Changes to low-value import rules in the US and Europe are challenging the economics of shipping millions of individual parcels directly from Asia and encouraging businesses to reconsider where inventory should sit before customers place their orders.
The US has removed de minimis treatment for low-value commercial imports, fundamentally changing a model that allowed enormous volumes of e-commerce parcels to move directly from Asian sellers to American consumers.
Europe is moving in the same broad direction. The EU has introduced new charges affecting low-value imports and is progressing towards a customs framework that will reduce the advantages historically associated with direct-to-consumer shipments from outside the bloc.
The details differ between the two markets, but the supply-chain question is increasingly similar.
Rather than asking how efficiently each individual order can be shipped thousands of miles from Asia, e-commerce businesses may need to ask whether inventory should cross the international border before the customer places the order.
From cross-border parcels to regional inventory
One potential response is to move the customs border further upstream in the fulfilment process.
Instead of despatching individual purchases from Asia, businesses can consolidate products close to production, move larger shipments by air or ocean and hold inventory within their major consumer markets.
The model becomes:
Asian supplier → origin consolidation → air/ocean freight → US or European inventory → regional fulfilment → consumer
Rather than:
Asian supplier → individual international parcel → customs clearance → consumer
For businesses with sufficient sales volumes, the first model creates opportunities to consolidate transport, use air and ocean freight more strategically, improve inventory availability and bring fulfilment significantly closer to customers.
It also means one Asian origin strategy can support separate inventory pools serving both North America and Europe.
Customs compliance moves upstream
Moving the physical flow of goods also changes where customs work takes place. The direct parcel model distributes customs activity across enormous numbers of individual transactions. A consolidated inventory model brings more of that activity forward, before products enter the destination market.
Accurate product descriptions, classification, valuation, origin information and inventory data therefore become an increasingly important part of supply-chain design.
This is relevant in both the US and Europe.
Although the regulatory frameworks differ, businesses selling into either market need reliable information before inventory leaves Asia if they want to consolidate effectively and avoid delays at destination.
For e-commerce businesses operating internationally, customs data is increasingly becoming part of the inventory strategy rather than simply a clearance requirement at the end of the journey.
Consolidation changes the freight equation
Moving towards regional inventory also creates more choice over transport mode.
High-value, seasonal and fast-moving products may continue to travel by air. Predictable replenishment volumes can move by ocean. Businesses can adjust the mix according to product value, demand, inventory levels and required speed rather than relying predominantly on international parcel networks.
This is where scale at origin becomes particularly important.
Hecny Group began in Hong Kong in 1951 and today operates through more than 70 offices across five continents, with an especially substantial presence across Asian sourcing and manufacturing markets.
Its wider network combines freight forwarding, origin services, consolidation, customs clearance, warehousing, distribution and e-commerce logistics.
Hecny also moves an average of more than 5,000 TEU per week from the Far East through its ocean freight operations, while its e-commerce logistics network has capacity to handle around 400,000 pieces per day.
That Asian scale becomes particularly valuable when businesses want to consolidate products from multiple suppliers before dividing inventory between destination markets.
Asia at one end. The US and Europe at the other
The opportunity becomes more powerful when origin capability connects directly with destination support. Global Forwarding operates in the US, with European coverage that can support businesses serving consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.
For an e-commerce business sourcing in Asia, that creates the foundations for a different international model: consolidate closer to production, determine how much inventory is required in each destination market, select air or ocean according to urgency and economics, and move stock across the customs border before individual consumer orders need fulfilling.
Products from multiple Asian suppliers can be brought together closer to production before inventory is allocated between the US and Europe according to forecasts, stock requirements, seasonality and market demand.
That can create a more deliberate flow:
Asian suppliers → origin consolidation → inventory allocation → US / Europe → regional fulfilment
The approach potentially gives businesses greater control over how much inventory they commit to each market and which transport mode they use to replenish it.
It also creates opportunities to respond when demand develops differently on either side of the Atlantic.
The strength of the model lies not simply in moving larger shipments. It lies in making the inventory decision earlier.
Turn customs change into an inventory opportunity
Global Forwarding connects its US operations and European coverage with Hecny’s extensive Asian network, helping businesses consolidate at origin and build smarter inventory flows into two of the world’s largest consumer markets.
For businesses still sending large volumes of individual US or European customer orders directly from Asia, this is an opportunity to model the alternatives.
Talk to Global Forwarding about consolidating closer to your Asian suppliers, allocating inventory between the US and Europe and using air, ocean and regional fulfilment to create a supply chain better suited to the changing e-commerce environment.
