The logistical, challenge number 1 e-commerce cross-border

the Internet has broken down the borders of the traders. Now, nothing prevents them from selling their products in the world. At least in theory. In fact, many barriers still inhibit their momentum. Among them, the logistics of which, well controlled, can help make the difference.

The e-commerce offers an unprecedented opportunity for merchants: that of extending their market beyond their borders. The e-sellers French are already well engaged in this process: according to a survey Paypal/Ipsos 2016, 64% of them sell abroad, compared with 59% in Germany and 56% in the United Kingdom. And these cross-border flows are promised a bright future.

In 2014, the Boston Consulting Group calculated that it would be between 250 and 350 million dollars in revenue in 2025 - compared to $ 80 billion at the time of the study. The growth is therefore of size for online merchants. In addition, if the sellers are French for the time being are very, very focused on Europe (Germany and the Uk are their major markets), more distant destinations promise to be very promising for the future. China could count 300 million e-shoppers cross-border by 2020 !

The main obstacle to exporting: delivery charges

however, There are still sticking points. And, all the studies show, the logistics is a leading. According to a study by Paypal, the shipping of the products is, with the currency management, the major barrier to internationalization, as quoted by companies. Ditto on the customer side. Paypal and Ipsos have asked in 2016 to 28 000 consumers of the 32 countries that made them to buy online abroad. Among the top five reasons, three related to the logistics : the cost of delivery too high (in the top, 35%), fear of not receiving the product (33%), delivery time (29%). Conversely, the e-shoppers cite as their main argument that could decide the cross-border purchase free shipping.

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"Without proper logistics, it's impossible for an e-retailer to deploy abroad, and considers Francois Meriaux, commercial director at Viapost Logistics Connected. But it should not be considered as a brake - rather as a factor differentiating!"

the crucial question of The management of returns

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Among the main challenges faced by the seller : the time, cost, themselves related to the management of inventories and modes of delivery. The seller who starts generally commences in sending from France, rather to the neighbouring countries. "There are two cases of figure," says François Meriaux. Either one relaxes a bit the delay, we book a few days, and we opted for a solution such as "direct injection" [a way of grouping of goods bound for the same country, in order to share the costs of transportation]. It is the most economical. Either one has to resort to express, who can deliver in 24 hours, but it is very expensive, and the product must be able to bear this cost." When the volume is more important, the overseas storage becomes a reasonable option.

The returns management is another key point, mentioned as a barrier to the export at the time by the sellers and the buyers. "Again, it all depends on the company, says François Meriaux. If you have physical stores abroad, one can directly inject these flows. A trader 100% e-commerce, you can opt for a solution of return of its products from overseas massifiée, instead of bring back one at a time, which is very expensive."