This blog was written by ProShip carrier partner, FlavorCloud

Rising tariffs. Shifting customs rules. Evolving consumer expectations.

2025 is rewriting the rules of cross border logistics and brands that want to thrive need more than just competitive shipping rates—they need resilience.

Recent policy changes, like the removal of de minimis entry for goods made in China, are disrupting established shipping strategies. What worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. Especially when keeping up with regulation change is difficult. Relying on a single carrier or a domestically focused network no longer offers enough flexibility. Global agility is now a competitive advantage. And for many 3PLs and merchants, that means rethinking their carrier strategy from the ground up.

This is where international carrier diversification comes in. Expanding beyond a single provider—both domestically and across borders—gives merchants the adaptability, compliance coverage, and routing flexibility they need to stay ahead in today’s volatile trade environment. And the market is ripe for it. In fact, for brands that expanded cross border, they grew their international shipment volume 76% year-over-year.

The Risk of Over-Reliance and Why Single Networks Fall Short

Single carrier networks are often designed for simplicity and reliability. But when merchants expand internationally, those same networks can become a bottleneck. Many U.S. brands learned this firsthand when DHL temporarily suspended B2C shipments to the U.S. valued over $800. While brief, the suspension highlighted how vulnerable a business can be when dependent on a single global carrier.

Without diversified options, delays pile up, landed cost calculations become inconsistent, and customs clearance gets riskier. A one-size-fits-all network quickly turns into a constraint.

What International Carrier Diversification Really Means

Carrier diversification isn’t just about having access to more shipping providers—it’s about using a smarter mix of carriers tailored to your business needs, product profile, and target markets.

For direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipments, this might look like using express carriers for high-value, time-sensitive consumer deliveries into any region across the globe. Speed and reliability are often the top priorities, and having access to multiple express partners ensures merchants can meet consumer expectations, even during peak shopping periods or when one carrier faces delays.

For B2B and wholesale logistics, the needs often look different. Merchants may choose slower, more cost-efficient networks for bulk replenishments—like regional standard services in Europe—to manage shipping costs while still meeting expected timelines. These shipments often involve more complex documentation or compliance requirements, making it essential to have carrier partners who are familiar with regional customs processes.

Diversification proves essential during peak season planning as well. Rather than funneling all orders through a single express network—risking delays and higher costs—merchants can split volume across multiple carriers to maintain SLAs, balance load, and minimize disruptions. Others may take a hybrid approach, offering economy and express options based on customer preferences or thresholds like average order value.

Ultimately, carrier diversification gives merchants optionality. It allows them to pivot in response to geopolitical instability, regulatory updates, or shifting consumer demands— without rearchitecting their entire logistics stack. That flexibility is exactly what’s needed to stay competitive in today’s global commerce landscape.

The Role of Global Routing Intelligence

The old way of manually selecting international shipping services doesn’t scale. Modern logistics demands proactive automation because the pace isn’t slowing down. DHL’s Trade Atlas 2025 predicts that global trade volumes will grow at a compound annual rate of 3.1% from 2024 to 2029. Keeping up with the scale, while being able to be flexible around trade regulation changes is essential.

Routing intelligence allows shipping platforms to:

• Dynamically assign the best carrier based on destination country, cost, reliability, speed, and customs history
• Adapt in real-time to delays, policy shifts, or rate changes
• Accurately predict landed cost, giving both merchants and customers price transparency up front

More importantly, routing intelligence constantly learns and adapts by using historical performance, customs clearance success rates, and regional delivery behaviors to refine decision-making. This means fewer delivery failures, better transit time predictions, and optimized cost-to-service tradeoffs. Merchants no longer have to guess which carrier is the best fit for a shipment; the system makes that decision for them, in milliseconds. As global shipping grows more complex, this level of automation is becoming the backbone of scalable, cross border commerce.

Connecting Domestic Networks to Global Scale

For most 3PLs and merchants, domestic carrier networks are already mature and reliable. But historically, connecting those networks to international delivery infrastructure has been a complex and disjointed process. Today, that’s no longer the case.

Technology is making it easier than ever to extend domestic operations into global markets—without needing to build a cross border network from scratch. Through integrations that unify domestic and international routing, merchants can now tap into global carriers with the same ease they’re used to in domestic shipping.

This connectivity supports end-to-end delivery, from first mile to last mile, while accounting for international complexities like customs, tariffs, and regional delivery norms. The result: brands can scale internationally without overhauling their operations, and 3PLs can offer clients a truly global fulfillment strategy built on familiar foundations.

What 3PLs Gain from International Carrier Diversification

For 3PLs, international diversification is more than a value-add. It’s a strategic growth lever. Tangible benefits include:

• Improved conversion rates for your merchants: Faster, more reliable shipping reduces cart abandonment
• Customs efficiency: Electronic filing with full 10 digit HS classification avoids delays or returns
• Improved delivery performance: Increased customer satisfaction with smoother and faster delivery.

It also positions 3PLs as true cross border enablers, giving their merchant partners the tools to grow globally without increasing operational burden.

Global Complexity, Simplified

Carrier diversification has long been essential to domestic success. Now, it’s becoming just as critical internationally. As tariffs evolve, policy shifts accelerate, and consumers demand more transparency, merchants need smarter tools and broader networks. International diversification—when paired with routing intelligence—offers both.

With the right infrastructure in place, global doesn’t have to mean complicated. It can mean opportunity.

Click here to learn more about the ProShip and FlavorCloud partnership and how it can help your team increase your global carrier diversity, allowing you to ship anywhere to anywhere.

About FlavorCloud:

FlavorCloud is an “anywhere to anywhere™” logistics platform that solves the enormous challenges of navigating the antiquated, manual, and deeply fragmented global shipping and trade landscape. With a best-in-class suite of products, you can enable cross-border international shipping in just one day. Backed by an AI-optimized network, our mission is to simplify global ecommerce while you focus on what you do best, growing your business.