There are many well-known companies that provide international express delivery services abroad, such as DHL, TNT, FedEx, etc. These companies have become very mature after a long period of development, and have established outlets in most parts of the world, forming a global logistics system. Moreover, these companies have their own relatively mature operating areas and relatively stable customer resources, which are unshakable advantages.
Domestic express delivery companies have been established and operated for a short time, and their cross-border business has just started in recent years. Compared with well-known international express delivery companies, there are still many shortcomings. However, for cross-border e-commerce, these new companies have also brought them new opportunities. As for what the opportunities are, the specific situation of foreign express delivery and domestic express delivery will still be elaborated in the next few sections.
12.2.1 Foreign express delivery: fast speed, high-quality service, and expensive price
Due to space reasons, it is impossible to discuss the characteristics of foreign express delivery here in detail, so we can only give a general description of its general characteristics. The following is an introduction to several internationally well-known foreign express delivery companies to get a general understanding of the development of foreign express delivery.
First, let’s talk about American express delivery companies.
In the United States, the express delivery companies with better development are FedEx and UPS. FedEx, also known as the United States Federal Express, was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. After 100 years of development, FedEx has established branches in 220 countries and regions, with nearly 140,000 employees, 41,000 special trucks and nearly 700 aircraft, handling 3.2 million packages and more than 6 million pounds of goods every working day.
The company has a great advantage in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions. With high timeliness and high-quality services, the price is also prohibitive for many people.
UPS, also known as United Express, was formerly a messenger company established in Seattle, USA in 1907. Its original main business was to deliver letters and deliver packages to retail stores. In the early days of UPS, it took “the best service and the lowest price” as the company’s operating principle, and soon developed throughout the west coast of the United States. By the 1930s, it had become quite large. After more than 100 years of development, it has more than 400,000 employees worldwide, and its international express delivery and air transport have a good reputation.
In Europe, the most well-known express delivery companies are DHL in Germany and TNT in the Netherlands.
DHL was established in 1969 and is headquartered in Belgium. Although it was established later, its operating performance is not inferior. It currently has outlets in 220 countries and regions, with nearly 300 aircraft and 20,000 vehicles. The number of aircraft has shown that its service scope is not mainly in Europe. In Japan, Australia, Africa and other regions, DHL has a strong market appeal with its high-quality service and customs clearance capabilities and relatively favorable prices.
TNT was established in 1946 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is a top express and logistics company. Unlike the previous express delivery companies, TNT provides a variety of services including mail, express delivery and logistics. At present, the company has established business outlets in more than 200 countries and regions, with more than 140,000 employees, 50 aircraft and 20,000 vehicles. TNT has absolute advantages in Europe, the Middle East and West Asia, and its customs clearance capabilities in Europe are far better than those of the companies mentioned above. Of course, the price is also much higher.
Foreign express companies have been operating international business much earlier than China, and have a more complete system, and have more advantages in equipment and personnel. Naturally, they have high quality in terms of timeliness and service. At the same time, these express companies have formed a specific customer base in many years of development, and have a brand effect in specific regions, so the price is naturally higher than that of ordinary express companies.