Crate & Barrel: While researching companies that ship their products and merchandise overseas, I came across Crate & Barrel which was the most interesting. Crate & Barrel is located right here in Cleveland, Ohio along with other in store locations across the United States. Crate & Barrel is a store that sells everything from furniture and small kitchen appliances to decorations for the holidays. Mr. Pope at Crate & Barrel was most helpful in explaining the procedures of shipping internationally and also the good and bad when shipping overseas. Almost all the orders that are to be delivered overseas are placed online at their website, http://www.crateandbarrel.com but they do receive orders in the store for overseas shipping also. Crate & Barrel According to Mr. Pope, “the most important aspect of shipping overseas is to make sure the product arrives on time and intact”. Shipping overseas has become very popular amongst department and furniture stores. Even though shipping is costly for the customer, most consumers find that it’s worth paying the extra money for their loved ones to receive quality products on time. One of the positive things about ordering online for shipping overseas according to Mr. Pope is the currency exchange rate is automatically done. All you need to do is choose the country you are shipping to and the rate is changed automatically. You can choose to shop using their country’s currency or the U.S. While speaking to Mr. Pope he mentioned that the feedback regarding shipping overseas has been for the most part positive. There are times, especially in today’s world when shipping overseas can be delayed due to terrorist risks and so forth. Merchandise are being more scrutinized now a days because of the security threats. There are a lot of times when a person wants to purchase and ship something over to someone in Afghanistan and sometimes that can take weeks due to security. But in
References: Crate & Barrel, Inc., About us, Retrieved November 23, 2011 from http://www.crateandbarrel.com/About-Us/ Crate & Barrel, Inc., Case study: Crate & Barrel, Retrieved November 23, 2011 from http://www.descartes.com/resources/case_studies/08feb_cs_crate_barrel.pdf David, F. R. (2011). Strategic Management Concepts and Cases. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.