According to the latest data of the General Administration of Customs of Customs of China, 2.45 billion import and export lists were inspected and released through the customs cross-border e-commerce management platform in 2020, an increase of 63.3% year-on-year.
With the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, Chinese enterprises have accelerated the construction of cross-border logistics systems, including overseas warehouses. At present, the number of overseas warehouses has exceeded 1,800, becoming a new foreign trade infrastructure to support the development of cross-border e-commerce and expand the international market.
Cross-border logistics docking local distribution
The recently released “Cross-border E-commerce Blue Book: China’s Cross-border E-commerce Development Report (2020)” points out that the scale of China’s cross-border e-commerce market is expected to reach 280 billion yuan in 2020, continuing to achieve leapfrogging growth.
The rapid development of cross-border e-commerce has promoted the diversified development demand of cross-border logistics.
Overseas warehouse is not only the product of cross-border e-commerce and cross-border logistics, but also the general trend of the logistics industry in the era of cross-border e-commerce.
In 2012, seeing cross-border e-commerce logistics business opportunities, Ouyang, a Chinese businessman who has been engaged in the logistics industry for a long time, and his British partner Murphy, established Royal Logistics Co., Ltd. in Shenzhen to deliver goods to the world.
Since opening its first overseas warehouse in the United Kingdom in April 2014, the company has established overseas warehouses in dozens of countries in Europe, Asia, the Americas and other regions.
“Shipping from China to the United Kingdom usually takes about a month to arrive at the destination if traditional logistics methods are used. Now, through overseas warehouses set up by Chinese companies, British consumers can receive Chinese goods within two days.
The overseas warehouse form enhances China’s logistics and distribution advantages. In Murphy’s view, in addition to the timeliness, bulk import of overseas warehouses can save value-added tax and import duties on high-value products, and also help customers handle returns. Under the background of fierce competition in e-commerce, return guarantee can undoubtedly establish a better brand image for sellers.
“During the epidemic prevention and control period, the advantages of overseas warehouses are prominent, because there are sufficient advance stocking, and local logistics can deliver faster.” Ouyang can say that Chinese e-commerce can upload orders online and seamlessly connect with local English systems.
With the help of overseas warehouses, from procurement, export tax rebate, agent import declaration, overseas warehousing, to the final integration of local logistics delivery, a set of international logistics solutions makes cross-border shopping more efficient.
He believes that overseas warehouses are committed to reducing costs, improving distribution efficiency and providing one-stop solutions, which will help solve the “last kilometer” distribution problem of Chinese products in overseas markets.
Optimize the shopping experience of overseas consumers
Considering the need to “hoard more vegetables” and go out less during the epidemic prevention and control period, Leticia, a housewife living on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, recently planned to buy a dual-door refrigerator.
After comparison, she found that the refrigerator in the local mall was expensive, and there was an extra freight for door-to-door delivery.
On a Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform, a two-door refrigerator is only sold for 399 euros and is free of charge, which Letitia thinks is very suitable. The day after placing the order, the refrigerator was delivered to the door, and Letitia was surprised.
Zhou Yan, the head of the supply chain of the e-commerce overseas warehouse in Spain, said that they have two official overseas warehouses in Spain, and more than 10 third-party cooperative overseas warehouses.
The goods have arrived in Spain, France and Poland on the 3rd, and the pan-European region on the 7th. Based on overseas warehouses, after-sales service such as commodity return and maintenance are also undertaken locally, optimizing the shopping experience of local consumers.
Laizenda is one of the largest online shopping websites in Southeast Asia, and a new overseas warehouse service was added in Indonesia in March 2020.
Radna, an Indonesian girl who likes online shopping, said: “The quality and price of online shopping are good, and the most important thing is fast delivery.”
On the Japanese overseas warehouse website of Guangzhou Sumao Tianxia Technology Co., Ltd., a customer commented on the logistics service after purchasing wireless headphones: “The delivery is timely, the goods arrive quickly, and the packaging is very good.” Lin Yazhi, the founder of the company, said that in the first half of 2020, its overseas warehouse sales in Japan more than doubled, and now, epidemic prevention supplies have become the best-selling product.
Improve the competitiveness of foreign trade enterprises
The establishment of overseas warehouses directly narrows the distance between Chinese sellers and foreign customers, promotes overseas marketing of Chinese goods, and effectively improves the global competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing.
Take the overseas sales of Jiannuo electric balancing car as an example.
Since the opening of the Spanish overseas warehouse in June 2019, the overall stocking cost of the product has decreased by 15%, the logistics cost of a single goods has decreased by about 20%, the distribution cycle has been shortened from 45 days of cross-border delivery to 24-hour delivery in Spain, and the pan-European region has delivered in 5 to 7 days, and the performance of distributors has also increased. More than three times.
Yusen e-commerce headquartered in Ningbo mainly engages in indoor home, outdoor rattan weaving, sports and fitness, baby and child products, pet products and other products.
Relying on the “cross-border e-commerce + overseas warehouse” model, the net profit was 248.6 million yuan in the first three quarters of last year alone, an increase of 1936.4% year-on-year.
“Traditionally, cross-border e-commerce delivers goods across borders according to the order package, while overseas warehouses have built a closed loop of local supply.” Zhou Yan said that under the current situation, overseas warehouses have played an active regulatory role in stabilizing the supply chain of the industrial chain.
In addition, some Chinese e-commerce helps small and medium-sized e-commerce in their countries accelerate their development by building overseas warehouses.
Nowadays, overseas warehouses have become an important link and service support for the development of cross-border e-commerce.
In the future, overseas warehouses will explore in-depth information construction, intelligent development, diversified services, localized operation and other aspects to help Chinese products better go to the global market.
