Cross-border e-commerce will continue to grow as new markets such as Turkey emerge but competition will also intensify, several international retail, logistics and delivery executives predicted at the Parcel + Post Expo conference in Amsterdam.
Speaking on the impact of the UPU terminal dues agreement on international shipping, Amine Khechfé, Chief Strategy Officer of Stamps.com and founder of shipping provider Endicia, presented several examples of the “imbalanced” low cost of sending small parcels from China to the US compared to within the US. “A lot of countries felt they were subsidising the Chinese sellers,” he commented.
With the US Postal Service now able to move to self-declared rates for delivering import parcels from next July, Khechfé said he expected the cost of shipping parcels from China to the US through the postal system would increase, bringing prices closer to the commercial prices of private carriers. “We expect more competition because the price has gone up,” he commented.
Asked if volumes from China to the US might decline as a result of higher prices, he responded: “There will be ramifications. I expect there will be a decline but I believe they (Chinese exporters) will find other ways (into the US).”
More generally, e-commerce retailers need more delivery options from service providers, including capacity and seasonal flexibility, to remain competitive, emphasised Alan Banks, head of Europe for logistics technology company Bringg, in a presentation entitled “Delivery in the age of Amazon”. Priorities included multiple fulfilment options, personalised delivery experiences and reasonable price points, he said.
From Turkey to the world
Beyond established large markets in North America, Europe and Asia, there are plenty of emerging e-commerce markets around the world, such as Turkey.
Serim Çetin, co-founder of Turkish e-commerce platform B2C Direct, told the conference how the company, founded in 2016, aimed to set up a complete eco-system through its ‘GoB2C’ portal to enable Turkish companies to export worldwide. Its ‘GoMarketplace’ solution enables companies to sell products on more than 30 major international marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Rakuten, Etsy and Mercado Libre.
Through ‘GoLogistics’, the company offers warehousing, fulfilment, customs clearance, international shipping (road and air) and other logistics services through a range of partners. This also operates as a logistics marketplace enabling SMEs to secure better rates by consolidating volumes. Logistics partners, according to its website, include DHL and DPD.
“With this ecosystem Turkey can grab a share of e-commerce markets,” Çetin declared. Major export markets so far are Europe, CIS countries, Middle East and Africa and the US, while Asia and Latin America are also on the agenda.
The main Turkish B2C export products are textiles, fashions, shoes, accessories, gifts and handmade products. “We have a lot of brands that are not known globally,” he pointed out.
