Amazon China on Tuesday announced the launch of its Amazon Logistics+ services to provide a full range of fulfillment solutions for Chinese businesses.
Amazon's Logistics+ services include warehousing fulfillment services, transportation and delivery, cross-border logistics programs, and customized logistics solutions. For instance, Amazon will help businesses manage their entire fulfillment process, from warehousing and transportation to delivery and customer service.
"Amazon Logistics+ is powered by the operational expertise and global fulfillment network we've developed and expanded over the past 20 years," Xue Xiaolin, global vice president of Amazon and president of Amazon Global Logistics China, said at a press conference held in Shanghai on Tuesday.
Transactions in China's e-commerce market reached 7.63 trillion yuan ($1.2 trillion) in the first half of this year, an increase of 30.4 percent year-on-year, according to a report released by the China E-commerce Research Center in September.
Data from the State Post Bureau (SPB) showed that 14 billion packages were delivered in 2014, up 52 percent year-on-year.
The delivery volume is expected to reach about 20 billion packages this year, an increase of 40 percent year-on-year, Ma Jun-sheng, director of the SPB, said in a press conference on October 16.
To meet the increasing needs of the e-commerce market, the Chinese logistics industry has made efforts in network building, business innovation and the development of new technology, Dai Dingyi, vice chairman of the China Society of Logistics, said at the press conference on Tuesday.
However, the nation's logistics industry still has many problems, Dai said. "For instance, traditional logistics management lacks efficiency, with high labor costs."
Compared with international e-commerce companies, domestic e-commerce companies are lagging behind in logistics technology and management, Dai told the Global Times Tuesday.
When talking about what kind of impact Amazon's logistics strategy will bring to the market, Dai said it's still hard to evaluate that in the short term.
"We view highly Amazon's wide network and efficiency, which is better than domestic delivery companies," Guo Meng, deputy sales director of Shenzhen Higoton E-commerce Co, told the Global Times on Tuesday. Higoton is doing global cross-border e-commerce businesses, and it will have discussions with Amazon regarding import e-commerce supply chain solutions.
"Amazon's domestic logistic+ services can act as a key player for China's cross-border e-commerce business," Guo said.
