The small-scale cross-border B2C model cannot support the entire cross-border e-commerce import, and B2B2C has become the main direction. Building a warehouse in a bonded area and using the cross-border e-commerce bonded import BBC model can greatly improve the speed experience of cross-border online shopping. First prepare the goods and then receive the order. The foreign goods arrive in batches at the domestic customs special supervision areas and bonded supervision places – such as bonded areas, bonded port areas, bonded logistics centers, etc. The merchants will directly clear customs and send the goods from the bonded area according to the consumer’s order situation.
Consumers’ return and exchange experience is similar to that of domestic e-commerce, and the customs’ commodity registration and traceability mechanism avoids the risks of gray imports from overseas purchases in the past. At the same time, “LCL shipping + bonded warehouse” can significantly reduce logistics costs and efficiently introduce foreign products in batches. The goods enter the bonded area, are tallied before customs declaration, and are in a bonded state (taxes are paid only when leaving the area). Slow-selling products can also be Return directly overseas without paying export duties.
Bonded import is suitable for large-scale operations, and relatively strong cross-border platforms take the opportunity to expand and become an important means to gain market share. For a time, bonded warehouses became a “breadbasket” for competition, and the scarcity of resources directly led to a sharp increase in rents for bonded warehouses at pilot ports. In addition to the large investment in grabbing resources, bonded import policy implementation details are also different in each pilot city, and the pre-registration procedures are cumbersome.
Usually, after cross-border e-commerce merchants choose bonded warehouses and supporting service companies, customs clearance and payment must cooperate with companies that have been approved by the customs. Overall, after several years of market cultivation, judging from the feedback from front-end consumers, this delivery method has been generally recognized. As long as there are more categories that can continue to be circulated through bonded imports, the entire cross-border e-commerce market will expand. Make it bigger. But sometimes the idea is beautiful, but the reality is cruel.
The first is business risk. Under the bonded model, stocking increases capital occupation costs, and the impact of inventory, slow sales and exchange rates cannot be avoided. Just as the RMB continues to depreciate, goods shipped from the United States to bonded warehouses in advance at high exchange rates rapidly depreciate collectively, but the selling prices cannot change, and the pressure for centralized procurement increases sharply. Routine stocking requires a stable supply chain and the homogeneity of popular products. Many cross-border e-commerce products are authorized from international trading companies, passing through multiple suppliers or distributors without direct authorization from the brand, exacerbating the uncertainty of supply. sex.
For long-tail products with small or unstable demand, inventory management and control costs are high and not cost-effective. It is better to use direct mail by air. At the same time, bonded warehouses are prone to breed fake foreign goods and fake authorizations. No matter how major B2C platforms claim to be authentic, from a process perspective, bonded warehouses are the most convenient for “laundering”. For example, a merchant takes a batch of imitation goods and travels overseas before placing them in a bonded area. After a “one-day trip to the bonded area”, they obtain overseas delivery certificates and entry permits, leaving consumers unable to tell the difference. Therefore, bonded warehouse stocking is naturally suitable for large e-commerce companies. It has a reliable capital chain and uses its own brand influence to endorse it and improve consumers’ trust.
In addition, the policy guidance that has been firmly established, and the fact that cross-border BBC conducts trade in the name of e-commerce, has been almost brought back to its original shape by the new policy. At present, the imported “1210 bonded e-commerce” is only applicable to the first ten cities in the cross-border pilot program, which completely eliminates the idea of fluttering. The new “1239 Bonded E-commerce A” has been completely liberalized. Bonded warehouses in inland cities that meet regulatory conditions can carry out this business, and customs clearance forms are guaranteed to be verified when entering the area according to the “first line”.
In this way, scarcity has become a standard feature, and the original advantages of bonded warehouses have become worrying. After policy fluctuations, companies have become more cautious. A compromise approach to avoid risks is to reduce investment in bonded warehouses in the current pilot cities, shift a considerable number of categories to overseas warehouses, and walk on two legs, basically forming a “daily explosive” “Bonded import of goods and long-tail overseas air transport of valuable goods”.