At present, there are five major business models for import e-commerce, such as direct shipping platform and overseas purchasing agent, while the seven major import pilot cities are mainly piloting bonded import and direct purchase import customs clearance models. At present, cross-border e-commerce is still in the early stage of development, and cross-border warehousing and logistics are also growing in the process of running-in.
In the era of cross-border e-commerce where logistics is king, high-quality and efficient warehousing and logistics service providers have become an important weight for e-commerce companies to open up the market and improve user experience. Faced with a variety of logistics solutions and service providers, how should import e-commerce choose their “best partner”? This site has an in-depth understanding of many e-commerce companies and logistics service providers, and shares their practical experience with everyone.
1. Clearly understand your needs and the services of service providers
The best one is the one that suits you. Import e-commerce must combine its own business model with the product category to sort out and find its own positioning to choose the most suitable logistics solution. At present, there are five major business models for import e-commerce, such as direct shipping platform and overseas purchasing agent, while the seven major import pilot cities are mainly piloting bonded import and direct purchase import customs clearance models. The direct purchase import model is more suitable for purchasing agents, e-commerce platforms with a wide range of categories, and overseas e-commerce. It can be shipped directly from overseas and has advantages in the diversity of commodity types. The bonded import model has advantages in price and timeliness, and is suitable for e-commerce companies with relatively focused categories and large inventory. In addition, e-commerce companies need to understand whether the service provider provides warehousing, packaging and billing, reinforcement and insurance, personalized packaging, and even special customs clearance services according to their own needs; different logistics companies have different advantages in different logistics channels and trunk lines, and the guarantee of timeliness is also different.
It is understood that most of the well-known import e-commerce companies in the industry, such as Global E Station, Mai Le Gou, Zou Xiu.com, and Fulan International, ship goods through professional import pilot logistics companies such as Guangzhou Post Cross-border Easy. By comparing different logistics companies, Cross-border Easy is currently one of the few companies in China that clearly positions itself as a reverse FBA warehouse service provider for import e-commerce. It can provide one-stop full-process supply chain services such as bonded import and direct purchase import, and customize different logistics solutions according to corporate needs, which can meet the needs of most import e-commerce companies.
2. Customs clearance capability
We learned from Cross-border Easy that bonded imports can basically achieve 24-hour rapid customs clearance. Under the direct purchase import mode, since the declared commodity information is complete and transparent, the customs spot check rate is less than 1%. Under normal circumstances, the customs system can automatically complete customs clearance procedures such as taxation and release in just a few seconds. In these two modes, how to declare to the customs is particularly important. For example, if the declared value is too high, the probability of being taxed is high. If the declared value is low, it is inconsistent with the actual value of the goods, and there is a suspicion of tax evasion, and there is a risk of customs detention and fines. Imported goods are varied, and the type of goods directly affects the tax rate, tax amount, supervision conditions and customs declaration requirements. Therefore, the customs clearance capabilities of logistics companies are also required to be quite high. Whoever has a high customs clearance capability and ensures that the package arrives safely and quickly in the hands of buyers can improve the user experience and occupy the market.
3. Whether to provide overseas warehouse services
Direct import is a popular overseas shopping model for buyers. Goods are shipped directly from overseas, and the goods are more diverse. Enterprises do not have the pressure of stockpiling goods. However, this also puts forward the demand for overseas warehouses for e-commerce, and there are only a handful of logistics companies in the market that are capable of meeting the needs of overseas warehouses. Song Jinyan, head of the main business agency of Cross-border Easy Global, which participates in the import direct purchase model, believes that only service providers with three major backgrounds and strengths in e-commerce, international logistics, and IT can well activate overseas warehouses. First of all, those with an e-commerce background can accurately grasp the various needs and development trends of e-commerce. Secondly, rich international logistics experience enables service providers to have great advantages in overseas resources, warehousing throughput, operation management, etc. The technical strength of IT can develop a logistics warehousing system that meets the back-end and front-end needs of e-commerce, providing strong technical support for cross-border e-commerce.
4. Warehousing operation capabilities
Like traditional e-commerce, import e-commerce also has the characteristics of massive SKUs, massive orders, and high timeliness requirements. The efficiency of warehouse management operations will directly affect the sales plan of e-commerce stores, the accuracy and timeliness of shipments, the efficiency of peak order processing, and even the personalization of packaging will affect buyers’ evaluation of the store and user experience. A feature-rich, stable and efficient operating system, the ability to cope with the turnover of different SKUs, and the control of the entire supply chain such as procurement, warehousing, picking, and distribution are all very important. On the other hand, warehouse ERP must also have perfect docking and distribution functions. Now many e-commerce companies are multi-platform, multi-store, and multi-channel sales. The warehouse system must be able to achieve multi-platform sharing, inventory timely feedback and early warning and other functions.
5. Transportation and distribution capabilities
Double Eleven is coming, and e-commerce companies have been gearing up for a long time. The warehousing speed is very fast, and the delivery speed is not fast. On the one hand, for import e-commerce companies, it is very important to be able to directly deliver by air, eliminate various subcontracting links, and minimize the rate of package loss and damage. On the other hand, for buyers, in addition to speed, transparency and controllability are also very important. Buyers can clearly know the changes of each node at any time, and transparently understand the specific links in the supply chain process such as delivery, boarding, customs clearance, and distribution, so that buyers can feel at ease. The person in charge of the import e-commerce Global E Station told this site that “after the buyer places an order, we implement the pre-declaration mode for overseas direct delivery. The package is still on the plane. We have uploaded the package information to the customs clearance system through the cross-border platform. The customs clearance speed is very fast, and it is also convenient for the package to be delivered to the buyer at the fastest speed.” As for the transparency issue, overseas direct orders and the use of the same order number at home and abroad have also effectively solved the problem of full-process logistics tracking. Mr. Xu also believes that only by focusing on user experience, optimizing the delivery path and delivery links, and improving service quality in terms of timeliness, safety, delivery range, package tracking, etc., can overseas shopping be as convenient as shopping on domestic websites.
Of course, in addition to the above points, e-commerce companies can also pay attention to the service awareness, brand awareness, corporate culture and other aspects of logistics companies, and try to choose a service provider that can best meet their needs. At present, cross-border e-commerce is still in its early stages of development, and cross-border warehousing and logistics are also growing in the process of running-in. In the future, there will be more excellent warehousing and logistics companies joining this service team to provide more professional and high-quality services for our cross-border e-commerce.