Consultant Insight: Cross-border e-commerce services continue to grow

Interest in cross-border e-commerce services continues to grow, with existing carriers and logistics providers expanding capabilities while new entrants enter the space. The latest entrant is Hong Kong-headquartered Kerry Logistics Network Limited. Through its Kerry eCommerce division, in collaboration with Shenzhen-headquartered SF Express, the company offers a “more economical and speedier delivery service” from Hong Kong to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The service combines SF Express’ more than 100 self-operated network points, its logistics and distribution team in Hong Kong and Kerry eCommerce’s in-house customs clearance and express capabilities in Asia. [caption id="attachment_76185" align="alignright" width="298"] Cathy Roberson, Cargo Facts Consulting senior consultant and Air Cargo World columnist[/caption] SF Express will collect the parcels, which Kerry eCommerce will then consolidate for customs clearance, airfreight and last-mile fulfillment. “The e-commerce market in Southeast Asia is experiencing massive growth, and the demand for cross-border e-commerce logistics and last-mile delivery is enormous,” Samuel Lau, deputy managing director of integrated logistics at Kerry Logistics, said in a statement . “This new solution empowers e-tailers to strengthen their delivery capabilities and extend their overseas footprint, giving them a greater competitive advantage in the marketplace.” Logistics solutions Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group, recently announced its partnership with e-commerce solutions provider DSers to provide 1.2 million cross-border and dropshipping merchants with end-to-end smart logistics solutions in 130 countries and regions globally. By leveraging Cainiao’s express courier shipping service, DSers can deliver parcels to consumers in key markets — such as the U.S., Brazil, the U.K., France, Germany and Spain — in as few as seven working days, according to the announcement. By partnering with Cainiao, DSers intends for its merchants to tap into its technologies to improve cross-border logistics and supply chain stability, especially ahead of significant sales events such as the Double 11 Global Shopping Festival, Black Friday, Thanksgiving and end-of-year celebrations. “Through our partnership with DSers, we are excited to be extending our services to support the dropshipping e-commerce business model, which reduces inventory costs for small and medium-sized merchants, thereby making it easier for businesses to tap on the overseas markets,” Li Ya Ping, assistant general manager of Cainiao International Export Business, said in a statement. ‘Lowering the barrier to entry’ Meanwhile, Canadian e-commerce platform Shopify is “laser-focused on lowering the barrier to entry in entrepreneurship globally,” President Harley Finkelstein noted during the company’s recent Q3 earnings call. Shopify earlier this year launched Shopify Markets, a service that allows merchants to identify, set up, launch, optimize and manage their international markets from a single storefront. To date, more than 175,000 merchants globally utilize the service. U.S. merchants that use Shopify Markets sell into an average of 14 additional countries than those who don’t, according to Finkelstein. Shopify Markets Pro, the premium version of Shopify Markets, was launched in September to help merchants accelerate their international expansion, Finkelstein said. By combining global-use features with market capabilities such as the Translate and Adapt app, Markets Pro makes it easier for merchants to ship to more than 150 countries overnight without increasing their operational costs, risks or complexity, he added.

Consultant Insight: Cross-border e-commerce services continue to grow

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