B2B AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPLY

One stock pool, cleared once, serving every channel.

EFC serves direct-to-consumer orders, marketplace orders, and institutional and wholesale orders from one pool of stock cleared into the EU once. Hospitals, laboratories, clinics, distributors, and retail chains can be supplied from inventory already inside the single market.

One stock pool cleared into the EU once Direct-to-consumer Marketplaces Institutional and wholesale As domestic freight, with no per-shipment border event
Consumer and business orders run from one cleared stock pool on a single European base, so the two channels are one operation, not two.

THE BARRIER

The obstacle course of selling in from outside.

Every order from a non-EU base crosses a border, and each shipment meets the same four gates: compliance, regulation, cash flow, and delay. None of them is a one-time cost. They repeat on every parcel, for as long as the stock sits outside the market. Moving the stock inside the EU before the orders exist removes all four at once, for every order that follows.

THE ARGUMENT

Institutional orders run on the same cleared pool.

Stock enters under bond once, for every channel.

Inventory enters the EU customs union one time, as one bulk import into a bonded customs warehouse, and sits under bond from that point, duty and import VAT deferred. A consumer parcel, a marketplace order, and a wholesale shipment are each released for free circulation as they ship, moving as domestic commerce on that single clearance.

Institutions buy from stock already inside the market.

Institutional buyers order against inventory already inside the EU, so availability is read from the shelf. Dispatch runs to institutional lead times, and the delivery documentation a business order carries is prepared at the base where the goods are stored.

Two channels never become two operations.

A brand that sells direct to consumers and to business buyers is usually pushed into separate providers per channel, and separate stock to match. EFC runs both from one pool under one operator, and each order is picked, packed, and dispatched to the brand's own specification, per product and per channel.

You arrive as a local presence.

What changes the answer for a B2B buyer is standing inside the market. EFC supplies that standing: an Importer of Record so a non-resident brand imports legally, fiscal representation so the VAT obligations are met inside the operation, and a bonded customs warehouse where duty and import VAT defer until each order ships.

The order leaves a European base as a domestic delivery, the returns address is European, and the import and tax boxes are already ticked. To the institution placing the order, you are a local supplier.

THE MECHANISM

How an institutional order runs.

  1. THE STOCK

    The inventory is already inside the market.

    Bulk stock enters on intake into a bonded customs warehouse, and each order is released for free circulation, taking the customs status of Union goods, as it ships. An institutional order draws on the same pool every other channel draws on, so availability inside the EU is a property of the stock itself.

  2. THE ORDER

    The order is picked to the brand's specification.

    EFC picks, packs, and dispatches each order to the brand's own specification. A wholesale order is built as the buyer placed it, and packaging, inserts, and labeling follow the brand's rules for that channel.

  3. THE DISPATCH

    Dispatch moves as domestic freight.

    Because the goods are released for free circulation as the order ships, the shipment travels to the institution inside the single market as domestic freight, with no customs event between dispatch and delivery.

  4. THE CLOSE OF THE LOOP

    Returns route to an address inside the EU.

    Where a return occurs, it travels domestically back to the base, is inspected there, and goods that pass re-enter the same pool, ready for the next order on either channel.

    Read the one-stock-pool note

THE THIRD WAY

Distributor, classic 3PL, or your own European operation?

Local distributor, classic 3PL, and EFC compared across six decisions.
Decision Local distributorClassic 3PLEFC
Who owns the customer They do You do You do
Where the margin goes Mostly to them Yours, minus your own coordination Entirely yours
Regulation Handled by them Not included GPSR Responsible Person, VAT, Importer of Record
Customs and tax Out of your sight Left to outside brokers In-house, with a bonded warehouse
Returns Slow, through them Yours to manage Handled locally
How the buyer sees you A hidden tier-2 supplier A foreign supplier, local warehouse A local European operation

The GPSR Responsible Person role covers in-scope consumer products only.

B2B and institutional supply

What B2B and institutional buyers ask before supplying from inside Europe.

A European institution reads the operator of record, not the origin of the goods, so a non-resident brand that imports of record and ships from cleared EU stock qualifies as a local supplier.

Who is the importer of record when our goods enter the EU?

EFC takes the importer-of-record position, so a non-resident brand imports into the EU legally without a European entity of its own. Fiscal representation runs as part of the same operation, so the VAT obligations are met inside it rather than left for the brand to register for separately.

Does each sales channel need its own customs clearance?

No. Inventory enters the single market once, as one bulk import, and that clearance covers every order the pool later serves, on any channel.

How does a wholesale order to an institution differ from a consumer parcel here?

The customs path is identical: both ship from cleared stock as domestic freight, with no per-shipment border event. The difference is operational: a wholesale order is built to the buyer’s purchase order and runs to institutional lead times, while a consumer parcel ships to a single address.

Whose branding is on the shipment, and can each channel be packed differently?

The brand identity stays on the box and EFC runs the operation behind it. Each order is picked, packed, and dispatched to the brand’s own specification, so packaging, inserts, and labeling can follow different rules per product and per channel from the same shared pool.

How do we see our stock and orders if the inventory sits in Europe?

The brand sees its own inventory and order movements through the LOGCOM platform, and its store or ERP can connect to the operation, so the European base runs remotely. Stock levels, dispatches, and returns stay visible without the brand being on the same continent as the goods.

Can we defer the import duty and VAT until the goods actually sell?

Yes, where the stock rests in a bonded customs warehouse, duty and import VAT are deferred until each order ships. Unsold inventory carries no border tax, so a wholesale buyer’s slower sell-through does not lock up cash up front.

What happens to a B2B return?

A return that stays inside the EU travels domestically back to the base, is inspected there, and goods that pass re-enter the same pool for the next order on either channel. The return address is European, so the institution is not shipping across a border to send stock back.

Can EFC carry the compliance role for a regulated consumer product sold to businesses?

For an in-scope consumer product, EFC can carry the European Responsible Person role under GPSR, Regulation (EU) 2023/988, at the operating base. That role is distinct from medical-device conformity assessment, which EFC does not perform.

EFC

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