Chinese logistics enterprises compete overseas, how to run out of

Chinese logistics enterprises compete overseas, how to run out of "acceleration"?

In recent years, Chinese express logistics companies have frequently made efforts in overseas markets, such as: in January 2022, the polar rabbit "killed" into the Middle East, and the express service network points in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were officially operated; In October of the same year, SF Express officially opened the service of sending to new Matai, and previously acquired Kerry Logistics in a big way; In November, Cainiao opened its Latin American headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and announced its three-year development plan in Brazil.

It is undeniable that the sea has become the second half of China's logistics enterprises must choose, why must go to sea? What is the status quo of Chinese logistics enterprises overseas? What opportunities are left?

From home to abroad

In recent years, China's logistics industry has developed rapidly and has become one of the world's largest logistics markets, with a large number of goods shipped around the world every year, and the logistics transportation system is also very mature. However, with the development of the industry, the domestic e-commerce logistics into the stock competition, resulting in the domestic express logistics market volume is very serious, so many logistics companies will aim at the overseas market, and strive to create "brand power" and "better service" in the world. Of course, in addition, behind this wave of logistics companies actively going to sea, it is also inseparable from the boost of factors such as policy and market demand.

At present, whether it is SF Express, Jingdong Logistics, or these giant enterprises or small and medium-sized logistics service providers such as "Three to one" and Jitu, they are frequently making efforts overseas, and trying to rapidly expand overseas markets through a variety of strategies.

Global cross-border logistics industry status and trends

According to the "Insight into the development of China's Express delivery Market in 2022" released by data analysis agency Analysys, China's logistics nearly entered the "100 billion pieces" era in 2021, and the total revenue of logistics business exceeded 1 trillion yuan. However, in contrast, the volume of domestic cross-border logistics is only 2.1 billion pieces, accounting for 1.9% of the annual business volume; Cross-border logistics business reached 116.3 billion yuan, accounting for 11.3% of the annual revenue of logistics business.

From the global parcel volume ranking, the "2023 China Cross-border e-commerce Logistics Industry Blue Book" released by the Xiaosheng Research Institute shows that the top ten countries in terms of parcel volume issued by China in 2022 are: the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, France, Russia, Australia, Brazil and Spain. And since 2020, affected by the global epidemic, the parcel volume share of China's top ten countries in terms of parcel volume has continued to increase from 2020 to 2022, and its market share has increased from 75.55% in 2020 to 77.84%.

Among them, Europe and the United States, as strong regional markets, still occupy about 80% share in the global market of cross-border e-commerce logistics, and the revenue proportion of China's top ten overseas enterprises is 85.14%. Beyond that, the most significant increase is in Japan, which rises from 7th place (3.47%) in 2020 to 2nd place (6.79%) in 2022. Brazil has been growing for two consecutive years since it edged out Italy to enter the ChinaSend top 10 countries in 2021, but the share of France and Spain has continued to decline.

From the perspective of logistics transportation service type, as a strong business form, the small parcel line occupies almost half of the cross-border e-commerce logistics market share, accounting for nearly 60% of the revenue of China's top ten overseas enterprises, and the small parcel line enterprises are relatively leading in the integration process of the business form, relatively low dependence on the European and American markets, the market diversification space is larger, and the overall rich strong explosive force. On the contrary, FBA logistics, as the most powerful business format of China's overseas leading enterprises, accounts for 46.66% of its overall revenue, but it is highly dependent on the European and American markets, and its flexibility in terms of business formats and market expansion is relatively limited.

In recent years, as a "bridgehead" for cross-border e-commerce, overseas warehouses have developed rapidly along with cross-border e-commerce. In 2022, there will be new positions of Chinese logistics enterprises in Europe, Japan and South Korea, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Australia and Africa, of which the proportion of new positions is the highest, and the proportion of planned positions is the highest in Europe and Japan and South Korea, followed by Latin America and Southeast Asia, including Australia, of course, there are also some enterprises plan to build positions in the Middle East and Africa; The largest number of overseas warehouses is North America, accounting for 44.64%; It is followed by Europe, Japan and South Korea, Africa and Latin America. In other regions, the number of cross-border logistics enterprises with more warehouses accounted for less than 10%. The large area of single warehouse is mainly distributed in North America, Southeast Asia and Australia.

It should be noted that compared with the survey results in 2021, the proportion of new warehouse enterprises in Europe and the United States in 2022 fell, the proportion of enterprises with a large number of warehouses and a large single warehouse area in Japan and South Korea also fell significantly, and the proportion of enterprises with a large number of warehouses and a large single warehouse area in Southeast Asia and Latin America increased significantly.

How to quickly replicate the "China speed"?

At present, Chinese logistics enterprises are all over the world, and the logistics industry has entered a new stage of development.

With SHEIN, Temu, TikTok and other high-quality Chinese forces going to sea, overseas consumers have increasingly high requirements for cross-border logistics service functions, service levels, service costs and other aspects, prompting enterprises to constantly explore ways to bring quality service experience to overseas consumers:

First, strengthen the construction of local warehouses.

As more and more brands go to sea, if they want to directly face consumers, logistics companies need to be able to provide more full-chain, one-stop solutions, including domestic collection, trunk transportation configuration, customs clearance and end performance, so that customers can be "hands-off". However, it should be noted that the importance of timeliness to logistics is self-evident, and infrastructure construction is the key to ensure the timeliness of logistics. Therefore, in addition to digital empowerment, the establishment of overseas warehouses, especially in many areas with backward network infrastructure, not only reduces the cost of cross-border logistics, but also improves the efficiency of logistics.

Secondly, localization is still the foundation of globalization.

For example, at present, cross-border logistics includes many links such as cross-border transportation, overseas customs clearance, warehousing and transit, and there are great differences between domestic and overseas markets. It is necessary to deeply understand the local customs and market characteristics, attach importance to cultural integration and communication, and grasp the pain points and preferences of local consumers in order to gain the recognition and trust of the local market.

For example, in terms of team building, recruiting Chinese or local people is actually the difference and conflict between the two cultures. It is suggested that overseas enterprises give priority to hiring overseas locals for some externally oriented positions, such as sales, marketing, etc., because local people have profound accumulation of resources, have a better understanding of local market laws and regulations, customs and customs, and do a good job in the recruitment process in advance, which can reduce the risk of "hiring the wrong person". It can also better promote the landing of follow-up business.