Early companies that built overseas warehouses were undergoing post-expansion adjustments. There was an optimization process to match high costs with front-end seller marketing and order scale. Now, with the popularity of Amazon’s global store opening and FBA, a new round of expansion has begun. Overall, it is too early to say that the development of overseas warehouses has reached an inflection point, and the trend of direct mail shifting to local shipments is irreversible.
Overseas warehouses are not “one-size-fits-all” and cannot be used in some markets or are lackluster. Overseas warehouses are an important milestone in the development of the cross-border e-commerce industry. We should not just regard overseas warehouses as a logistics improvement behavior, but should comprehensively evaluate the various potential opportunities and challenges that overseas warehouses may bring.
1. Attributes of overseas warehouse integration
Localized service upgrade. Overseas warehouse is a comprehensive integration of cross-border e-commerce in terms of supply, service, cost, customer experience and precise sales. Become a window for cross-border e-commerce to display brand, after-sales and consultation. This integrated attribute of overseas warehouses determines the continuous optimization and upgrading of its services, the upgrading of customer experience, and the upgrading of products and the improvement of brand effect. Overseas warehouses allow many manufacturers to directly ship goods to the destination country, conduct direct sales, drop the goods locally, and work hand-in-hand with local companies, thus forcing domestic manufacturers to establish a true sense of service, brand, and quality.
2. Free warehouse rent has become the norm in competition
Except for a few large overseas warehouses, many emerging small and medium-sized overseas warehouses have opened a free model, which means that third-party overseas warehouses can only pass Make money from shipping costs, handling fees and value-added services. Some overseas warehouse giants have strong funds, many warehouses, platform channels, and wide supply of goods. They have been operating in overseas markets for many years, and can get lower delivery prices for more orders.
In order to win over customers from warehouse rent, small and medium-sized third-party overseas warehouses supplement their profits by providing faster shipping and response times, return services, convenient refunds and insurance, and personalized services. If you want to seize food from the tiger’s mouth, unless the FBA policy changes and the giants shift their strategies, this kind of mixed market can only rely on price to clean up first.
3. Cross-border e-commerce
The platform’s promotion of overseas warehouse building will drive the development of third-party overseas warehouses. Overseas warehouses promote the transformation of the platform into B2C and prosper the independent sites of large sellers. Amazon has already seen through everything. The platform will continue to move towards the main market occupied by big sellers. Sellers from special niche groups will fill the gap through direct mail, and small sellers will wander around the periphery. Those who survive will have unique product features or marketing features and become big sellers. part of the long tail.
Therefore, global warehouses will first cater to mainstream consumer areas, and advantageous products will be branded best-sellers, and obvious regional distinctions will be weakened. Cruelly, the overseas warehouses with advantages will directly become the recommended logistics channels of the platform, and the binding will be tighter. At present, overseas warehouses are working alone or are too scattered. There is an urgent need for large logistics companies to take on the role of output. Cross-border logistics parks should be set up in Europe and the United States to undertake domestic business. Bonded warehouses should be considered in emerging markets, and cooperation with large trade and brand companies can provide full-chain overseas operations. center.
Logistics products such as international express delivery, postal parcels, and dedicated lines will continue to exist in the cross-border e-commerce logistics industry as complementary logistics channels. Such products will serve more C-sides, which does not mean their decline. Many overseas warehouse merchants are involved in full logistics and first-leg dedicated transportation, and middlemen will become the receiving points for large logistics companies.