Stories behind Common Shipping Options in the Dropshipping Industry

China remains the world's largest manufacturing superpower and transports various categories of goods around the world, which shows the strong logistics network behind it. We’ve talked about the common shipping options in the dropshipping industry, like ePacket, Yanwen, YunExpress, Cainiao Shipping, and USPS.

In this blog, we'll take a deep dive into the story behind them.

1. ePacket

In March 2012, the Global Express platform and China Postal Express & Logistics formally cooperated to provide more cost-effective small and light logistics services for e-commerce sellers. This cooperation brought us ePacket. It’s an economic international express service to meet the needs of cross-border e-commerce shipping & delivery. ePacket realizes the delivery of small and light items with the customs clearance of postal channels.

ePacket adopts a full land transportation mode and makes it possible for e-commerce sellers from countries like China, Hong Kong, and Korea to ship more quickly to the US. Provided with nearly the same delivery service, the price of ePacket is much lower than EMS, also China's national express postal service provider. This shipping method is quite popular in countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and others.

2. Yanwen

Yanwen, founded in 1998, was formerly engaged in the international freight forwarding business. Now, Yanwen is one of the leading 3PLs in China, serving cross-border e-commerce sellers.

The cross-border logistics lines of Yanwen cover more than 200 countries and regions around the world. With digital and intelligent information technology, Yanwen integrates global logistics resources and builds an international logistics service network to adapt to the development of cross-border e-commerce. It’s also an international logistics service provider recommended by platforms such as eBay China, Dunhuang, Alibaba, and PayPal.

Yanwen maintains 3 types of shipping and delivery services: Yanwen economic products, Yanwen registered products, Yanwen special line products. The cost of Yanwen is a little expensive and the users of this shipping method are mostly European and American customers.

3. YunExpress

Founded in 2014, and headquartered in Shenzhen, YunExpress focuses on B2C e-commerce, providing international cross-border e-commerce businesses with high-quality global small parcel direct shipping services. YunExpress mainly provides express service (letters or commodities), freight transportation, logistics transportation, commodity packaging, sea transportation, car transportation, cargo storage, and other services.

At present, YunExpress has more than 1,500 professional logistics service employees worldwide, 30+ distribution and transfer centers, and 25+ branches in mainland China. Its daily package order volume exceeds 1 million, and its service scope covers more than 220 countries and regions worldwide.

YunExpress is an Express delivery, and the shipping time to all parts of the world is relatively short, about 10 days on average, which means the shipping cost is relatively high. The market of YunExpress is mainly in Europe and the United States.

4. Cainiao Logistics

Cainiao Network Technology Co., Ltd. (“Cainiao Network”) was established in 2013 under the leadership of Alibaba Group. Cainiao is an Internet technology company that focuses on building a well-connected logistics network and providing smart supply chain services. It works with its partners (mentioned below) to improve logistics efficiency, reduce logistics costs, enhance consumer logistics experience, and create greater profit margins for the manufacturing industry.

Up to now, there are 89 cross-border logistics partners of the Cainiao network, including 4PX, Singapore Post, Royal Mail, EMS, Shunyou, etc. Cainiao's logistics coverage has reached 224 countries/regions and the number of cross-border warehouses has reached 231, building a cross-border logistics network with global distribution capabilities.

When it comes to the logistics of AliExpress that most customers are familiar with, in fact, it is Cainiao that provides shipping and delivery services for AliExpress, which does not have its own logistics system. When customers see the logistics method with the word "AliExpress" on the product page, it actually means "Cainiao", only the expression is different.

5. USPS

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent agency of the United States federal government. USPS is responsible for postal services throughout the United States. Its business scope includes mail delivery, parcel delivery, cargo transportation, postal services and a series of other businesses, and can provide online services.

With a history dating back to 1775, the USPS has 596,000 employees and 218,684 vehicles, making it the largest civilian fleet in the world. It handles 177 billion letters a year, 40% of the world's total. USPS delivers mail to every corner of the United States through dedicated mailboxes and flat rates.

USPS does not levy operating expense taxes and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations. With more than 31,600 retail locations and nearly $69 billion in annual revenue, the Postal Service accounts for 47 percent of global mail volume.

USPS international express businesses are as follows:

• Global Express: Fast international shipping, competitive shipping rates, and a money-back guarantee in over 190 countries/areas; 1-3 business day delivery (including overnight international shipping to multiple Canadian destinations).
• Priority Mail Express International: Affordable, fast international delivery service in over 190 countries/regions, with firm-date delivery service and money-back guarantee at select destinations; delivers within 3-5 business days; offers free Priority Mail Express International shipping.
• Priority Mail International: Reliable and affordable international delivery service to over 190 countries/regions; 6-10 business days.
• First-Class Mail International: Affordable international service; the most economical class of mail for sending postcards, letters, and flat mail to other 190 countries/areas.

Bottom Line

Now you’re familiar with these five shipping methods from learning the stories behind them. We will help you know better about the shipping and delivery markets with statistics in next article. Please stay tuned for more contents!