Overseas warehouse vs direct mail: How to choose for exporting maternal and infant products?

1. The essential difference between the two models
   Overseas warehouse model: transport goods in batches to the target country warehouse in advance, and ship directly from the local area after the consumer places an order

Advantages: fast delivery time (1-3 days), convenient return and exchange

Disadvantages: large initial investment, high inventory risk

Direct mail model: direct shipment from China to overseas after the consumer places an order

Advantages: less capital occupation, flexible inventory

Disadvantages: long delivery cycle (7-20 days), complicated return and exchange

2. Analysis of the characteristics of maternal and infant products
   Product characteristics:

Volume and weight: milk powder, diapers, etc. are large in size and weight (suitable for overseas warehouses)

Shelf life: food has a shelf life limit (need to prepare carefully)

Safety: requires strict certification (such as FDA, CE, etc.)

Consumer characteristics:

High repeat purchase rate (suitable for establishing stable supply in overseas warehouses)

Many emergency needs (such as diapers out of stock need to be replenished quickly)

Brand loyalty cultivation is important (fast delivery improves experience)

3. Select decision model
   Suitable for overseas warehouses:
   Hot-selling products (stable monthly sales can be Forecast)

Large and heavy goods (saving international shipping costs)

High-value goods (reducing logistics loss risks)

Target countries have strict customs clearance requirements (such as Australian milk powder)

Situations suitable for direct mail:
New product trial sales (testing market response)

Long-tail products (many SKUs but small orders)

Customized products (made to order)

Off-season (avoiding unsalable goods in overseas warehouses)

IV. Mixed operation strategy
Hot-selling + long-tail combination:

30% high-frequency goods enter overseas warehouses

70% long-tail goods go through direct mail

Seasonal adjustment:

Stock overseas warehouses before peak season

Switch to direct mail in off-season

Multi-platform collaboration:

Amazon FBA handles standard parts

Direct mail for special products on independent stations

V. Key points of risk control
Overseas warehouse risk control:

Purchase storage insurance

Set safety inventory threshold

Sign a slow-selling processing agreement with a third-party warehouse

Direct mail risk control:

Pre-store customs clearance qualification documents

Provide logistics track visualization

Clearly inform consumers of delivery time

VI. Cost comparison table
Cost items Overseas warehouse Direct mail
First-leg cost High (full container transport) None
Storage fee $0.5-2/cubic feet/month None
Local delivery fee $2-5/order $8-15/order (international express)
Return and exchange cost Low (local processing) High (international round trip)
Capital turnover 90-180 days 15-30 days
VII. Recommended plan
Startups: It is recommended to start with direct mail, and gradually transfer 20% of best-selling products to overseas warehouses after accumulating data

Mature sellers: Adopt the “7:3” model, 70% of sales are achieved through overseas warehouses, and 30% of long-tail products are kept by direct mail

Special period: During the epidemic, it is recommended to increase the proportion of overseas warehouses to avoid the impact of unstable international logistics on delivery

When choosing, be sure to conduct a small-scale test, and finally determine the logistics combination plan suitable for your product through 3 months of data tracking (conversion rate, gross profit margin, customer satisfaction).