Merchant of Record
Behind every channel you sell through, on every setup. Merchant of Record →
Supply Chain
The goods side of selling locally. Ours, or yours.
Freight from origin, stock held inside the market, and local delivery and returns. Take all three from ExpandNow, or keep the forwarder, 3PL and returns partner you already use. Merchant of Record is the core of every setup either way.
Core · always ExpandNowMerchant of Record is always ours. Everything on this page is optional.
The core and the options
Merchant of Record sits behind every channel you sell through, and that part is always ours. The three layers below are not. Take them where you have a gap, keep your own partners where you do not, and add more later without changing the relationship.
Your factory or warehouse
- ExpandNow
Freight forwarding
See the details ↓ - ExpandNow
Warehousing and fulfillment
See the details ↓ - ExpandNow
Final mile and returns
See the details ↓
Core · always ExpandNow
Under every layer, whichever partners you use.
Optional · ours or yours
Freight forwarding.
Sea, air and road from origin to a local warehouse, booked, tracked and cleared as one movement.
Problems this addresses
- No trade route into the market and no forwarder relationship there
- Customs burden on the category has become heavy enough that shipping in from abroad no longer works
- The brand cannot import at all, because it has no local entity and no local tax registration
- Freight, customs broking and import sit with three suppliers who do not talk to each other, and nobody is accountable when a shipment stops
What it covers
- Collection arranged at the factory once production finishes, so you do not manage the handover
- Route chosen against the launch date and the cost rather than a single carrier contract
- Export and import clearance handled through licensed brokers at both ends
- Duties and import taxes accounted for when the goods enter the market, not discovered afterwards
- Goods declared in ExpandNow’s name as Importer of Record, so no local company is needed to bring stock in
Or keep your own forwarder.
ExpandNow can still act as Importer of Record behind it, or you can bring your own importer as well.
For what happens at the border and who is named on itImporter of Record →
Optional · ours or yours
Warehousing and fulfillment.
Stock held in-market and dispatched against orders from every channel from one inventory pool.
Problems this addresses
- A marketplace or retailer will not accept fulfillment from outside the market and requires stock held locally
- TikTok Shop requires a local entity and a person physically in the country, which the brand does not have
- Delivery times from the home warehouse are long enough that conversion suffers
- Repeated customs handling on individual parcels costs more than one bulk import would
- Opening a warehouse in a market the brand has not proved yet is a commitment it is not ready to make
What it covers
- A warehouse inside the market, selected against your volumes and the channels you are entering
- Opening stock forecast before launch, and replenishment planned from what the channel actually sells
- Picking, packing and dispatch from local stock
- Channel warehouses, such as Fulfilled by TikTok, where stock is imported and placed under ExpandNow’s registrations
- One pool serving your own store, marketplaces and TikTok Shop rather than inventory split by channel
ExpandNow already holds the VAT registrations Fulfilled by TikTok requires in Germany and Spain.
Or keep your own 3PL.
We sell as Merchant of Record from your stock pool just as readily as from ours.
Optional · ours or yours
Final mile and returns.
Local delivery at domestic speed and cost, plus a local returns address, inspection and restock.
Problems this addresses
- The customer is asked to ship a return to another country, which is slow, expensive and a reason not to buy in the first place
- Delivery from the home market takes long enough that the brand looks foreign
- Refunds are complicated because the tax on the original sale was collected in a market the brand is not registered in
- Returns are handled by a logistics provider while the refund sits with the brand, so nobody owns the customer’s problem end to end
What it covers
- Delivery by local carriers, with the options shoppers in that market expect
- Every shipment tracked from dispatch to delivery
- A returns address inside the market, so returns do not travel back across a border
- Inspection on arrival, and resaleable stock put back into local inventory
- The refund and the tax adjustment handled by ExpandNow as the seller on the original transaction
Or keep your own carriers and returns partner.
A return is a commerce problem as much as a logistics one.
A carrier can move the parcel back, but the refund and the tax adjustment follow the seller of record. That is why this layer works whether the brand keeps its own carriers or takes ours: the seller position underneath does not change.
Merchant of Record →For returns as a cost per orderOperational Analytics →
Your choice
Take one layer, or all of them.
The full stack
Compliance, import, freight, fulfillment, returns and Merchant of Record together. You send the stock; we send back the profit.
Bring your own logistics
Our Merchant of Record, compliance and import. Your forwarder, 3PL and returns partner.
Merchant of Record only
Bring your own importer, compliance and logistics. ExpandNow is the local seller on the channels you choose.
One channel to start
Open a single channel, like TikTok Shop, and add channels on the same relationship.
Who does what
Who does what.
Shown here with every layer taken from ExpandNow. Each layer you keep with your own partner moves across to your side.
You provide
- The products and the stock
- Product details: descriptions, values, country of origin, and commercial invoices per shipment
- Your manufacturing site or origin warehouse, and the launch date you are working toward
- Demand expectations and packaging requirements
- Your returns policy and window, and what should happen to returned stock
- Your storefront, listings, marketing and customer service
ExpandNow provides
- Merchant of Record on every channel, which is the part that is always ours
- Importer of Record, with the local entity and registrations the role depends on
- Freight booked and managed from origin, with export and import clearance
- A warehouse inside the market, stock planning, picking, packing and dispatch
- Local delivery, a local returns address, inspection and restock
- The refund and the tax adjustment as seller of record
- One contract and one point of contact, with visibility across the layers you take
Coverage
The markets this covers.
Where this runs.
The EU as a region, the UK and the US. Asia, the Middle East, Oceania and South America are out of scope. Availability for your products and channels is confirmed during scoping.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask.
Do I have to take all three?
No. Take the layers where you have a gap and keep your own partners where you do not. Merchant of Record is the only part that is always ours.
Can I keep my existing forwarder and 3PL?
Yes. We sell as the local seller behind your logistics just as readily as behind ours, and you can move layers across later without changing the relationship.
Who is the importer?
ExpandNow, where your setup needs it. The goods are declared in our name, which is what removes the need for a local company. You can also bring your own importer.
Can you fulfill into Fulfilled by TikTok?
Yes. Stock has to be imported before it can go into a channel warehouse, and ExpandNow already holds the VAT registrations Fulfilled by TikTok requires in Germany and Spain.
Who owns the stock?
You do. ExpandNow is the seller of record for the sale and the importer for the goods coming in. Ownership of the inventory stays with you.
Where does a customer send a return?
To an address inside their own market. Returns do not travel back across a border.
Which markets?
The EU as a region, the UK and the US. Availability for your products and channels is confirmed during scoping.
Start with the market
Tell us where you want to sell.
Tell us the market and channels. We’ll map the seller setup, and which layers you’ll take from us or bring yourself.