Hacis gears up for e-commerce with new depot

Hong Kong Air Cargo Industry Services (Hacis) – the added-value logistics arm of Hong Kong’s largest air cargo handler, Hactl – has opened a new depot directly targeting e-commerce business. It is Hacis’ seventh Inland Cargo Depot in mainland China.

The Hacis Nansha depot, in southern Guangzhou, will become the latest destination for Hacis SuperLink China Direct. This provides express road feeder service for both general cargo and cross-border e-commerce cargo, supporting B2B and B2C business models, and enjoying simplified Customs declaration and clearance.

Air cargo arriving in Hong Kong will be trucked in bond to Nansha in three hours, using Customs e-seals. Consignees can perform Customs formalities according to the cargo flow at destination.

Located in Guangdong Free Trade Zone, Hacis Nansha Depot is set up to support the region’s e-commerce logistics. To ensure optimum efficiency for all e-commerce shipments, systems integration has taken place between Cargo Management Systems and Customs Clearance System, enabling real-time information exchange with all relevant parties. A number of successful trial runs have operated to test the service and support systems before the services begin carrying commercial freight.

Nansha became China’s sixth State-level New Area in 2012, and is receiving national support through a series of preferential policies and reforms covering tax policy, land management, financial innovation and industrial development. It is now one of the eight pilot cross-border e-commerce zones approved by China Government, and is becoming a favoured location for logistics facilities. Nansha is generally felt to be leading the economic transformation and development of the Pearl River Delta.

Catering to the particular needs of cross-border e-commerce business, Customs procedures in Nansha are simplified to enhance cargo handling efficiency and flexibility, and Customs clearance is available 24/7. Cargo arriving at the Nansha bonded area can be handled at piece level; imported goods are temporarily stored in the bonded warehouse and then delivered to individual customers
in response to online orders. Imported e-commerce cargo, when leaving the bonded area, is required to pay only the ‘luggage and postal item tax’, as opposed to those levies which apply to general cargo (such as value-added tax and consumption tax).

Says Hacis Managing Director, Vivien Lau: “Chinese consumers are increasingly seeking overseas commodities such as healthcare products and foodstuffs, and ordering these online.

“As the e-commerce market matures and becomes more price-driven, fulfilment is moving closer to the market to achieve economies of scale and cost reductions in logistics. Hong Kong has the global air services needed by this growing business, and Hacis’ opportunity is to provide reliable and highly-cost-efficient onward connections to the new generation of e-commerce fulfilment centres in China.

“Nansha’s proximity to Hong Kong creates huge business potential and an ideal partnership; Nansha has the additional land that the Hong Kong logistics industry needs, and Hong Kong provides expertise in modern logistics.”

She concludes: “The Guangdong Free Trade Zone will open new opportunities for us. We believe that stronger ties with nearby mainland cities like Nansha will create increased value to Hacis airline and forwarder customers.”