BEST Inc. Accelerates Overseas Expansion as Chinese E-commerce Goes Global
Yicai Global
DATE:  Aug 29 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
BEST Inc. Accelerates Overseas Expansion as Chinese E-commerce Goes Global BEST Inc. Accelerates Overseas Expansion as Chinese E-commerce Goes Global

(Yicai Global) Aug.29 -- BEST Inc., China's leading smart supply chain and logistics service provider, added a new warehouse in the United States to expand its cross-border business.

The Hangzhou-based company has also broadened its global reach to Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Italy, which provides cross-border logistics and supply chain services in those areas since the second quarter, according to BEST's earnings release.

As e-commerce trends upwards globally, more and more Chinese companies and merchants are eyeing the international market for expansion. With advanced technology and integrated solutions, BEST is well positioned to boost the growth of these companies, said Richard Zhou, senior vice president of BEST Inc. and general manager of BEST Global.

"With regards to cross-border export, Chinese merchants sell on different platforms through different methods," said Zhou. "Welogistics suppliers thus have to leverage information systems to provide holistic one-stop services, including domestic pick-up, customs clearance, international shipping, as well as overseas warehousing."

BEST established its global division in 2015 with cross-border logistics and overseas warehousing services in the U.S. As of June, it has launched services into 13 countries including Germany, Australia, the U.K., Spain, and Thailand.

With North America, Southeast Asia, and Europe as focuses, BEST Global is establishing itself in new geographies with a holistic one-stop services platform that includes international shipping, overseas warehousing, and local delivery.

BEST's overseas warehouses, for example, can provide cross-border retailers with warehouse management, order fulfillment, delivery, return logistics and value-added services. Meanwhile, the company in May also launched its international parcel service to the U.S. and Southeast Asia to enhance cross-border operations.

In the past, Chinese manufacturers and merchants relied on expensive and inefficient methods for selling to international markets, such as direct mailing which creates significantly higher transportation costs. Now by using big data to analyze customers' delivery destinations, frequency and SKU, BEST can provide customer-oriented warehousing services for them outside China while also lowering logistics costs significantly, Zhou added.

Support to Belt and Road

On the other hand, BEST has set up a cross-border e-commerce customs clearance center in Xinjiang since 2017, where the government's customs and the national inspection office work in-house together. This has greatly improved the customs clearance process from three working days to 24 hours.

According to BEST, the Xinjiang cross-border center currently provides e-commerce exports service to countries including Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, and will extend the coverage area to more countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Meanwhile, BEST has opened a special route between China and Russia, where products made in China would be collected in provinces Zhejiang and Guangdong and shipped to Russia directly via Urumqi.

According to Zhou, following the development of Urumqi's cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone, BEST Global will start to provide imports service through the Xinjiang cross-border center and bring European products such as food, cosmetics, milk powder and household items to Xinjiang by the China-Europe railway and then to the Chinese customers within 48 hours via BEST's comprehensive delivery network.

"Xinjiang plays an important role in the Belt and Road Initiative, and the establishment of our Xinjiang customs clearance center created competitive advantage for us to better facilitate the merchants' needs along the Belt and Road region," he said.

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Keywords:   BEST Inc.,BELT AND ROAD,OVERSEAS EXPANSION