Eight sectors. One infrastructure.
All cases are anonymized by industry, scale, and characteristics. No identifying company information is included.
Three sectors. Three outcomes.
Lazada MY + Shopee MY live in 6 weeks.
01 Challenge
A 30-person cosmetics brand had attempted Shopee SG independently six months earlier. The import cleared but the product listing was rejected three times due to category approval errors in the Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) registration field. The brand paused and lost the selling season.
02 Choice
The export manager found TNGAP through a JCCI Singapore referral. The deciding factor: TNGAP had handled HSA product category registration for cosmetics brands previously and could guarantee the listing approval path before the IOR contract was signed.
03 Execution
Week 1-2: IOR entity registration and ACRA filing. Week 2-3: HSA category pre-clearance for all 6 SKUs. Week 3-4: Lazada MY and Shopee MY seller account activation under TNGAP IOR. Week 4-6: First shipment customs clearance and product listing live.
04 Numbers
Month 1: SGD 3,200 GMV (baseline, 2 channels). Month 6: SGD 12,400 GMV. Month 12: SGD 38,200 GMV. IOR cost as percentage of GMV dropped from 18% in Month 1 to 6% in Month 12 as volume scaled.
05 Lessons
ASEAN cosmetics IOR is not a generic service — category pre-clearance with HSA requires a provider who has done it before. Speed-to-launch matters more than cost: the brand lost one selling season trying to DIY. With TNGAP, the second attempt took 6 weeks instead of 6 months.
“Our first ASEAN import went live in 6 weeks. We didn’t think that was possible.”
Thai industrial buyers reached. No local office.
01 Challenge
An 80-person industrial equipment manufacturer had a Thai distribution partner request but no legal pathway to export to Thailand without a local importer of record. Their Japanese trading company did not have ASEAN IOR capacity. The Thailand buyer was ready to order SGD 45,000 in month 1.
02 Choice
The business development team evaluated three providers. TNGAP was the only one with documented Thailand customs compliance for B2B industrial categories (FBA List 3 items). The other providers could handle consumer goods but flagged industrial equipment as out-of-scope.
03 Execution
Week 1-2: Thailand spoke activation under TNGAP Singapore hub. Week 2-4: HS code pre-classification for 12 SKUs with Thai Customs Department reference. Week 4-8: First container cleared at Laem Chabang port. Week 8-12: Ongoing monthly reorder cycle established.
04 Numbers
Month 1: SGD 45,000 GMV (single B2B order). Month 6: SGD 78,000 GMV (3 reorder cycles). Month 12: SGD 142,000 GMV. Annual compliance cost as percentage of GMV: 3.8% — significantly below the 6-8% industry average for B2B industrial IOR.
05 Lessons
B2B industrial IOR requires HS code expertise specific to the product category. Thailand FBA List 3 restrictions affect approximately 40% of industrial product categories — a provider unfamiliar with this list will clear the first shipment but fail on the second. Verify category coverage before signing.
“Reaching Thai industrial buyers without a local office was the deciding factor.”
4-channel Singapore operations. Month 4.
01 Challenge
A 12-person F&B brand wanted to test all four major ASEAN channels simultaneously: Shopee SG, Lazada SG, TikTok Shop SG, and Shopify SG. Previous providers quoted separate contracts for each channel — estimated total cost was 40% above budget.
02 Choice
TNGAP was the only provider that offered a single contract covering all four channels under one IOR entity. The Pro Plan included a dedicated account manager who managed all four channel relationships, removing the coordination overhead from the 12-person team.
03 Execution
Week 1-3: IOR setup and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) food product pre-clearance for all 18 SKUs. Week 3-5: All four channel seller accounts activated simultaneously. Week 5-8: First inventory batch distributed across all four channels. Month 2: First reorder cycle initiated.
04 Numbers
Month 1: SGD 8,900 GMV (4 channels combined). Month 3: SGD 19,400 GMV. Month 6: SGD 34,700 GMV. Month 12: SGD 67,200 GMV. TikTok Shop was the fastest-growing channel — Month 12 TikTok alone: SGD 22,100.
05 Lessons
Multi-channel launch requires upfront SFA product clearance for every SKU — do this in week 1, not week 5. TikTok Shop outperformed Shopee and Lazada combined by Month 12 for this F&B category. A single-channel IOR would have missed this upside entirely.
“Four channels managed by one provider. We didn’t think that was achievable.”
Vietnam B2C launch: 45 trading license days became 45 selling days.
01 Challenge
A 45-person fashion accessories brand had been told by two other providers that Vietnam was "too complex" due to the 45-50 working day trading license requirement. The brand delayed Vietnam by 18 months because of this advice.
02 Choice
TNGAP presented a documented Vietnam entry timeline with all Ministry of Industry and Trade application requirements pre-mapped. The key insight: TNGAP had current relationships with Vietnamese customs agents and could run the license application in parallel with IOR setup — reducing total calendar time.
03 Execution
Day 1-15: Ministry of Industry and Trade application filed with all required documents. Day 15-45: License processing period (TNGAP monitored and responded to 3 information requests). Day 46-70: Shopee VN and TikTok VN account activation. Day 70-84: First shipment customs clearance at Cat Lai port.
04 Numbers
Month 1: SGD 4,100 GMV (Shopee VN only). Month 3: SGD 9,800 GMV (Shopee VN + TikTok VN). Month 6: SGD 18,400 GMV. Month 12: SGD 31,700 GMV. Vietnam became the brand's second-largest ASEAN market behind Singapore by Month 9.
05 Lessons
The trading license timeline is fixed — 45-50 working days is correct. What is not fixed is the calendar time: experienced providers run parallel workstreams so that IOR setup, seller account activation, and product pre-clearance are complete by the time the license arrives. The 18-month delay was entirely avoidable.
“Vietnam was the market we were most afraid of. TNGAP made it the market we launched first.”
Nursery cohort to Standard Plan in 4 months.
01 Challenge
A 22-person health supplements brand had never exported to ASEAN. The CEO was uncertain whether the Singapore market would accept Japanese supplement formats and pricing. The risk of committing to a full Standard Plan contract before validating demand was too high.
02 Choice
The Nursery Plan's cohort structure was the deciding factor — 5 seats max, structured 3-month program with a clear graduation path, and a pre-agreed upgrade to Standard once SGD 8,000/month GMV was reached. The brand entered as one of 5 Nursery cohort members.
03 Execution
Month 1: IOR lite setup, Shopee SG single-channel listing for 4 hero SKUs. Week 3: First sales and customer feedback collected. Month 2: Price point adjusted based on Shopee data. Month 3: GMV reached SGD 9,400 — above the SGD 8,000 graduation threshold. Month 4: Upgraded to Standard Plan with 2-channel activation.
04 Numbers
Nursery Month 1: SGD 3,200 GMV. Nursery Month 2: SGD 6,800 GMV. Nursery Month 3: SGD 9,400 GMV (graduated). Standard Month 1: SGD 11,200 GMV. Standard Month 6: SGD 24,700 GMV. Total 9-month revenue: SGD 89,400 GMV.
05 Lessons
The Nursery cohort format is not a downgrade — it is the optimal starting point for brands that have never sold in ASEAN. The structured feedback loop in months 1-3 produced better product and pricing decisions than any amount of desktop research. The brand reached SGD 24,700/month GMV in 6 months from graduation — faster than any comparable brand that started directly on Standard Plan.
“Nursery was not a test — it was the fastest path to real ASEAN revenue we had ever seen.”
Source: TNGAP internal records, anonymized at the client's request. Verified by TNGAP CFO.
Your story next
Want to be a Case Study?
Every brand on this page started where you are now. If you would like your ASEAN success story featured here — anonymised or attributed — speak to us after month 6 of operations.
One certified network. Behind all of it.
6 weeks to first shipment
“Our first ASEAN import went live in 6 weeks. We didn’t think that was possible.”
B2B, no local office
“Reaching Thai industrial buyers without a local office was the deciding factor.”
4 channels, 1 contract
“Four channels managed by one provider. We didn’t think that was achievable.”
Full compliance, Japanese docs
“A Japanese-language contract in Singapore. That was unique to TNGAP.”
4 business hours SLA
“We never had to learn Malaysia GST compliance from scratch.”
Vietnam live
“We were worried about Vietnam compliance. TNGAP handled every filing. Our team never had to touch a Vietnamese document.”
Entry → Standard
“The upgrade from Entry to Standard was seamless. Same contract, same team, just more channels unlocked.”
JP board approved
“Japanese-language reports made our Tokyo board sign-off straightforward. No translation required for the quarterly review.”
All testimonials sourced from TNGAP client records. Names and brands anonymized at the client's request. Verified by TNGAP CFO.
The average Japanese brand that partners with TNGAP achieves 4.2× their pre-ASEAN revenue baseline within 18 months — without opening a single local entity.
Your industry
Your sector not listed? Let’s talk.
TNGAP has worked with Japanese brands across consumer goods, industrial B2B, and specialty food. Tell us about your product.