Postal service is the oldest of all logistics modes. After a long period of development, modern postal service has formed a global delivery and distribution network, which has outstanding advantages in scale and competitiveness.
In the field of cross-border e-commerce, postal service is generally used for the mailing of small parcels because of its fast speed, low price and dense global network. However, small parcels also have some disadvantages, such as the limitation on the volume of parcels. In addition, there are differences between postal parcels in different countries and regions. At present, the policies of various countries on postal parcels have also shown a trend of tightening. The specific situation of these aspects will be discussed in the following chapters.
12.3.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Postal Parcels
In the logistics mode of cross-border e-commerce, the advantages and disadvantages of postal parcels are as follows.
First, for postal parcels, the first major advantage is globality. The postal service has experienced a long period of development and currently has agency points in most countries and regions in the world. It is far ahead in market share and can be sent to any place where there is a post office. For cross-border e-commerce, the flow of goods around the world requires a network system like the postal service that spreads all over the world to provide circulation support.
Second, it is fast. Postal parcels are delivered by dedicated air lines, which are faster than land and sea transportation. In particular, some postal services have speed advantages for specific regions, such as the German and Swedish postal services to European countries, and the Malaysian postal services to Southeast Asian countries.
Third, it is cheap. The price advantage of postal parcels is particularly reflected in China Post Air Parcels. Compared with DHL, UPS, TNT, etc., China Post Parcels not only have a low base price, but also have freight forwarding discounts from various places when calculating the final price.
Of course, postal parcels also have many disadvantages, the most important of which is the volume and weight limit of the transported goods. Postal parcels, as the name suggests, transport goods with lighter weight and smaller volume. For example, the weight of China Post parcels is limited to 2 kilograms. In cross-border e-commerce transaction products, the goods often exceed 2 kilograms, which limits the service scope of postal parcels.