Jenama Jepun. Asia Tenggara. Hasil yang bertahan.

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.

“Import ASEAN pertama kami aktif dalam masa 6 minggu. Kami tidak menyangka ia mungkin.”

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.

“Mencapai pembeli industri Thailand tanpa pejabat tempatan adalah faktor penentu.”

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.

“Empat saluran diuruskan oleh satu pembekal. Kami tidak menyangka ia boleh dicapai.”

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.”

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.”