Has the Export Agency Died? Three Proofs Will Tell You the Truth

Mr. Zhang is very anxious recently. The export agency that his foreign trade company has cooperated with for ten years suddenly increased the price by 30%, citing "the soaring international logistics costs". However, Ms. Li's cross-border e-commerce team has reduced the export cost by 15% through independent customs declaration and digital tools. The industry of traditional export agencies, which has existed for half a century, is standing at the crossroads of fate.

From the customs documents of the caravans on the Silk Road to the electronic declaration forms of modern customs, the essence of the export agency has remained unchanged:

• Professional people do professional things
• Use experience to gain efficiency
• Reduce costs through scale

1. The Advantage of Information Asymmetry Has Vanished
Ten years ago, customs declaration codes were like an inscrutable mystery. Now, you can automatically match them by simply entering keywords on the customs official website. A practitioner who wishes to remain anonymous frankly said: "In the past, customers thought we were like magicians. Now they can check the process with their own mobile phones."

2. Service Models Are Solidified
"We only give the bill of lading three days after payment" and "It takes three windows to modify an HS code". These complaints are pushing young foreign trade people towards SaaS tools. Just as the taxi industry has been impacted by ride-hailing services, standardized services are being deconstructed by technology.

3. The Value Positioning Is Ambiguous
When basic customs declarations become inexpensive services, traditional agencies are forced to get involved in price wars. A survey by an institution shows that 60% of agency companies still use "relationship-based services" as their core competitiveness, which is becoming increasingly ineffective in front of the new generation of data-driven buyers.

In Yiwu, Zhejiang, a family-owned agency company that has been passed down for three generations is trying the "Customs Declaration + Supply Chain Finance" model, using the accumulated trade data to provide credit loans for small and medium-sized customers; a certain enterprise in Guangdong has transformed into a "Digital Trade Middle Platform" to help customers manage the compliance needs of multiple cross-border e-commerce platforms simultaneously.

The more forward-looking exploration comes from the concept of "Intelligent Customs Affairs Butler" proposed by Zhongshitong:

• AI automatically identifies regulatory new regulations of more than 200 countries
• Blockchain technology realizes full-process traceability
• Use historical data to predict customs clearance risks

When the cargo ship in Shenzhen Bay cuts through the dawn for the 1000th time and when the trains at Alashankou cross the sandstorm again, the export trade will always need ferrymen. However, the pass for the future may need to be forged with code rather than a seal. Does your company still use traditional agencies? You are welcome to share your observations in the comment section.