As de minimis exemptions disappear and customs requirements become more complex, the economics of cross-border commerce are undergoing a fundamental shift. In a recent interview with Air Cargo Week, FlavorCloud founder and CEO Rathna Sharad explains why success will increasingly depend on intelligent pricing, accurate data and dynamic logistics orchestration.
Rathna discusses how duties and compliance costs are reshaping merchant operating models, why brands are moving beyond a single-carrier approach and how regional carriers and specialist networks are creating new options across global trade lanes. She also explains why merchants must evaluate landed cost per unit sold—not simply per unit shipped—when comparing airfreight, inventory and fulfillment strategies.
The conversation highlights the growing role of technology in connecting commercial decisions with cross-border execution. FlavorCloud’s Commerce Intelligence helps merchants identify promising markets and establish market-native pricing, while its Commerce OS manages classification, landed costs, compliance, carrier routing and returns.
Looking ahead, Rathna expects carrier networks to become more fragmented while the technology used to orchestrate them becomes increasingly important: “The supply side fragments. The decision layer consolidates.”
Read the full interview in Air Cargo Week