Mobile eCommerce platform Wish says it has launched an in-house Logistics-as-a-Service (LaaS) product.
WishPost Smart Parcel is designed to offer a “seamless and efficient shipping solution to non-Wish merchants,” the company said in a news release Wednesday (Nov. 15).
The program leverages Wish’s logistics network across first-mile, international line haul, customs brokerage and last-mile delivery, the release said.
“As a global online marketplace that works with an extensive network of sellers worldwide, we have made it our mission to build a world-class logistics network that can stand up to scrutiny,” Wish Vice President of Global Logistics Bill Zhang said in the release.
“The launch of WishPost Smart Parcel marks a significant milestone in our journey as we deepen our investment in our logistics capabilities, in order to broaden the impact of our top-tier service that combines unbeatable value with speed.”
The company says WishPost Smart Parcel will initially support shipments from China to destinations that include the U.K., France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan and the U.S.
The launch follows Wish’s introduction of flat-rate shipping to major market customers earlier this year, a fee that is applied to all eligible items over $10, at no added cost to merchants.
Also launching its own fulfillment operation is TikTok, as it works to improve its TikTok shop eCommerce operation, according to reports last week.
As The Wall Street Journal noted, the company is banking on the idea that offering more fulfillment services on behalf of sellers will woo merchants. However, TikTok is parting ways with Amazon’s approach to logistics operations by outsourcing that work to others.
TikTok Shop “will only be as good as what you can buy there,” Kelsey Chickering, principal analyst at market research firm Forrester Research, told the Journal.
If the platform can “make it a better experience for merchants and brands to sell items and make it easy for them — or turnkey at least for them — to start selling, all that does for TikTok is give them a better experience for their users because the products are better.”
Last week, Wish reported quarterly revenues of $60 million, a 52% drop from the previous year, chiefly due to lower ad spending. It marked the second quarterly decline in a row.
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