Detailed explanation of overseas warehouse operation process: comprehensive analysis of the first journey, in-warehouse and last journey
1. First leg: domestic goods collection to overseas warehouses
1. Domestic time period
The first leg of preparing goods and delivering them to warehouses involves domestic time nodes including order cut-off, warehouse cut-off, space booking, shipment, customs declaration and departure from the port. Sellers can choose to deliver the goods themselves or entrust an overseas warehouse service provider to take care of the entire process. If you choose self-delivery, you need to specify the cargo details, transportation method, carrier, waybill number and other information when submitting the overseas warehouse entry form, which will serve as an ASN arrival notification to facilitate warehouse inspection and entry. At the same time, sellers need to arrange customs clearance and tax payment for goods at home and abroad by themselves, and delivery must adopt the DDP trade model of delivery after tax.
2. Cargo transportation methods
Sea freight LCL or FCL is the main international logistics method, suitable for non-urgent replenishment; while air freight is more suitable for quick replenishment in emergency situations. It should be noted that when the seller packs the goods themselves, goods weighing more than 50 pounds per package need to be stacked on pallets and comply with other weight limit standards, otherwise additional charges may be incurred.
3. Value-added services
Some overseas warehouses provide “dual clearing of goods in and out” and delivery services, including value-added services such as receiving inspection, marking, packaging and palletizing, product photography, and composite weighing. These services help streamline processes and increase efficiency.
2. Customs clearance: ensuring smooth entry of goods
During export customs clearance, overseas warehouses are different from ordinary foreign trade sales, and the tax refund procedures are incomplete. Therefore, it is more important to choose a suitable comprehensive foreign trade service model. In terms of import customs clearance, sellers need to ensure that all goods comply with the relevant quality parameters and safety standards of the destination country. In addition, taxes such as import duties, value-added tax and miscellaneous fees generally need to be paid in advance.
3. In the warehouse: order operation and inventory management
Local management of overseas warehouses is similar to domestic e-commerce warehouses and requires design from aspects such as storage space planning, storage location specifications, SKU coding, and picking processes. After the goods arrive at the overseas warehouse, the staff will unpack them and complete the sorting and shelving work. This stage includes unpacking services, warehousing services, labeling services, Wish appointments, etc.
4. Final journey: out-of-warehouse delivery and after-sales service
1. Order processing time
The last process mainly focuses on the timeliness of order processing. After the order is generated, the warehouse personnel will receive the outbound task immediately. Due to the time difference, timely picking, packaging, and delivery within 24 hours can best reflect the operating level of overseas warehouses.
2. Delivery product selection
The choice of distribution channel needs to consider a variety of factors, such as product value, customer requirements, off-peak and peak seasons, etc. The larger the scale of overseas warehouse shipments, the better discounts you can get from local large customers.
3. Tracking feedback
After completing the shipment, the overseas warehouse should provide the delivery logistics tracking number in a timely manner to facilitate the seller to understand the status of the goods.
5. After-sales value-added services
In cross-border e-commerce business, overseas warehouses can provide many after-sales services, such as return and exchange processing, rearrangement, cleaning, packaging, labeling, etc. In addition, overseas warehouse service providers can also provide corresponding solutions for unsalable or damaged goods.
Through the above process, we can see that overseas warehouses play a vital role in the entire cross-border e-commerce logistics chain. From the first step of stocking to the last step of delivery, every step needs to be carefully planned and executed to ensure that the goods reach consumers smoothly.