There will never be a shortage of model innovation in the cross-border e-commerce industry, and after the popularity of the "fully managed" model in 2023, the "semi-managed" model will once again receive widespread attention from sellers in 2024.
In March this year, Temu officially launched the "semi-managed" model, and has successively expanded from the United States to various European sites. In addition, many mainstream cross-border e-commerce platforms have also actively launched a "semi-custodial" model with their own platform characteristics. Recently, industry sources said that SHEIN will test the "semi-managed" model in early May, and the United States station is the first batch of optional sites, and the product weight requirement is more than 400 grams.
The "semi-custodial" model has the advantages of both "full custody" and "self-operation", but the difference is that some platforms allow sellers to be responsible for the warehousing and distribution of logistics links, while retaining the platform's price verification and operation and other service measures that are conducive to improving consumer satisfaction.
(Temu semi-managed model/source: "2024 Cross-border E-commerce Industry First Quarter Report")
According to Temu's official information, the current "semi-custodial" model is mainly for sellers of non-light and small goods who have inventory in overseas markets. According to the analysis of industry insiders, the comprehensive strength of overseas warehouses and the "base-to-this" delivery capacity will become an important reference factor for sellers in the "semi-custodial" mode to choose logistics service providers.
The rise of the semi-managed model
"Principal-to-Principal" delivery capacity has become a rigid demand?
According to a report released by the research team of Soochow Securities' retail industry, the launch of Temu's "semi-custodial" model means that the platform's category supply has expanded from lightweight, small, and medium-sized products to medium- and large-sized goods with a certain weight.
New models and new categories are brewing new growth opportunities. Many sellers try to avoid missing the platform potential and growth dividends at the beginning of Temu's launch through the "semi-custodial" model. Compared with the "full custody" model, "semi-custody" puts forward higher requirements for sellers' cross-border logistics fulfillment capabilities.
The ability to ship goods "to this" may be a rigid need for "semi-custodial" sellers. In fact, in recent years, many mature sellers have established local delivery capabilities in their target markets through overseas warehouses. In an interview with the media, a Temu department store seller mentioned that some senior sellers choose to set up factories in Southeast Asia for processing or assembly, and the products are directly stocked in warehouses closer to the destination consumers.
Not only Temu, but also mainstream platforms such as Amazon, TikTok, Shopee, and AliExpress are also actively guiding sellers to enhance their "localized fulfillment" capabilities. For example, Amazon's SFP (Seller Fulfilled Prime) program, which reopened in October last year, allows third-party sellers who join the program to ship from their own warehouses and ship Prime orders directly to Prime customers in the destination country, and the products will display the Prime badge.
According to the analysis of the above-mentioned sellers, the "book-to-book" delivery will greatly shorten the logistics and delivery distance after consumers place orders, especially for medium and large goods, the fulfillment time is faster and the consumer experience is better.
Overseas warehouses are the core infrastructure to achieve "localized fulfillment" of commodities. In 2024, the demand for overseas warehouses by cross-border sellers will continue to grow. According to the data of the General Administration of Customs, the import and export of cross-border e-commerce in mainland China increased by 9.6% in the first quarter of this year, of which the import and export of cross-border e-commerce overseas warehouses increased by 11.8%.
For sellers, different from the "domestic small package direct delivery" and "full custody" models, the logistics link of overseas warehouses and "localized fulfillment" is more complicated. Sellers in different categories and target markets need to consider more comprehensively when choosing overseas warehouse logistics service providers.
Achieve localized fulfillment
There are higher requirements for logistics service providers
At present, the pain points of cross-border sellers to achieve "localized fulfillment" are concentrated in the selection of overseas warehouse service providers, product trade link compliance and last-mile delivery. In terms of trade chain compliance, most of the goods that need to use overseas warehouses are of high value, and different categories of goods have different compliance requirements.
Taking the popular energy storage category as an example, compliance on the product side requires obtaining the corresponding production and destination country import qualification certificates. For example, sellers need to complete FCC-SDOC certification and UL certification to export products to the U.S. market, and CE certification and RoHS certification are required to export to the EU market.
Logistics compliance is equally important in "local fulfillment". Taking energy storage, 3C and other "energy storage DG products" with batteries as an example, overseas warehouse resources that meet the compliance requirements of "energy storage DG products" in the U.S. market are relatively scarce.
According to the analysis of Huang Zehua, the person in charge of cross-border new retail of JUSDA, different from light and small general goods such as clothing and accessories, "energy storage DG products" with a certain weight have specific requirements for fire protection, physical isolation, temperature, etc. of transportation cabinets and warehouses. At the same time, for logistics service providers and warehouse operators of energy storage DG products that carry out the transportation business of energy storage DG products, the compliance supervision also requires them to have corresponding transportation qualifications and complete relevant warehouse storage operation training.
Nowadays, there is a certain mismatch between the supply and demand sides of overseas warehouses, and overseas warehouses are relatively new to most sellers, and they may not have the ability to judge whether logistics service providers have obtained the corresponding compliance qualifications and specifications.
According to an overseas warehouse research report released by Zheshang Securities, most of the sample service providers in the survey are small, and most of the warehouse resources are mainly leased, and only 28% of the overseas warehouse service providers choose to build their own warehouses completely. In terms of the portrait of sellers using overseas warehouses, the boutique model and the fine shop model account for 47% and 36% respectively; 74% of the sellers have only started to use overseas warehouses in the past three years; 78.13% of the sellers who use overseas warehouses are mainly engaged in the US market, and the demand for "this to the book" delivery is high.
This means that when a standard product with a certain weight realizes "localized fulfillment", the seller needs to choose according to the category they operate, the brand background, compliance qualification, warehousing environment and other dimensions of the integrated logistics service provider.
Punctual delivery across borders
From cross-border logistics to global M2C supply chain innovation
As a new form of foreign trade, cross-border e-commerce is attracting more and more sellers and more professional infrastructure ecological service providers to enter the market. Compliant going overseas for high-end manufacturing is not only an industry trend, but also the consensus of practitioners.
In the field of cross-border logistics, JUSDA, as a supply chain logistics technology management platform service company authorized by Foxconn Technology Group, is bringing new thinking and global logistics solutions to the industry with its deep global M2C supply chain integration thinking and supply chain management experience.
In terms of global layout, JUSDA has built a cross-border transfer center and international sea, land, air and rail network lines covering North America, Europe, Asia and other key regions through the establishment of wholly-owned and joint venture companies.
(JUSDA US Branch/Source: JUSDA Cross-border Official Account)
Taking the U.S. market as an example, JUSDA's U.S. overseas warehouse has its own team and implements high-standard management. Taking the logistics compliance of "DG products" such as energy storage as an example, the products will be stored in a special area, and the service team will have compliance operation qualifications to ensure compliance throughout the logistics process.
In terms of warehouse environment configuration, JUSDA cross-border is not only equipped with advanced three-dimensional warehouse high-level shelves and full-area monitoring operations, but also has automatic alarm and sprinkler systems to ensure the safety of product storage and the efficiency of inbound and outbound operations. In terms of last-mile delivery, JUSDA cross-border holds first-hand Fedex and UPS accounts, which can provide efficient and highly competitive delivery services.
At the end of last year, JUSDA Cross-border has joined Amazon's official certified service provider network SPN with its professional comprehensive strength and high-standard service. In April this year, JUSDA was once again shortlisted for the "2024 Hurun Global Unicorn List", and has been on the list for 6 consecutive years.
Looking forward to the future, as an important part of the cross-border e-commerce logistics infrastructure, overseas warehouses will become a powerful "springboard" for Chinese sellers to enter the global market.
Cover/Picture Worm Creative