Interview | Mastering cross-border shipping with Seven Senders 7S flex

Shipping is a critical aspect of the e-commerce industry. It is system-critical and directly impacts customer experience and unit economics. Seven Senders has launched a new solution called 7S flex. This solution offers all the features of the proven Seven Senders model. But it comes with a seamless and straightforward process for merchants. In the 7S flex solution, Seven Senders not only offers the best delivery solution in Europe with the best price points but also takes care of the integration and parcel sorting with the aim of making international shipping as easy as counting to three.

In an exclusive interview with Founder and Co-CEO Dr. Johannes Plehn, we will explore the key highlights of this solution and what it offers to European e-commerce shippers. Additionally, we will discuss the future of cross-border shipping with Seven Senders, including upcoming features and enhancements in 7S flex and the continued vision for a borderless European e-commerce shipping and delivery network.

What is 7S flex?

Johannes Plehn: 7S flex is Seven Senders' new solution that turns complexity into simplicity. It is designed to simplify the shipping process for e-commerce businesses by seamlessly connecting to their existing shop's ERP, WMS, or any other systems. Additionally, we handle the entire international parcel pick-up and sorting, freeing e-commerce businesses from having to deal with these operational steps. This allows our customers to focus on their core competencies while leaving the challenges of logistics to us. With this solution, e-commerce shippers can benefit from improved efficiency and streamlined operations while delivering goods to happy customers across Europe.

What factors fueled the need to have such a solution in place for e-commerce businesses? 

Johannes Plehn: European shippers are increasingly adopting first-in-class cross-border solutions, with the majority of top shippers already implementing them. SMEs and mid-sized companies are similarly turning to these solutions. Some of the reasons driving this:

1. Customer demands: As online shoppers become more demanding, they expect seamless experiences, personalized services, and efficient deliveries. Meeting these expectations requires customer-centric and easy logistics.

2. Fast trade: In today’s fast-paced world, speed matters. Customers want their orders delivered quickly, which necessitates streamlined logistics processes and innovative technologies.

3. Competition: E-commerce giants like Amazon set high standards for delivery speed and convenience. Other companies strive to keep up, driving demand for cutting-edge logistics solutions.

4. SME accessibility: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent 99% of all businesses in the EU. Traditionally, sophisticated logistics solutions were accessible only to large shippers. We want small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to benefit from prime logistics services through 7S flex. 

How does this solution reflect Seven Senders' customer-centric approach?

Johannes Plehn: Delivering excellence is our passion. Historically, we've done a lot in perfecting the last mile - and it's paid off. Our customers consistently grow on average 10% faster than the market. But with e-commerce struggling in the past 24 months, retailers also fear complexity and want simple solutions. 7S flex represents the perfect fusion of best-in class doorstep delivery and effortless integration and operations. It's the ultimate win-win for both customers and shippers alike. 

How does 7S flex cater to large businesses and SMEs across Europe?

Johannes Plehn: Our solution caters to large and SMEs across Europe by offering simplicity, scalability and flexibility in its services. For large businesses, it provides a robust solution that can handle high volumes of international shipments efficiently. With 7S flex we are now opening up this network for smaller shippers. They often face constraints such as limited IT resources, warehouse capacity, and - compared with the large shippers - low economies of scale. With 7S flex those hurdles are overcome. By offering a solution like 7S flex, Seven Senders effectively levels the playing field for these businesses in the competitive e-commerce landscape. This approach not only empowers SMEs to navigate cross-border shipping with ease but also contributes to the overall growth and resilience of the European e-commerce ecosystem. With our new capabilities, businesses with international volumes of 5K per year or more can benefit from our delivery platform and additional services.

What are the key features of the new solution?

Johannes Plehn: 
We Connect: To any shop’s ERP, WMS, or other systems, ensuring a simple and quick start.
We Sort: Online shops hand over mixed pallets with all their international shipments, and we sort the parcels at our strategic hubs. These parcels are then transported efficiently to their destination country through our extensive network of carriers and delivered to the customers' doorsteps.
You Flex: E-commerce businesses of any size can now focus on their core competencies and cater to their customers with ease and reliability.

What is the future of 7S flex for cross-border e-commerce?

Johannes Plehn: At Seven Senders, we understand the significance of being adaptable in a constantly evolving environment. Through this solution, we address both present customer requirements and pave the way for a future that combines a simple solution with best-in-class delivery service. The vision for 7S flex specifically, resonates with adaptability, efficiency, and customer-centricity, this is why in our journey ahead, we want to focus on highlighting what else is available for online shops when using this solution. This means, taking advantage of our standard integrations with systems like Shopify, JTL, PIXI, Plentymarkets and many more - through which we aim to help businesses even more to overcome the limitations of IT capacity and project management, in order to realize a first-class shipping solution.

At Seven Senders, we truly believe the future of cross-border shipping lies in the seamless integration of technology and logistics solutions, prioritizing ease, efficiency, sustainability, and adaptability. Additionally, collaborations between logistics providers and e-commerce platforms will lead to more tailored and customer-centric shipping experiences, ensuring that businesses can meet the evolving demands of the global market.