By Jim James, Host of The UnNoticed Entrepreneur.
Shipping products from overseas can be a logistical and financial nightmare for e-commerce businesses. But Canadian entrepreneur Izzy Rosenzweig is aiming to change that with his company Portless.
"Instead of a brand making 5000 t-shirts, putting them on a container, waiting 30 to 90 days to get to a port, you can skip the boat and ship directly to your customer in under 6 days," explains Rosenzweig.
His supply chain solution leverages air freight to deliver parcels faster while eliminating taxes and duties. This agile model provides e-commerce brands with huge cost and time savings compared to traditional sea shipping.
Eliminate Headaches of Overseas Shipping
Rather than stuffing a container and waiting months for delivery, Portless acts as a virtual US warehouse. "We pick, pack, and send to your customer in under 6 days with a fully local USPS tracking number and delivery experience," says Rosenzweig.
With teams based at their fulfilment centre in China, the company handles everything from coordinating with suppliers to final mile delivery.
"It's like we're next door to your brand. We take care of the headaches so you can focus on your products and marketing," adds Rosenzweig.
Revolutionary Model Saves Money and Time
By shipping parcels directly from an overseas warehouse, brands bypass costs associated with sea containers, import taxes and duties, and domestic warehousing and fulfilment.
"You have import tax savings, better cash flow, fast shipping rates and save money across the board," explains Rosenzweig. "It's a game changer."
He says their unique model reduces lead times from months to days. Instead of waiting for bulk inventory, brands can continually replenish based on demand.
Personalised Customer Experiences
Rather than stuffing a container and hustling to break down bulk on arrival, Portless handles individualised packaging and shipping straight from factories.
"We help brands customize packaging and presentation so customers receive a premium unboxing experience," says Rosenzweig. "Our team takes presentation very seriously since we operated our own consumer brand for 10 years."
By coordinating directly with suppliers in China, Portless also assists companies in product design, sampling, and quality assurance to protect brands.
Empower Global E-commerce Expansion
For small e-commerce brands, expanding internationally can be extremely costly and operationally challenging. Unique shipping zones, rates, taxes and duties create major barriers to enter new markets.
But Rosenzweig explains how Portless makes global e-commerce as simple as a few clicks. "You don't need to deal with 3PLs or warehouses in every country. We inject parcels from China into local delivery networks with very affordable rates."
Whether you sell on Shopify, Etsy, Amazon or any platform, Portless can seamlessly integrate. "It's a 15 minute Zoom call to set up. You easily add China as a location then ship worldwide from a single source," explains Rosenzweig.
A Future-Proof Supply Chain Model
Having lived through his family’s manufacturing business evolution for 60+ years, Rosenzweig sees strong parallels between the rise of shipping containers in the 80s and parcel shipping today. "It might take 5-10 years, but this will change e-commerce,” he predicts.
For any digital-first e-commerce brand, ditching old supply chain models rooted in retail for flexible parcel shipping is a clear advantage. As Rosenzweig simply puts it, “Why bring huge volumes just to break it down and reship? We deliver the same timelines at lower costs.”
Adopting emerging parcel routes over China allows small brands to compete using technology and supply chain innovation rather than size and scale. So don’t get left in the rearview clinging to status quo sea shipping. It’s time to step into the future with parcel freight.
