this move impacts our business both in longer sales cycles as well as increased average revenue per customer . evolving fulfillment landscape . consumers have been conditioned to expect fast , efficient delivery of products . we believe that determining and executing on a strategy to more expeditiously receive , process and deliver online orders , which we refer to collectively as fulfillment , is critical to success for online sellers . therefore , it will be increasingly important for us to facilitate and optimize fulfillment services on behalf of our customers , which in turn may result in additional research and development investment . focus on employees . we strive to provide competitive compensation and benefits programs to help attract and retain employees who are focused on facilitating the success of our customers . seasonality . our revenue fluctuates as a result of seasonal variations in our business , principally due to the peak consumer demand and related increased volume of our customers ' gmv during the year-end holiday season . as a result , we have historically had higher revenue in our fourth quarter than other quarters due to increased gmv processed through our platform , resulting in higher variable subscription fees . opportunities and risks dynamic e-commerce landscape . we need to continue to innovate in the face of a rapidly changing e-commerce landscape if we are to remain competitive . we also need to effectively manage our growth , especially related to our international expansion . brands and retailers . as consumer preferences potentially shift from smaller retailers , we need to continue to add brands and large retailers as profitable customers . these customers generally pay a lower percentage of gmv as fees to us based on the relatively higher volume of their gmv processed through our platform . to help drive our future growth , we have made significant investments in our sales force and allocated resources focused on growing our customer base of brands and large retailers . we continue to focus our efforts on increasing value for our customers to support higher rates . strategic partnerships . our business development team 's mission is to expand our sales and market opportunities through strategic partner relationships . we plan to continue to invest in initiatives to expand our strategic partnership base to further enhance our offerings for brands and retailers . increasing complexity of e-commerce . although e-commerce continues to expand as brands and retailers continue to increase their online sales , it is also becoming more complex due to the hundreds of channels available to brands and retailers and the rapid pace of change and innovation across those channels . in order to gain consumers ' attention in a more crowded and competitive online marketplace , an increasing number of brands and many retailers sell their merchandise through multiple online channels , each with its own rules , requirements and specifications . in particular , third-party marketplaces are an increasingly important driver of growth for a number of brands and large online retailers . as a result , we need to continue to support multiple channels in a variety of geographies in order to support our targeted revenue growth . as of december 31 , 2018 , we supported 118 marketplaces , up from 89 at december 31 , 2017 . global growth in e-commerce . we believe the growth in e-commerce globally presents an opportunity for brands and retailers to engage in international sales . however , country-specific marketplaces are often the market share leaders in their regions , as is the case for alibaba in asia . in order to help our customers capitalize on this potential market opportunity , and to address our customers ' needs with respect to cross-border trade , we intend to continue to invest in our international operations . doing business overseas involves substantial challenges , including management attention and resources needed to adapt to multiple languages , cultures , laws and commercial infrastructure , as further described in this report under the caption `` risks related to our international operations . `` our senior management continuously focuses on these and other trends and challenges , and we believe that our culture of innovation and our history of growth and expansion will contribute to the success of our business . we can not , however , assure you that we will be successful in addressing and managing the many challenges and risks that we face . 34 key financial and operating metrics the average revenue generated per customer is a primary determinant of our revenue . we calculate this metric by dividing our revenue for a particular period by the average monthly number of customers during the period , which is calculated by taking the sum of the number of customers at the end of each month in the period and dividing by the number of months in the period . we typically calculate average revenue per customer in absolute dollars on a rolling twelve-month basis , but we may also calculate percentage changes in average revenue per customer on a quarterly basis in order to help us evaluate our period-over-period performance . for purposes of this metric and the number of customers metric described below , we include all customers who subscribe to at least one of our solutions . the number of customers decreased slightly . we continue our focus on obtaining brands and large retailers as customers , which may represent a smaller number of total customers , but a potentially larger source of predictable or sustainable recurring revenue . story_separator_special_tag operating margin for the year ended december 31 , 2018 was also favorably impacted by our adoption of asc 606 due to our capitalization of contract costs that had been expensed as incurred in periods prior to january 1 , 2018. operating margin for the year ended december 31 , 2018 would have been ( 10.9 ) % had we not adopted asc 606. refer to note 7 , `` revenue from contracts with customers , `` for additional information regarding the impact of adoption and revenue recognition under asc 606 on our consolidated financial statements . comparison of 2017 to 2016 gross margin improved by 370 basis points to 76.3 % during the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared with 72.6 % for the prior year as a result of the increase in revenue and decrease in cost of revenue noted above . our improved gross margin was a result of our continuing strategic efforts to achieve increasing scale in our business operations . operating margin declined by 130 basis points to ( 13.5 ) % during the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared with ( 12.2 ) % for the prior year due to a 14.6 % growth in operating expenses , which includes the $ 2.5 million one-time charge for vdas related to sales taxes described above and an increase in compensation and employee-related costs driven by additional headcount as we invest in resources to support the growth of our business . these operating expenses exceeded the 8.2 % year-over-year increase in our revenue and 6.3 % decrease in our cost of revenue . excluding the impact of the one-time charge for vdas , operating margin for the year ended december 31 , 2017 would have been ( 11.5 ) % . total other income ( expense ) other income ( expense ) consists primarily of : interest received on our cash and cash equivalents ; interest expense on our capital leases ; and the net effect of foreign currency revaluation gains and losses . comparison of 2018 to 2017 other income ( expense ) increased by $ 0.2 million to $ 0.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2018 compared with $ 0.3 million for the prior year . the change was primarily due to interest income driven by higher interest rates earned on our cash and cash equivalents . 42 comparison of 2017 to 2016 other income ( expense ) increased by $ 0.1 million to $ 0.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared with $ 0.2 million for the prior year . the change was primarily due to interest income driven by higher interest rates earned on our cash and cash equivalents in our money market and savings accounts . income tax expense ( benefit ) our provision for income taxes consists of provisions for federal , state , and foreign income taxes . we operate in an international environment with operations in various locations outside of the united states . accordingly , our combined income tax rate is a composite rate reflecting our operating results in various locations and the applicable rates . comparison of 2018 to 2017 income tax expense was $ 0.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2018 compared with $ 0.3 million for the prior year . the change was primarily due to our adoption of asc 606 which resulted in increased income from certain of our foreign subsidiaries . comparison of 2017 to 2016 income tax expense was $ 0.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared with an income tax benefit of $ 5.7 million for the prior year . the change was primarily due to the release of a valuation allowance in the fourth quarter of 2016 on deferred tax assets in several of our foreign jurisdictions totaling $ 5.3 million . the release of the valuation allowance was the result of our evaluation of the likelihood of potential tax benefits related to our foreign subsidiaries ' most recent three years of operating results and projections of future profitability , which primarily resulted from a change in our global transfer pricing methodology . liquidity and capital resources we derive our liquidity and operating capital primarily from cash flows from operations . based on our current level of operations and anticipated growth , we believe our future cash flows from operating activities and our existing cash balances will be sufficient to meet our cash requirements for at least the next 12 months . during this period , we expect our capital expenditure requirements to approximate a range of $ 2.5 million to $ 4.5 million , which will primarily consist of computer hardware , purchased software and facilities build-out and improvements . working capital the following table summarizes our cash and cash equivalents , accounts receivable and working capital as of the end of each of the last three years : replace_table_token_6_th our cash at december 31 , 2018 was held for working capital purposes . we do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes . our policy is to invest any cash in excess of our immediate requirements in investments designed to preserve the principal balance and provide liquidity . accordingly , our cash is invested primarily in demand deposit accounts and short-term money market accounts . of our total cash and cash equivalents , approximately 8 % was held outside of the united states at december 31 , 2018 . our international operations primarily consist of selling and marketing and research and development functions supported by our u.s. operations , and we are dependent on our u.s. operations for our international working capital needs . if our cash and cash equivalents held outside of the united states were ever needed for our operations inside the united states , we could be required to accrue and pay income and withholding taxes to repatriate these funds . we currently intend to permanently

cash flows are largely driven by : proceeds from the exercises of stock options ; payments on capital lease obligations ; and tax withholdings related to the net-share settlement of restricted stock units . 44 2018 operating activities our cash provided by operating activities consisted of a net loss of $ ( 7.6 ) million adjusted for certain non-cash items totaling $ 17.3 million , which consisted of stock-based compensation expense , depreciation and amortization expense , bad debt expense and other non-cash items , principally the amortization of a lease incentive obligation related to our corporate headquarters . the net decrease in cash resulting from changes in assets and liabilities of $ ( 8.5 ) million primarily consisted of : a $ 10.9 million decrease in accounts payable and accrued expenses , driven by the timing of payments to our vendors , payments for certain customer arrangements for which we collect and remit monthly activity-based fees incurred for specific channels on behalf of our customers ( referred to as `` agency of record '' activities ) and a $ 1.0 million payment to settle a sales tax audit ; a $ 6.7 million increase in deferred contract costs as a result of our adoption of asc 606 ( sales commissions and a portion of other incentive compensation are now deferred and amortized to expense over the expected period of benefit ) ; and a $ 3.8 million net decrease in deferred revenue as a result of our adoption of asc 606 and the timing of revenue recognition formanaged-service contracts ( we now recognize revenue for subscription and implementation fees ratably , beginning on the launch date , through the term of the contract ) .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```cash flows are largely driven by : proceeds from the exercises of stock options ; payments on capital lease obligations ; and tax withholdings related to the net-share settlement of restricted stock units . 44 2018 operating activities our cash provided by operating activities consisted of a net loss of $ ( 7.6 ) million adjusted for certain non-cash items totaling $ 17.3 million , which consisted of stock-based compensation expense , depreciation and amortization expense , bad debt expense and other non-cash items , principally the amortization of a lease incentive obligation related to our corporate headquarters . the net decrease in cash resulting from changes in assets and liabilities of $ ( 8.5 ) million primarily consisted of : a $ 10.9 million decrease in accounts payable and accrued expenses , driven by the timing of payments to our vendors , payments for certain customer arrangements for which we collect and remit monthly activity-based fees incurred for specific channels on behalf of our customers ( referred to as `` agency of record '' activities ) and a $ 1.0 million payment to settle a sales tax audit ; a $ 6.7 million increase in deferred contract costs as a result of our adoption of asc 606 ( sales commissions and a portion of other incentive compensation are now deferred and amortized to expense over the expected period of benefit ) ; and a $ 3.8 million net decrease in deferred revenue as a result of our adoption of asc 606 and the timing of revenue recognition formanaged-service contracts ( we now recognize revenue for subscription and implementation fees ratably , beginning on the launch date , through the term of the contract ) .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : this move impacts our business both in longer sales cycles as well as increased average revenue per customer . evolving fulfillment landscape . consumers have been conditioned to expect fast , efficient delivery of products . we believe that determining and executing on a strategy to more expeditiously receive , process and deliver online orders , which we refer to collectively as fulfillment , is critical to success for online sellers . therefore , it will be increasingly important for us to facilitate and optimize fulfillment services on behalf of our customers , which in turn may result in additional research and development investment . focus on employees . we strive to provide competitive compensation and benefits programs to help attract and retain employees who are focused on facilitating the success of our customers . seasonality . our revenue fluctuates as a result of seasonal variations in our business , principally due to the peak consumer demand and related increased volume of our customers ' gmv during the year-end holiday season . as a result , we have historically had higher revenue in our fourth quarter than other quarters due to increased gmv processed through our platform , resulting in higher variable subscription fees . opportunities and risks dynamic e-commerce landscape . we need to continue to innovate in the face of a rapidly changing e-commerce landscape if we are to remain competitive . we also need to effectively manage our growth , especially related to our international expansion . brands and retailers . as consumer preferences potentially shift from smaller retailers , we need to continue to add brands and large retailers as profitable customers . these customers generally pay a lower percentage of gmv as fees to us based on the relatively higher volume of their gmv processed through our platform . to help drive our future growth , we have made significant investments in our sales force and allocated resources focused on growing our customer base of brands and large retailers . we continue to focus our efforts on increasing value for our customers to support higher rates . strategic partnerships . our business development team 's mission is to expand our sales and market opportunities through strategic partner relationships . we plan to continue to invest in initiatives to expand our strategic partnership base to further enhance our offerings for brands and retailers . increasing complexity of e-commerce . although e-commerce continues to expand as brands and retailers continue to increase their online sales , it is also becoming more complex due to the hundreds of channels available to brands and retailers and the rapid pace of change and innovation across those channels . in order to gain consumers ' attention in a more crowded and competitive online marketplace , an increasing number of brands and many retailers sell their merchandise through multiple online channels , each with its own rules , requirements and specifications . in particular , third-party marketplaces are an increasingly important driver of growth for a number of brands and large online retailers . as a result , we need to continue to support multiple channels in a variety of geographies in order to support our targeted revenue growth . as of december 31 , 2018 , we supported 118 marketplaces , up from 89 at december 31 , 2017 . global growth in e-commerce . we believe the growth in e-commerce globally presents an opportunity for brands and retailers to engage in international sales . however , country-specific marketplaces are often the market share leaders in their regions , as is the case for alibaba in asia . in order to help our customers capitalize on this potential market opportunity , and to address our customers ' needs with respect to cross-border trade , we intend to continue to invest in our international operations . doing business overseas involves substantial challenges , including management attention and resources needed to adapt to multiple languages , cultures , laws and commercial infrastructure , as further described in this report under the caption `` risks related to our international operations . `` our senior management continuously focuses on these and other trends and challenges , and we believe that our culture of innovation and our history of growth and expansion will contribute to the success of our business . we can not , however , assure you that we will be successful in addressing and managing the many challenges and risks that we face . 34 key financial and operating metrics the average revenue generated per customer is a primary determinant of our revenue . we calculate this metric by dividing our revenue for a particular period by the average monthly number of customers during the period , which is calculated by taking the sum of the number of customers at the end of each month in the period and dividing by the number of months in the period . we typically calculate average revenue per customer in absolute dollars on a rolling twelve-month basis , but we may also calculate percentage changes in average revenue per customer on a quarterly basis in order to help us evaluate our period-over-period performance . for purposes of this metric and the number of customers metric described below , we include all customers who subscribe to at least one of our solutions . the number of customers decreased slightly . we continue our focus on obtaining brands and large retailers as customers , which may represent a smaller number of total customers , but a potentially larger source of predictable or sustainable recurring revenue . story_separator_special_tag operating margin for the year ended december 31 , 2018 was also favorably impacted by our adoption of asc 606 due to our capitalization of contract costs that had been expensed as incurred in periods prior to january 1 , 2018. operating margin for the year ended december 31 , 2018 would have been ( 10.9 ) % had we not adopted asc 606. refer to note 7 , `` revenue from contracts with customers , `` for additional information regarding the impact of adoption and revenue recognition under asc 606 on our consolidated financial statements . comparison of 2017 to 2016 gross margin improved by 370 basis points to 76.3 % during the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared with 72.6 % for the prior year as a result of the increase in revenue and decrease in cost of revenue noted above . our improved gross margin was a result of our continuing strategic efforts to achieve increasing scale in our business operations . operating margin declined by 130 basis points to ( 13.5 ) % during the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared with ( 12.2 ) % for the prior year due to a 14.6 % growth in operating expenses , which includes the $ 2.5 million one-time charge for vdas related to sales taxes described above and an increase in compensation and employee-related costs driven by additional headcount as we invest in resources to support the growth of our business . these operating expenses exceeded the 8.2 % year-over-year increase in our revenue and 6.3 % decrease in our cost of revenue . excluding the impact of the one-time charge for vdas , operating margin for the year ended december 31 , 2017 would have been ( 11.5 ) % . total other income ( expense ) other income ( expense ) consists primarily of : interest received on our cash and cash equivalents ; interest expense on our capital leases ; and the net effect of foreign currency revaluation gains and losses . comparison of 2018 to 2017 other income ( expense ) increased by $ 0.2 million to $ 0.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2018 compared with $ 0.3 million for the prior year . the change was primarily due to interest income driven by higher interest rates earned on our cash and cash equivalents . 42 comparison of 2017 to 2016 other income ( expense ) increased by $ 0.1 million to $ 0.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared with $ 0.2 million for the prior year . the change was primarily due to interest income driven by higher interest rates earned on our cash and cash equivalents in our money market and savings accounts . income tax expense ( benefit ) our provision for income taxes consists of provisions for federal , state , and foreign income taxes . we operate in an international environment with operations in various locations outside of the united states . accordingly , our combined income tax rate is a composite rate reflecting our operating results in various locations and the applicable rates . comparison of 2018 to 2017 income tax expense was $ 0.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2018 compared with $ 0.3 million for the prior year . the change was primarily due to our adoption of asc 606 which resulted in increased income from certain of our foreign subsidiaries . comparison of 2017 to 2016 income tax expense was $ 0.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared with an income tax benefit of $ 5.7 million for the prior year . the change was primarily due to the release of a valuation allowance in the fourth quarter of 2016 on deferred tax assets in several of our foreign jurisdictions totaling $ 5.3 million . the release of the valuation allowance was the result of our evaluation of the likelihood of potential tax benefits related to our foreign subsidiaries ' most recent three years of operating results and projections of future profitability , which primarily resulted from a change in our global transfer pricing methodology . liquidity and capital resources we derive our liquidity and operating capital primarily from cash flows from operations . based on our current level of operations and anticipated growth , we believe our future cash flows from operating activities and our existing cash balances will be sufficient to meet our cash requirements for at least the next 12 months . during this period , we expect our capital expenditure requirements to approximate a range of $ 2.5 million to $ 4.5 million , which will primarily consist of computer hardware , purchased software and facilities build-out and improvements . working capital the following table summarizes our cash and cash equivalents , accounts receivable and working capital as of the end of each of the last three years : replace_table_token_6_th our cash at december 31 , 2018 was held for working capital purposes . we do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes . our policy is to invest any cash in excess of our immediate requirements in investments designed to preserve the principal balance and provide liquidity . accordingly , our cash is invested primarily in demand deposit accounts and short-term money market accounts . of our total cash and cash equivalents , approximately 8 % was held outside of the united states at december 31 , 2018 . our international operations primarily consist of selling and marketing and research and development functions supported by our u.s. operations , and we are dependent on our u.s. operations for our international working capital needs . if our cash and cash equivalents held outside of the united states were ever needed for our operations inside the united states , we could be required to accrue and pay income and withholding taxes to repatriate these funds . we currently intend to permanently

