Comprehensive comparison and role of border warehouses and overseas warehouses
Border warehouses and overseas warehouses play an important role in the operation of cross-border e-commerce logistics. Their main difference is location: overseas warehouses are located in the country where the goods are imported, while border warehouses are set up in countries adjacent to the importing country. This geographical difference gives border warehouses unique advantages in logistics efficiency and cost control.
Definition and types of border warehouses
Border warehouses refer to warehouses built or leased in neighboring countries of the country where goods are imported. Depending on the location, border warehouses can be divided into relative border warehouses and absolute border warehouses. The relative border warehouse is located in a country that is not adjacent to the importing country but is close to it, while the absolute border warehouse is located in a country adjacent to the importing country. For example, most of China’s border warehouses are concentrated in areas near Russia, mainly serving Russia and surrounding Russian-speaking areas, while a small number are set up in Xinjiang to meet the needs of the Middle East and Central Asian markets.
Functions and advantages of border warehouses
Border warehouses have multiple functions, including receiving, sorting, quality inspection, coding, warehousing and shipping of goods. In addition, the border warehouse also provides value-added services such as product weighing, photography and customized packaging. Its main advantages are reflected in the following aspects:
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Improving logistics timeliness: For example, goods from China to Russia are delivered through border warehouses and can usually arrive at the target area within 15-20 days, which is faster than traditional overseas warehouses.
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Cost control: Since the border warehouse is established in China, the related operating costs are lower than those of overseas warehouses, avoiding high customs payments and warehousing fees. For example, the cost of shipping through a border warehouse is generally around US$14, and there are no additional expenses such as local express fees.
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Simplified customs clearance process: Compared with overseas warehouses that need to go through customs clearance procedures in advance, goods in border warehouses generally do not go through customs clearance, which simplifies the process and ensures the safety and efficiency of logistics.
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Avoid policy risks: The location of the border warehouse allows it to avoid the political, legal and tax risks of the importing country. It can also take advantage of regional free trade logistics policies to ensure logistics efficiency.
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Optimizing user experience: By shortening the delivery time, the buyer’s shopping experience has been significantly improved, reducing the logistics time that may have taken 25 days to 10-15 days.
Economic comparison between border warehouses and overseas warehouses
In terms of specific economic comparison, taking a down jacket weighing 1 kilogram as an example, the total cost of shipping through overseas warehouses is as high as 15.64 US dollars, including Chinese and Russian freight, customs clearance fees and various additional fees. However, the shipping cost of the border warehouse is much lower. Customers only need to send the goods to the border warehouse and ship them directly through the Universal Postal Union system, eliminating complex customs duties and express delivery fees.
In larger batches of goods transactions, it is more economical and reasonable to choose a border warehouse. It not only reduces large customs duties and the cumbersome cross-border customs clearance, but also ensures timeliness.
Conclusion
To sum up, border warehouses play an important role in the logistics chain of cross-border e-commerce. Compared with overseas warehouses, border warehouses not only improve logistics efficiency, but also have obvious advantages in cost control and policy risk avoidance, so they have gradually become the first choice for more and more companies. With the rapid development of border trade, the potential and applications of border warehouses will continue to expand to meet changing market needs.