FedEx, a global express delivery company, has launched remote pickup inquiry (RPI) service with the time shortened from 24 hours to two hours. The service aims to satisfy new demands in cross-border e-commerce.

DHL predicted that cross-border commerce would have value of $900 billion by 2020, accounting for 22 percent of total e-commerce value globally. Meanwhile, Accenture estimated that about 900 million people in the world would become international consumers buying foreign goods via the internet.

In Vietnam, cross-border commerce from abroad is booming. A report from Google and Temasek showed that Vietnam ranks third in Southeast Asia in e-commerce, and the e-commerce market value may reach $15 billion by 2025.

According to Statista, approximately 50 million Vietnamese bought goods via e-commerce last year. The figures show the Vietnamese market is attractive to e-commerce firms, from Amazon to eBay to Alibaba. It is estimated that 33 percent of online buyers bought goods from abroad at least once.

A report from Google and Temasek showed that Vietnam ranks third in Southeast Asia in e-commerce, and the e-commerce market value may reach $15 billion by 2025.

In their strategy to expand business over the globe, both Amazon and Alibaba have been carrying out activities in the Vietnamese market. A representative of Amazon Global Selling said he hoped that cross-border e-commerce in Vietnam would grow by six times more rapidly than offline retail.

Meanwhile, cross-border e-commerce from Vietnam to Southeast Asia is also full of potential. The e-commerce revenue in the region is predicted to reach $240 billion by 2025, according to Google and Temasek.

According to Maybank, Southeast Asia has population of 600 million but its e-commerce just accounts for 4 percent of total revenue of the retail industry. Thus, Southeast Asia is a gold mine in the eyes of global investors.

However, Pham Tan Dat, director of Fado.vn, noted that there are many barriers in e-commerce that need to be removed. These include language barriers, business culture, transaction procedures, international payments, goods control, and international logistics.

According to the General Department of Customs (GDC), 80 percent of cross-border e-commerce transactions have value of below $30 and sellers and buyers don’t have experience in import/export and the tax rates they have to pay.

This explains why many businesses in Vietnam act as intermediaries and provide logistics services, including Fado, Netsale, BoxMe, Gido and WeShop.

The businesses apply new technology and cooperate with leading companies in logistics and e-commerce in Vietnam and other countries to create service chains. Some international logistics firms, including SF Express, UPS, DHL, DPEX, TNT, EMS and FedEx, have been chosen by businesses to cooperate to provide cross-border forwarding services.

Thanh Mai 

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