Active Ants offers automated fulfilment across Europe. We can relieve you of all logistics: from storage, order picking and shipping to returns. We have hundreds of robots and over 23,000 square metres of storage in the heart of the UK. Because we work with local carriers, parcels are delivered the very next day.
Active Ants has been the fulfilment partner of European e-commerce for more than 10 years. For over 250 clients, we process more than 5 million orders a year. We have an international multi-warehouse network with fulfilment locations in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK).
The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The country is Europe’s largest e-commerce market. In fact, the UK market makes 9 times more sales per year than the Dutch market. This puts it way ahead of the rest of Europe. Expanding to the UK can greatly expand your audience. What should you be aware of when making this leap?
✓ 23,000+ m²
✓ Robotised warehouse
✓ Ordered today, delivered tomorrow
Since the Brexit, it has been difficult for many Dutch webshops to sell to customers in the UK. Tighter import rules have made shipping more expensive AND slower. So to make your e-commerce business a success, you need to have a local presence. At Active Ants, you can bypass the red tape. We store your products locally in the UK. Orders across the country are thus delivered within one day. This allows you to compete with local webshops. Moreover, you are always one step ahead of crossborder sellers.
In addition, European product quality requirements do not apply in the UK. Instead of a CE mark, you should therefore have a UKCA mark. Also note that the distance selling rule does not apply. So you do not have to pay Dutch VAT. However, you must include the UK turnover in your VAT return for supply outside the EU. Note: Northern Ireland does still fall under European VAT rules.
To pay your UK VAT, you need to register with the UK tax authorities: HMRC. This has the advantage that the end customer does not have to pay for imports. Besides, it comes across as reliable to your English customers. Are your deliveries more expensive than £135? If so, you will need an EORI number in addition to an English VAT number.
From our warehouse in Northampton, orders are delivered the very next day. This is much faster than sending parcels from Europe yourself, which have to go through expensive border controls first. Our fulfilment centre is also located in the UK’s logistics ‘golden triangle’. That means every address in the country is within reach.
Active Ants delivers quickly because we work with the largest parcel delivery service in the country: Royal Mail. We also have contracts with Evri, DPD and FedEx. Evri is best known for its many parcel points for flexible delivery. Data from PYMNTS shows that 18 percent of Britons pick up their parcel from a collection point. So it is smart to offer this option in your webshop.
Just as in the Netherlands, the number of returns is high in the UK. Almost half of Britons return at least one purchase per year. Moreover, customs can intercept returns if you send them crossborder. This makes you spend even more time and money on the return process.
You can also outsource your returns management to Active Ants. Customers can easily register their returns via our returns portal. We then take care of the receipt, checking and processing of returns. And because we have a local warehouse, you avoid extra costs at the border. This will allow you to refocus on your business operations and, for example, your marketing activities.
Active Ants offers a unique fulfilment solution where robots and humans work together. We work with the advanced AutoStore in all our warehouses. Hundreds of robots move across a framework containing stacks of storage bins. As a result, your stock is stored theftproof and dust free. Warehouse robots bring items to employees at the packing stations. Order picking is therefore fast and practically error free.
When you choose Active Ants, you choose sustainability. All our warehouses are equipped with packing machines that cut your parcels precisely to size. This will save you costs on packaging materials and padding. In addition, the van needs to make fewer trips, as parcels take up less space.
In the UK, Active Ants even takes things one step further. Our fulfilment centre has received an A+ rating. This is the highest score of the BREEAM certificate, the recognised sustainability label for buildings. For example, 40 percent of energy consumption comes from rooftop solar panels. We also capture and reuse rainwater in the building. Less than 1 percent of all registered non-domestic buildings in the UK have this label.
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