17 part 2: Unlocking e-Commerce Growth in Mexico – Logistics, Compliance & Innovation
In Part 2 of this mini episode, co-hosts Nick Agnetti and Jason Rowland explore the benefits of Asendia’s Laredo, TX facility for direct, compliant deliveries into Mexico—and how it helps customers avoid common logistics challenges.
Transcript
And it was a new process for me.
Speaker A:Some of the questions that were being asked, I thought, whoa, you know, this is pretty in depth.
Speaker A:On the compliance side, this is Outside.
Speaker B:The Box with Ascendia usa, a podcast educating US Based brands, marketplaces and e tailers on international shipping topics and how they can expand their global e commerce footprint.
Speaker C:Welcome Back to part two of episode 17 of the Outside the Box with Ascendia USA podcast.
Speaker C:We're going to be continuing our discussion about our new facility in Laredo, Texas.
Speaker A:Compared to other options.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So there's postal, there's courier.
Speaker A:But why is, and I know you mentioned, you know, a little bit more on the control side, but what are some, you know, maybe a few bullet points in having our own facility that really sets our network apart, whether it's control.
Speaker A:You mentioned compliance.
Speaker A:Can you highlight a little bit of that and why that's important?
Speaker C:Yeah, I think anytime you limit touching a material, the better.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So in this scenario, we have the ability to accept things at that Laredo facility.
Speaker C:So the first time anybody touches your material, it's going to be the people who are responsible for injecting it right into Mexico.
Speaker C:We don't have to get it from a vendor who give it to another vendor to give it to somebody else to then do the clearance and send it.
Speaker C:As soon as your material hits our location, it's.
Speaker C:It's right online.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:To get direct injected directly into Mexico.
Speaker C:So I think that anytime in supply chain, you have the opportunity to trim down the number of people who have to handle your material before it gets to where it has to go is, is great.
Speaker C:In this scenario, we are.
Speaker C:We have cut everybody else out of it.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So your material is going to get delivered directly to the Ascendia facility in Laredo and then the direct inject right into.
Speaker C:Into Mexico for a final mile.
Speaker C:And I think that really sets us apart.
Speaker C:Now, the customs clearance and all that other stuff that goes along with it from a compliance standpoint is vital.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Because there's ways that you.
Speaker C:This process can go wrong.
Speaker C:And we've seen it in the market over the last couple of months.
Speaker C:We've seen companies get customers, brokers have their license to operate revoked.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Because they were not following the law, they weren't doing things the right way.
Speaker C:And it really affected some major American retailers and marketplaces because they were no longer able to, to use that vendor to move that volume southbound.
Speaker C:So it, it really highlights the fact that doing these things in a compliant manner, you can do it fast and you can do it efficiently and you can do it cheaply.
Speaker C:But if you're not doing it according to the law and the way that these things are set up, you really set yourself up for a risk of losing the ability to operate and losing your license to do it.
Speaker C:As a customs broker or as a vendor like, like Ascendia, who's going to facilitate that transaction with a customs broker.
Speaker C:Maintaining your level of compliance and your compliance posture in the view of a regulator is vital because that your license to operate is absolutely your lifeblood.
Speaker C:Because we could have the most efficient system set up, but if we don't have the ability to do it legally, then it's worth nothing.
Speaker C:So as far as our customers are concerned, the way that we better help them and better protect them is by making sure that we're always on the right side of these regulations and making sure that we maintain our license to operate in a certified way so that we can always be there for our customers and not have to put them in a position that some of these retailers have been put in lately.
Speaker C:I'm glad to say that we have a product that I think can really start helping people in a quick and efficient way, but also in a legal way.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:See everybody on right now.
Speaker A:This is exactly why sales and operations are just like this.
Speaker A:And I'm kidding.
Speaker A:So typically, like, you know, and just real life example, I have a client, a longtime client that, you know, entrusted us to move to switch some product from another vendor that they were using for this move over to us.
Speaker A:And it was a new process for me.
Speaker A:Some of the questions that were being asked, I thought, whoa, you know, this is it pretty in depth on the compliance side.
Speaker A:And it was something that, you know, we had to get answers in order to properly clear this material.
Speaker A:And it was great.
Speaker A:It was a great experience, a learning experience.
Speaker A:But now I know we're certainly not messing around, right?
Speaker A:It's not just like, hey, we're just going to throw it over there, hope for the best and, you know, all that stuff.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:No, that's wonderful.
Speaker A:And you mentioned market and, you know, some known challenges.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:Would it be possible, do you think, on the call that we have coming up with Leslie and Mike to talk about, you know, what some of the breakdown was that caused this retailer or these retailers to have this fallout?
Speaker C:Yeah, I think that's all.
Speaker C:Leslie will probably have some great insight there.
Speaker C:So I think that's a great discussion we can have with her that day.
Speaker C:I think there's a lot of advice that we would be able to give to customers not necessarily on how they should be doing their business, but just on things to avoid red flags that you can see in an operation and things that could tip you off to the idea that maybe something isn't right with the way your material is being handled.
Speaker A:Yeah, I love that because that, that's what people need to know is, you know, like what, you know, let's say you have, you know, some type of clothing coming in from another country.
Speaker A:Can it be, can you send it into for Mexico citizens or you know, you know, toys or what.
Speaker A:What are some limitations and, and different things that are going on when it comes to just clearing product into Mexico.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You know, what, what does it look like for Nutraceuticals or you know, cosmetics, supplements different.
Speaker A:And hopefully we'll be able to touch on some of those more specific things on that future call.
Speaker A:So I just have one more thing which we've covered quite a bit, but.
Speaker A:Well, actually, quick sidebar.
Speaker A:So what about rural deliveries?
Speaker A:Is that something that we're able to stay in front of with our network too?
Speaker A:Is that, are there any challenges with.
Speaker C:That, with Final Mile Delivery?
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, sorry you cut out there for a sec.
Speaker C:No, I don't know of any challenges that we're having currently.
Speaker C:And with the way that we have our vendor network set up, we.
Speaker C:In the past, we've done it a lot with, with other vendors when we and customers who have asked us to go down into Mexico City and have discussions with these Final Mile vendors to make sure that they're protecting material properly, that they're locking things up when they're in transit and that their drivers are trained and they're aware of all these different security requirements and expectations that Ascendia has on the way that they should be treating that material once they get their hands on it.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So those kinds of in country audits are done.
Speaker C:They're done not only by us, but by our vendors and by our customers expect them of us to be honest.
Speaker C:And yeah, we really keep a close eye on those relationships with that, with the vendors down in Mexico and, and everywhere.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:It's not just, not just something that we do for, for that market.
Speaker C:But no, right now we're not having any, any issues with Final Mile.
Speaker C:And the material that we are currently putting through the Laredo facility is seeing, seeing great results and seeing great SLAs and, and, and not a lot of dwell time, not a lot of staging time and, and it's really been a really successful launch of a product so far.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Okay, look, that's all I have for today.
Speaker A:I don't want to give away too much in prep for our next call, but for everybody listening, thank you very much for coming back to it's probably the 17th, maybe 18th episode of Between Two Ferns with Jason and Nick here and I'm just kidding again, it's outside the box with the Sendia USA podcast.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for listening.
Speaker A:Thank you for watching and let's I think it's it's important we get excited about Mexico and know that it doesn't have to be a pain in the butt to deliver packages into Mexico.
Speaker A:And we're excited to future state here.
Speaker A:Get with Leslie and Mike and talk about how we at Ascendia are really helping to reshape that that mindset and really just the experience that customers have with deliveries in New Mexico overall.
Speaker A:So Jason, thanks so much.
Speaker C:Yeah, no problem, Nick.
Speaker B:Share subscribe and download our podcast to learn more about today's topic or for a free consultation, email us@ecommerce USA sendia.com Come back for more insightful discussions on e commerce shipping to Canada, Mexico and worldwide.
