Reverse logistics in practice: turning returns into a competitive advantage
18 October 2025
Top 8 Solutions for High-Speed Robotic Piece-Picking in Heterogeneous Bins
21 October 2025
FLEX. Logistics
We provide logistics services to online retailers in Europe: Amazon FBA prep, processing FBA removal orders, forwarding to Fulfillment Centers - both FBA and Vendor shipments.
When launching a new e-commerce business, entering a new market, or expanding into a new region, the term “cold start” resonates loud and clear. A cold start refers to the situation where your operation begins with no or very limited customer history, no established brand awareness, no optimized logistics network in place, and minimal operational data to forecast demand or plan capacity. In European e-commerce, mastering cold starts is a critical differentiator between floundering at the launch and building momentum toward scalable growth.
Why does it matter? Without prior order volume, customer behaviour data, returns history or fulfillment benchmarks, your ability to forecast demand, allocate inventory and optimise logistics becomes heavily compromised. In turn, this raises risks: over-stocking or under-stocking, missed delivery targets, elevated costs, inferior customer experience - and ultimately damaged brand credibility.
The European e-commerce environment: unique opportunities and challenges
Europe is a diverse marketplace. The landscape offers tremendous potential, but also distinct hurdles.
- Market size and growth
Europe remains one of the world’s largest e-commerce regions, encompassing mature markets like Germany, UK and France, as well as rapidly growing Eastern European markets. This heterogeneity offers both opportunity and complexity. - Cross-border complexity
Selling across Europe often means navigating multiple languages, currencies, regulatory regimes (including VAT), and consumer expectations. Logistics and fulfilment are core to the value proposition. - Logistics and fulfilment as competitive advantage
In Europe, delivery speed, returns handling and localised customer experience are no longer nice-to-haves - the are table stakes. A brand launching cold must incorporate fulfilment from day one. - Data readiness and forecasting limitations
When launching a new market, you often lack past performance in that region, making demand modelling hard. Cultural preferences, seasonality, local channels all differ. You need to build data fast, test smart, and iteratively refine. - Regulatory & tax considerations
VAT registration, import duties, local consumer protections - these all vary across EU member states. A cold start must either leverage local expertise or get bogged down.
From zero to forecast: a practical roadmap
1. Set clear launch objectives
Start by defining your goals: Which country or countries will you target first? What is your first-year revenue target? What product categories will you deploy? What market share or rank do you aim for in that region? Defining these gets everyone aligned.
2. Begin with a minimum viable launch
Rather than full-blown continental rollout, choose a pilot market (often Germany, UK or France) where you can launch with limited SKUs, low risk and manageable complexity. Use this pilot to gather initial data on sales velocity, returns rate, customer behaviour, logistics costs and lead times.
3. Select logistics and fulfilment partner early
Critical: fast delivery, local returns processing, customs/clearance if imported goods. A partner like FLEX. positions itself as a full A-to-Z service across the EU: “To provide an A-to-Z e-commerce logistics solution that would complete Amazon fulfilment network in the European Union".
By outsourcing logistics you free your team to focus on marketing, product and customer experience rather than warehousing and shipping.
4. Gather data and track metrics from week one
From the pilot phase capture:
- units sold per SKU per region;
- lead time from order to delivery;
- returns rate and reason codes;
- average order value (AOV) and conversion by channel;
- logistics cost per order (including returns);
- customer satisfaction / NPS by region.
This raw data lets you begin building a rudimentary forecast.
5. Build your first forecast & inventory plan
Even with limited data, you can extrapolate. For example: If in week 4 you sold 100 units in market A and returns rate is 10 % with a 50 % sell-through in 30 days, you can forecast month 2 and prepare inventory accordingly. Then factor in growth rates (perhaps from marketing spend) and seasonality (especially relevant in Europe with multiple national holidays and shopping peaks).
6. Scale across geographies
Once the pilot is stable and your forecast reliable, expand to additional markets. Use your data from the first region to inform launch decisions for the next (skipping some of the trial-and-error). Logistics partner should already support multi-country fulfilment.
At this stage you will refine your forecast for each local market (which will differ in behaviour, channel and logistics efficiency).
7. Optimise key levers continuously
Refinement is ongoing:
- adjust inventory buffers based on region-specific lead times and returns;
- refine channel mix (marketplace vs direct);
- use regional promotions & localised content;
- monitor logistics cost vs customer experience: faster delivery may improve conversion but costs more;
- leverage the logistics partner’s capabilities (e.g. FLEX.’s Amazon FBA prep, removal order handling, customs clearance).
8. Forecasting into maturity
Eventually your business matures with full data history: regional cohorts, seasonal cycles, returns and product lifecycle metrics. You move from reactive inventory to predictive - i.e. “We know planting 2,500 units in region B before Q4 will cover demand with 95 % service level”. At this point, you have truly gone from zero to forecast.
Cold start - specific European considerations
When operating in Europe, the cold-start to forecast journey has a few added wrinkles worth highlighting.
- Multi-language, multi-culture
Launches must tailor local language, marketing nuance and cultural preferences. What sells in Germany may not resonate in Italy. The logistics partner should be able to support regional handling and customer returns.
- Returns intensity
European consumers expect straightforward returns. On a cold launch especially, watching returns is vital as it directly impacts forecast accuracy and logistics load. A 2-week return window is common in several EU countries; make sure your fulfilment provider supports returns processing efficiently.
- VAT and customs across borders
Even within the EU, cross-border fulfilment may trigger VAT registration, import duties, and local regulatory compliance. With a cold start you do not yet have systemised routines, so you will want a logistics partner who has this built-in.
- Data fragmentation
Because European markets are so heterogeneous, your early data sets will come from individual countries. If you aggregate too early, you may mis-forecast. Instead build country-level forecasts, then later roll up to continent-wide views.
- Logistics location strategy
Warehouse placement matters. FLEX. emphasises that its warehouses are chosen close to sea and rail container terminals, cargo airports and highways to ensure efficient receipt of shipments from factories (e.g. China) and forwarding to Amazon FCs. Starting with the right location and a partner with multi-country infrastructure diminishes cold-start risks.
The role of logistics & 3PL in turning cold start into forecast
One of the biggest risks in a cold start is logistics failure: late deliveries, high returns, stockouts or excess inventory. A specialist 3PL partner with a pan-European footprint can make the difference.
Here is how the right logistics partner helps:
- speed to market: with multiple warehouse locations in key regions, you get inventory closer to the customer, reducing lead time and improving conversion. FLEX. emphasises this capability with its multi-country warehouse setup.
- scalability: when you ramp up, your partner should handle volume spikes without breakdown.
- flexibility: in cold-start mode you may not know your volume.
- returns & reverse logistics: handling returns quickly and cost-effectively helps your forecast accuracy by reducing risk of hidden costs.
- customs, clearance, compliance: for brands importing or cross-border shipping, having a partner who handles customs and EU regulatory issues avoids delays. FLEX. offers import customs clearance.
- integration with marketplaces and systems: a partner that supports marketplace fulfilment, FBA prep, and technological integration helps build data faster. For example, FLEX. integrates with Shopify, Amazon, eBay and more.
Key metrics & forecasting principles for cold start
To go from zero to forecast, focus on metrics you can gather early and build rules around them.
- Sell-through rate (STR)
Units sold ÷ units shipped to region. A faster STR means you will need less buffer inventory. - Returns rate
Returns as a percentage of orders. High returns indicate risk and need for more conservative forecasting. - Logistics cost per order
Total logistic expenses (inbound + outbound + returns) ÷ number of orders. Helps in profitability modelling. - Delivery lead time
Order date to delivery date. Faster lead time improves conversion and reduces cancellations. - Inventory buffer ratio
Given the volatility in early launch, set a buffer (e.g. +20 % inventory) to avoid stock-outs but monitor turns to avoid excess. - Growth rate and seasonality
Launch phase will often see rapid growth; apply a conservative multiplier (e.g. +20-30 %) from the previous period but test and refine. - Cohort analysis
Even in early phase, group customers by market, channel or SKU to compare behaviour and refine regional forecasting.
Forecasting formula (simple):
Forecast for next period = (Last period units sold × growth factor) ÷ (1 – buffer %) ÷ (1 – return rate)
Refine this as you gather more data.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
- Launching too many markets at once
Trying everywhere at once dilutes data, increases complexity and delays insight. Better: pilot one or two countries first. - Neglecting logistics partner choice
If your delivery is slow, errors high or returns cumbersome, you’ll retreat from market quickly. Ensure logistics is ready day one. - Ignoring local nuances
Assuming what works in one market will work in another can mis-lead forecasts. Collect local screening data. - Overstocking or under-stocking
Without data, you risk big inventory errors. Use buffers early and scale cautiously once you have data. - Treating forecast as “set and forget”
Forecasting must be dynamic. Use real-time data to update and adjust with your logistics partner helping you adapt.
Why Europe is ideal for cold start
Europe offers several advantages for brands willing to adopt this phased model:
- diverse markets that allow step-wise expansion;
- high e-commerce adoption and cross-border opportunity;
- mature logistics infrastructure (especially with 3PLs like FLEX.);
- transparency in performance: once you capture data, you can build predictable forecasting and scale rapidly.
Turn the cold start into a growth engine
Launching an e-commerce presence in Europe from zero is no small feat, but it need not be a gamble. By approaching the process systematically - starting with a pilot, selecting the right logistics partner, capturing early data and building a forecast step by step - you can turn the cold start into a growth engine.
If you are ready to scale your European e-commerce business with a logistics partner who understands cross-border fulfilment, Amazon FBA prep, returns handling and data-driven operations, let’s collaborate.
Get in touch with FLEX. and let your launch be the start of a predictable, scalable journey - not just a shot in the dark.
