DHLink Teams With Shopline Logistics to Improve Cross-Border eCommerce

Logistics firms DHLink and Shopline have formed a partnership designed to solve logistical issues in eCommerce.

The partnership will take advantage of both firms’ direct mail channels, warehousing and freight transportation to simplify the logistics process, eliminate connection problems and improve transport efficiency, the companies said in a news release.

“The rapid development of the cross-border eCommerce industry has motivated merchants to place more emphasis on the global market,” the release said. “As we move towards globalization, these opportunities coexist with risks.”

The companies argue that finding practical and effective last-mile solutions is a vital part of optimizing business efficiency, adding value and improving the consumer experience.

“Allowing consumers to experience a high-quality and seamless one-step logistics service is also an essential part of branding, especially for ambitious merchants,” the release said. “The emergence of new models, such as the [direct-to-consumer] eCommerce website, now provides cross-border merchants with more options.”

The companies add that their collaboration not only offers better service and more products to independent eCommerce sellers but also “contributes to the logistics commitment of Chinese brands to overseas consumers.”

This expansion comes as direct-to-consumer businesses are poised to expand their presence in the Asia Pacific (APAC) area, with significant investments planned in the region in near future, as recent PYMNTS research has found.

Our study “The Emerging APAC Opportunity Playbook: Mapping International Expansion Edition,” done in collaboration with Citcon, surveyed 500 businesses in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada to determine how important APAC is to their expansion strategies.

Our findings show that D2C retailers are behind the curve in the region, although likely not for long. For example, while 20% of D2C manufacturers are currently selling in the APAC region, well below other types of businesses, an additional 17% say they have plans to enter the market in the next year.

At that point, the category’s footprint in that part of the world will be comparable to that of marketplace eTailers and omnichannel retailers. Indeed, a larger share of D2Cs plan to enter the area than any other kind of online seller aside from specialty eTailers.