International Sourcing Challenge

"We don't know our true product cost until months after the container arrives."

You source from China. Maybe Vietnam or India. Every shipment has different freight costs, duties, and fees. By the time you reconcile everything, you've already priced products based on guesses. Your margins are a mystery until the accountants catch up.

See How Fulfil Tracks Landed Costs

Sound Familiar?

Real challenges from brands sourcing internationally.

"Landed cost is basically a guess. We estimate freight and duties but don't reconcile until month-end."

Without accurate landed costs, you're pricing products on assumptions.

"We have three factories in China and one in Vietnam. Each has different lead times and MOQs."

Managing multiple international suppliers requires tracking capabilities spreadsheets can't provide.

"Freight costs jumped 300% and now our margins are underwater. We didn't catch it for two months."

When costs change rapidly, delayed visibility means pricing mistakes compound.

"Container is on the water for 6 weeks. We need to sell that inventory before it arrives."

In-transit inventory should be sellable. Most systems can't track it properly.

"Our auditors flagged our inventory valuation. We can't prove our COGS is accurate."

GAAP requires landed costs to be allocated to inventory. Spreadsheets don't cut it.

"Invoice comes in USD, supplier quotes in RMB, and we pay in EUR. Currency conversion is a mess."

Multi-currency purchasing creates accounting complexity most systems can't handle.

GAAP-Compliant Costing

Landed Costs Allocated Properly

Fulfil tracks every cost component: product cost, freight, duties, insurance, handling, brokerage fees. Costs allocate to inventory by value, volume, or quantity. Your books reflect true product costs.

  • Track freight, duties, insurance, handling, brokerage, and inspection fees
  • Allocate by value, volume, or unit count
  • Estimates vs. actuals workflow for cost reconciliation
Landed Cost Breakdown
Product Cost (FOB) $24,500
Ocean Freight $3,200
Import Duties (7.5%) $1,838
Customs Brokerage $450
Drayage to Warehouse $650
Total Landed Cost
2,500 units @ $12.26/unit
$30,638
Purchase Order: PO-2026-0142
Supplier Shenzhen Manufacturing Co.
Currency USD (Supplier quotes RMB)
Incoterm FOB Shenzhen
Expected Ship Feb 15, 2026
Expected Arrival Mar 28, 2026
Status In Transit

Full Purchase Lifecycle

From PO to Receipt to Invoice

Create purchase orders with supplier pricing, lead times, and MOQs. Track shipments in transit. Receive against the PO with three-way match verification. Partial deliveries and multiple shipments handled automatically.

  • Multi-currency POs with automatic exchange rate handling
  • Track container number, vessel, ETD, and ETA
  • Three-way match: PO vs. receipt vs. invoice

Visibility Before Arrival

Sell Inventory Before It Lands

Containers on the water are still your inventory. Fulfil tracks in-transit stock separately, lets you allocate it to orders, and rolls it into your forecasted availability. No more waiting until goods hit your warehouse to see them.

  • In-transit inventory visible in forecasted stock
  • Pre-sell against incoming shipments
  • Automatic inventory transfer on receipt confirmation
SKU-12345 Inventory Status
Available Now
At warehouse, ready to ship
1,240 units
In Transit
Container MSCU-1234567, ETA Mar 28
2,500 units
Reserved
Allocated to open orders
890 units
Forecasted Available (Apr 1)
2,850 units

International Sourcing: Spreadsheets vs. Fulfil

Why overseas manufacturing requires integrated landed cost tracking

Capability Spreadsheets or Basic ERP Fulfil
Landed Cost Tracking Manual calculation after invoices arrive. Often months delayed. Estimate at PO creation. Reconcile when actuals arrive. Always current.
Cost Allocation Allocate freight as a lump sum. Not GAAP-compliant. Allocate by value, volume, or quantity. Passes audit.
In-Transit Visibility Inventory appears when received. No visibility to on-water stock. Track in-transit as a location. Pre-sell against incoming.
Multi-Currency Manual exchange rate calculation. Conversion errors common. Automatic exchange rates. PO in any currency.
Supplier Management Separate spreadsheets per supplier. No lead time tracking. Supplier records with pricing, lead times, MOQs, and history.
Three-Way Match Manual comparison of PO, receipt, and invoice. Automatic matching with variance flagging.

How It Works

From PO to landed cost to inventory valuation.

1

Create Purchase Order

Set up PO with supplier pricing, expected ship date, and estimated landed costs.

2

Track In Transit

Container ships. Inventory shows as in-transit. Pre-sell against incoming stock.

3

Receive and Reconcile

Goods arrive. Receive against PO. Enter actual freight and duty invoices.

4

Accurate COGS

Landed costs allocate to inventory. COGS reflects true product costs per order.

Common Questions

How does landed cost allocation work?
When you receive a freight or duty invoice, Fulfil allocates the cost across the products in that shipment. You choose the allocation method: by value (proportional to product cost), by volume (cubic meters), or by quantity (unit count). The allocated costs add to the product's inventory value and flow through to COGS when sold.
Can I track costs before I have the actual invoices?
Yes. Fulfil supports an estimates workflow. When you create the PO, you can enter estimated freight, duties, and other costs. Inventory values reflect these estimates. When actual invoices arrive, you reconcile the difference. Fulfil adjusts inventory values and posts any variance to the appropriate accounts.
How does multi-currency purchasing work?
Create POs in any currency. Fulfil uses exchange rates at the time of the transaction to convert to your base currency for inventory valuation. When the invoice arrives, if exchange rates have changed, Fulfil posts any gain or loss to a currency exchange account. Supplier records can have default currencies, and you can override per PO.
What if my supplier ships partial quantities?
Fulfil handles partial receipts. If you ordered 5,000 units and the supplier ships 3,000 first, receive those 3,000 against the PO. The remaining 2,000 stay open on the PO. Each shipment can have its own landed costs allocated. The PO closes when all quantities are received or you manually close the remainder.
Is this GAAP-compliant for audits?
Yes. GAAP requires that freight, duties, and other costs to bring inventory to its current location be capitalized into inventory value. Fulfil's landed cost module allocates these costs at the unit level, maintains full audit trail, and calculates weighted average cost correctly. Many Fulfil customers have passed inventory audits using this system.

How Lie-Nielsen Toolworks Manages Production and Purchasing

100 employees, worldwide distribution, manufacturing handcrafted tools for 39 years.

One of the things that first brought us to Fulfil was the ability to run the production of the shop through the system in an orderly way. In addition to inventory tracking we need the ability to manage our purchasing process and our production flow process.

Tom Lie-Nielsen, Owner, Lie-Nielsen Toolworks
Tom Lie-Nielsen

Related Solutions

Purchasing

Full purchase order lifecycle from requisition to receipt to invoice.

Inventory Management

Real-time inventory tracking with accurate valuations.

Manufacturing

Production orders, BOMs, and outsourced manufacturing.

Ready to know your true product costs?

See how Fulfil tracks landed costs from factory to warehouse.

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