Cross-border e-commerce cost accounting and optimization strategy: from logistics to import and export cost analysis

The development of cross-border e-commerce cannot be separated from the effective control of costs in all aspects, especially logistics costs and import and export costs. This article will combine actual cases to discuss how to maximize benefits through accurate cost accounting.

The importance of logistics cost accounting and its components

For cross-border sellers, logistics cost accounting is an indispensable part of the entire business chain. It not only affects the economic benefits of the enterprise, but is also directly related to whether it can remain competitive in the market. Specifically, logistics costs mainly include the following aspects:

• Transportation cost: This is one of the most intuitive and important costs, covering the transportation costs of goods, logistics service provider fees, cargo tracking and insurance costs, etc. In order to reduce costs, sellers need to comprehensively consider the costs of different transportation methods and service providers and choose the optimal solution.
• Tariffs and taxes: Cross-border trade is often accompanied by certain duties and taxes. Familiarity with the relevant policies of the destination country or region can help sellers accurately estimate this cost.
• Warehouse cost: If a cross-border warehousing model is adopted, it will involve costs such as warehouse rental, inventory management, packaging materials, etc. Properly planning inventory and avoiding excessive hoarding are effective ways to reduce warehousing costs.
• Customer service and returns processing: Although these costs are difficult to quantify, they are crucial to maintaining brand image and customer loyalty. Including the human and material investment required to handle customer inquiries, returns and exchanges and other services.
• Marketing strategy: For example, offering free shipping promotions can attract more orders, but it also means higher logistics expenses. Therefore, how to balance marketing strategies and logistics costs has become an art.

Core indicators for export commodity cost accounting

When evaluating whether exported goods are profitable, there are two core indicators worthy of focus:

• Export exchange cost: Reflects the RMB cost required to obtain one dollar of net foreign exchange income. The formula is: export exchange cost = total export cost (RMB) / net export foreign exchange income (USD). Lower exchange costs mean higher export earnings.

  For example, if a product has a domestic cost of 8,000 yuan, a processing fee of 1,000 yuan, a circulation fee of 500 yuan, a tax of 100 yuan, and a net export foreign exchange income of 1,100 US dollars, its exchange cost will be 4.8 yuan/USD.

• Export commodity profit and loss ratio: used to measure the degree of profit or loss of export commodities in the total cost. The calculation method is: (net export RMB income – total export cost) / total export cost * 100 %. Positive numbers represent profits and negative numbers represent losses.

  For example, if a company exports goods at a CIF price of US$1,000, it needs to pay US$100 for freight per ton, an insurance rate of 0.1%, a domestic purchase price of 5,000 yuan, and a management fee of 500 yuan, the profit and loss rate is 34.8%.

Through the above analysis, it can be seen that whether it is logistics costs or import and export costs, refined management is required to ensure that enterprises remain invincible in the fierce market competition.

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Reference materials:

• Import cost accounting case
• Cross-border seller logistics cost accounting: How to grasp core expenses?
• Two indicators for export commodity cost accounting