBI
Easy to understand analytics that help you take real action
• SILKTIDE
Get clear benchmarks on how your website performs across
a number of metrics
• PINGDOM
Test your website’s loading speed and see where it could be leaner

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STEP FIVE
MANAGE YOUR
INVENTORY

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JUGGLE YOUR STOCK

AND KEEP TRACK OF
ORDERS
The products you sell take up space – so where should you keep them before they get whisked away
to your paying customers? You have a few options, depending on the size of your business and the
resources available to you:
• Use your own home or office space to store and ship products
• Rent or buy a space to store your products and handle the dispatch yourself
• Outsource the storage and dispatch to a third-party logistics firm (known as a ‘3PL’) to handle
3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT 3PLS How to manage orders

1. THEY WILL HELP YOU STORE INVENTORY AND PICK, Once your e-commerce website and the
PACK AND DISPATCH YOUR GOODS. 3PL’s systems have been linked, stock
Some 3PLs also offer customer service and after-sales levels will update across both systems
support options too, so they can even deal with your so your site will know when something
customers’ phone calls and emails directly. is out of stock. Most e-commerce
systems will alert you if this happens,
2. YOU CAN LINK THEIR SYSTEMS WITH YOURS. so you can change the product stock
Before signing a contract with a 3PL, make sure their level to ‘out of stock’, letting your users
systems can easily link to your own e-commerce know it’s no longer available. Some
platform (Shopify, Magento, etc). The systems will talk systems will be able to do this
to each other, letting information flow between them automatically.
and ensuring all data is updated in real-time. You may
need support from a developer, depending on the level Most 3PLs should offer you access to an
of information you want to pass through both systems. online portal, letting you view in-depth
stock information and dispatch statuses
3. THEY HAVE COST-EFFECTIVE DELIVERY for each shipment.
CONTRACTS.
Different 3PLs have contracts with different courier If you’re not ready for a logistics partner
companies – and tend to get good rates with them yet, then you can enter the quantities
– but before you sign with a particular 3PL, make sure available manually into your site, and
their courier options offer the service speeds, tracking each time something gets sold they will
options, etc. that you want to offer to your customers. change automatically. It’s simple, but if
you’re carrying a lot of lines, it’s tedious
and time consuming work (and human
error can lead to disappointed
customers).
DHL.COM/DISCOVER
© DHL
STEP SIX
YOUR
E-COMMERCE
CHECKLIST
15 things you need to do. Well, what are you waiting for?
You’re almost there. Your e-commerce business is within

touching distance of going live to an audience of 7 billion
people. There’s a lot to do. But what do you do first?
This checklist marks the major

waypoints on your journey to
e-commerce success. Good luck!
 Choose your industry/products
 Register a domain name
 Choose an e-commerce platform
 Setup a payment gateway
 Choose your language options
 Add support for multiple currencies
 Start advertising online
 Sign up for Google AdWords
 Set up a Facebook business account
 Research your SEO keywords
 Create your email campaigns
 Add A/B testing tools
 Choose a 3PL partner (if needed)
 Connect your e-commerce platform to your 3PL
DHL.COM/DISCOVER
© DHL

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1 THE DHL EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING TOOLKIT

DISCOVER.DHL.COM. Global Shipping

Think of it as a checklist to success, one that will let you go

To make sure you know where you stand,

E-commerce is one of the here’s exactly what this guide covers.

global economy’s brightest • Create a winning online

But that’s not the whole story.

This toolkit covers the middle phase of a business:

DISCOVER.DHL.COM. Global Shipping

Unless you’re solely selling through marketplaces like Amazon

The explosive growth of online shopping worldwide in the last

It’s a great time to get started.

DISCOVER.DHL.COM. Global Shipping

How to buy a domain name

1. Think of domain name for your website. DHL’s is www.dhl.com.

How many domain names do I need?

“ IT’S NEVER BEEN EASIER TO SET UP AN E-COMMERCE WEBSITE. BUT

You’ll still need a web developer

Tools that help you build websites

Get started on Shopify

1 Million Businesses Use Shopify

Get started on Shopify Plus

Get started on Wix

Get started on Squarespace

Get started on Magento

37% of the world’s websites run on Wordpress

WooCommerce (for WordPress websites)

Get started on WooCommerce

Get started on BigCommerce

5 TIPS FOR A FIRST-CLASS WEBSITE

2. DON’T BE SCARED OF CALL-TO-ACTION BUTTONS.

3. CHECKOUT IN THE LOWEST NUMBER OF CLICKS OR TAPS.

5. UNDERSTAND HOW CUSTOMERS READ AND USE WEBSITES.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

• What kind of websites have I seen that I would like to be like?

• How am I going to showcase my products on my website?

• Who is the best person or agency to help me create my website?

Payment gateways include:

Money, money, money

Payment gateways charge 1-3%

Apple Pay and Google Pay

GET READY FOR

The global e-commerce market is booming. Its

The good news is, thanks to the advances in

TAKE THE E-COMMERCE

DISCOVER.DHL.COM. Global Shipping

98% of online shoppers prefer

Global website, local languages

• Use a professional translator

• Use an app or plug-in

If you’ve chosen an e-commerce platform like Shopify, Magento or WordPress/WooCommerce,

The world’s most-spoken languages

• English 1.35 billion

Preferential payments; card or …cash?

59% of shoppers abandon carts due to

Make a big deal of your international deals

Everyone wants an express option

Duties and taxes

Double your growth rate

91% of consumers actually want to see shipping and

Need for speed

• Search engine ads

• Social media sponsored posts and ads