Since the reform and opening up, China freight forwarding industry has developed rapidly and played an important role in expanding foreign trade, attracting foreign investment, expanding employment, and promoting the development of third-party logistics. At present, with the implementation of the “One Belt, One Road” strategy and the vigorous development of cross-border e-commerce, the development of international freight forwarding is expected to enter a new chapter.
Before the reform and opening up, cargo agent in China was strictly controlled and lagged behind in development. After the reform and opening up, the Chinese government gradually liberalized the management of international freight forwarding, international freight forwarding industry has ushered in rapid development. China’s international freight forwarding industry employs about 2.5 million people, the development momentum is strong. At the same time, the “Belt and Road” strategy and the continuous development of cross-border e-commerce provide sufficient growth momentum for the international freight forwarding industry, with a bright future. However, the international freight forwarding industry itself also has certain limitations. On the one hand, the international freight forwarding industry is a pure service industry, closely related to the quality of service, geographical location, interpersonal relationships, past history, etc., resulting in a small number of small and medium-sized freight forwarding companies and large freight forwarding companies, which is not conducive to the further development of the industry.
On the other hand, international freight forwarding is an industry where competition and cooperation coexist. For international freight forwarding enterprises, to achieve complementary business between different countries, regions and enterprises, information sharing and freight network sharing to enhance their own strength. In the above context, China’s international freight forwarding industry will show the following four major trends.
First, large-scale application of Internet information technology to improve the scope and efficiency of sharing and cooperation. Through the use of modern information technology, the integration of physical logistics networks and invisible information networks can be achieved.
Second, continue to extend the industry chain. A strong freight forwarder will certainly expand its business to logistics and supply chain management consulting services to improve its competitiveness.
Third, specialization, refinement and specialization continue to strengthen. With the increasingly fierce competition in the market, how to stand out has become the primary consideration of many small and medium-sized international freight forwarding enterprises. Therefore, strengthening specialization, refinement and specialization is inevitable. Finally, the speed of integration is accelerating. Since the development of the international freight industry, the trend of integration has gradually unfolded, especially for enterprises with similar geographical ties, regional concepts and social relations. With accelerated integration, the international freight industry can develop better.
