Upset the Shopping Cart: Can forwarders survive Chinese e-commerce?

But there is hope

Although China’s e-commerce market may seem like a duopoly, there are plenty of e-tailers in the market, and room for more. This gives small forwarders in China some hope for the future. “Some of the smaller forwarding companies may not be able to operate on a sustainable level, but, with innovative ideas and business models, others will certainly have a chance to stand out,” Shek said. “Cargolux is now

working with its partner freight forwarders to provide them with a service that closely meets their needs, like direct delivery in order to match the clients’ requirement.”

With other players come models that bypass Alibaba and JD altogether, Wang said. Since May 2016, KWE has been piloting a third cross-border model that incorporates a mix of freight forwarding, brick-and-mortar retail and e-commerce platforms to fulfill cross-border orders from its bonded warehouse in Chongqing’s free-trade zone.

In all of its stores in Chongqing, Japan-based retailer Lawson has setup mini showrooms displaying imported goods, whic its customers can purchase through its e-tailing affiliate “Yhopu.” Once an order is placed, KWE’s Chongqing joint venture, KG International Logistics, clears customs and hands the parcel off to an express courier for last-mile delivery. Since launching the partnership, KWE has found new opportunities to manage not only customs clearance at the warehouse, but also the air and sea transport for imported goods from Yhopu’s 80 tenants offering more than 6,000 SKUs.

As own-operated and integrated platforms continue to expand in China’s e-commerce logistics space, some forwarders will see diminishing volumes. But if the forwarder that managed Selena Lu’s 150-kilogram shipment to Honduras is able to consolidate fifty 10-kilogram shipments sold directly to an end-user online, the result will still be a larger and more dynamic air cargo market.

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