Client

What matters is the quality of service and shipping costs

——Please tell us about your company profile.

Nishio-san: Currently, our company operates two overseas services, "Tenso.com" and "Buyee." Tenso.com is a forwarding service for people living overseas. When you want to purchase an item from a Japanese e-commerce site but it doesn't ship overseas, we will receive the item you ordered at our warehouse and then forward it to your specified overseas address.

This service is primarily used by people who can read Japanese, as it allows customers to register as members of the e-commerce site and place orders, but there aren't many people around the world who can understand Japanese. For those who have trouble with language or payment, Buyee is a purchasing support service that starts with a request to "please buy this product." The site supports 10 languages: Japanese, English, traditional and simplified Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, Korean, German, Spanish, and Russian.

--What kind of products do you sell?

Mr. Nishio: Tenso.com sells a wide variety of products, including everyday items and idol fan club newsletters, so it can be difficult to grasp customer needs. Buyee is a CtoC marketplace that many people use, and we provide purchasing support, so it often carries hobby-related products that are difficult to buy, such as those sold by individuals. For example, anime figures, acrylic stands, and K-Pop idol photos are difficult to obtain even if you can read Japanese.

There is also demand for collectible items such as watches, sneakers, and vintage alcohol, as well as rare antiques. Of course, apparel is also available, so we sell a wide range of products. Currently, Buyee has a larger market than tenso.com.

--Please tell us how long you have been using the logistics services you are currently using, the scale of your services, and your main destinations.

Mr. Nishio: I have been using international courier services for about a year. I am sorry to say that the number of packages we accept is small, but in the case of ECMS, the scale is around 7,000 to 8,000 packages per month. The main destinations for ECMS Japan are Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea.

In Hong Kong, there is little competition for purchasing support services, so not only are there a large number of users, but products in general, not just hobby-related products, are also popular. In Taiwan, there are about three large companies operating in the market, but in terms of access, it seems that many customers use our company.

——What logistical challenges did you face before using ECMS?

Nishio-san: In order to be chosen from among the many companies offering the same services, the quality and price of the service are important. Many customers place particular importance on international shipping costs, so one of our challenges was how to offer shipping fees that would make it easy for them to choose us.

Our main delivery method has been EMS (Postal Mail), but prices have increased significantly since June. While the weak yen (as of the time of this interview in June 2022) has led to a trend of rising unit prices, this may have offset some of the increase, but in North America the increase is around 60-70%, which is having a major impact.

In the case of ECMS, reducing the volume reduces shipping costs, so we would like to be able to devise ways to repackage items into plastic bags, like apparel companies in the Chinese region do, but we have not yet gone that far with packaging. When combining or shipping multiple items together, we repack them in cardboard boxes whose height can be adjusted.

The number of customers using cross-border e-commerce will continue to increase.

——What are the benefits of using ECMS?

Nishio: The price was good. People importing from overseas for the first time tend to hesitate to purchase if the shipping costs are too high. In that respect, ECMS offered us good prices, which acted as a hook and has gradually led to an increase in the number of users. Also, as for tenso.com, most of our competitors in forwarding services use postal services, so we think we have been able to differentiate ourselves by offering a wide range of delivery methods.

——What are your expectations for ECMS in the future?

Nishio: There are quite a few products that cannot be transported despite customer demand. For example, we receive requests from many people, including Japanese customers living overseas, for pharmaceuticals, perfumes, and nail polish. So it would be great if we could find a route to deliver such items. ECMS says that they may be able to send items if they can prove that they are not hazardous materials with an SDS, so we may inquire about this in the future.

--Please tell us about your company's future prospects.

Nishio: Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of customers using cross-border e-commerce has increased. Even if inbound tourism resumes in the future, I think customers who have had the experience of buying overseas products online will continue to use cross-border e-commerce. Therefore, I would like to first expand our current business.

We have also started a marketplace that allows imports and exports not only from Japan but also from other countries to third countries, so we would like to develop this as well. Many of our customers are from the United States, so we are considering schemes such as from the United States to Hong Kong, and from Korea to the United States.

Additionally, our group company BeeCruise Inc. is working on an initiative that allows people to shop without feeling like they are crossing borders. For example, by collaborating with Mercari to sell cross-border on Shopee, which is used daily in Taiwan, we are making it easier for local customers to see our products. As for From Japan, we hope to further expand our reach through this initiative.