Unlocking E-Commerce Growth: Accessing European Customers for your GB E-Commerce Store!

Unlocking E-Commerce Growth: Accessing European Customers for your GB E-Commerce Store!

Today, let’s tackle a question that many GB-based e-commerce businesses face: how can you ship your products efficiently to Europe in the post-Brexit landscape? A significant number of UK businesses have chosen to stop shipping to Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the EU due to complications that arose with Brexit. But what if there’s a solution that allows you to remain competitive and expand into these key markets?

The answer is simple yet powerful: continue your GB-based operation with your current fulfilment provider while establishing a second operation through a fulfilment centre in Northern Ireland. This approach allows you to reach European markets without disrupting your existing infrastructure and offers a straightforward path to expanding across Europe.

How It Works with Shopify’s Location IDs

Most e-commerce businesses today rely on platforms like Shopify to manage their online stores. Shopify provides an efficient feature called Shopify Location IDs, which makes this two-location strategy incredibly manageable, through one website.

With Shopify Location IDs, you can set up multiple fulfilment points under one store. Here’s how it works:

• GB-Based Orders: For orders shipping to addresses in Great Britain, you can continue to use your primary fulfilment provider, which will be assigned a unique Location ID within Shopify. This allows all GB-based orders to process as they currently do, with no change to your usual operations.
• EU & Ireland Orders: For customers in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, or the EU, a second Location ID is assigned to your new Northern Ireland fulfilment centre (SJ Henderson Fulfilment of course). This ensures all orders from these locations are automatically routed through the NI fulfilment centre.

At SJ Henderson Fulfilment, we can help set up this second location by creating an API connection with your Shopify store location ID. This way, we receive all European-bound orders and handle them seamlessly.

Why You Don’t Need to Move All Your Stock at Once

One of the biggest concerns business owners face when thinking about expanding to a second fulfilment centre is stock management. The good news? Whether you are moving all of your fulfilment under one roof in Northern Ireland to cater for GB, EU and ROW orders, or you are maintaining your GB operation whilst setting up an EU fulfilment solution from NI – you don’t need to move all your stock from GB at once or disrupt your current setup. Here’s how you can do it smoothly:

• Gradual Stock Transfer: Open an account with SJ Henderson and continue to run your GB-based operations as usual. To prepare for the European market, you can begin gradually shipping stock to Northern Ireland from your GB stock holding or your supplier.
• Pace Yourself: Instead of a large, one-time stock transfer, you can build up your inventory in NI at a pace that suits your business. This allows you to prepare for a full European launch without pressure.
• Decide When to Go Live: You have the flexibility to decide when to start fulfilling EU orders from your NI location. Once you have enough stock in place, you can begin fulfilling orders without interrupting your GB operations or stock levels.

The Benefits of a Two-Location Solution

Using a second fulfilment centre in Northern Ireland, coupled with Shopify’s Location ID feature, allows you to manage and grow your e-commerce business across Europe easily. Here are a few standout benefits:

• Seamless European Reach: Effortlessly ship to Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the entire EU without changing your website.
• Minimized Risk: By keeping a portion of your stock in GB and transferring gradually, you avoid the risk of over-investing in a new market.
• Increased Competitiveness: Accessing European markets keeps you competitive with businesses that may already be shipping across these regions and enables you to rise above those businesses that simply have ignored Europe post-Brexit.

The Bottom Line

Shipping across Europe from the UK doesn’t have to be complicated. With the help of Shopify Location IDs and a trusted Northern Ireland fulfilment centre like SJ Henderson, you can achieve UK and Europe-wide shipping from a single website. By adding a second fulfilment centre, you’ll access new markets, maintain flexibility, and scale at your own pace—all while continuing to serve your GB customers seamlessly.

Ready to expand your e-commerce reach? Get in touch with SJ Henderson Fulfillment today and let us help you set up a simple, efficient, and cost-effective shipping solution for Europe and unlock your e-commerce growth!