(Source: Picture Worm Creativity)
When cross-border e-commerce sellers choose logistics, they will face a variety of logistics solutions and logistics service providers. How should sellers choose which one is "suitable for them"? Cross-border logistics modes are different, and the timeliness and freight rates are different. How many cross-border e-commerce logistics modes are there? Let’s take a look at it next!
Cross-border e-commerce logistics commonly used by cross-border sellers is divided into two ways, namely domestic direct delivery and overseas warehouse delivery; Among them, domestic direct delivery includes traditional postal parcels, international express delivery, special parcels and domestic express delivery; Overseas warehouse delivery refers to overseas warehouse delivery one by one, self-operated overseas warehouse with e-commerce platform, and third-party overseas warehouse signed by sellers.
01. Traditional postal parcel
Traditional express parcels, also known as postal parcels, are characterized by wide coverage. Postal parcels cover more than 230 countries and regions around the world and can be delivered almost anywhere in the world. According to statistics, more than 70% of cross-border logistics parcels in China are delivered by traditional express parcel mode, but postal parcels are increasingly unable to meet the development of cross-border e-commerce, because its logistics timeliness is too slow, which restricts its development.
Advantages: all over the world, wide coverage and low price.
Disadvantages: the logistics speed is slow.
02. International express
IT mainly refers to UPS, FedEx, DHL and TNT. These international couriers provide excellent logistics experience for overseas users who buy China products online through their self-built global networks, powerful IT systems and localized services all over the world.
Advantages: faster speed and moderate packet loss rate.
Disadvantages: the price is high, and the price and tariff change greatly, which limits the consignment items.
03. Domestic express
With the increasing popularity of cross-border e-commerce, domestic express delivery has also begun to carry out international business, mainly EMS, SF Express and "four links and one arrival" (Shentong, Yuantong, Zhongtong, Huitong and Yunda).
Relying on postal channels, EMS’s international business is relatively mature, and it can directly reach more than 60 countries around the world. SF Express has also launched express delivery services to the United States, Australia, South Korea, Japan and other countries, and launched cross-border B2C services from Chinese mainland to Russia.
Advantages: fast speed and low cost.
Disadvantages: lack of experience, lack of market control ability, and limited coverage of overseas markets.
Traditional postal parcels, international express delivery and domestic express delivery can also be collectively referred to as "express delivery".
04. Dedicated line logistics
Dedicated line logistics mode refers to the logistics mode that is transported by a dedicated route and delivered by a cooperative company to a destination country. Its advantage lies in that it can transport goods to a specific country and region in large quantities and reduce costs through scale effect, which mainly covers three types of dedicated lines:
Air dedicated lineThis refers to the exclusive air route from China to a certain country, and it is a door-to-door transportation service with package delivery and tax. It has the highest cost in special line logistics and is suitable for the stocking mode of quick sales and quick replenishment.
Maritime special line：Large carrying capacity. The cost is the lowest, which is suitable for large-scale cross-border transportation, but the transportation time limit is relatively long, ranging from 25 to 40 days.
Special railway line：Mainly for the specific route transportation between China and Europe, the cost and timeliness are in the middle of the three. Its advantages are smooth and safe, less transit and high time accuracy. However, due to the serious restrictions of transportation areas, this mode of transportation is also suitable for some large cargo transportation.
Advantages: low price, high speed and low packet loss rate.
Disadvantages: the freight cost is higher than that of postal parcels, and the scope of domestic collection is relatively limited.
05. Overseas warehouse is issued one by one.
Overseas warehouses are delivered one by one. Cross-border e-commerce sellers first stock the goods in the logistics warehouse of the destination country in advance, and after customers place orders on the seller’s e-commerce website or third-party stores, they directly deliver the goods to customers from overseas warehouses, which can improve the logistics timeliness and bring customers a high-quality logistics experience and choose overseas warehouses.
Advantages: By preparing goods in advance, cross-border logistics is transformed into local logistics, which can greatly reduce the time of goods distribution; There are fewer restrictions on the volume and weight of transported goods than international express services such as postal parcels; The return operation is convenient.
Disadvantages: it is difficult to accurately estimate the quantity of pre-stored goods and personalized goods that are not suitable for customization.
Differences between different overseas warehouses:
Self-operated overseas warehouses on e-commerce platforms: e-commerce platforms or sellers who use self-operated overseas warehouses on platforms can get more traffic, such as Amazon platforms; However, there will also be problems such as high storage cost and inability to specify warehouse delivery;
Signing a third-party overseas warehouse: Compared with the self-operated overseas warehouse logistics mode of e-commerce platform, sellers can flexibly use overseas warehouses according to product characteristics, and orders from multiple platforms can be delivered in the same warehouse. Overseas warehouse delivery is more conducive to cross-border e-commerce enterprises to improve the overall logistics service level.
(Editor: Jiang Tong)
(Source: Meichen Logistics)
The above content only represents the author’s own point of view, not Hugo’s cross-border position! If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues, please get in touch with Hugo within 30 days after the publication of the work.