Redesigning an International Fulfilment Network to Remove Structural Cost and Complexity
Client
Premium Beauty and Wellness D2C Brand | Multi-DC, Multi-Source International
The Situation
The business had expanded into multiple fulfilment centres across the UK, Europe and US, but every inbound shipment was still routing through the UK before being redistributed internationally.
This created duplicated duty exposure, excessive freight movement, poor cost visibility and growing operational complexity.
What We DiD
Modelled future unit growth by territory, product category and fulfilment centre
Designed phased sourcing and stock-cover strategies by region
Recommended a new S&OP process alongside structured forecasting and PO management
Mapped a future-state operational systems architecture aligned to upcoming commerce-platform changes
Built a phased implementation roadmap balancing operational practicality with future scale
Results
The redesign identified:
£351k of outbound tax and duty costs capable of being removed structurally
Approximately £1.7m of UK import VAT identified as avoidable operational complexity
Around £4.2m of UK-routed stock-transfer activity avoided in the following year
Top three markets representing approximately 89% of forecast volume
Significant underweight B2B penetration across key growth markets
Beyond the Numbers
The project became the operational blueprint for the wider transformation programme.
Rather than solving isolated operational issues individually, leadership gained a phased international operating model capable of supporting future growth while systematically removing structural inefficiency.
