Against the backdrop of economic globalization, the development of cross-border e-commerce is characterized by crises and challenges. In this era of information explosion, cross-border e-commerce is a headache for two groups of people: suppliers and buyers. The information age is both a new crisis and a new challenge for the development of cross-border e-commerce.
1.3.1 Increased links: international logistics, entry and exit customs clearance, and international settlement
Logistics issues have always been one of the most important issues facing cross-border e-commerce, mainly due to the long time, long distance, and fragile goods.
(1) Slow delivery and high cost. The primary issues facing cross-border e-commerce logistics are speed and price. At present, logistics is not only about transportation, but also includes services such as warehouse storage, becoming a modern comprehensive service industry. In recent years, although my country’s logistics industry has been further developed with the boom of e-commerce, compared with foreign countries, the domestic logistics industry developed later and is still in the development stage, and the supporting facilities are not perfect. For example, among all express delivery companies for cross-border e-commerce parcel mail in China, postal express accounts for the highest proportion. It generally takes 10 to 15 days to deliver from my country to the United States, and it takes longer to deliver to other more distant countries. As a result, freight costs have increased, and the proportion of logistics costs in the operating costs of cross-border e-commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises remains high.
(2) Slow customs clearance. Customs clearance refers to the corresponding procedures performed in accordance with laws and regulations when goods enter and leave the customs territory of a country, that is, under the supervision of customs, customs declaration, inspection, taxation, release and other procedures are carried out to enable the goods to pass normally.
For express customs clearance, the mixing of different types of mail will undoubtedly increase the difficulty of customs clearance, resulting in low customs clearance efficiency and increased costs. For customs clearance of goods, the order is placed before the goods are shipped. The packaging work needs to be completed abroad. Due to the high labor cost abroad, the packaging cost will also rise. In addition, the logistics time will be longer when shipping abroad. For customs clearance of goods, the goods are prepared first and then the order is placed. This requires the use of bonded warehouses, which will incur bonded costs and occupy funds.
Cross-border logistics requires the customs of both the exporting country and the destination country. In exports, the most complicated part of cross-border logistics is the customs of the destination country. Many problems may arise, such as customs detaining goods for inspection. The only three results are direct confiscation, return to the place of shipment, or request for additional documents. In either case, the time cost will be increased and the seller will suffer losses.
(3) International settlement. International settlement is to record the claims and debts of both parties into the settlement account according to the settlement agreement, and settle them regularly to achieve a balance between income and expenditure. The claims and debts of two or more parties need to be settled internationally by mutual compensation. In real transactions, the international settlement link is a difficult problem that needs to be solved. Complicated procedures will only reduce logistics efficiency and reduce buyers’ satisfaction with shopping.
The above problems are challenges that every cross-border e-commerce company must face, and there are opportunities in the challenges.
The unstable logistics system abroad has caused the domestic cross-border e-commerce platform Global Easybuy to encounter a “bottleneck” in its overseas development. Due to the increasingly mature e-commerce environment, buyers have higher and higher requirements for the services provided by e-commerce platforms. In some countries or regions, whether product logistics is convenient and fast has become an important factor affecting buyers’ choice of products.
However, it is difficult for domestic e-commerce platforms to realize logistics localization in overseas regions. Establishing a logistics network requires huge funds and local logistics infrastructure. This has become a major challenge for domestic e-commerce platforms in their overseas development.