Cross-border e-commerce development status and logistics challenges in China
Cross-border e-commerce is a product under the background of the information age. It refers to the transaction model of trading entities that exist in different customs borders. This has become an important model to promote the circulation of the commercial industry. In recent years, the scale of China’s cross-border e-commerce transactions has continued to grow, from 6.3 trillion yuan in 2016 to 9.1 trillion yuan in 2018. The number of users exceeds 100 million and is expected to reach 10.8 trillion yuan in 2019.
Development status of global cross-border e-commerce
Global retail e-commerce sales in 2018 were US$2.842 billion, a year-on-year increase of 23.4%. E-commerce sales are expected to exceed US$3 trillion in 2019. In 2018, global B2C cross-border e-commerce transaction volume exceeded US$650 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27.5%. It is expected that global B2C cross-border e-commerce transaction volume will exceed US$800 billion in 2019. In 2018, the number of global online shoppers was 1.79 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.8%. It is expected that the number of global online shoppers will exceed 1.9 billion in 2019.
Cross-border e-commerce development status in China
China’s cross-border e-commerce transaction scale reached 9.1 trillion yuan in 2018, and is expected to reach 10.8 trillion yuan in 2019. In 2018, the number of overseas shopping users in China exceeded 100 million. In 2018, the scale of China’s cross-border e-commerce transactions reached 9.1 trillion yuan. In 2018, my country’s total cross-border e-commerce transactions increased from 1.3 trillion yuan to 8 trillion yuan between 2010 and 2017. In the first half of 2018, my country’s cross-border e-commerce transaction volume was 4.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25%.
Cross-border e-commerce logistics status quo
Compared with domestic logistics, cross-border logistics is not only closely connected with the social and economic activities of multiple countries, but also affected by many aspects and factors among multiple countries. There are national differences in the logistics hardware environment and software environment. Different countries have different standards. There will be obstacles in the connection between domestic logistics, international logistics and destination country logistics, making it difficult to build a smooth cross-border logistics system. At present, my country’s cross-border logistics still remains at the traditional levels of commodity transportation, distribution, and freight forwarding, and there is a lack of high-end logistics services and value-added services.
Cross-border dedicated line logistics development status
At present, dedicated logistics services are mainly based on the business volume of the sending country and the receiving country. The most commonly used logistics dedicated lines in the industry include North American dedicated lines, European dedicated lines, Australian dedicated lines, Russian dedicated lines, etc., and there are also many logistics services. The company has launched the Middle East dedicated line, South America dedicated line, South Africa dedicated line, etc. The cross-border dedicated logistics lines opened in my country are relatively concentrated, mostly in European, American and East Asian countries. There are currently many companies providing dedicated line logistics services, and sellers can have a variety of dedicated line logistics service options. Cross-border dedicated line logistics fee settlement methods are constantly improving.
Characteristics of China’s cross-border e-commerce development
With the increasing downward pressure on the world economy, the procurement model of international buyers has changed from the previous large orders to small batches and multiple frequency fragmented orders. More and more traditional manufacturing foreign trade channels are blocked, and they are turning to cross-border e-commerce. The operation of overseas warehouses improves logistics efficiency. With the rapid development of China’s cross-border e-commerce market, the huge market opportunities have attracted more and more capital-based international retail merchants to participate in the competition of China’s cross-border e-commerce.
Problems existing in cross-border e-commerce
Severe product homogeneity and vicious price competition have directly led to the rapid leap of traditional products from the “blue ocean” to the “red ocean”. The development of China’s cross-border e-commerce is largely due to China’s advantages as a major manufacturing country, which can attract consumers with low-priced products. Although the flow of information based on the Internet is unimpeded, the free movement of goods is still restricted by customs borders. The logistics cycle of cross-border e-commerce is very long. It usually takes 7 to 15 days to the United States and Europe, and longer to South America and Russia, usually 25 to 35 days.
The development status of cross-border e-commerce companies
Traditional cross-border e-commerce companies have been doing processing and production at the bottom of the entire foreign trade chain, which is what we often refer to as OEM. Not only do they not have their own brands and technologies, but also with labor and environmental protection , management and other costs are rising, the pressure is doubled, and the living space is getting smaller and smaller. In recent years, many cross-border e-commerce companies have begun to realize the importance of branding and have begun to make some attempts. However, they still encounter resistance in the following aspects: Most traditional cross-border companies have long been accustomed to the OEM order model. , have their own concerns about brands going overseas; traditional cross-border enterprises are out of touch with end customers and lack the ability to research overseas target markets; there is a serious shortage of international brand planning and operation talents; a brand needs to go from a trademark to real market recognition and brand premium Time and market precipitation.
Conclusion
The development of cross-border e-commerce has brought new vitality to international trade, but it also faces a series of challenges. With policy support and technological advancement, I believe cross-border e-commerce will usher in a more prosperous future.