Unit 1

Text A Cross-Border E-commerce Overview

The term“cross-border E-commerce”has become the darling of the media in recent years.The entire cross-border E-commerce industry has firmly stood at the first place of the capital market.Although various kinds of news reports, papers, blogs, and information are flooding in the Internet, what is cross-border E-commerce? I believe many industry insiders still cannot clearly explain it.

1. What Is Cross-Border E-commerce

Cross-border E-commerce is a kind of E-commerce.As the largest E-commerce platform in the world, Amazon entered Shanghai Free Trade Zone on August 20, 2014.The memorandum signed on cooperation shows that“Amazon will open its new cross-border E-commerce platform in the free trade zone”.From here we know that cross-border E-commerce should be translated from the English.So, what exactly is the definition of cross-border E-commerce?

In Wikipedia, cross-border E-commerce refers to an international business activity where the trading entities that belong to different customs achieve transactions, payments, and cross-border logistics delivery through the E-commerce platform.

2. The Model of Cross-Border E-commerce

2.1 The Difference between Cross-Border E-commerce and Traditional Foreign Trade

We’ve made definition for what is a cross-border E-commerce, but the dispute in the pattern of cross-border E-commerce has lasted a long period.In fact such arguments are nothing more than to confusing cross-border E-commerce with the traditional foreign trade.Then, what on earth are the differences between cross-border E-commerce and traditional foreign trade?

2.1.1 The Cost Differs

Traditional foreign trade is mainly concentrated on large quantities of goods, and then the goods enter into a multiple-level distribution by overseas logistics companies.Finally the goods will eventually reach the end consumers (enterprises or individuals), while cross-border E-commerce is directly facing to the end customers.

2.1.2 The Process Differs

In traditional trade, the import and export process are cumbersome, while cross-border E-commerce companies require the links be reduced as much as possible.They can even send goods directly to consumers.

2.1.3 The Ways of Spread Differ

Traditional trade uses information platforms such as wholesale message, mail, and exhibitions to disseminate information.Cross-border E-commerce companies sell products directly to consumers through platforms such as Amazon, e Bay, and Wish.

2.1.4 The Model Differs

Because the traditional trade uses information flow to spread, the basic model is B2B, while cross-border E-commerce can reduce intermediate links, therefore the goods is mostly sold directly by the platform.And its main model is B2C.

Obviously, the cross-border E-commerce model and the traditional foreign trade model make a big difference, so what distinguishes traditional foreign trade from cross-border E-commerce models? Cross-border business is divided into import and export.Similarly, the cross-border E-commerce model can also be divided into import cross-border E-commerce and export cross-border E-commerce.For import cross-border E-commerce, it is usually the domestic consumers that visit overseas sellers to select goods.After the orders are placed, overseas sellers directly send international express delivery to consumers.Export cross-border E-commerce is just the opposite, domestic sellers directly deliver goods to the hands of overseas buyers.

2.2 Import Cross-Border E-commerce

2.2.1 M2C Model

It is an investment platform, and it is manufacturer-to-customer.In this model, merchants need to obtain qualifications and authorizations for overseas retail sales.The products are directly mailed overseas and can provide local return service, but usually the price is relatively high.

2.2.2 B2C Model

It means self-operated and direct purchasing, and it is business-to-customer.In this model, the platform will generally directly participates in the flow of goods purchasing and logistics warehousing.For example, buying a television set from an electronics retailer would be a B2C transaction.

2.2.3 C2C Model

Consumer to consumer, or C2C, is the business model that facilitates commerce between private individuals.Whether it’s for goods or services, this category of E-commerce connects people to do business with one another.The goal of a C2C is to enable these relationships, helping buyers and sellers locate each other.Customers can benefit from the competition for products and easily find products that may otherwise be difficult to locate.

2.2.4 B2B Model

That is business-to-business which refers to commerce between two or more businesses such as those involving a manufacturer and wholesaler or retailer.In general, it is used to improve efficiency for companies.

2.2.5 Overseas E-commerce Direct Mail

The representative company is Amazon.The model is characterized by having a global high-quality supply chain system and a wealth of SKUs.

2.2.6 Third Partner

In fact, there are two types of this model: one is technical, and the other is operational.Generally, there are advantages in the early stage of cross-border E-commerce, easy to start, low cost, rich SKUs, but lack of competitiveness, and need real-time updates and other strong technical support.

2.2.7 Content Sharing/Community Information

This model is the promotion base for brands, because it mainly achieves natural conversion through content.

2.3 Export Cross-Border E-commerce

2.3.1 B2B Model

It is divided into two types: information service platform and transaction service platform.For the information service platform, it is mainly to conduct information distribution or information search to complete transaction through a third-party platform.The representative companies are Alibaba International Station and Global Sources.The transaction service platform is to build a platform business model that enables online transactions and payments between supply and demand parties.Representative companies include Dunhuang.com and the others.

2.3.2 B2C/C2C Model

It is divided into an open platform and a self-operated platform.The open platform realizes the systematic docking of applications and platforms, and builds an ecosystem around the platform itself.The representative platform includes Amazon, Wish, Ali Express, e Bay, Lazada, and other small-scale platforms.The self-operated platform manages the products in a unified way.It trades online and delivers products to consumers through logistics.

3. Dilemmas of Cross-Border E-commerce

Although the cross-border E-commerce has been developing at a high speed in recent years, it has also received great support with policies.However, the entire process of cross-border E-commerce needs the integration and cooperation of procurement, supply, logistics, distribution, payment, and after-sales service to achieve stable development.At present, it still faces the following dilemmas.

3.1 Limited Supply Channels

For cross-border E-commerce, the supply channels is of utmost importance.It is difficult to guarantee the quantity and quality of goods through limited channels.

3.2 Logistics Constraints

Logistics is a core factor in both cross-border E-commerce and traditional trade.At present, logistics is also a major bottleneck among cross-border E-commerce.Restrictions are mainly reflected in two aspects.First, there are still large gaps between the logistics companies in different countries.If trans-shipment the goods, the supply chain will easily break and eventually affect the logistics speed of goods.The usual solution is to establish overseas warehouses.Another dilemma is how to increase the turnover of overseas warehouses and reduce operating costs.

3.3 Online Payment Dilemma

The development of the third-party payment industry is undeniably rapid, such as Alipay and Paypal have been eligible for cross-border E-commerce.Even so, payment still face many difficulties like customs clearance and tax refunds.In cross-border business, convert, credit, security, and risk are also factors of restricting.

3.4 After-sales Service Problems

After-sales services are very important links.The after-sales problem of cross-border E-commerce is also an important factor that discourages consumers because of the numerous links in the entire process, such as customs clearance, logistics, and so on.The after sale cost is high.

With the continuous development of cross-border E-commerce, the above problems are in fact still inevitable.However, when you understand China brands, these problems can be solved.

（1）China brands have more than one million products covering more than 100 categories.The entire suppliers are more than 10,000, with more than 1,000 brand suppliers.The quality inspection rate is 100%, guaranteeing the quality of all products on the platform.

（2）China brands cooperate with 1000+ leading logistics companies in the world, with more than 10,000 logistics lines, covering more than 200 countries and regions in the world and China brands storage covers more than 20 countries around the world.

（3）For the after-sales services, after cooperating with China brands, we will provide 6×24 hours of customer service, 100% real-time online reply, and the customer service language covers Chinese, English, German, French, and other 10 languages.

4. Trends of Cross-Border E-commerce

Most of the above-mentioned cross-border E-commerce dilemma exist at the technical level.I believe the difficulties will be solved one by one with the vigorous development of the cross-border E-commerce industry and the support of the governments’ series of policies.Let’s forecast the future trend of cross-border E-commerce.

4.1 Rapid Growth

Throughout the past few years, the average annual growth rate of the cross-border E-commerce industry has been above 30%.In fact, few industries can maintain such a high growth rate, because the premise is that the environment will not change within a few years.Therefore, we can boldly predict that the cross-border E-commerce industry will continue to maintain rapid growth in the next 3-5 years.

4.2 Big Seller

Any tuyere industry will experience a process of reshuffling.In the future, the overall resources of the cross-border E-commerce industry will be further concentrated on the large platforms and big sellers.This trend is unavoidable, but it does not mean that small and medium sellers have no chance at all.They will generally enter the vertical and subdivided markets.

4.3 Professional Competition

For the high-speed development of the cross-border E-commerce industry, it can be said that the package does not keep up with the pace of development, but it does not mean this will always be the case.For cross-border E-commerce players, the requirements must be higher.In the future, the competition will be more professional.

4.4 Standardization

For an industry to have a benign development, there must be standardized policies.For the cross-border E-commerce industry, whether it is import or export, there are now more and more related policies.The industry will be more standardized in the future, and for the practitioners, there will be more rationalization requirements.

New Words

E-commerce　['i:kɒmɜ:s]　n.电子商务

blog　[blɒg]　 n.博客

explain　[ɪkˈspleɪn]　v.解释

platform　 [ˈplætfɔ:m]　 n.平台

memorandum　[ˌmeməˈrændəm]　 n.备忘录

custom　[ˈkʌstəm]　n.海关，关税

transaction　[trænˈzækʃn]　n.交易，业务，事务；办理，处理

payment　 [ˈpeɪmənt]　n.付款，支付

logistics　 [lɒˈdʒɪstɪks]　 n.物流；后勤

definition　[ˌdefɪˈnɪʃn]　 n.定义；解释

dispute　[dɪˈspju:t]　v.辩论，争论

pattern　[ˈpætn]　n.模式

argument　 [ˈɑ:gjʊmənt]　n.争论，争吵；论据

cost　[kɒst]　 n.成本；代价；花费，费用

distribution　 [ˌdɪstrɪˈbju:ʃn]　 n.分配，分布

consumer　[kənˈsju:mə]　n.消费者，顾客

individual　[ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒʊəl]　n.个人；个体adj.个人的；个别的

process　[ˈprəʊses]　n.过程

import　[ˈɪmpɔ:t]　n.进口，进口商品；输入vt.输入，进口

export　 [ˈekspɔ:t]　v.出口，输出

cumbersome　[ˈkʌmbəsəm]　adj.缓慢复杂的；麻烦的

message　 [ˈmesɪdʒ]　n.信息；消息v.给……发消息

mail　[meɪl]　 n.邮件

exhibition　[ˌeksɪˈbɪʃn]　 n.展览；展览品，陈列品

disseminate　 [dɪˈsemɪneɪt]　vt.散布，传播

mode　 [məʊd]　n.模式，方式adj.中间的，中级的

intermediate　 [ˌɪntəˈmi:dɪət]　 n.中间物，中间人vi.调解

distinguish　[dɪˈstɪŋgwɪʃ]　v.区分，辨别

express　[ɪkˈspres]　vt.快递

merchant　 [ˈmɜ:tʃənt]　n.商人；批发商；店主；零售商adj.商人的；商业的

qualification　[ˌkwɒlɪfɪˈkeɪʃn]　n.资格，授权；条件，限制；合格证书

authorization　[ˌɔ:θəraɪˈzeɪʃn]　 n.授权，批准

retail　[ˈri:teɪl]　 n.零售vt.零售；零卖

local　[ˈləʊkl]　adj.当地的，本地的

self-operated　[self'ɒpəreɪtɪd]　 adj.自营的

warehousing　[ˈweəhaʊzɪŋ]　n.入仓库，仓库贮存

facilitate　 [fəˈsɪlɪteɪt]　vt.促进，助长；使容易

connect　 [kəˈnekt]　vt.连接；使……有联系vi.连接；建立关系

relationship　 [rɪˈleɪʃnʃɪp]　 n.关系，联系

wholesaler　['həʊlseɪlə]　 n.批发商

retailer　[ˈri:teɪlə]　 n.零售商，零售店

representative　 [ˌreprɪˈzentətɪv]　 adj.典型的，有代表性的n.代表

characterize　 [ˈkærəktəraɪz]　 vt.具有……的特征

operational　 [ˌɒpəˈreɪʃənl]　adj.运营的，经营的

community　 [kəˈmju:nəti]　n.社区；社会团体

promotion　[prəˈməʊʃn]　 n.（商品等的）推广；促进，增进；提升，升级

brand　 [brænd]　n.商标，品牌

conversion　[kənˈvɜ:ʃn]　 n.变换，转变

search　[sɜ:tʃ]　v.搜寻，搜索n.搜索；调查

online　 [ˌɒnˈlaɪn]　adj.在线的；联网的；联机的

ecosystem　[ˈi:kəʊsɪstəm]　 n.生态系统

small-scale　 [ˈsmɔ:lˈskeɪl]　adj.小规模的；小型的

dilemma　 [dɪˈlemə]　 n.窘境，困境

integration　[ˌɪntɪˈgreɪʃn]　n.结合；整合；一体化

procurement　[prəˈkjʊəmənt]　 n.采购

stable　 [ˈsteɪbl]　adj.稳定的；持久的

utmost　[ˈʌtməʊst]　adj.极度的，最大的n.极限，最大限度

quality　[ˈkwɒlətɪ]　n.质量，品质

constraint　[kənˈstreɪnt]　 n.限制，约束

factor　 [ˈfæktə]　 n.因素

bottleneck　[ˈbɒtlnek]　n.瓶颈

restriction　[rɪˈstrɪkʃn]　n.限制，束缚

reflect　 [rɪˈflekt]　 v.反映

solution　[səˈlu:ʃn]　 n.解决方案

turnover　 [ˈtɜ:nəʊvə]　 n.营业额，成交量

undeniably　 [ˌʌndɪ'naɪəblɪ]　 adv.不可否认地，无可辩争地

convert　[kənˈvɜ:t]　vt.兑换，换算

discourage　[dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒ]　 vt.使气馁；使沮丧；阻碍

reply　[rɪˈplaɪ]　 n.回答，答复；反应vt.回应，做出反应

vigorous　 [ˈvɪgərəs]　adj.有力的；充满活力的；朝气蓬勃的

boldly　 ['bəʊldlɪ]　 adv.大胆地

reshuffle　 [ˌri:ˈʃʌfl]　 n&vi.改组；重新洗牌

unavoidable　 [ˌʌnəˈvɔɪdəbl]　 adj.不可避免的

vertical　[ˈvɜ:tɪkl]　 adj.垂直的

subdivide　[ˈsʌbdɪvaɪd]　 vt.再分，细分

standardization　 [ˌstændədaɪ'zeɪʃn]　 n.标准化；规格化；规范化

practitioner　 [prækˈtɪʃənə]　n.从业者；专门人才

rationalization　 [ˌræʃnəlaɪ'zeɪʃn]　n.合理化

Phrases

cross-border E-commerce　 跨境电子商务

capital market　 资本市场

free trade zone　自由贸易区

international business　 国际商业

foreign trade　对外贸易

confuse...with...　把……与……混淆

be concentrated on　 集中在

overseas logistics company　海外物流公司

as much as possible　 尽可能

ways of spread　传播方式

information flow　 信息流，数据流

investment platform　 投资平台

return service　 退货服务

direct purchasing　 直接采购

television set　 电视机

business model　业务模式，商务模式

private individual　个人

direct mail　 直接邮寄

supply chain　供应链

content sharing　内容共享，内容分享

third-party platform　 第三方平台

systematic docking　 系统对接

self-operated platform　 自营平台

after-sales service　售后服务

supply channel　供应渠道

large gap　大的差距

operating cost　 营业费用，营业成本

third-party payment　 第三方支付

customs clearance　结关，验关

tax refund　退税

quality inspection rate　 质量检验率

technical level　 技术层面

series of　 一系列

annual growth rate　年增长速度

tuyereindustry　风口行业

subdividedmarket　细分市场

keepupwith　继续做；熟悉；保持联系

Abbreviations

B2B（Businessto Business）　 企业对企业电子商务

B2C（Businessto Customer）　企业对个人电子商务

M2C（Manufacturerto Consumer）　生产厂家对消费者电子商务

C2C（Consumerto Consumer）　 个人对个人电子商务

SKU（Stock Keeping Unit）　 库存量单位，最小存货单位

Reference Translation

跨境电子商务概述

近年来，“跨境电子商务”一词已成为媒体的宠儿。整个跨境电子商务行业稳立于资本市场的第一位。虽然各种新闻报道、论文、博客和信息在互联网上涌现，但什么是跨境电子商务？相信很多业内人士仍然无法解释清楚。

1．什么是跨境电子商务

跨境电子商务是一种电子商务。作为全球最大的电子商务平台，亚马逊于2014年8月20日进入上海自由贸易区。签署的合作备忘录显示，“亚马逊将在自由贸易区开设新的跨境电子商务平台”。从这里我们知道跨境电子商务一词应该由英语翻译而来。那么，跨境电子商务到底该如何定义？

在维基百科中，跨境电子商务是指一种国际商业活动，其中属于不同海关的交易实体通过电子商务平台实现交易、支付和跨境物流交付。

2．跨境电子商务模式

2.1 跨境电子商务与传统外贸的区别

我们已经定义了什么是跨境电子商务，但跨境电子商务模式的争议持续了很长时间。事实上，这些争论只不过是将跨境电子商务与传统外贸混为一谈。跨境电子商务与传统对外贸易究竟有何不同？

2.1.1 费用不同

传统外贸主要集中在大量商品上，然后由海外物流公司进行多层次的分销，最终货物到达终端消费者（企业或个人），而跨境电子商务则直接面向终端客户。

2.1.2 过程不同

在传统贸易中，进出口过程烦琐，而跨境电子商务公司则要求尽可能减少环节。它们甚至可以直接向消费者发送商品。

2.1.3 传播方式不同

传统贸易使用批发消息、邮件和展览等信息平台来传播信息。跨境电子商务公司通过亚马逊、e Bay和期望的平台直接向消费者销售产品。

2.1.4 模式不同

由于传统行业利用信息流来传播，其基本模式是B2B。而跨境电子商务可以减少中间环节，因此大多是由平台直接销售，其主要模式是B2C。

显然，跨境电子商务模式和传统外贸模式有很大差异，那么传统外贸模式与跨境电子商务模式的区别是什么呢？跨境业务分为进口和出口两类。同样，跨境电子商务模式也可以分为进口跨境电子商务和出口跨境电子商务。对于进口跨境电子商务，通常是国内消费者访问海外卖家来选择商品。订单下达后，海外卖家直接向消费者发送国际快递。出口跨境电子商务正好相反，国内卖家直接将货物交到海外消费者手中。

2.2 进口跨境电子商务

2.2.1 M2C模式

这是一个投资平台，是厂家对客户的。在这种模式下，厂家需要获得海外零售的资格和授权。产品直接邮寄到海外，可以提供本地退货服务，但价格通常比较高。

2.2.2 B2C模式

这意味着自营和直接采购，即企业对客户。在这种模式下，平台一般会直接参与物流采购和物流仓储。例如，从电子产品零售商处购买电视机是B2C交易。

2.2.3 C2C模式

客户对客户，即C2C，是促进个体与个体之间交易的商业模型。无论它是用于商品还是服务，这种电子商务把人们联系在一起，互相做生意。C2C的目标是实现这些关系，帮助匹配买方和卖方。客户可以从产品竞争中获益，并且很容易找到在其他模式下可能很难找到的商品。

2.2.4 B2B模式

这是企业对企业，指的是两个或更多企业之间的商业行为，如涉及制造商和批发商或零售商的企业。一般来说，它用于提高公司的效率。

2.2.5 海外电子商务直邮

代表公司是亚马逊。该模式的特点是拥有全球高品质的供应链系统和大量库存。

2.2.6 第三方

事实上，这种模式有两种类型：一种是技术型，另一种是运营型。一般来说，跨境电子商务初期具有优势，易启动、低成本、丰富的库存，但缺乏竞争力，需要实时更新和其他强有力的技术支持。

2.2.7 内容共享/社区信息

这种模式是品牌的推广基础，因为它主要通过内容实现自然转换。

2.3 出口跨境电子商务

2.3.1 B2B模式

它分为两种类型：信息服务平台和交易服务平台。对于信息服务平台而言，主要是通过第三方平台进行信息发布或信息搜索来完成交易。其代表公司是阿里巴巴国际站和环球资源。交易服务平台是建立一个平台业务模型，支持供需双方之间的在线交易和支付。其代表公司包括敦煌网等。

2.3.2 B2C / C2C模式

它分为开放平台和自营平台。开放平台实现了应用程序和平台的系统对接，并围绕平台自身构建了一个生态系统。代表性平台包括亚马逊、Wish、Ali Express、e Bay、Lazada和其他小型平台。自营平台以统一的方式管理产品。它实现在线交易，通过物流向消费者提供产品。

3．跨境电子商务的困境

虽然近年来跨境电子商务发展迅速，也有很多政策支持。但是，跨境电子商务需要整合采购、供应、物流、配送、支付和售后服务才能实现稳定发展。目前，它仍然面临以下困境。

3.1 有限的供应渠道

对于跨境电子商务，供应渠道至关重要。有限的渠道很难保证货物的数量和质量。

3.2 物流限制

物流是跨境电子商务和传统贸易的核心因素。目前，物流也是跨境电子商务的主要瓶颈。限制主要体现在两个方面。首先，不同国家的物流公司存在较大差距，导致运送货物的供应链很容易断裂，最终影响物流速度。通常的解决方案是建立海外仓库。另一个困境是如何增加海外仓库的营业额并降低运营成本。

3.3 在线支付困境

第三方支付行业的发展无疑是迅速的，例如，支付宝和Paypal已经能进行跨境电子商务了。即便如此，付款仍然面临着诸如清关和退税等许多困难。在跨境业务中，换汇、信贷、安全和风险也是限制因素。

3.4 售后服务问题

售后服务是非常重要的环节。跨境电子商务的售后问题也是消费者关注的焦点，因为整个过程中有许多环节，如通关、物流等。售后服务的成本很高。

随着跨境电子商务的不断发展，实际上上述问题仍然是不可避免的。但是，当你了解了中国品牌后，这些问题都可以解决。

（1）中国拥有超过100万种的品牌产品，涵盖100多个品类。供应商超过一万家，其中1000多家是品牌供应商。质量检验率为100%，能够保证平台上所有产品的质量。

（2）中国品牌与全球1000多家领先的物流公司合作，拥有10000多条物流专线，覆盖全球200多个国家和地区，中国品牌仓储覆盖全球20多个国家。

（3）对于售后服务，与中国品牌合作后，我们将提供6×24小时的客户服务，100%的实时在线回复，客户服务语言涵盖汉语、英语、德语、法语等10种语言。

4．跨境电子商务的趋势

上述跨境电子商务困境大多数存在于技术层面。我相信随着跨境电子商务产业的蓬勃发展和政府的一系列政策的支持，这些困难将逐一解决。我们来预测一下跨境电子商务的未来趋势。

4.1 快速增长

在过去几年中，跨境电子商务行业的年均增长率已超过30%。事实上，很少有行业能够保持如此高的增长率，因为前提是环境不会在几年内发生变化。因此，我们可以大胆预测，跨境电子商务行业在未来3到5年内将继续保持快速增长。

4.2 大卖家

任何风口行业都将经历重新洗牌的过程。未来，跨境电子商务行业的整体资源将进一步集中于大型平台和大卖家。这种趋势是不可避免的，但这并不意味着中小卖家根本没有机会，它们通常会进入垂直市场和细分市场。

4.3 专业竞争

由于跨境电子商务行业的高速发展，可以说一揽子计划跟不上发展的步伐，但并不意味着总是如此。对于跨境电子商务参与者来说，要求必须更高。在未来，竞争将更加专业化。

4.4 标准化

一个行业想要良性发展，就必须有标准化的政策。对于跨境电子商务行业，无论是进口还是出口，现在都有越来越多的相关政策。未来行业将更加标准化，对于从业者来说，将会有更多的合理化要求。