From the perspective of trade activities, cross-border e-commerce can be realized in almost every link of foreign trade activities, that is, from market research and customer search, to negotiation, ordering, online payment, online ship chartering and booking, online insurance, and then to electronic customs declaration, electronic inspection, electronic tax payment and other processes can be completed through computer networks. In this sense, cross-border e-commerce has reshaped the means of international trade transactions, brought about major changes in international trade, and improved work efficiency.
(I) Preparation before the transaction
1. International market research
Before negotiating a transaction, foreign trade enterprises must first conduct research on domestic and foreign markets. In today’s e-commerce era, foreign trade enterprises can use cross-border e-commerce networks to conduct research on market supply and demand, price trends, consumer purchasing power, and information on import and export policies, regulations, and trade practices of various countries, so as to select the most appropriate target market and reasonably determine the market layout.
2. Find customers and establish business relationships with them
Foreign trade enterprises search for potential customers through cross-border e-commerce, quickly obtain relevant information about customers, and contact them in a timely and low-cost manner. In addition, cross-border e-commerce can also investigate the political background, payment ability, business scope, business ability, credit status and other aspects of customers through the Internet, and select customers with the greatest possibility of transaction.
3. Release promotional information anytime and anywhere
Cross-border e-commerce enterprises can also release the latest news of enterprises or products through various websites and web pages around the clock, promote and display enterprises and products, attract customers and increase trade opportunities. In cross-border e-commerce, buyers mainly obtain the commodity information they need by going online at any time; sellers mainly use the Internet and various trade websites to publish commodity advertisements, actively push their own commodity information online, find trading partners and trading opportunities, and expand trade scope and market share.
(II) Foreign trade transaction consultation and signing of foreign trade contracts
1. Foreign trade transaction consultation
The procedures of foreign trade transaction consultation include inquiry, quotation, counter-offer and acceptance, and these links can be carried out through e-commerce methods such as e-mail or instant messaging software.
2. Formation and signing of foreign trade contracts
According to Article 23 of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods: A contract is concluded when the acceptance of an offer in accordance with the provisions of this Convention becomes effective. In traditional trade, contracts can be concluded in written form, oral form, or in the form of behavior. Under the conditions of e-commerce, electronic contracts have emerged and can be signed through electronic data exchange systems.
Various cross-border e-commerce systems and dedicated data exchange protocols automatically ensure the accuracy, security and reliability of network information transmission, improve the speed of the entire transaction process, reduce the probability of loopholes and errors, and standardize the entire commodity trade process.
(III) Performance of foreign trade contracts
The work of performing foreign trade contracts mainly includes stock preparation, inspection, issuance of certificates of origin, collection of taxes, examination of certificates, modification of certificates, chartering and booking, insurance, shipment, preparation of documents and settlement of exchange, verification of export receipts, export tax rebates, claims and settlement of claims. Under the conditions of cross-border e-commerce, these tasks can basically be completed with the help of e-commerce systems, and the manual workload of salesmen is greatly reduced. E-commerce makes the originally cumbersome contract performance links simple and efficient.