Bonded logistics is a type of logistics classification with the following characteristics.
(1) System boundary crossing
Bonded logistics refers to logistics within the borders of a country (region) in terms of geographical location. From the perspective of the range of movement, it belongs to the country but has the nature of “within the country but outside the customs”.
(2) Expansion of logistics elements
Logistics elements generally include transportation, warehousing, information services, distribution, etc., while bonded logistics, in addition to these functional logistics elements, also includes key elements such as customs supervision, ports, bonded, customs declaration, and tax refund.
(3) Linear management
The basic customs clearance procedures for general trade goods include declaration, inspection, taxation, and release, which is a “point-based” management; bonded goods are the entire process from entry, storage or processing to re-export. The entry of goods into the customs is the starting point, and the verification and settlement is the focus. It is a linear management process.
(4) Efficiency bottleneck
The physical operation under the supervision of the customs is the essence of bonded logistics that is different from other logistics. In order to achieve the effectiveness of supervision, strict processes, complex procedures and high sampling rates are indispensable, but this is contrary to the pursuit of convenience, high efficiency and low cost in modern logistics. There is a “dilemma” contradiction between logistics efficiency and customs supervision efficiency. With the growing demand for bonded goods, the efficiency of customs supervision has become a bottleneck for improving the efficiency of the bonded logistics system.
(5) Platform
Bonded logistics is the end of the supply logistics and the beginning of the sales logistics of processing trade enterprises, and even production logistics is involved. The operational efficiency of bonded logistics is directly related to the normal production of enterprises and the normal operation of the supply chain. Building a smooth and efficient bonded logistics system is the result of efficient collaboration among customs, logistics enterprises, ports, etc. A sound policy system and an integrated comprehensive logistics service platform are indispensable. A logistics center that integrates commodity flow, information flow and capital flow is one of the main modes of bonded logistics.