Chinese vs Australian Fulfillment Service

[IainB]

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Hello,

Long time interested reader, first time poster, I’m starting up a new online business selling a bulky item, which is custom made to order, in China (its approx 150cm x 100cm x 30cm in size & weighs 40kg).

I want to use the services of a fulfillment company to ship the product to my customers, all of whom will be located in Australia.

Should I use a Chinese fulfillment company to ship each individual order to each of my customers, or bulk ship the products to an Australian fulfillment company and get them to do the local shipping?

Which option would be cheapest with regard to shipping costs? Which option would be easiest with regard to customs & GST etc. My product is exempt from customs duty under the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement and I am able to defer GST payment, but how time consuming would it be to lodge a customs declaration for 100 orders instead of one for a whole shipping container?

What other considerations are there when deciding between Chinese vs Australian fulfillment companies?

Thank you very much,
Iain

[Paul – FS Concierge]

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Hi And Welcome to Flying Solo Ian. It is great to have you!

Thank you for joining our community and posting.

One Idea I have is that you could run small tests on all of the options.

Aussies will only accept very slow shipping if the price is rock bottom so that is a consideration too.

Cheers
~Paul

[storewall]

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How fragile is your product? Shipping your product one at a time via sea could leave you with an ugly package? Airfreight would be better but expensive.

If the item is under A$1000 gst shouldn’t apply.

I would consider having your items packaged overseas, delivered in AUS in bulk and shipped from here. This will ensure the packages arrive in good order. You can price the gst in anyway.

[Jiacheng]

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It also depends on your location. Some companies need warehouses close to them to provide constant supply without big transportation expenses. I know that some companies in the UK do [Mod Edit To Remove Promotional Content] subscription box fulfillment, and they are doing a good job, actually. Sometimes the companies need to have good warehouses close to the production plant. The good thing about local logistics companies is that you can actually come there and see how they work and check the warehouses to ensure the goods are stored properly in clean and disinfected warehouses.

[Chrispro]

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I would say local fulfillment has a lot of positives – you’ll negotiate a better rate on the product itself as well as the bulk shipping. And you’ll provide a much better experience for the end user with fast shipping times. BUT, can you afford to pay for the bulk order, and the risk that the stock might be sitting there a while?

[Fozycrozy]

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It also depends on your location. Some companies need warehouses close to them to provide constant supply without big transportation expenses. I know that some companies in the UK do subscription box fulfilment [Mod Edit To Remove Promotional Content] , and they are doing a good job, actually. Sometimes the companies need to have good warehouses close to the production plant. The good thing about local logistics companies is that you can actually come there and see how they work and check the warehouses to ensure the goods are stored properly in clean and disinfected warehouses.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by Paul - FS Concierge.

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