Duties calculated on the wrong value.
Declare against the wrong base and every parcel overpays duty at the border.
Global commerce operations
Model every market before you enter it.
Compare MoR, VAT/IOSS, US LLC, domestic delivery, cross-dock injection and returns consolidation in one margin model before expansion costs erase profit.
Built by cross-border commerce operators with over a decade of US, UK, EU and global eCommerce expansion experience.
Most providers sell one route. Lumanora models the right one.
Choose an expansion route to model example margin, duty, return, filing, compliance, operational-control and net-margin figures for the United States market. All figures are illustrative example models, not quotes or guarantees.
MarketUnited StatesUS · UK · EU · AU
Modelling
Example model updated for the Domestic injection route: margin impact +4.2 points.
Recommended routeDomestic injection
Example model- Margin impact
- +4.2 pts
- Duty exposure
- One bulk entry
- Return cost
- $8 / return
- Filing obligations
- Per-state calendar
- Compliance load
- Moderate
- Operational control
- Full
- Net margin after route
- 18.4%
Built for international eCommerce operators.
- US expansion expertise
- UK VAT + MTD pathways
- EU IOSS registration and filing
- US nexus and sales-tax modelling
- Landed cost and HS classification
- Cross-dock and domestic delivery design
- Consolidated returns
THE MARGIN LEAK
Expansion costs do not fail in one place.
Most brands do not lose profit because demand is weak. They lose it because tax, duties, returns, freight, FX, domestic surcharges and compliance are modelled separately.
VAT/IOSS setup chosen too late.
Registrations decided after launch lock brands into slower, costlier tax structures.
Returns handled one parcel at a time.
Individual international returns can cost more than the goods they carry.
Domestic delivery priced on averages.
Average rate cards hide ZIP-level surcharges that quietly erode landed profit.
MoR used before alternatives are modelled.
A take rate on every order deserves comparison before it becomes the default.
Nexus and sales tax treated as an afterthought.
Thresholds cross quietly, and unplanned filing obligations arrive with penalties attached.
The engine
One model. Every route.
Lumanora compares the practical routes into each market — from MoR and tax registrations to local entities, domestic delivery, cross-dock injection and returns consolidation.
Diagram: one central Lumanora modelling engine connects to six modules — Market, Tax, Trade, Relay, Returns and Margin — so every route into a market is modelled against the same shared view.
Modelling engineLive
MKT
Market
Choose the right expansion route by country, category and volume.
TAX
Tax
Model VAT, IOSS, GST, nexus and filing obligations.
TRD
Trade
Understand duties, HS codes, landed cost and tariff exposure.
RLY
Relay
Model cross-dock injection and domestic delivery paths.
RTN
Returns
Compare local returns, consolidation and restock options.
MGN
Margin
See how each route affects landed profit.
Route comparison
MoR is one route. Not the only route.
Merchant of Record can be the right answer. So can IOSS, UK VAT, a US LLC, DDP with better classification, or a domestic injection model. Lumanora helps brands model the cost before choosing the structure.
Before you give up margin, model the route.
Could 6–8% of margin be better spent on structure, routing and returns?
Seven expansion routes compared across five criteria. Each route name is a toggle button that selects the route; as a shortcut, the up and down arrow keys move between route buttons.
| Route | Best for | Margin impact | Operational control | Compliance load | When to consider |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast entry without local setup | Fee-based take rate | Low — provider owns the checkout | Minimal — carried by the provider | Testing demand before committing structure | |
| Low-value EU parcel volume | VAT at checkout, no take rate | High — you own the customer flow | One registration, monthly filings | Steady EU volume in standard goods | |
| Brands committed to the UK | Pass-through at cost | High — direct registration, your pricing | Quarterly returns under MTD | UK volume justifies direct registration | |
| US as a priority market | Entity overhead, no take rate | Full — your own US entity | State registrations and ongoing filings | Scaling US volume long term | |
| Duty-exposed catalogues shipped worldwide | Duties passed through at cost | High — you set the terms | Classification discipline on every SKU | Duty spend is material to margin | |
| Concentrated volume into one market | Bulk freight in, domestic rates out | High — you route every leg | Import clearance at the injection point | Volume supports weekly consolidated freight | |
| Return-heavy categories sold abroad | One consolidated flow, not per-parcel | High — disposition on your schedule | Re-import and restock paperwork | Returns cross borders one at a time |
- Best for
- Duty-exposed catalogues shipped worldwide
- Margin impact
- Duties passed through at cost
- Operational control
- High — you set the terms
- Compliance load
- Classification discipline on every SKU
- When to consider
- Duty spend is material to margin
What the models cost
Provider · Fee structure
- Global-e
- Service fees publicly reported at ~4–6% of GMV*
- Zonos
- US$2 per order + 10% of duties, taxes and fees (per Zonos public docs), typically shopper-paid; platform fee applies.
- Swap
- Custom pricing.
- Lumanora
- From 2% of order value; duties and taxes passed through at cost.
* Blended take rate incl. fulfillment publicly reported ~17–18%.
Example model
Publicly documented or reported fee structures as at July 2026 — verify with each provider. Example model; fee bases differ.
Why Lumanora
No provider bias. Model the route before you choose the stack.
We do not resell the freight, brokerage or merchant-of-record behind any route, so each option is compared on landed margin alone.
- 01 · Operators
Built by cross-border commerce operators
We shipped real orders across these borders and read the invoices afterwards, so the model reflects how landed cost actually behaves.
- 02 · Connected
Models tax, duty, freight, returns and compliance together
One connected model, so a duty rate, a delivery lane and a return never surface as separate surprises on the same order.
- 03 · Coverage
Designed for brands expanding into US, UK, EU and AU
The markets, registrations and delivery routes we model first are the ones our customers are actually entering.
- 04 · One model
One margin model, every route
Merchant of record, local entity, DDP or 3PL each resolve into the same landed-margin figure, so the routes compare like for like.
US expansion
US expansion, built for profit.
Model nexus, domestic delivery, cross-dock injection, returns, duties and market-entry structure before volume scales.
US sales-tax nexus
Know where you owe before a state tells you.
LLC and B2BC structure modelling
Model an own-entity path against MoR before you commit.
Domestic delivery routing
Price the last mile on real ZIPs, not national averages.
Cross-dock parcel injection
Move bulk into market, then hand parcels to domestic carriers.
US returns consolidation
Consolidate returns on your schedule, not one parcel at a time.
ZIP-level surcharge exposure
See DAS and remote surcharges before they reach the invoice.
Carrier-compatible workflows
Labels, manifests and handoffs that fit the workflows you already run.
Margin forecast by state
See where US demand actually earns its margin, state by state.
US expansion layersIllustrative data
A simplified map of the continental United States. Green tinted areas mark example state-level demand in the West, South and Northeast. Small grey dots mark example destination ZIP exposure across major metro areas. Tiny hollow squares mark example residential delivery density near major metros. Amber hatched areas mark example DAS and remote surcharge exposure across the Mountain West and northern plains. A blue diamond marks the active cross-dock injection node in the Midwest. A green circle marks the returns consolidation node in the Southeast. All placements are illustrative.
A partner cross-dock and returns network spanning the US and Canada.
Carrier-compatible workflows
- FedEx®
- UPS®
- USPS®
Tax & trade
Not just compliant. Profitable.
Model UK VAT, EU IOSS, US sales-tax nexus, duties, HS classification, landed cost and filing obligations against the commercial reality of each market.
UK VAT registration and filing
EU IOSS registration and monthly filing
US nexus and sales-tax exposure
HS classification and duty modelling
DDP / DAP / importer-of-record pathways
Product-level landed cost
Customs data and audit trail
Market-specific filing calendar
Compliance & margin — UKCompliance & margin — example market: United KingdomIllustrative data
Filing calendar
- UK VAT returnon trackdue in 18 days
- EU IOSS monthlydue soondue in 6 days
- US nexus reviewscheduledquarterly
Margin readout
- Landed cost modelled
- 100% of SKUs
- Duty exposure
- 4 lines flagged
- Filing obligations
- 3 markets tracked
Cost intelligence
Know the true cost before the first parcel moves.
Upload historical orders and see the full cost stack by market, product, ZIP, duty rate, tax model, domestic carrier path and return flow.
- Market profitability
- Duty/tax exposure
- Filing obligations
- Domestic delivery estimate
- Return-cost estimate
- FX spread
- MoR vs own-entity model
- Cross-dock vs direct parcel model
- Margin forecast
Cost stack — US$100 order into the USExample model
$100.00 order − $81.60 costs = $18.40 margin remaining
MoR vs own-entityScenario estimate
- MoR/platform cost
- $6.00
- Margin remaining
- $18.40
Same US$100 order · structure changes only.
Lumanora Relay
Bulk into market. Deliver like local.
For brands with US volume, Lumanora Relay models the path from international freight to local domestic delivery — including cross-dock, scan, carrier handoff and returns.
Separate the international movement from the domestic delivery layer so you can model the cost before volume moves.
Relay flowFreight in · local delivery · returns consolidated
- International bulk freight arrives into the United States.
- Parcels are received at a US cross-dock.
- Each parcel is scanned and validated.
- Parcels enter a domestic carrier route.
- The customer receives a local delivery.
- Returns collect at a local return node.
- Returns travel back as one consolidated movement.
Pre-labelled parcel injection
Parcels land carrier-ready and enter the domestic network on first scan.
Domestic carrier workflows
Hand off to the domestic carriers your customers already know, on standard workflows.
3PL / cross-dock design
Shape the cross-dock and 3PL footprint around your volume, not a template.
ZIP and surcharge modelling
See ZIP-level surcharge exposure before it lands on a carrier invoice.
Weekly/monthly returns consolidation
Collect returns locally, then move them home in one consolidated flow on your cadence.
Carrier-compatible routing
Model which routing path protects margin across zones, weights and service levels.
Returns
Returns, done with intelligence.
Give customers a local return path, then consolidate, inspect, restock, dispose, donate or return inventory to origin on your schedule.
Not every return needs to cross the world one parcel at a time.
Compare parcel-by-parcel returns against consolidated return flows to see where margin can be recovered.
Upload your return volume and model the difference between individual international returns and weekly or monthly consolidation.
Model your returnsExample model: compare 600 monthly returns across parcel-by-parcel, weekly consolidation and monthly consolidation.
Reference example: express return US → AU
Parcel-by-parcel express≈ A$50–70per returnExample model
Weekly consolidation≈ A$21–23per returnExample model
Modelled saving≈ A$30–45per returnExample model
Monthly consolidation
Lower freight share per return; slower stock recovery. Model with your inputs.
Scenario estimateAssumes AUD/USD 0.66, 0.6 kg average, weekly cadence, ~US$6/kg consolidated air freight. Savings depend on volume, weight, category, destination mix, return rate and provider contracts.
Returns loopLocal return · consolidate · disposition
- The customer sends a return to a local return address.
- Returns are held locally and consolidated into one shipment.
- Each unit is inspected and given a disposition.
- Units restock in market, return to origin, or are donated or disposed.
- Restocked units go back on sale in market, closing the loop.
Local return address
Customers return to a domestic address, at domestic cost and speed.
Consolidated weekly/monthly returns
Hold returns locally, then move them as one consolidated shipment on your cadence.
Return reason intelligence
See why products come back, by market, product and category.
Inspection and disposition
Grade every unit once, then route it to the right disposition.
Restock or return to origin
Resell in market where it stacks up; send inventory home only when the model supports it.
Margin impact by product/category
Know what each return flow really costs before you set returns policy.
Stack compatibility
Built around the stack your brand already runs.
Lumanora is designed to work with commerce, shipping, returns, tax, 3PL, WMS and finance data — without forcing a full rebuild.
Shopify and Shopify Plus exports
Compatible with order, catalogue and payout exports from your store.
WooCommerce / BigCommerce exports
Compatible with standard order and product exports from either platform.
Starshipit / ShipStation / EasyPost workflows
Built to connect with the label and manifest workflows your team runs today.
Loop / Narvar / ReturnGO returns exports
Compatible with returns and disposition exports from your returns tooling.
3PL and WMS files
Designed to support inbound, outbound and inventory files from your 3PL or WMS.
Carrier rate cards
Designed to support contracted rate cards, surcharge tables and zone files.
CSV/XLSX uploads
Designed to support plain spreadsheet uploads when no platform export exists.
Xero / QuickBooks / finance exports
Built to connect with ledger and cost exports for margin reconciliation.
Expertise
Built by operators, not just software.
Lumanora brings together cross-border tax, customs, US expansion, domestic delivery, returns and margin modelling in one operating view.
10+ years cross-border and US market experience
We earned them shipping real orders and reading the invoices afterwards, line by line.
UK VAT, EU IOSS and US nexus pathways
We have registered and filed these ourselves, so the deadlines never arrive as a surprise.
HS classification and landed-cost modelling
We check codes the way we check invoices, because one digit can reprice an entire market.
Cross-dock and returns operating models
We design these the way dock floors actually run, not the way diagrams promise they will.
Shopify and commerce data workflows
We build around the exports your team already pulls, because nobody needs another data project.
Margin-first market-entry strategy
We open every conversation with landed profit, because a market only counts when it pays.
Model the market before you move the margin.
See which expansion route protects margin before you commit to MoR, tax registrations, cross-dock, 3PLs or returns infrastructure.
Route comparison · USExample model
- Merchant of Record-6.8% margin
- US LLC / nexus modelRecommended-2.9% margin
- DDP + cross-dock-4.1% margin
Margin forecast · 12 moExample model
18.4%Landed margin · recommended route+4.3 pts vs current
Returns · consolidated weeklyExample model
Returns flow: customer returns arrive at a local node, then leave as one consolidated weekly shipment.