Foreign Employer’s Guide to E-commerce Outsourcing 

To stay ahead of the competition in today’s online retail market, more and more companies are looking to the benefits of outsourcing to emerging markets. In this article, we will walk you through the core benefits of E-commerce outsourcing and provide key insights on navigating the most common challenges for setting up a remote e-commerce team.

Benefits of e-commerce outsourcing in emerging markets

Reduced overhead costs for your day-to-day operations

E-commerce outsourcing effectively reduces your overhead costs, especially because the Southeast Asian market allows savings of between 50 and 80 percent on labor costs compared to Western hiring markets. The reduced labor costs also allow you to scale your business to meet the current demand by putting in place short-term contracts or hiring more individuals.

An E-commerce team also usually requires you to invest in the right equipment and software and implement associated services (payroll, training, management). Outsourcing your e-commerce service allows you to reduce infrastructure and HR costs. This will enable you to focus your resources on improving and growing your core services instead. 

RecruitGo can provide you with market-specific insights and will help you implement cost-reducing measures for your business. We will identify how to best set up your remote e-commerce operations and which market offers you the best candidates for your range of services.

Gain access to a highly skilled talent pool in popular e-commerce positions

One of the key factors leading to foreign companies opting for E-commerce outsourcing is the fact that you can access a wider pool of highly skilled talent in emerging markets. The added benefit of lower wage costs also permits you to implement more services for your business by hiring in some of the most in-demand roles in markets that specialize in that service:

• The Philippines:
  Customer service representative
  • Virtual Assistant
  • Digital Marketing Specialist
  • SEO Specialist
  • Accounts payable
  • Bookkeeping
  • Software Developer
  • IT analyst

  With local resources in all the key emerging markets, RecruitGo can help you identify which location is best suited for your e-commerce operations. Our recruitment service will not only take into consideration your budget and required skills but also future growth and plans to improve your company’s range of services. 

  Offer a wider range of service options for your customers

  E-commerce outsourcing represents a unique opportunity for offering a more complete range of services to your customer base. The lower costs of hiring also mean that you will be able to implement some of the most important and competitive service improvements in a fraction of the time it would take in Western markets:
  

  • Offer 24/7 customer support by taking advantage of timezone differences to better serve your customers. Some markets like the Philippines are also more inclined to want to work in a night-shift capacity to accommodate Western markets.
  • Implement a wider range of customer service options by hiring more staff thanks to lower costs. Popular services include phone lines, email support, live chats, WhatsApp messaging, etc.
  • Provide multilingual support to reach more international markets, thanks to a wider diversity of available candidates in emerging markets.
  • Set up more modern technology and e-commerce platforms and software by hiring highly skilled developers in more digitally advanced markets.

  To get the most benefits out of your remote teams, it is essential to strategically outsource to the markets that allow you to implement the most comprehensive and cost-effective range of e-commerce services. RecruitGo’s local experts can provide you with key insights and logistical support for establishing operations in a foreign market.

  Navigating common challenges for e-commerce outsourcing

  Despite the many benefits of outsourcing your e-commerce operations to emerging markets, there are some common challenges that foreign employers face when setting up remote teams. RecruitGo can help you navigate remote work in international markets by ensuring that you put in place the right infrastructure and parameters to bypass these common challenges:

  1. Less quality control and supervision of remote employees: To combat the potential isolation of your remote employees and ensure that their work is up to your standards, we can help you set up remote working hubs to ensure better communication through a physical office space in the market of your choosing.
  2. Ensuring data protection and effective remote network security: Your remote teams will inevitably be working with sensitive customer information and company source code. RecruitGo can help you put in place some of the most effective tools for ensuring that your digital property is secure.
  3. Following local labor laws and regulations for your international employees: Each country has its regulations in terms of payroll, mandatory benefits, and tax reporting. RecruitGo can manage these for you through our comprehensive range of employer services.
  4. Navigating timezone differences: Despite the possibility of offering wider-ranging service options, it can be challenging to maintain communication across time zones, especially for companies in the US. Our team can provide insights on some of the leading best practices for working with teams overseas.

  Best practices for e-commerce outsourcing

  Ensure compliance with local regulations through a managed payroll service

  One of your key responsibilities as an employer is ensuring compliance with local labor laws in terms of payroll and benefits. As mentioned previously, this can present a challenge for you in setting up a remote team in a foreign market, as you need to properly calculate salaries and consider mandatory statutory deductions as set by the governing body in that country.

  If you already have a remote team ready to go in Southeast Asia, it is best practice to consider outsourcing payroll responsibilities to local experts with up-to-date market knowledge. RecruitGo’s managed payroll service will ensure that your local operations comply with the specific regulations in any of the key emerging markets. We’ll handle all the key responsibilities:

  • Social Security and health insurance signup for your employees
  • Payroll calculation and distribution of salaries
  • Offering payroll support for your international employees
  • Income tax reporting and submissions

  Bypass company registration in emerging markets by partnering with an Employer of Record 

  Before you can start hiring your remote employees abroad, you need to set up a local legal entity in the country in which you plan to operate. This process can be complex, time-consuming, and costly. Partnering with RecruitGo’s Employer of Record (EOR) service allows you to start hiring virtually immediately, without needing to register a local company.

  As your EOR, we will act as the legal employer of your remote employees in any of the key Southeast Asian markets. We can help you with recruitment through our existing network or, if you already have candidates lined up, we can set up onboarding and contract negotiations. We’ll also manage payroll and help you set up infrastructure and secure equipment. 

  The main benefit of our Employer of Record is that you get the final say in all decisions relating to your employees. You can manage day-to-day administration of leave requests and payroll data through our easy-to-use app. If you are interested in exploring e-commerce outsourcing for your company, contact us via the form below and one of our experts will get in touch with you!