Kuajingtong is a joint venture between Shanghai Kuajingtong International Commerce and Shanghai Esen International Commerce. The latter is an SFTZ-based subsidiary of Shanghai Esen Agro Products & Technology Development, which acquired the major Shanghai Longwu Import Wholesale Market in 2013.
The platform officially launched on 9 February 2014 with a test shipment of Tasmanian cherries, which were imported by ecommerce website Fruitday.com and sent out for delivery the day they arrived. The ecommerce platforms business model is based on the “personal postal articles tax” policies introduced by the Chinese government.
According to the Chinese authorities, tax falls into four different categories ranging from 10% to 50%. During the trial period for Kuajingtong’s fresh produce services, imported products enjoy a low rate of 10% of personal postal articles tax, and the 10% can even be avoided if value of any given individual order is lower than CNY 500 (USD 80).
The Chinese government sets a strict limit on how much an individual may buy from Kuajingtong. Each customer must register an account with official credentials before they can purchase online, and the items they purchase are limited to personal use because reselling is prohibited by law. In addition, the total value of products any individual consumer may purchase annually is capped at CNY 20,000 (USD 3,200).
As Kuajingtong has been officially certified by the Chinese customs, the platform has chosen to partner up with professional agencies and organizations in payment, customs procedures and logistics. All customs clearing and quarantine inspection affairs are being dealt by Esen, which is the owner of more than 200 import permits.
In terms of online-to-offline (O2O) logistics, Kuajingtong has four registered logistics companies, including SF Express, which is hoping to launch a cold storage train delivery service soon. There are currently more than 15,000 square meters of regular and cold storage within the SFTZ, and the area is expected to expand to 100,000 square meters in the future.
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