One-piece orders treated as a unit of work with an owner: same-shift despatch on a China-time cut-off, neutral packaging, per-line accuracy and returns at the Chinese end.
Cross-border ecommerce guide to 3PL meaning, history and ecosystem from a China seller perspective. Decision tree, service overview and 2026 regulatory context.
Duty-free small parcels ended, the EU moved to a flat per-item charge, Amazon dropped its own prep service, TikTok began certifying carriers. How those four changes interact, and what to re-plan for 2027.
From 26 January 2026, regular US TikTok Shop orders need a qualifying scan inside two business days; other order types differ, FBT is exempt from the late-dispatch rule, and select sellers keep Seller Shipping. An hour-by-hour China workflow and the spike plan.
Platform-specific 3PL requirements for Amazon, TikTok Shop and Shopify compared side by side. Includes a phased evaluation funnel and China-specific due diligence checks for cross-border sellers in 2026.
Rate cards look alike; delivery promises do not. What separates two sellers on the same lane is where each SKU sits. A five-question placement test, the reorder arithmetic, and the six signals your split is wrong.
Three-model decision matrix comparing in-house, 3PL and 4PL fulfillment for China cross-border sellers. Switching triggers, hybrid approach and cost framework.
Each new storefront usually brings its own buffer stock and its own blind spot. Pooling inventory in one China account, routing order by order and taking no minimum covers Shopify, WooCommerce, TikTok Shop and marketplaces.