At present, my country’s exports have fallen sharply, and policies are more inclined towards exports. Different from the vigorous support for cross-border e-commerce in the past few years, the current policy orientation has begun to focus on some aspects. The export B2B model has become the mainstream, and the “overseas warehouse” that promotes enterprises to go global has become the focus of policy support. In 2015, the Ministry of Commerce issued the “Internet + Circulation” Action Plan, which will promote the construction of 100 e-commerce overseas warehouses.
The 2016 Government Work Report clearly proposed “expanding cross-border e-commerce pilots and supporting enterprises to build a number of overseas warehouses for export products.” Starting from the document “Several Opinions on Supporting the Stable Growth of Foreign Trade” in 2014, the State Council has mentioned “overseas warehouses” in subsequent cross-border e-commerce policy documents. “Several Opinions on Accelerating the Cultivation of New Competitive Advantages in Foreign Trade” mentioned that cross-border e-commerce enterprises are encouraged to integrate into the overseas retail system through standardized “overseas warehouses” and other models.
At the 2016 “Two Sessions”, Premier Li Keqiang stressed the need to support enterprises in building overseas warehouses and encourage e-commerce enterprises to “go global” and establish overseas marketing channels. To do a good job in B2B and B2B2C cross-border e-commerce, the construction and use of overseas warehouses, especially public overseas warehouses, are key. “Through the construction of public overseas warehouses, we will improve the overseas warehousing and logistics system and supporting service network that match the new business model of cross-border e-commerce, and gradually establish and form an overseas warehouse model of ‘cross-border e-commerce procurement + overseas display and transaction + distribution and distribution + after-sales service guarantee + local market expansion’ throughout key regions around the world.”
In fact, since 2013, a wave of overseas warehouse construction has been set off in the industry. Logistics has always been one of the bottlenecks of cross-border trade. The loss, damage and delay of export e-commerce in the logistics process are the main factors of transaction disputes. Super sellers or large logistics companies have built overseas warehouses to provide cross-border e-commerce with a “stock first, trade later” service model, and change direct mail to FBA or overseas warehouse delivery mode to reduce negative reviews or A2Z complaints and improve store credit ratings.
Cross-border e-commerce is booming, and the requirements for supporting cross-border logistics are constantly increasing. The demand for convenient and efficient overseas warehousing and logistics is rising year by year. Overseas Fulfillment is not a simple cross-border transportation or inventory solution, but a comprehensive integration of all logistics and transportation solutions on the existing market to form a one-stop overall solution. The essence is integration.
Overseas warehouses are not just about building a warehouse overseas, but a comprehensive logistics supporting system with warehousing as the core, including bulk cargo transportation, domestic and foreign trade customs clearance, refined inventory management, personalized order management, packaging and distribution, and after-sales service. The comprehensive capabilities of companies operating overseas warehouses are quite high. Overseas warehouses are a necessary optimization for those who want to expand cross-border e-commerce, and the killer application is the localization of export operations and the front-end of import supply chains. For export overseas warehouses, goods face competition from many foreign local brands and e-commerce companies. In this competition, becoming an overseas fulcrum for Made in China is the greatest value.