News
Access Technology Solutions’ Latest Low-Cost Shipping Lane Ramps Up Global Trade with Canada
Cheaper, Faster Express Shipping Options Available for Global Brands Selling Direct into Canada
Provo, UT, Monday, January 17, 2012 – Access Technology Solutions (ATS) is announcing the launch of yet another dedicated low-cost consolidated shipping lane — this one serving Canada’s fast-growing direct-to-consumer market. ATS’ new Canadian express and freight logistics service joins the company’s recently announced Chinese consolidated shipping lane and its long-established, high-volume Japan, Hong Kong and Australia shipping operations.
As changing Canadian purchase behaviors spur the growth of the direct-to-consumer market in Canada, many industry observers predict a growing influx of consumer product brands from all around the globe in the coming years. Many well-known U.S. and international brands have recently targeted Canada as a promising growth market. Brands including Target, J. Crew, Japan-based UNIQLO and some fast-growing U.S. direct selling companies, such as ItWorks, Uppercase Living, and Shelf Reliance have increased their Canadian presence by announcing plans to launch direct selling operations into Canada.
“After spending nearly two months working with one of the two biggest U.S. carriers to prep our shipments into Canada, our team was continuing to struggle with all of their rigid integration and set up requirements. We contacted ATS and within just 5 business days, their team had fully implemented our Canadian logistic support system and helped us begin shipping our unique, high-demand products into the Canada,” said Jason Norton, Executive Vice President of Shelf Reliance (www.shelfreliance.com). “I can’t begin to tell you how happy ATS has made our sales consultants throughout Canada.”
Shelf Reliance is an excellent case study that highlights how a growing number of Canadians are discovering new and unique international brands. The embrace of direct-to-consumer brands from all around the world is starting to show up in the country’s global trade statistics. For instance, Canada’s total trade with China totaled C$57 billion in 2010 and was up 16% through June of 2011. Imports from China, Canada’s second-largest merchandise import supplier, rose by $4.8 billion to reach almost $44.5 billion last year. Imports from Japan, Canada’s fourth largest importer, increased 8.8% to $13.4 billion in 2010. Imports from seventh-ranked Korea were up 3.7% to $6.1 billion.
ATS’ dedicated Canadian shipping and logistics solution will considerably increase the speed of product delivery to destinations throughout Canada. Although open to brands throughout the world, ATS’ Canadian lane will provide brands in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific markets significant increases in delivery speed — and equally dramatic decreases in shipping costs. ATS has built a strong reputation in the biggest Asia-Pacific markets during the last decade and today handles fast-growing volumes of freight into and out of the region.
“For years our clients in Europe, the U.S. and throughout Asia have told us how frustrated they’ve been with the high cross-border barriers to Canadian trade. We’re pleased to be able to offer a real alternative to other shippers that continue taking advantage of these barriers to drive up the costs of serving Canadian customers,” said Chris Boyle, ATS’ co-founder and CEO. “Canada is a very sophisticated and fast-growing direct market where consumer choice has been limited by unnecessarily high international shipping costs and cross-border complexities. We’re proud to be able to provide direct-to-consumer brands and their customers with smarter choices when it comes to the international shipping and logistics.”
Canadian merchandise exports to the world rose to $399.4 billion in 2010, while imports tallied $403.3 billion. Canada and the United States are each other’s top global trading partners, accounting for over $525 billion in total trade in 2010. Through October of 2011, overall trade between the U.S. and Canada has grown almost 14% after growing an impressive 22% in 2010. Exports from the U.S. to Canada through October of 2011 have grown 13%.
In years past, Canadians tended to shop and purchase domestically. But in recent years, more and more Canadians have embraced the Internet and online shopping, a key proxy for broader direct-to-consumer marketing and direct selling efforts. In 2010, 51% of Canadian Internet users ordered goods or services for personal or household use. In total, Canadians placed nearly 114 million orders, valued at approximately $15.3 billion. Among those who placed an order online, individuals averaged about 10 orders over a 12-month period, with an average total value of $1,362 per person.
Top European importers to Canada include Germany (#5 with a 5.9% increase to $11.4 billion), the U.K. (#6 with a 13.9% increase to $10.7 billion) and France, the only one of the top ten importer whose imports to Canada fell (3.65 to $5.4 billion) in 2010.
Access Technology Solutions is a leading international commerce technology and logistics provider for retail and consumer brands, e-commerce and multichannel companies and direct selling firms.
ATS helps leading U.S. brands sell and ship products all over the world. ATS’ international commerce platform and logistics solution offers companies a simple, low risk way to sell profitably into international markets at significantly lower costs. ATS has established itself as the leading facilitator of international expansion into Asia and the South Pacific for these direct-to-consumer brands.
ATS’ Global Access shipping platform converts U.S. prices into local currencies around the world, localizes the shopping experience, offers secure local payment systems and guarantees precise landed costs (e.g. all customs fees, taxes and shipping charges). ATS’ dock-to-doorstep logistical service handles all outbound U.S. logistics (including pre-ship screening for restricted items and order item accuracy), bypasses customs-clearing bottlenecks and coordinates final-mile delivery for its clients.Brands can quickly integrate ATS’ web services and secure, risk-free local payment options into existing websites, distributor portals, global commerce systems and call centers.
ATS has been included in the top 10 of the Utah Fast 50 program since 2007 and was named to the 2011 MountainWest Capital Network’s Utah 100. ATS was also featured in the prestigious 2010 Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing private companies in the U.S.
To learn more about extending the reach of your online brand into China and throughout Asia/Pacific Rim and across Europe, contact Tom McGurran (tmcgurran@accessts.com) at 1-877-811-8188.
Access Technology Solutions Launches New Dedicated, Low-Cost Shipping Lane to and from China
New Shipping Option for Direct-to-Consumer Brands Significantly Decreases Cost and Delivery Time
Provo, UT, Monday, January 09, 2012 – Access Technology Solution’s (ATS) high-touch, low-cost shipping and logistics services are now available to U.S. direct-to-consumer brands interested in boosting trade with China. ATS’ China lane now joins its Japan, Indonesia, Australia and Taiwan lanes as fast-growing Asia/Pacific Rim shipping channels for express and freight shipments for ATS’ U.S. clients.
The dedicated Chinese lane will significantly speed the delivery of products to warehouses and/or residential destinations throughout China. Equally important, the costs to ship products from the U.S. to China will fall significantly compared to other domestic U.S. shippers, in some cases by 50% and more.
“Given the leading role that China increasingly plays in global trade, investing to make China a faster, more affordable shipping destination for our clients is a no brainer,” explained Chris Boyle, ATS’ CEO. “Too many U.S. brands continue to drastically overpay to have product shipped to and from China. We’re excited that we can now bring about meaningful change and help grow international sales.”
The boom in Chinese consumerism offers lucrative new global trade opportunities for both Chinese and U.S. firms. The United States is China’s top trading partner with over $385 billion in trade in 2010, up almost 30%. Trade with the U.S. represents 20% of China’s entire external trading volume. Total trade between China and the U.S. rose 25% year-to-year in 2010. US exports to China increased 32% to $92 billion in 2010 while imports from China rose 23% to $365 billion. Among the fastest-growing exports were apparel ($121 billion/up 21%), furniture ($50 billion/up 30%) and footwear ($35 billion/up 27%).
Japan, currently ATS’ top shipping lane by volume, is China’s second leading partner, at $298 billion, up just over 30%. Japan accounts for 19% of China’s external trading volume. ATS moves significant intra-Asia order volume and the new China lane will increase that trade significantly in the coming years.
In a recent interview about ATS’ latest proprietary shipping lane to and from Asia, ATS CEO Chris Boyle explained why ATS has focused strategically on creating new, faster and lower-cost shipping alternatives to fast-growing international markets. ATS’ new China-direct logistics services are attracting significant business from U.S. brands that are expanding internationally, many for the first time. Companies that are new to international sales often initially turn to their domestic shipping partner when they first start fulfilling orders across borders. Boyle explained that this can often be a poor business decision that drives up costs and lowers service levels.
“Although the domestic shippers increasingly present themselves as global shippers, they typically just hand off packages to numerous other shipping firms and take a healthy margin for themselves. By doing so, they drive up costs and increase delivery times. On the other hand, ATS’ network owns package transport and delivery from dock to doorstep, so we can bypass all the unnecessary middlemen and mark-ups. On top of that, our dedicated clearing process ensures a quick and easy passage through customs.”
Boyle also explained that as trade between the U.S. and China booms in the years ahead, brands will need more than just reasonably priced and fast shipping.
“Gaining real traction in international markets means showing new international distributors and customers that they can trust your brand to deliver what it promises. Gaining this trust means not only offering timely and affordable shipping, but also providing accurate sales forecasting tools and inventory visibility 24/7 and having easy-to-use, sophisticated warehouse management systems in place,” Boyle continued. “Our job is to help our clients earn this trust by ensuring that their international distributors will never run out of product.”
Boyle also spoke to the importance of moving quickly today to build a global brand that international markets can depend on tomorrow. “We’re focused on making sure that our clients get in early and start building trust today,” added Boyle. “I spend a lot time in markets all around the world, especially around the Pacific Rim. The phenomenal growth we’re seeing today is nothing compared to what we’ll see soon,” said Boyle. “In many ways, the world is just now waking up to a new era of global trade.”
The prospects of future growth are indeed enticing. China’s consumption today is about 1/3 of its overall GDP. On the other hand, the U.S. spends over 2/3rds of its GDP on consumption. By 2013, iResearch reports some 48 million small-and medium-sized companies in China will be exporting goods, up from around 33 million firms just three years ago.
Access Technology Solutions is a leading international commerce technology and logistics provider for retail and consumer brands, e-commerce and multichannel companies and direct selling firms.
ATS helps leading U.S. brands sell and ship products all over the world. ATS’ international commerce platform and logistics solution offers companies a simple, low risk way to sell profitably into international markets at significantly lower costs. ATS has established itself as the leading facilitator of international expansion into Asia and the South Pacific for these direct-to-consumer brands.
ATS’ international e-commerce platform converts U.S. prices into local currencies around the world, localizes the shopping experience, offers secure local payment systems and guarantees precise landed costs (e.g. all customs fees, taxes and shipping charges). ATS’ dock-to-doorstep logistical service handles all outbound U.S. logistics (including pre-ship screening for restricted items and order item accuracy), bypasses customs-clearing bottlenecks and coordinates final-mile delivery for its clients.Brands can quickly integrate ATS’ web services and secure, risk-free local payment options into existing websites, distributor portals, global commerce systems and call centers.
ATS has been included in the top 10 of the Utah Fast 50 program since 2007 and was named to the 2011 MountainWest Capital Network’s Utah 100. ATS was also featured in the prestigious 2010 Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing private companies in the U.S.
Access Technology Solutions Named to the Top Tier of the Utah 100 Fastest Growing Companies for the 4th Consecutive Year
PROVO, UT, October 10, 2011 — High-growth international consumer markets are creating new jobs in Utah and opportunities to thrive globally for innovative companies like Access Technology Solutions, which was once again named to MountainWest Capital Network’s Utah 100. Access placed in the top tier among the 100 fastest growing companies in Utah for 2011 at #33. The Utah 100 list was released during the 17th annual Utah 100 Awards program on October 6th, which was headlined by a keynote speech from Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert.
“It’s always an honor to be recognized as a leading member within this unique collection of innovators, entrepreneurs and visionary businesses,” said Chris Boyle, President and CEO. “And like our esteemed colleagues, we remain very grounded in a simple reality. None of these accolades are possible without the effort and contributions of two special groups of people; the team here at Access and our clients, who together make all our international innovation and on-the-ground execution possible.”
Access Technology Solutions – www.accessts.com – is a leading technology and logistics solution provider helping eTailers and Direct Selling firms expand operations into international markets. Access delivers innovative web based technologies including localized portals to manage in-country distribution, an international shopping cart and supporting cross-border technologies. Access’ solution streamlines international order management and fulfillment and provides complete visibility throughout the supply chain. By working with long-established, in-country logistics specialists, Access is able to deliver products at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods.
After Governor Herbert’s keynote, Boyle discussed several key factors that have contributed to Access’ ability to consistently place high on the Utah 100. “Our business is fortunate to lie at the intersection of several mega-trends —the push by the exploding global middle class to significantly improve its standard of living, the drive by global brands to embrace direct-to-consumer distribution models and the opportunity for innovative firms to cost-effectively access powerful technology solutions,” commented Boyle.
“Our management team has stayed extremely focused on delivering a value proposition that taps into all these trends while our operating team has stayed committed to managing the day-to-day realities that transform this vision into operational success. The final piece of the puzzle is our extensive and fast-growing network of logistics partners in markets around the world. These folks quite literally deliver the goods day-in and day-out and around the clock. They’re what really make us go.”
MountainWest Capital Network, Utah’s first business networking organization devoted to supporting entrepreneurial successes, annually ranks the top 100 businesses in Utah based on percentage increases in company revenues over the preceding five years. Leaders from Utah firms foster entrepreneurial success by enabling more dynamic information flow about capital formation and distribution, via education and mentoring and by recognizing and rewarding business performance.
More information about the Utah 100 can be found at http://www.mwcn.org/utah-100-in-utah-ceo
