1. E-commerce self-delivers first-leg overseas warehouse
For the first-leg preparation and delivery, sellers can choose to prepare goods for delivery by themselves or have the overseas warehouse take full responsibility for the whole process, provided that the overseas warehouse operator has sufficient transportation and customs clearance capabilities. In order to avoid cross-risk or joint liability, many overseas warehouses encourage sellers to entrust agents to deliver goods by themselves. Ocean freight LCL and FCL are the main international logistics methods, and air freight first leg is more suitable for emergency replenishment. It should be noted that in order to optimize logistics costs and inventory, the frequency of the first leg should be scientifically arranged.
If the seller prepares goods for delivery by himself, he must specify the details of the goods and the transportation method, carrier, waybill number and other information when submitting the overseas warehouse entry form, as the ASN (advanced shipping note, advance delivery list) arrival notice, which is convenient for the warehouse to inspect and enter the warehouse; the seller needs to arrange the customs clearance of the goods abroad and pay taxes and fees by himself, and all goods must be shipped in the trade mode of delivery after tax (DDP). For customs clearance documents and packing lists for air and sea freight, overseas warehouses cannot be reflected as importers, taxpayers or cargo owners, but can only be used as the carrier’s delivery address.
When the seller packs by himself, if a single package exceeds 50 pounds (about 22.68 kilograms), it is necessary to stack pallets and limit weight, otherwise the whole container bulk unloading fee may be incurred.
Inaccurate information on the warehouse entry list or appointment will lead to delays in unloading, warehousing and shelving, additional fees such as receiving and guarding, and refusal of guarding. In the case of a public collection warehouse at the port, some overseas warehouses provide “in and out double clearance” and pick-up services, and uniformly carry out value-added services such as receiving inspection, labeling, packaging and palletizing, product photography, and rechecking and weighing. They are responsible for the operations of warehousing and station entry, booking, domestic port customs declaration, destination country (region) customs clearance, and consignment to the destination, realizing one-stop cross-border transportation, and providing warehouse delivery services including FBA.
After the goods are put on the shelves, the seller has inventory and can sell them online.
2. Platform collects goods and sends them to overseas warehouses
(1) B2B2C model
The platform does not prepare goods in advance. After overseas users place an order, domestic suppliers will ship the goods to the platform’s domestic collection warehouse within the time limit specified by the platform. The platform’s collection warehouse is responsible for the receipt of express parcels, warehousing quality inspection, shelving, order printing, picking, scanning and verification, packaging, weighing, collection, and goods handover. The platform then selects the appropriate cross-border logistics channel to deliver the goods to overseas consumers.
(2) FBJ model (fulfillment by Jollychic)
The FBJ model is consistent with the Amazon FBA model.