At Cainiao's Sydney warehouse in Australia, intelligent sorting equipment is in operation.
Photo by Xie Tingting
In Mlolongo, Kenya, Kilimall employees work in the warehouse. Kilimall is a Chinese e-commerce platform that has set up overseas warehouses in Africa.
Photo by Li Yahui, Xinhua News Agency
Overseas Warehouses: Enabling Foreign Consumers to Receive "Made-in-China" Products Faster
This year's Government Work Report proposed promoting the development of cross-border e-commerce, improving the cross-border postal and logistics system, and strengthening the construction of overseas warehouses.
Overseas warehouses are important overseas nodes for cross-border e-commerce and a new type of foreign trade infrastructure. Nowadays, the widespread overseas warehouses are helping domestic products accelerate their entry into overseas markets and making it more convenient for more foreign consumers to receive their purchases.
"Overseas Warehouses Boost China's Cross-border E-commerce Exports"
At Cainiao's overseas warehouse in Bremen, Germany, the inventory data of Smartmi air purifiers is being synchronized in real-time with the front-end data. At Cainiao's customized overseas warehouse for large items in New Jersey, the United States, clamp trucks are handling large pieces of furniture from Foshan, China. Down comforters from a brand in Hangzhou, China, are transported from a factory in Laos to Cainiao's warehouse in the United States, and finally delivered to consumers through Cainiao's "one-piece drop shipping" service...
The inbound and outbound of "Made-in-China" products in overseas warehouses vividly showcase the current efficient and smooth cross-border logistics.
Data from the Ministry of Commerce of China in June 2024 showed that there are more than 120,000 cross-border e-commerce entities, over 1,000 cross-border e-commerce industrial parks, and more than 2,500 overseas warehouses in China.
Among them, as a representative cross-border e-commerce logistics service enterprise, Cainiao Global Supply Chain operates more than 40 overseas warehouses in 18 countries and regions across Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Chinese enterprises in categories such as large furniture, auto parts, home appliances, daily chemicals, and 3D printers are closely cooperating with Cainiao's overseas warehouses.
The booming overseas warehouses have attracted extensive attention from foreign media. Reuters reported that against the backdrop of the growing cross-border e-commerce market, Alibaba has further invested in its Cainiao Global Supply Chain. Building logistics infrastructure overseas is conducive to expanding Alibaba's global logistics network and shaping the company's competitive edge in cross-border e-commerce business. Currently, Cainiao has warehouses in many countries, including Indonesia and Belgium, and provides supply chain management solutions for other logistics companies to offer faster logistics services to overseas consumers.
"Chinese e-commerce platforms such as AliExpress of Alibaba and Temu of Pinduoduo are accelerating their overseas expansion, going all out in many markets around the world. By building overseas warehouses, they have significantly shortened the delivery time," reported South Korea's The Daily Economy.
"Overseas warehouse services can provide 'drop shipping' services, which is a great way for merchants to conduct online business without having to handle inventory. This business model allows merchants to display products to customers on e-commerce platforms, and third-party logistics companies will deliver the actual products. Merchants don't have to worry about storage, packaging, or transportation issues, and can focus on customer service and marketing," reported Nairobiwire, a Kenyan media outlet, adding that the Chinese e-commerce platform Kilimall has set up overseas warehouses in Africa, and its e-commerce business and overseas warehouse service model have been recognized in the Kenyan market.
"Overseas warehouses boost China's cross-border e-commerce exports," reported Singapore's The Straits Times. China is actively strengthening the construction of cross-border e-commerce infrastructure and logistics systems, and promoting the high-quality development of overseas warehouses to achieve the rapid transportation of goods. "Overseas warehouses are very useful as they allow Chinese sellers to stock goods in the destination country. Once an order comes in, they can ship it at any time."
"The Shorter the Delivery Time, the More Likely Consumers Are to Place Orders"
Thanks to the construction of overseas warehouses, after foreign consumers place orders for Chinese products on cross-border e-commerce platforms, the goods can be delivered faster, and they can also enjoy quicker return and after-sales services.
Reuters noticed that in the US market, the delivery time of cross-border e-commerce platforms usually ranges from 6 to 22 days, but overseas warehouses can significantly speed up the delivery process. Based on its "Global 5-Day Delivery" service, Cainiao is committed to shortening the delivery time from 5 days to 2 - 3 days in international markets such as the United States, enabling foreign consumers to receive their packages faster after placing orders on cross-border e-commerce platforms.
"Overseas warehouses store goods closer to shoppers, helping cross-border e-commerce platforms shorten the delivery time. This gives cross-border e-commerce platforms the opportunity to sell larger and more profitable products, such as furniture and home appliances," reported the Financial Times of the UK.
The news website of Vietnam's Thanh Nien newspaper reported that in recent years, the number of Chinese overseas warehouses near the Vietnam border has increased. Many Chinese enterprises have invested in building warehouses and sorting centers in Vietnam. Thanks to these facilities, goods ordered from Chinese e-commerce platforms can be delivered to customers in Hanoi within 1 - 2 days and to customers in Ho Chi Minh City within 3 - 5 days.
"The modern storage facilities in the China-ASEAN Cross-border E-commerce Industrial Park for storing goods exported to Vietnam are astonishing," the newspaper said. These storage facilities help product sellers and e-commerce platforms shorten the goods transportation time and reduce costs. The logistics park also has a customs clearance center, which is only 295 kilometers away from Hanoi. Since the warehouses are close to the border, Vietnamese consumers can quickly receive the goods ordered on e-commerce platforms or live-streaming rooms.
"For overseas buyers, the international delivery process usually takes about 5 - 10 days from placing an order to receiving the goods. But if it's a direct delivery from an overseas warehouse, the goods can reach the customers within 1 - 3 days, and it's also more convenient to handle customer service issues such as returns and exchanges," reported South Korea's The Daily Economy.
The Straits Times of Singapore interviewed a Chinese enterprise operating e-commerce business in Shenzhen, which uses an overseas warehouse in Brazil to sell home supplies in the Brazilian market. The merchant said, "The shorter the delivery time, the more likely consumers are to place orders."
"Chinese Logistics Enterprises Actively Establish Intelligent Warehousing Facilities"
At Cainiao's warehouse in Sydney, intelligent sorting equipment is in operation. The equipment measures the volume, weighs, scans barcodes, and conducts automatic identification, processing, and sorting of each package. All operation data is transmitted in real-time to Cainiao's warehouse management system. By accurately measuring the weight and size of packages, the intelligent sorting equipment effectively avoids incorrect charges and fines from last-mile service providers due to inconsistent size or weight. This automation upgrade has significantly improved the efficiency of logistics services and reduced the overseas operating costs for Chinese merchants.
Currently, overseas warehouses with intelligent management are booming in many places. Many overseas warehouses have adopted intelligent devices to improve operational efficiency and service quality.
The Ministry of Commerce of China stated that it will support foreign trade enterprises and logistics enterprises in making good use of overseas warehouse resources, enhancing their professional, large-scale, and intelligent levels, and making it more convenient for high-quality Chinese products to reach overseas consumers directly.
"In Vietnam, Chinese logistics enterprises are actively establishing intelligent warehousing facilities and cooperating with Vietnamese warehouse owners to optimize costs and increase productivity," said Vietnam's Thanh Nien newspaper. E-commerce platforms such as Shopee and TikTokShop have announced plans to establish intelligent and optimized logistics systems. "Cainiao has also built two intelligent logistics centers in Dong Nai and Long An provinces in southern Vietnam, providing support for e-commerce platforms such as Lazada and AliExpress. Each center can sort 1 million to 2.5 million orders per day," the report said.
"With the vigorous development of e-commerce, Chinese logistics companies are expanding their warehouses in the United States and strengthening the establishment of logistics networks there," reported Nikkei Asia. Popular Chinese fast fashion platform Shein and shopping app Temu are also collaborating with third-party logistics enterprises to build overseas warehouses to provide better warehousing and faster delivery services. Enterprises such as Alibaba are also expanding their warehousing space in the United States. Cainiao, the logistics arm of Alibaba, said it is accelerating its overseas expansion to meet the global consumers' demand for delivery timeliness. (Reporter: Lin Zihan)
People's Daily Overseas Edition (Page 10, March 24, 2025)
