ATS' New China Express Shipping Lane Opens Up a Wealth of Opportunities Behind The Great Wall

    PROVO, UT, August 25, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Access Technology Solutions' (ATS) newly launched proprietary express shipping lane to China offers U.S. direct sellers, online brands and other direct marketers lucrative opportunities to profit from China's changing of the guard.

Recent Chinese government moves are accelerating its economic policy shift from an at-times volatile commodity-based industrial economy to a fast-growing consumer market. This rebalancing is sparking renewed sales confidence among a wide swath of consumer goods industries ranging from apparel and personal care/cosmetics manufacturers to food and wellness producers. Global marketers of these products are now well-positioned to cash in on Chinese consumers experiencing newfound growth in wages and savings. As a result, the Middle Kingdom's retail industry is posed for strong growth.

Although the opportunities tied to Chinese consumerism are alluring, Western brands pursuing opportunities behind the Great Wall should expect a balancing act of their own; namely juggling the potential rewards of China's appetite for U.S. brands with import-related challenges and complexities.

"Direct-to-consumer brands and direct sellers in the U.S. typically face a wide range of challenges when shipping products into China. Just clearing customs means continually navigating all the contradictory and constantly changing rules and regulations in China," explains Chris Boyle, ATS' co-founder and CEO. "Opening ATS' Express Lane to China has taken a lot of heavy lifting. On behalf of our U.S. team and our broad network of Chinese partners, we're pleased to open this new path to profits for our industry."

ATS' new express shipping solution means U.S. online retailers, direct marketers and direct sellers can now be operational in China within weeks. ATS' Global Access , its robust yet easy-to-use open trading and logistics management platform, provides 24/7 control of and visibility into international order flows, supply chain performance and reverse logistics. Key benefits include significant cost savings on shipping to China, efficient customs clearance at the lowest allowable rates and the elimination of many of the other costs ranging from advance and remote fees to residential surcharges.

Consumption and Direct to Consumer Selling Accelerates China's Global Economic Growth

China will generate 13% of the globe's economic activity this year, up from just 5% in 2006. Chinese consumer spending continues to gain momentum, a dynamic highlighted by China's retail sales, which accelerated 13.3% last month. Retail growth helped China's second-quarter gross domestic product expand 7.5% from the year earlier, right on track with the government's full-year growth target of 7.5%.

Person to person (P-to-P) selling in China, especially via the Internet, is exploding. In Q1 '13, Alibaba's revenue jumped 71% to $1.38 billion. Last year Taobao (primarily P-to-P) and Tmall (business-to-consumer) together surpassed $160 billion in transactions. This broad-based digital commerce activity underscores the upward trajectory of China's retail growth among all sellers; individuals, small and mid size merchants and major global brands. Looking ahead, the Chinese government projects that retail sales will grow 15% annually to 32 trillion yuan ($5.22 trillion) in 2015, up from 18.12 trillion yuan in 2011.

Given that China is a land of 1.3 billion with 260 cities each having 1 million+ residents, it's no surprise why P-to-P and direct selling in China is soaring. Euromonitor said the direct selling industry in China grew 20% in 2012 due in part to the Chinese government's stepped-up issuance of direct selling licenses. According to the wfDSA's 2012 study, the direct selling market in China generated $20 billion in 2012. Its data showed sales were up over 13% year-to-date, while the global average increased 5.4%. This meant direct selling in China grew almost three times faster than the rest of Asia-Pacific last year.

According to Boyle, these strong growth numbers validate why ATS has invested so heavily to make it easier for direct sellers to do business in China. "For years, we've been helping lots of innovative brands and talented direct selling entrepreneurs expand internationally. But many have been hesitant to target China for expansion due to selling complexities, which include regulation of multi-level marketing business practices," shared Boyle. "We've learned a lot over the last decade being a leading U.S. export partner to Japan and Asia and we've built a lot of relationships. It's a great time to bring China online for our clients by expanding our trusted network of Asian brokers and distribution partners into China."

Direct sellers' products proving to be popular with consumers throughout Asia include best sellers like vitamins and dietary supplements. Wellness products represent 36% of the not for resale products sold in Asia in 2012, the most of any category. Cosmetics and personal care products are next, accounting for 26% of direct sales in Asia. Direct sales of household goods and durables totaled 16% last year.

Access Technology Solutions (ATS) is the leading international sales and logistics partner for the Direct Selling and digital commerce industry, helping some of the markets' biggest names expand overseas faster and with less risk and investment. ATS operates proprietary express shipping lanes throughout Asia-Pacific and Europe that offer companies a global means to profitably sell and distribute products at significantly lower costs and with demonstratively higher levels of client satisfaction.

ATS clients can tap into a world class network of logistics partners that offer both direct shipping from the U.S. and in-country warehousing around the world. In addition, ATS provides direct-to-consumer and retail brands with the ATS Distributor Portal, a service that combines native language websites, customer support, order capture and local payment methods. The easy-to-use portal supports online distributor registration, autoship management, downline reporting and much more. ATS also provides cargo freight, warehousing, and in-country distribution solutions as well as reverse logistics.

Goopping (www.goopping.com), ATS' package forwarding division, lets international shoppers purchase products from their favorite U.S. online retailers and get their orders shipped straight to their door.

For more information about how Access help grow your international sales, please contact Greg Johnson ([email protected]) at 877-811-8108.

Access Technology Solutions is the leading company providing technology solutions for international logistics for U.S. direct sales and eCommerce companies expanding overseas.

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