Wayfindr Explore: International Expansion
Open your next market in 45 days.
Effortless global expansion for your ecommerce brand. We handle everything it takes to get started: the legal side, tax, payments and all your logistics needs.
Sell in the US, UK and EU quickly
Hand off the paperwork & shipping
Pay 40% less than doing it yourself
Focus on growth, not logistics
What are International expansion services?
International expansion services take the work of selling in a new country off your hands. Wayfindr Explore does it all for you in the US, the UK and the EU. No local company to set up, no logistics to build. Wayfindr becomes your legal seller (the merchant of record), handles your tax, and ships your stock from the factory to your customer’s door. You’re selling in about 45 days, at 40% lower cost than doing it yourself.
Selling in a new country usually means hiring nine companies to do one job.
A checkout provider. A tax agent. A payments processor. A freight forwarder. A customs broker. A 3PL. A returns provider. A headache.
Nine contracts, nine integrations, nine places for an order to break. And not one of them can take the sale under local tax rules and also put the box on your customer's doorstep.
"A brand shouldn't have to become a tax entity in five countries and hire five logistics providers in each of them, just to sell there"
We've watched this go wrong. That's why we built it this way.
We have seen good brands stall in markets they should have owned, because the legal and logistics layer underneath them couldn't keep up. A shipment held at a border is not a logistics problem to a founder. It's a launch that didn't happen.
Wayfindr is the tech-enabled 4PL behind brands going global. Freight, customs, warehousing, fulfilment, last-mile and returns, run by one team. Expansion as a Service adds the part we could never do before: the legal right to sell.
Lashify wanted the UK.
The US beauty brand had built its whole business shipping from Los Angeles. UK demand was growing, and post-Brexit VAT, EORI and product classification were nobody’s expertise on their team. We put stock in the UK and took the compliance on.
29
Countries served
US, UK and EU
Regional teams
45 days
Onboarding
How long it takes
How long does it take to start selling in a new market?
About 45 days, from decision to first order. Wayfindr sets up your right to sell and gets your stock into the market at the same time, so nothing sits waiting on anything else.
Tell us where you’re going.
We map the market against your products and the channels you want to sell through, and tell you plainly whether it’s worth entering.
We build the market.
Wayfindr sets up everything for you, all at once. That is what makes 45 days possible.
You start selling.
First orders in local currency, out of local stock, on your own storefront.
Pick your markets, channels and products. We check what each market requires and plan your opening stock.
Wayfindr becomes your legal seller and importer. Your channels go live, your warehouse is ready and your stock arrives in the market.
First orders in local currency, shipped from local stock. Tax handled. Payouts start on the schedule you choose.
Returns handled locally, compliance kept current, and everything we learn makes your next market faster.
Wayfindr does all of it, from the storefront to the doorstep and back.
What does an international expansion service actually include?
Everything. Wayfindr Explore runs every layer of selling in a new market, from the checkout page to your customer’s door and back again. One team, one contract, nothing for you to build.
Your store
Launch your store in your new market. Checkout in the local language and currency. We do all the boring stuff: Wayfindr becomes your merchant of record and importer of record.
The right to sell
We register, file and pay the tax, complete product registration and screen every order for fraud. Payouts reach you on the schedule you choose.
Fulfilment and Delivery
All the logistics: purchase orders, freight from the factory, customs, warehousing, pick and pack, and final-mile delivery. Your stock sits in the market, close to your customers.
Returns and Resale
Returns are handled inside the market, not shipped back across a border. Returned stock gets resold instead of written off.
Market Intelligence
Data from every layer above gives you the real operating picture: sell-through, stock cover, returns, landed cost and margin per order. You see what the market actually earns you, and what the next one is likely to.
One team runs all five. You work on developing your next product.
The network behind your US, UK and EU launch
Every location on this map is operational and can act as your merchant of record. Filter by region or capability to see what runs where.
USA
HUB
Cross-border and domestic MOR gateway
UK
HUB
UK VAT and MOR distribution centre
Europe
HUB · NETHERLANDS
EU fiscal representative and MOR hub
Capabilities across the network
- Warehousing and fulfilment
- Freight forwarding
- Last mile
- Merchant of record (MOR)
- Importer and exporter of record (IOR/EOR)
- Amazon FBA
- Returns
- Bonded warehouse
Sell where you already sell.
Three places your customers buy and what each one demands before it lets you in. One stock plan behind all three.
Your own store
Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce or your own build. Nothing about it changes: same domain, same checkout. We work behind it with local currency, local payment methods and local stock.
This is the channel a distributor takes off you, so it is the first one we protect.
Amazon
Amazon rewards brands who hold stock in the country. Sell there without your own entity, with inventory positioned locally and the tax position handled before your first order.
TikTok Shop
TikTok Shop wants a registered entity in the selling country, a person there, a local returns address and fast delivery. That is where most applications stop.
We hold that position; you keep the account. UK, EU and US TikTok Shop.
Built for brands ready to sell abroad.
The three ways in
Merchant of record, distributor or building it yourself
There are three ways to sell in a country you have no company in. Build the entity and the supplier list yourself, which typically takes most of a year. Sell through a distributor, which is faster but hands them your storefront and your customer. Or use a merchant of record like Wayfindr, which keeps the storefront yours and takes about 45 days.
One service, run by one team.
Wayfindr Explore is one service, run by one team. Wayfindr takes the legal seller position in the market, imports the goods, registers and files the tax, completes product registration, and runs local checkout, payments and fraud cover. Wayfindr also moves the goods: freight out of the factory, customs, warehousing, stock planning, picking, packing, delivery and returns. One contract, and one account manager who owns the outcome. It works the same way on your own store, on Amazon, on TikTok Shop, or on all three. You keep your storefront, your brand, your customer relationship and your sanity.
Wayfindr Insights
The best thing about logistics? There’s no shortage of things to learn.
Ready to expand?
Tell us which market you have in mind.
What happens now?
We’re here to make things simpler for you – we won’t spam your inbox or blow up your phone. When you enter your information:
- (Within 24 hours)
A member of the Wayfindr team will read your request and schedule a meeting by email. A more in-depth form will be attached to the email. - We will ask you about your needs and specific logistics requirements.
- We will take your information and put together a plan designed for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to set up a company in the country I’m selling into?
No. Wayfindr becomes the merchant of record, the legal seller in the market, and the brand sells under registrations Wayfindr already holds. No local entity, no local director, no local bank account.
What is a merchant of record?
A merchant of record is the legal seller in a market. It takes the payment, owns the tax obligation on the sale, and carries the fraud and chargeback liability. A merchant of record does not, on its own, move any goods. Wayfindr does both.
What is an importer of record?
An importer of record is the party legally responsible for bringing goods into a country, settling duties and import tax, and holding the compliance position at the border. On Wayfindr Explore, Wayfindr is the importer of record.
How long does VAT registration normally take?
Applying for your own VAT number usually takes six to fourteen weeks, depending on the country. Selling through a merchant of record removes that wait, because the registrations already exist.
Which markets can I sell into?
Wayfindr Explore covers the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union as a region.
Can I sell on TikTok Shop without a local company?
Yes, through a merchant of record. Wayfindr holds the entity position and the brand keeps admin control of its Seller Center.
Can I run my own store and the marketplaces at the same time?
Yes, and it is the normal case. Wayfindr plans stock against total demand in the market, then routes each order through the channel it came from.
Who handles VAT, and what happens when the rules change?
Wayfindr handles registration, filing and payment, and keeps them current as rates and thresholds move. It is part of the service, not a separate project.
Do I lose control of my store?
No. The brand keeps its own storefront, its own tech stack and its own customer relationship. That is the main difference from selling through a distributor.
What is the difference between this and a 3PL?
A 3PL stores and ships a brand’s goods. It does not take the legal seller position, register for VAT, or import on the brand’s behalf. Wayfindr Explore covers the legal right to sell as well as moving the goods.
How is this different from Wayfindr Go?
Wayfindr Go is full-service 4PL logistics for brands that already have the right to sell in their markets. Wayfindr Explore adds the legal seller and importer position, for brands entering a market where they have no company. Brands often start with Explore and move to Go as volume grows.
