Fasting in Ramadan! When will the hungry Middle Eastern e-commerce and freight forwarders have food?

In recent years, cross-border e-commerce in the Middle East has risen strongly. From January to May 2022, Saudi e-commerce sales reached 45.6 billion riyals, a substantial increase of over 81%. Sales in 2022 will exceed 100 billion riyals In Seoul, the main advantages are the characteristics of its industrial structure and the high penetration rate of the Internet. In 2023, the Middle East market is still optimistic about global e-commerce.

First of all, from a macro perspective, the industrial structure of the Middle East countries is basically based on the energy industry, while light industry and manufacturing industry are scarce. Therefore, a trade pattern of energy industry export consumer goods import has been formed. From a micro perspective, the family unit in the Middle East is huge, and a family of six is ​​the norm. So there's a lot of shopping demand for consumer goods.

Secondly, the level of Internet infrastructure in Middle Eastern countries is at the forefront of the world, which is also an important reason why cross-border e-commerce can test its wings here. Saudi Arabia’s smartphone penetration rate reached 96%, and social media penetration rate reached 79%, but the overall e-commerce penetration rate The penetration rate is only 6% of the retail industry, which reveals that the cross-border e-commerce market in the Middle East still has great development value and room for development.

During Ramadan, cross-border e-commerce and freight forwarding companies should pay attention to communication with Middle Eastern customers, respect the culture of Ramadan, handle logistics-related matters early, and adapt to the adjustment of Ramadan time in the Middle East, because many Middle Eastern customers will pray devoutly during the day and may " "disappear" for a period of time. In addition, banks in the Middle East will be closed during Eid al-Fitr. In order to prevent customers from using this as an excuse to default on payment, it is recommended to urge customers to pay the balance before the arrival of Ramadan.

Below we will analyze how freight forwarding companies and cross-border e-commerce companies respond to this Eid al-Fitr from a logistics perspective.

to ship

It is recommended that goods that are transported slowly can be shipped now, and the delivery time is calculated according to different goods to arrive at the destination port one to two days before the end of Ramadan, so as to minimize the storage cost of goods at the port and maximize the time when goods flow into the market during the peak consumption period efficiency. In this way, we can catch up with the consumption peak of Eid al-Fitr, which usually ends on the day of Ramadan, that is, April 21. The consumption demand that has been suppressed for a month will greatly expand during this period.

In the delivery process, it is necessary to notify the Middle East customers in advance to book space, confirm the details of the bill of lading, and confirm the details of the customs clearance documents with the customer in advance. Apply to the shipping company for a 14-21-day free container period when shipping.

LCL

Due to the regularity of festivals, a large amount of goods will be poured into the warehouse before Ramadan, and the loading volume will increase sharply. There may be a situation of "hard to find one box". Taking the ports in the Middle East as an example, it takes a long time for bulk cargo to go from LCL to storage. Therefore, for freight forwarders and e-commerce companies that hold bulk cargo, the sooner they enter the warehouse, the better. If you still miss the warehousing, it is recommended to transfer the high-value goods to air freight.

transit

During Ramadan, the working hours of customers in the Middle East are halved, and the diet is restricted. Therefore, the efficiency of logistics and ports is reduced, the speed of handling goods is slowed down, and the operation efficiency of destination ports and transit ports is reduced. In addition, it is the peak season of logistics, so The problem of cargo accumulation is obvious, and it is not uncommon for the goods to fail to make it to the second journey. It is recommended that e-commerce companies choose a freight forwarding company that can visualize the whole process and track the dynamics of the goods, so as to avoid losses or delays in the transit port.

China's exports to Iran, Saudi Arabia and other countries and regions still have room for development. This Ramadan is both a challenge and an opportunity. We have the experience and the ability to deal with it. We believe that this will be a good time to root our industry and logistics in the Middle East e-commerce market. Chance.

Next are our two logistics questions and answers in this issue, everyone is welcome to actively discuss~

1. What is DES ex board?

2. What is DEQ ex-quad?