With the rise of the fully managed model of e-commerce platforms, air freight rates have remained high, and global aircraft capacity has been persistently tight. The semi-managed model has led to a shortage of overseas warehouse space, with the entire cross-border logistics industry facing overall capacity shortages.

As e-commerce platforms' shipment volumes grow, all service providers across the entire cross-border logistics supply chain are seeing the platforms become their single largest client.

From mainline transportation to overseas customs clearance, to overseas warehousing and last-mile delivery, everyone is catering to the needs of e-commerce platforms. All capacity expansions, process planning, transportation capacity procurement, and operational support are centered around the platforms' assessment criteria and penalty policies for logistics service providers.

When an e-commerce platform becomes the largest client of a cross-border logistics company, nearly all of that company's human, material, and financial resources have to revolve around the platform. The platform's demand for high responsiveness requires the company’s entire back office, including the owner, to be on standby 24 hours a day. If any service abnormality occurs, it must be properly resolved within the platform’s specified timeframe, or else the company faces service penalties.

When a logistics company’s limited resources—capacity, capital, and manpower—are deeply tied up by the needs of a single large client like an e-commerce platform, it no longer has the energy to attend to other customers.

Essentially, as the e-commerce platform takes up an increasing share of your business, your original clients, especially small and medium-sized ones, are slipping away at an accelerating pace. By the time you realize this, you may find that apart from the platform, you have few clients left. At this point, any policy changes made by the platform can cause severe pain and disruption to your business.

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WeChat Public Account: Cross-border E-commerce Logistics Baixiaosheng