1、SHEIN to Open Its First Warehouse in the UK

 On August 13, it was reported by foreign media that Chinese fast fashion giant SHEIN is preparing to open its first warehouse in the UK. The company is currently seeking a large site in the so-called "Golden Logistics Triangle" in central England, targeting an area between 300,000 and 400,000 square feet. Over the past few months, SHEIN has sent a representative team to the UK to visit potential warehouse sites at approximately 10 locations, including Derby, Daventry, Coventry, and Donington Castle.

In recent years, SHEIN's global business has expanded rapidly. Last year, SHEIN opened a manufacturing center in Brazil to handle distribution in South America and established its headquarters for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in Dublin. Earlier this month, SHEIN expanded its marketplace operations to Spain and opened a pop-up store in South Africa. A SHEIN spokesperson stated, "To support business growth, SHEIN is actively exploring global warehousing locations."

Source: City & Finance Reporter

2、Three Sheep Group Signs Cooperation Agreement with J&T Express

On August 13, it was announced that Three Sheep Group and J&T Express officially signed a global strategic cooperation agreement. The two parties engaged in in-depth discussions on business cooperation in China, exploring new models for expanding business in Southeast Asia and globally. Through this collaboration, both companies aim to jointly develop innovative logistics solutions, particularly for emerging business models like live-stream e-commerce. The partnership seeks to enhance overall efficiency and service quality from the supply chain to end-delivery, while also accelerating the expansion into Southeast Asian and global markets. Together, they plan to develop a range of cross-border logistics solutions to inject new vitality into the global e-commerce logistics market.

Source: Three Sheep Network

3、YTO Express’s South Korea Branch Launches Overseas Warehouse Services

On August 13, it was reported that YTO Express’s South Korea branch has recently launched overseas warehouse services, adding several new warehouses around Incheon, expanding the storage area to over 10,000 square meters. With planned storage layouts, sellers can pre-stock products in overseas warehouses, matching the local delivery speed of South Korean sellers, with products being delivered across South Korea within two days, significantly improving customer satisfaction.

It is reported that during peak periods, YTO handles an average of over 800,000 cross-border e-commerce parcels between China and South Korea each month. Korean music albums ordered on Korean e-commerce platforms can be delivered to customers in China in as little as three days. To ensure smooth and efficient logistics services between China and South Korea, YTO utilizes its own cargo airline, YTO Cargo Airlines, continuously opening all-cargo routes between key goods distribution centers such as Ningbo and Wenzhou. With nearly 20 round-trip flights per week, YTO facilitates the transportation of international express deliveries, small e-commerce parcels, electronics, and fashion apparel between the two countries.

Source: YTO Home

4、Amazon FBA New Policy to Launch Soon

On August 13, Amazon announced upcoming adjustments to its FBA refund claim policy. The adjustments will be implemented in two phases, on October 23, 2024, and November 1, 2024. Starting November 1, 2024, Amazon will automatically file claims for FBA items lost in fulfillment centers. For any items lost at Amazon’s fulfillment centers, the platform will immediately issue compensation upon receiving a lost item report, without requiring sellers to manually submit invoices or other documents to claim compensation.

Additionally, Amazon noted in the notification that if automatic claims are not processed timely or are removed, sellers will need to manually submit claims. Starting October 23, 2024, the claim filing period for Amazon sellers will be modified to 60 days, approximately two months.

 Source: Amazon

5、TEMU and AliExpress See Surge in Imports to South Korea

On August 13, it was reported that the number of overseas imports into South Korea through Chinese e-commerce platforms such as TEMU and AliExpress grew by over 74% in the first half of this year. According to data from the Korea Customs Service, South Korea imported a total of 89.17 million e-commerce items from January to June this year, an increase of 54.9% compared to 57.57 million items during the same period last year. Among these, imports from Chinese platforms surged by 74.3% to 64.21 million items, indicating that imports from China are growing faster than overall overseas imports.

 Source: AMZ123

6、Lazada Cross-Border Self-Operation Model Offers Zero Cost Entry

 On August 13, it was announced that Lazada recently launched a new policy where, starting from July 25, 2024, new Chinese merchants (excluding those from Hong Kong) who choose Lazada's cross-border self-operation model will enjoy 90 days of zero security deposit sales rights upon successful store registration. As of now, there are eight new merchant incentive policies, including a full commission refund for the first 90 days, a 180-day support plan for new merchants, free access to official live streaming course libraries, limited distribution of the SEA Selection White Paper, cross-border integrated logistics solutions, intelligent store operation diagnostics, and third-party service provider recommendations.

Source: Lazada Southeast Asia E-commerce

7. Ozon Modifies Contract Terms for Product Disposal

On August 13, it was reported that Ozon has made changes to its contract terms regarding product disposal. The new changes grant sellers a 30-day objection period to challenge disposal decisions, which is five times longer than before. Under the new policy, sellers will automatically consent to Ozon disposing of products in several specific scenarios, such as unclaimed returns, damaged products unfit for sale, items damaged during customer returns, and prohibited items. Sellers must submit a valid objection within 30 days in their personal account, along with video evidence of the packaging of damaged goods; otherwise, their objection will be rejected. This adjustment aims to improve the efficiency and transparency of product management on the platform.

Source: Ozon

8.Wildberries Logistics Costs Rise Again

On August 13, it was reported that the Russian e-commerce platform Wildberries will increase the basic logistics rates for "box" and "pallet" types at all warehouses and distribution centers starting from August 14. Previously, the rate was ₽30 per liter, with an additional ₽7 per liter; now, it will be ₽33 per liter, with an additional ₽8 per liter.

The price increase will affect: new shipments planned on or after August 14; products stored in warehouses without a fixed rate; products already supplied at a fixed rate but where the fixed rate period has expired. The price increase will not affect the following: supplies that have already been planned or will be planned before or on August 13 at the fixed rate, which will be calculated based on the basic rate at the time of planning; supplies shipped at a fixed rate where the fixed rate period has not yet expired, with return logistics costs remaining unchanged.

Source: Chuhai Network

9.China Airlines Expands Cooperation with WFS

On August 13, it was reported that China Airlines signed a new multi-year cargo contract with Frankfurt Cargo Services (FCS), a subsidiary of Worldwide Flight Services (WFS). The new contract, effective this month, will extend the cooperation between the two companies at Frankfurt Airport to over 25 years. China Airlines first signed a cargo handling agreement with FCS in 2000.

The airline transports approximately 25,000 tons of cargo annually through its Boeing 777 flights on the Frankfurt-Taipei route. It is also noted that China Airlines has further expanded its cooperation with WFS, with WFS providing cargo handling services for China Airlines in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as well as in India, Thailand, and North America.

Source: Global Air Cargo

10. Over 70 International Cargo Routes Opened in China in the First Half of the Year

On August 13, it was reported that in the first half of 2024, amid growing demand for air logistics, a total of 90 new cargo routes were added nationwide, including over 70 international cargo routes. The total air transportation turnover reached 70.3 billion ton-kilometers, a year-on-year increase of over 30%.

Among them, 16 new domestic cargo routes and 74 international cargo routes were opened, gradually improving the cargo route layout. For international cargo routes, 39 are in Asia, accounting for more than half, 17 are in Europe, 15 are in North America, 2 are in Africa, and 1 is in Oceania.

Source: Global Air Cargo

11. Cathay Pacific Sees Growth in Cargo Revenue and Volume in the First Half of the Year

On August 13, it was reported that Cathay Pacific's cargo revenue and volume increased in the first half of this year, driven by growth in e-commerce cargo demand and additional capacity. Cargo revenue increased by 1.5% year-on-year to HK$10.9 billion, while cargo volume increased by 4.6% to 4.1 billion Revenue Freight Ton Kilometers (RFTKs). Cargo and mail throughput grew by 10.4% to 719,000 tons. Over the past year, as passenger services have gradually recovered post-pandemic, capacity increased by 11.4% year-on-year to 6.8 billion Available Cargo Ton Kilometers (ACTKs), while the cargo load factor decreased by 3.9 percentage points to 59.9%.

Source: Cathay Pacific

12、U.S. Customs Clearance Surcharge to Increase

 On August 13, it was reported that the U.S. Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) surcharge adjustment will take effect on October 1, 2024. The rate will remain at 0.3463%, but the minimum fee will be adjusted from $31.67 to $32.71, and the maximum fee from $614.35 to $634.62.

Source: U.S. CBP and Department of Homeland Security

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Official Account: Cross-border E-commerce Logistics Baixiaosheng