In recent years, with the development of global cross-border e-commerce, the development of the cross-border logistics industry has encountered unprecedented opportunities. However, from the perspective of the development of China’s cross-border e-commerce industry, as of the first half of 2018, my country’s cross-border e-commerce transaction volume reached 4.5 trillion yuan, and the future growth rate is expected to exceed 20%, becoming a market with a transaction volume of trillion yuan. Cross-border e-commerce logistics companies face huge opportunities, but challenges and risks also coexist.
Cross-border e-commerce is the integration of the Internet and import and export trade. In a broad sense, cross-border e-commerce refers to a type of transaction method in which trading entities belonging to different customs territories use e-commerce platforms to display goods, reach transactions, conduct cross-border payments and cross-border logistics transportation, and complete delivery. In a narrow sense, cross-border e-commerce generally refers to B2C (business to customer, enterprise to individual) retail business.
In the development of cross-border e-commerce, cross-border e-commerce logistics is the infrastructure of cross-border e-commerce. The cost of cross-border e-commerce logistics is directly related to the sales cost of cross-border e-commerce. The breadth of the delivery range of cross-border e-commerce logistics determines the sales area of cross-border e-commerce. The smoothness and timeliness of cross-border e-commerce logistics reflect the convenience of cross-border trade and the customer experience.
Cross-border e-commerce logistics includes diversified services such as domestic distribution, cross-border transportation, domestic and overseas warehousing, overseas local distribution, return and exchange, and return transportation. It has become a delivery link in the cross-border e-commerce chain, integrating various modes of traditional international (inter-regional) logistics, and tailoring a cross-border delivery method for fragmented orders that is based on traditional logistics but different from traditional logistics.
In order to adapt to the rapid growth of fragmented orders, China Customs has carried out regulatory innovation. The “three-order collision” model launched by the customs for cross-border e-commerce B2C business provides a basis for customs clearance supervision, improves customs clearance efficiency, and becomes a regulatory template for customs of various countries (regions) for cross-border e-commerce B2C business. With the improvement and innovation of the regulatory systems of various countries (regions), cross-border e-commerce logistics is leading cross-border e-commerce to develop in a more localized, standardized, and compliant manner while customs clearance is becoming increasingly convenient. The international logistics industry is ushering in a new stage of development-the cross-border e-commerce logistics period. With its significant advantages in logistics speed, logistics service quality and logistics costs, cross-border e-commerce logistics indicates the future development direction of the international logistics industry.