The growing number of foreign consumers of Chinese products have prompted some Chinese companies to build overseas warehouses. The warehouses allow enterprises to both cut costs and improve efficiency.

Logistics has long been a weak point of foreign trade in China. One study showed that, in the export industry, two-thirds of the employees of Chinese e-commerce companies were tasked with handling logistics disputes and inquiries. Logistics issues cause a loss of tens of million of dollars every year.

Overseas warehouses solve the "last kilometer problem" that many Chinese companies experience. For example, according to a survey, 61 percent of Russian Internet users have shopped in online Chinese shops. However, their parcels regularly become stuck in customs for several months before reaching them.

The warehouses therefore offer an effective solution. Shunfeng (SF) Express has established an Eastern Europe warehouse to cover Russia, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Commodities can be shipped directly from the warehouse after buyers place their orders online.

Many people understand overseas warehouses as nothing more than a means of storing commodities abroad. However, since their inception, Chinese overseas warehouses have been intended to optimize cross-border transportation. Through market research and data, Chinese companies prepare commodities for overseas markets in advance, and then courier companies transport the commodities overseas by air, land or sea. This enables local delivery when foreign buyers order goods.

Today, China's overseas warehouses have expanded across various industries. China Post now has warehouses in the U.S., Britain, Germany and Australia. It is able to deliver goods in these countries in as little as 24 hours. Chinese logistics companies including Shunfeng, Yuantong and Shentong have also begun to set up overseas warehouses. More than 200 Chinese companies have already established warehouses abroad, and the total number of warehouses has exceeded 500.