Relying on overseas warehouses to set up a procurement center is a necessity for corporate logistics operations. For example, increasing overseas business locations can solve the problems of direct supply from the place of origin, traceability and multiple customs clearances, and improve the level of product quality control. The logistics chain of cross-border imports is long, and goods need to be allocated from all over the world and then shipped to China through multiple cross-border transportation channels. Once sales expectations exceed inventory, there may be a risk of out-of-stock sales. However, problems such as overstocking, unsalable goods and capital occupation are more difficult. To achieve direct mail and seamless connection from overseas warehouses to bonded warehouses, products that can be sold in transit must find a balance between pressure and out-of-stock.
Primary overseas collection warehouses are the main form of self-operated imports for e-commerce, supplemented by overseas direct mail. Overseas warehouses can provide the qualifications and document certificates required for customs clearance of goods, and can also receive scattered purchasing orders sent to China by home buyers, purchasing agents, and platforms, provide sorting and packaging services, as well as remote virtual inventory monitoring and management of goods delivery methods.
Imported overseas warehouses have spread across mainstream sources of goods. For example, Leoniao International has established GFC global order fulfillment centers in Sydney, Osaka, Seoul, Auckland and other places. GFC warehouses facilitate overseas merchants to prepare and replenish goods nearby, and integrate consumer transaction, payment, logistics and identity information. When goods enter the country and clear customs, they can be forecasted and real-time information on goods flow such as cargo collection, inbound and outbound storage, trunk flights, and transshipment customs clearance can be viewed.
Overseas warehouses have also derived direct supply social e-commerce and S2B2C delivery models. S refers to suppliers or supply chain service providers (procurement, transportation, warehousing, quality control, etc.), B refers to merchants who use various Internet platforms or tools to retail goods online, and C is an online consumer. When C places an order with B, B pushes the order information to S, and S ships the goods to C on behalf of C, cooperating in the form of wholesale or “distribution + commission”. This requires the integration of front-end operations, marketing and customer service, as well as the comprehensive capabilities of online and offline channels, supply chain and warehousing logistics in the background, providing IT support such as warehousing system, customs clearance system (bonded, express, direct purchase, etc.), supply and marketing platform (distributors, suppliers) freight forwarding system, multi-port management, etc., to build a SaaS platform for the entire cross-border e-commerce industry chain.
Pick up and ship abroad, confirm the order for the e-commerce platform users who placed the order on the same day, the overseas warehouse handles and sends the package, completes a series of in-warehouse actions such as commodity sorting, packaging, clearing, boxing, quality inspection, and ordering, and supports order modification, return, and order interception. Picking up goods requires extensive cooperation with local postal services, international freight forwarders, airlines, regional express delivery, etc. For example, the British Post provides door-to-door pickup and direct delivery, while BiPost, Jersey, and Holland Post require third-party couriers to pick up or customers to deliver to the post office themselves, and some are sent to the forwarding company and then sent to the airport.
If imports and exports share the same overseas warehouse, it is easy to cause errors and confusion due to cross-business. For example, for goods sent from the FBA warehouse, it is necessary to determine whether the goods are export returns or import orders, which makes warehouse operations more difficult. The warehouse will unpack and inspect the incoming packages to check whether there are any contraband items. For example, if the package contains removable batteries, the warehouse will remove the batteries before shipment.
Hong Kong, China is favored by merchants for its unique internal and external policy advantages. It has advantages in international trade, supply chain, port terminals and air transportation. Many traders and cross-border e-commerce companies choose to place goods in Hong Kong warehouses, China, taking into account bonded stocking and direct mail, making procurement, receipt and returns very convenient.