0% RETURNS on international sales to Germany. Case study

About Granitan

Granitan is a Polish company that has been operating in the e-commerce industry for 14 years, specialising in the sale of high quality granite and steel sinks and kitchen accessories. Their long experience has allowed them to expand their shop to include a wide range of bathroom equipment products, providing customers with attractive prices while maintaining excellent quality.

For the past 2 years, Granitan has focused on dynamic growth, focusing on innovation and expanding the reach of its products. One of the key elements of this strategy is the expansion into foreign markets, known as cross-border.

Why is overseas sales for Granitan so important?

1. To reach a large number of foreign customers

Selling abroad opens the door to new, previously undiscovered markets. This gives you the opportunity to reach more potential customers, which in turn leads to increased sales and revenue. Foreign markets allow Granitan to effectively diversify its offering and adapt it to local needs.

2. Risk ramification

One of the greatest strengths of international sales is the branching out of risk. By operating in multiple markets, Granitan is less exposed to the effects of regional economic or political crises or seasonal fluctuations in demand. This in turn provides greater stability and resilience to changing market conditions.

3. Increasing competitiveness

Expansion into foreign markets naturally necessitates continuous product improvement. Granitan has to meet the diverse requirements of customers in different geographical areas, which motivates it to improve quality, innovate and adapt its offerings to local standards. As a result, Granitan becomes more competitive in both domestic and international markets.

4. Increased brand recognition

Presence in foreign markets significantly increases the recognition of the Granitan brand. Operating in different countries builds the company’s global image, which has a positive impact on its prestige and reputation. A strong brand with international reach attracts new customers and business partners, which opens up further growth opportunities for the company.

5. Process optimisation

International expansion triggers thoughts of whether a company’s current processes can be further optimised or automated. This often leads to thoughts such as how to improve the translation of the website or product descriptions, how to add customer feedback or how to use tools that help with foreign sales.

How did Global24's collaboration with Granitan begin?

The seed of the collaboration between Global24 and the Granitan brand began in autumn 2023, during the Wrocław edition of the E-evolution conference. This is one of the most important events in cross-border e-commerce, bringing together experts and practitioners in logistics, marketing and international strategies.

During the conference, Granitan’s representative Grzegorz Biernacki had the opportunity to participate in lectures and networking sessions, which resulted in the exchange of ideas and the identification of his business goals in a conversation with Wojciech Bijan from Global24.

The meeting at E-evolution helped to lay the foundations for future cooperation, which soon turned into a Partnership. And this Partnership is currently benefiting Granitan and opening up new opportunities for expansion into foreign markets.

Currently, Granitan is shipping with us to markets such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Austria.

What challenges has the Granitan shop faced in selling overseas?

During the start of their overseas expansion, the Granitan brand was keen to find a logistics partner that would meet their challenges and the company’s needs.

What problems and needs did Granitan face?

1. Transport delays

Delayed deliveries have a negative impact on customer satisfaction. The unpredictability of delivery times was a significant challenge for Granitan – especially in the German market. Granitan has made it part of its strategy to ship to Germany within 48 hours. This allowed the company to maintain a high level of customer service, which would increase their satisfaction and loyalty. Fast delivery is a competitive advantage, especially in industries where time is of the essence. Customers, knowing that their orders will arrive quickly, are more likely to purchase, which drives sales. Real-time tracking of shipments provides better logistics management and builds customer confidence.

We have ensured that this objective is met. All Granitan shipments are dispatched from our warehouse the same day. 97.6% of them reach the target customer on the second day. Meeting customer expectations has strengthened Granitan’s position in the German market and provides an opportunity for expansion in Western Europe.

2. Transport costs

Overseas shipping costs can be high and carrier availability issues in many markets can add to logistics costs. This is exactly what Granitan feared when expanding.

With our local warehouses and cooperation with local couriers in the country, we minimise logistics costs. By locating warehouses at strategic points, the distance that shipments have to travel can be shortened, which significantly reduces transport costs. In addition, partnering with local courier companies ensures not only lower delivery rates, but also better availability and faster delivery times. As a result, we are able to offer Granitan competitive prices and fast delivery, resulting in a higher level of satisfaction with our services.

3. Returns handling

Managing returns in overseas markets alone is complex and costly. These processes require an efficient and logistical strategy to minimise financial losses and thereby increase customer satisfaction.

Granitan needed effective solutions for handling returns, including local return addresses to reduce costs and speed up the whole process. This was crucial as it reduced the cost of the return shipment, eliminating the need for international transport from the destination customer’s point of view.

Global24 guaranteed Granitan both the automation of returns and an advanced tracking system, which significantly improved logistics management in overseas markets and contributed to increased customer satisfaction. The implementation of local return addresses not only reduced costs, but also significantly accelerated the entire return process. In practice, this means that customers can send back unwanted products more quickly and Granitan can process returns and put products back on sale more efficiently. We estimate that the turnaround time for returns has been reduced by around 27%, which has translated into increased customer satisfaction and improved operational efficiency for Granitan.

4. Technological support and integration

Granitan needed a technologically advanced solution to easily integrate its logistics system with its sales platforms, which would increase its operational efficiency.

In response to these needs, the company decided to access Global24’s integration with Baselinker, which enables the automation of processes related to the management of foreign orders. Thanks to this integration, Granitan can easily synchronise its offers, manage inventory and process orders from different sales channels, significantly increasing efficiency and reducing the risk of logistical errors.

What effect did Granitan achieve after working with Global24?

In discussions with Mr Gregory as to why he chose Global24, he identified 3 main elements.

“Global24 immediately understood our logistical requirements and offered customised solutions tailored to our specific business. A dedicated account manager played a major role here. He monitors the changing conditions in the logistics market, which allows us to continuously update and adapt the services to our current needs. In practice, this means that Granitan always uses the most favourable and leading courier offers on the market, which allows us to remain competitive and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction”

 Grzegorz Biernacki, CEO Granitan

1. Affordable offer

We offered prices that allowed Granitan to reduce shipping and returns costs, which is key to increasing competitiveness in e-commerce.

2. Very fast delivery time

We have guaranteed delivery of shipments from Poland to EU countries, including Germany, in just 2 days, which significantly increases the level of satisfaction of Granitan’s foreign customers. Below is a list of the countries Granitan ships to with us and in what timeframe.

Germany

• Delivery time from Global24 to overseas courier: the same day
• Delivery time from overseas courier to recipient: 1 day – 90%, 2 days – 10%
• Local carrier: DHL and DPD

France

• Delivery time from Global24 to overseas courier: 2-4 working days
• Delivery time from foreign courier to recipient: 2-3 working days
• Local carrier: Colissimo

Austria

• Delivery time from Global24 to overseas courier: 2-4 working days
• Delivery time from foreign courier to recipient: 1-3 working days
• Local carrier: Post AT

Spain

• Delivery time from Global24 to overseas courier: 2-4 working days
• Delivery time from foreign courier to recipient: 1-2 working days
• Local carrier: Correos

Belgium

• Delivery time from Global24 to overseas courier: 1-2 working days
• Delivery time from foreign courier to recipient: 1-2 working days
• Local carrier: Post NL

Netherlands

• Delivery time from Global24 to overseas courier: 1-2 working days
• Delivery time from foreign courier to recipient: 1-2 working days
• Local carrier: Post NL

3. Partnership and clear cooperation

The transparency in our communication and the partnership approach to working with Granitan made our partner feel confident and comfortable. This is probably due to the dedicated account manager who supports Granitan on a daily basis with the day-to-day logistics. The account manager is someone who is fully focused on Granitan’s needs, providing a personalised service and a prompt response to any queries. This ensures that Granitan’s concerns are always prioritised and that any international logistics issues are dealt with efficiently and effectively. In addition, our account manager is very familiar with Granitan’s specific business, which allows us to tailor our services to his individual needs, ensuring the highest level of satisfaction.

One of Granitan’s products are bulky goods, which with many couriers involve high surcharges. Thanks to its partnership with Global24, Granitan has access not only to local couriers in each country, but also to international courier companies, which significantly expands its logistics options. A key element of this collaboration is precisely the dedicated guardian who advises Granitan on the most advantageous courier for each shipment. This guardian analyses the various offers and conditions of the carriers, taking into account not only costs but also delivery times. This allows Granitan to optimise its shipping processes, minimise costs and ensure fast and safe delivery of its products, regardless of their size and destination.

Thanks to our joint efforts, the first shipment was sent to Germany on 06.10.2023, a landmark moment for us in the development of cross-border sales of the Granitan brand.

How has the partnership with Global24 affected Granitan's sales?

After six months of working with Granitan, we can boast the following results. We have sent out 1,712 shipments, of which only 171 were returned. This means that the return rate is less than 10% (9.99%). This demonstrates Granitan’s well-planned strategy, as well as the efficiency of our logistics operations and high customer satisfaction.

Such a result confirms that our delivery strategy is not only effective, but also contributes to maintaining a high quality service for our business partners.

In addition, we have shipped 1403 consignments to Germany alone with Granitan, of which WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY RETURNS. Given the high customer demand in the German market, this result makes us proud. Our achievement confirms that together with Granitan we are meeting their logistics targets, aiming to maintain zero returns by the end of 2024, in this strategic market for our partner.

Future plans in terms of expansion

Granitan’s plans for the near future include further dynamic growth and expansion into new markets. Following its success in EU countries, another key objective is to enter the UK market.

“We want to offer our customers in the UK the same fast and reliable deliveries as we already do in other countries. With Global24 as our logistics partner, we look forward to a smooth implementation of shipping processes and a reliable service, enabling us to successfully gain the trust of our customers in this promising market. We believe that expanding into the UK will be another milestone in the development of our company, allowing us to consolidate our position as a leader in the cross-border e-commerce industry.” 

Grzegorz Biernacki, CEO Granitan

What lessons do we learn from the collaboration?

1. Focus on fast and reliable delivery: It was crucial for Granitan to ensure fast deliveries, especially to Germany. Global24 responded to these needs by offering deliveries within 1-2 working days to the target customer and real-time tracking of shipments.
2. Optimising logistics costs: Offering local warehouses and working with local, leading carriers not only reduces operational costs, but also increases logistical efficiency through faster and more accessible deliveries.
3. Returns management: Automating the returns process for Granitan not only increases customer satisfaction through faster and more transparent procedures, but also reduces the costs associated with handling returns.
4. Dedicated account manager: Providing Granitan with a dedicated account manager who offers a personalised service and monitors changing market conditions allows us to quickly adapt our logistics services to the specific needs of our partner.
5. Technological support and integration: the integration of logistics systems into Granitan’s sales platforms via Baselinker has demonstrated the importance of automation in cross-border order and warehouse management.