Wayfindr and ExpandNow partner to take brands into new markets in 45 days

The partnership gives ecommerce brands one team for both the logistics and the legal sides of expanding into the UK, EU and US.

Wayfindr and ExpandNow have entered a partnership to give established ecommerce brands a single route into new international markets. Wayfindr is a 4PL (fourth-party logistics company) that runs logistics from the factory to the customer’s door. ExpandNow provides the right to sell in market and looks after tax, compliance and payments. Together, the two companies support brands expanding across the UK, EU and US, and can have them live and selling in 45 days.

In most cases, demand is already there. What slows a launch is the groundwork around the sale: how stock reaches the customer’s door, who pays the import duty, which tax registrations apply and what product paperwork the market requires.

The two obstacles brands meet when they expand

The first obstacle appears when shipping from home stops being enough. A marketplace or TikTok Shop may require stock held locally, customs on a category can become too heavy, and longer delivery and return times begin to cost the brand customers.

The second is the local footprint a brand then needs to build. Setting one up alone involves:

• a VAT or tax registration, often with a local entity
• product registrations
• payments and fraud protection
• freight, customs clearance, a warehouse, fulfillment and returns

That adds up to eight or more suppliers working independently of one another. The first sale typically arrives the better part of a year later, and responsibility is spread so widely that fixing a problem takes longer than it should. Many brands review that list and put the expansion on hold.

We see the same pattern in logistics alone. Some of our largest customers would otherwise manage 14 separate providers across the EU, UK and US, plus freight and warehousing at origin in Vietnam and China, before VAT or company registration enter the picture.

“Opening a new market used to mean two main headaches: the logistics and the legal side,” says Nick Bartlett, Co-Founder & Director at Wayfindr. “We’ve been sorting out the logistics for years, ExpandNow sorts out the rest, and brands that work with us just get on with building their products and their business.”

The rules continue to change. On 29 August 2025, the US ended its $800 de minimis duty exemption for all countries, and from 1 July 2026 the EU applies a €3 duty to low-value parcels. According to Avalara, 39% of the 1,500 senior decision-makers it surveyed in January 2026 had delayed entering new markets altogether because of regulatory uncertainty.

Two specialists, one service

Each company covers a different part of market entry. Wayfindr runs freight, customs handling, warehousing and delivery. ExpandNow acts as the legal seller and Importer of Record, and handles tax and compliance. Together they give a brand complete market entry as one service, led by one accountable team.

“We were looking for a partner that does exactly what we don’t: getting stock into the country and out to the customer,” says Daniel Viniegra, Head of Partnerships at ExpandNow. “Wayfindr does that exceptionally well. With them, brands get the whole journey from us, not half of it.”

What Wayfindr handles

• Demand planning, so stock arrives ahead of need
• Inbound freight from origin by air, sea or road
• Customs clearance, with ExpandNow acting as Importer of Record
• In-market warehousing, pick, pack and last-mile delivery to the customer’s door
• Returns and exchanges handled locally
• Tracking for every leg in one place

What ExpandNow handles

• Merchant of record status, so ExpandNow is the legal seller in market and the brand skips setting up a local company
• Selling under ExpandNow’s existing VAT, OSS / IOSS and EORI registrations, which skips the 6-to-14-week wait for a brand’s own numbers
• VAT and tax registered, filed and paid, plus product registration and compliance (CE, REACH, GPSR, EPR) wherever the market requires it
• Local checkout in the local language and currency, with daily payouts
• Fraud screening, with chargeback liability covered
• TikTok Shop onboarding across the UK, EU and US, with the brand skipping the local entity and keeping admin control of its Seller Center

ExpandNow as merchant of record and Importer of Record

Two roles sit at the centre of what ExpandNow does, and they are what allow a brand to sell in a new market before it has a local company in place.

As merchant of record (MOR) across the UK, EU and US, ExpandNow is the legal seller in each market. Brands sell under ExpandNow’s existing VAT, OSS / IOSS and EORI registrations, which means the launch skips the 6-to-14-week wait for a brand’s own numbers. ExpandNow registers, files and pays the VAT and tax, handles invoicing, takes care of product registration and compliance (CE, REACH, GPSR, EPR) where the market requires it, and carries the fraud screening and chargeback liability.

As Importer of Record (IOR), ExpandNow is the party legally responsible for the goods as they clear customs into the market. Wayfindr runs the freight and the customs clearance, with ExpandNow named as Importer of Record, so responsibility for each import rests with ExpandNow instead of the brand.

Together, the two roles give the brand a compliant route into the UK, EU and US, while it keeps its storefront, customer relationship and pricing.

From kickoff to launch in 45 days

Expanding into a new market is a build, and the two companies run it as one coordinated project, with the goods and the compliance moving in parallel.

Plan the market (days 1 to 10). We select the warehouse and carriers and forecast demand, while ExpandNow maps compliance and analyzes tax and duty.

Build the foundations (days 5 to 30). We onboard the warehouse and position opening inventory in market. ExpandNow becomes the merchant of record and switches on payments and fraud cover.

Launch (days 30 to 45). Fulfillment and last-mile delivery go live. First orders arrive in local currency, tax is collected and remitted, and daily payouts begin.

Scale to the next market (day 45 onward). Returns are handled in market, compliance stays current, and demand data feeds the next launch, so market two moves faster.

What this means for brands

One team. Logistics and market entry run as a single job, with one number to call when something needs attention.

A launch in 45 days. Brands that build their own setup typically take the better part of a year. With Wayfindr, warehousing can be live in 14 days.

Stock close to customers. Delivery and returns happen locally, and 99.4% of the orders Wayfindr manages arrive on or before the scheduled date.

Risk moves off the brand. ExpandNow is the legal seller and the Importer of Record, and fraud and chargebacks are covered.

Brands stay in control. They keep their storefront, tech, customer relationship and pricing, and pay a transparent fee tied to what they sell.

“Most brands don’t actually want to set up a company in another country, they just want to sell there,” says Seán Griffin, Head of Global Sales at ExpandNow. “With Wayfindr, we look after the legal and tax side, they look after the stock, and the brand gets one team instead of spending the better part of a year getting set up.”

Planning your next market? Talk to the Wayfindr team about launching in 45 days.