Ecommerce cross-border trade will likely continue particular
as governments seek ways to encourage the growth of small to medium size
companies. China, for example, is trialing several ecommerce industrial parks.
In July the first of five such parks opened in Hangzhou. Among the companies
that established operations in this new industrial park include Alibaba, eBay
China, China Post/EMS, SF Express, YT Express and E-Dream Valley E-Business
LLC, a company that provides services for Chinese manufacturers seeking to sell
online through such online marketplaces as those of Amazon and eBay. Hangzhou
also includes a customs clearance facility.
In fact, Mark Millar, managing partner with M Power
Associates, noted that despite the “borderless nature” of this business which
makes it ideal to stretch across economic entities, it is challenging to
authorities in terms of custom clearance, logistics, taxes and foreign
exchange.
Indeed, delivery options are popping up to address this
dilemma. For example, the US Postal Service has partnered with Hong Kong Post,
China Post and Singapore Post to launch ePacket, a product targeted to eBay
sellers in China, Hong Kong and Singapore that ship to buyers in the US. Meanwhile,
Japan Post and Singapore Post have initiated a program in which Singapore
Post’s Quantium Solutions Japan subsidiary handles e-fulfillment activities
while Japan Post delivers the merchandise through its international network –
China and the US are the largest export markets for this service.
Even freight forwarders are offering solutions. American
Worldwide Agencies (AWA), a global network of freight forwarders and agents,
partners with Australian e-commerce company Qannu to provide it with
direct-to-consumer internet shopping service. Qannu’s services enable
Australian consumers to order goods from any number of U.S. websites while
paying only one international shipping charge.
Consumers can order through the Qannu website or directly
from a U.S. e-retailer, using a shipping address that directs goods to a unique
“mailbox” at the Qannu warehouse in Los Angeles.
Qannu uses AWA to provide delivery of consolidated packages
direct to the consumer’s door in five to eight days, at a savings of up to 80%
over traditional shipping methods.
Still, cross-border trade remains problematic. Besides
logistics, taxes, foreign exchange and custom clearance concerns, payment
methods is another issue. As such, ecommerce companies such as Alibaba
(Alipay), and eBay (Paypal) provide alternative methods which are increasing in
acceptance across t region.
While there are many solutions attempting to solve the ecommerce
cross-border dilemma, corruption particularly within the customs clearance
process exists in many countries, in particular those that are categorized as
emerging economies such as Indonesia and Vietnam. While ecommerce is growing in
double-digits in these countries, government processes will need to be reviewed
in order for this growth to continue and thus allow these economies to grow and
expand.
To conclude, as ecommerce cross-border trade increases, Asian countries will need to address concerns within customs clearance, foreign exchange and payment platforms as well as taxes, logistics and the possibility of any corruption that may hinder the flow of trade.
