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In the import and export business, the consignment, pickup, storage, customs clearance and insurance procedures are quite complex, requiring the operator to be fully familiar with the business. The emergence of the international freight forwarding industry for importers and exporters to solve the difficulties in this regard .

International Freight Forwarder (International Freight Forwarder) of the main work is to accept the commission or authorization of the principal, on behalf of a variety of international trade, cargo transportation needs of the business. According to the Federation of International Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) information, the role of the international freight forwarder is:

Use of expertise, the safest, most rapid and most economical way to organize transport.

Establishing a network of clients and their own branches in the world's trade centers to control the entire transportation process.

Advising companies on freight rates, packaging, documentation, customs clearance, consular requirements and finance.

Concentrates small shipments into groups of shipments from which the customer can benefit.

Freight forwarding not only organizes and coordinates transport, but also influences the innovation of new modes of transport and the development of new transport routes.

China's international freight forwarding since the SO era has developed rapidly, in addition to the China National Foreign Trade Transportation Corporation, China Chartering Corporation and China Foreign Vessel Agency, there are a large number of state-owned and Sino-foreign joint venture international freight forwarding companies, the state in June 1995 announced the "International Freight Forwarding Industry Management Provisions" in order to regulate and strengthen the management of this industry.

International freight forwarding specific business scope includes:

A. Export business

Selection of transportation routes, modes and appropriate carriers;

For the owner of the goods and the selected carrier between the arrangement of solicitation, booking;

Packaging, measurement and storage of goods;

Application of insurance;

Receiving goods and issue relevant documents;

Processing export customs clearance and delivering the goods to the carrier;

Paying freight charges, collecting the original bill of lading and handing it over to the consignor;

Arranging for transshipment of the goods;

Notifying the consignee;

Recording of the loss of the goods, and assisting the consignee in claiming damages from the responsible party concerned.

B. Import Operations

Reporting cargo movement;

Receiving and reviewing shipping documents, paying freight and picking up cargo;

Importing customs clearance, payment of relevant donations and fees;

Arranging for warehousing during transportation;

Delivering goods cleared for customs clearance to consignee;

Assisting consignee with storing or distributing the goods.

C. The international freight forwarding company can also as a non-vessel-owning carrier (NVOCC) to undertake multimodal transport business, that is, as a party to the contract to issue multimodal transport documents, the segments of the transport will be entrusted to the actual carrier to carry out.

Chapter 1: Overview of International Freight Forwarding

1.1 Basic Concepts of International Freight Forwarding

International Freight Forwarding is one of the types of service industries, and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders' Associations (FIATA), which was established in Vienna on May 31, 1926, as a permanent consultative body of the United Nations and one of the largest nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations worldwide, has been a major contributor to the development of international freight forwarding. Agency, which defines an international freight forwarder as "a person who solicits the transportation of goods on the instructions of, and for the benefit of, the customer, and who is not himself a carrier, and who may also be engaged by the freight forwarder, under these conditions, in activities related to the contract of carriage, such as collection of goods, customs clearance, inspection, and collection of payments." [1]

China's 1995 promulgation of the "Chinese people's *** and the country's international freight forwarding agency industry management regulations" defined as "international freight forwarding agent enterprises can act as the consignee of import and export goods, the consignor's agent, but also as an independent operator to engage in international freight forwarding business." [1]

International freight forwarding enterprises as agents engaged in international freight forwarding business, refers to the international freight forwarding enterprises to accept the consignee of the import and export goods, consignor or his agent entrusted to the principal or his own name for the relevant business, the collection of agency fees or commission behavior.

International freight forwarding enterprises as an independent operator engaged in international freight forwarding business, refers to the international freight forwarding enterprises to accept incoming and outgoing cargo consignee, consignor or his agent's entrustment, the issuance of transport documents, fulfillment of the contract of carriage and collection of freight and service fee behavior. Visible traditional international freight forwarding business refers to the international freight forwarding enterprises for the parties involved in the international transportation of goods and related business and collect service remuneration industry. International freight forwarders use their own favorable conditions, proficient in business, familiar with changes in supply and demand in the international freight market, the seasonal changes in the route tariffs, familiar with a variety of means of transport and related laws and regulations, and the carrier enterprises, trade, and insurance, banks, customs, commodity inspection, ports and so on have a wide range of contacts and close relations, so that in a larger range of the principal for the international cargo transportation business to provide better Services, and in the process of international trade transportation development plays a very important role.

1.2 International freight forwarding and third-party logistics

The so-called logistics refers to the physical flow of goods from the place of supply to the place of receipt of the process, according to the actual needs of transportation, storage, loading and unloading, handling, packaging, circulation processing, distribution, information processing, and other basic functions of the implementation of the organic combination (see the national standard logistics terminology) [2]. Modern logistics is to meet the needs of customers as the goal, the manufacturing, transportation, sales and other market conditions to unify the consideration of a strategic measure, the pursuit is to reduce costs, improve efficiency and service levels and thus enhance the competitiveness of enterprises. With the expansion of social production and the deepening of the professional division of labor, specialized third-party logistics came into being.

1.2.1 The concept of third party logistics

"Third Party Logistics" (Third Party Logistics, referred to as 3PL or TPL) is proposed by Europe and the United States in the mid-80s. The term "third party service provider" was first mentioned in a customer service survey conducted by the American Council of Logistics Management in 1988. At present, there are many explanations for third-party logistics, and there is no uniform definition abroad, while in China, the national standard "Logistics Terminology" published in 2001, third-party logistics is defined as "the supply side and the demand side other than the logistics enterprises to provide logistics services business model" [2]. The so-called third-party logistics identified by the third-party logistics operator is relative to the first party, i.e., the seller in the contract of sale, the consignor in transportation, or the second party, i.e., the buyer in the contract of sale, the consignee in transportation. He is based on the first party, the second party entrusted to provide the required services. Thus, in the logistics industry, in addition to the first party, the second party other than logistics operators can be called third party.

1.2.2 Classification and nature of third-party logistics

Modern logistics industry is usually on the classification of third-party logistics: 1, carrier-type, mainly shipping companies, non-vessel-owning carriers, land carriers; 2, the customer agent-type, relative to the first party, the second party in the case of the third party, that is, by the first party, the second party entrusted to provide services for the person; 3, the warehousing operators, the customer provides raw materials, commodities, or other services. Customer provided raw materials, commodities or other storage, processing, loading and unloading operators.

According to the current third-party logistics operator's business activities, its nature is: 1, the third-party logistics operator does not own their own goods; 2, the third-party logistics operator may own their own means of transportation, warehousing facilities, loading and unloading machinery, or other hardware facilities; 3, the third-party logistics operator can be respectively for the first party, the second party to provide services, but also at the same time, for the first and the second party to provide services; 4. The third-party logistics operator has the right to charge fees (including commission and price difference) after providing services; 5. After entering into a contract with the first party or the second party, or obtaining the agency right of the first party or the second party, the third-party logistics operator shall engage in activities within the scope of the contract, bear the responsibility of the contract, and shall not transfer the agency right to other people; 6. Legally, the third-party logistics operator has to be registered and be subject to the relevant regulations. From the basic nature of the third party logistics operator mentioned above, the third party logistics operator is mainly an operator who accepts entrustment and provides business services in respect of transportation, transshipment, warehousing, processing, import/export customs clearance, import/export inspection and loading/unloading of containers of the relevant commodities. Therefore, the third-party logistics operator of the same commodity logistics activities at the same time subject to the constraints of multiple contracts [3].

1.2.3 third-party logistics and international freight forwarding difference

Third-party logistics operator and international freight forwarders, non-vessel-owning carriers: the current international freight forwarding industry is mainly engaged in the transportation of goods, import and export documents, on behalf of the customer's import and export customs clearance, inspection, and other businesses. However, once it becomes a third-party logistics operator, its business scope has further expansion, such as sporadic processing of goods, packaging, cargo loading and unloading of containers, cargo labeling, cargo distribution, cargo distribution and so on. In addition, the third-party logistics operators are mostly in the software services at the same time to provide hardware services, i.e., to provide customers with means of transportation, loading and unloading machinery, warehousing facilities, and the effective use of their own equipment or facilities, from which to obtain a greater "value-added" or "added benefits ". However, even if an international freight forwarder engages in third-party logistics or becomes a third-party logistics operator, its status is still limited by definition. It can be said that international freight forwarders and NVOCCs are, to a certain extent, the basis of the genesis of third party logistics operators. From the "origin" of the current third party logistics operators, most of them are international freight forwarders, warehouse operators and transportation operators. They are in the operation of traditional business at the same time into the logistics industry, and gradually provide customers with some or all of the logistics services. [3]

Chapter 2: The Current Situation of China's International Freight Forwarding Industry

2.1 The Development History of China's International Freight Forwarding Industry

Overall view of China's freight forwarding industry in just a few years of development, the following phases reflect the phased rise and fall of the freight forwarding industry and the changes:

State monopoly stage: Before 1993, by the China General Administration of Foreign Trade Transportation (CGFTT), that is, the industry often referred to as Sinotrans ( SINOTRANS) in the state policy to protect a high degree of monopoly of foreign trade transportation industry.

1993-2000 carrier-controlled freight market stage. The first period: freight forwarding market from monopoly to open for business (but still strict restrictions on foreign enterprises). As the shipping market was not fully open during this period, but the economic growth brought by reform and opening up led to a surge in import and export trade, the demand for China's shipping market was greater than the supply. According to the law of economics, the supply side occupied a more favorable negotiating position, and the control of the freight market shifted to the carrier side, and the phenomenon of dumping cargoes due to insufficient space on ships occurred from time to time at that time. At this stage, the shipping market supply is insufficient, freight information is not transparent, due to the protection of the policy and very few foreign enterprises competition, the carrier freight network is not perfect and the reliance on the freight forwarding agent and so on, so that the domestic loan agency enterprise with simple means of operation but earned excessive profits, enjoy a short "golden age", completed a certain capital accumulation, but also formed a new generation of freight forwarding agency. Certain capital accumulation, but also formed the initial scale of the industry. Later stage: This stage is the precursor to the differentiation of the freight market. Domestic China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), China Shipping Company (CSCO) and other large carriers have set up their own freight forwarding agencies, the opening of the shipping market so that foreign-funded shipping companies, that is, some of the large global carriers began to directly to the domestic owner of the enterprise solicitation of goods. In the market where shipping space and booking commission determine the operation and profit space of traditional freight forwarding industry, the identity of freight forwarding intermediary has been challenged, and the business environment is deteriorating day by day, and the old SINOTRANS is also powerless to block the law of the market. For example, the establishment of Shanghai Shipping Exchange and the publication of freight indexes make the freight market information public, which can mark the end of the era of profiteering of freight forwarders: since June 2000, 9 liner companies in Shanghai have canceled the Shanghai to Southeast Asia freight commission on arrival payment for the reason of market changes, then the commission on arrival payment for the routes to Europe, Australia, and New Zealand is lowered to 1.5% from 2.5% [4], although all parties have resisted. Although there was some resistance through negotiations, the commission system had been shaken. The shipping company has its own freight forwarding function under the premise, the dependence on the public **** freight forwarding significantly reduced. The maturity of the carrier integration sales, and not only threaten the immediate agent commission, but as an intermediate link of the traditional freight forwarding enterprises are facing the threat of being eliminated, freight forwarding enterprises in this period than the previous period of obvious decline, if continue to survive in the market must look for a new profit margins, to construct a new core competitiveness. This is also China's freight forwarding market towards the differentiation of the motive.

The period of differentiation started in 2000. International shipping, international trade market standardization and improvement of the freight forwarding enterprises in the face of the severe survival of the market environment, began to reflect and explore, rely on the sale of bills of lading, selling spreads, arbitrage commission profiteering era has passed, the freight forwarding industry in the specific socio-economic background of the conditions of the deformed abnormal period and began to self-adjustment, in the service innovation, enterprise transformation, etc. began to think strategically, to provide value-added services, to create market value of the new. Value-added services, create market value of the new business group transformation to find a breakthrough.

In recent years, under the strong support of the Ministry of Commerce and local government departments, China's freight forwarding market has entered a healthy stage of development. In the market continues to regulate the operation of the unlicensed operation of the underground freight forwarding greatly reduced, illegal freight forwarding space for survival is also shrinking, while the legal freight forwarding continues to mature and grow. By the end of 2003, the Ministry of Commerce approved the international freight forwarding enterprises amounted to 4,384. More importantly, the establishment of China International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFA) marks the marketization and standardization of China's freight forwarding industry. China International Freight Forwarders Association was established on September 6, 2000, is China's provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of the freight forwarding industry's civil society organizations, is the international freight forwarding enterprises, freight forwarding-related enterprises and institutions voluntarily participate in the industry organizations, while absorbing the freight forwarding in China, the transportation and logistics industry has a high impact on the individual as its individual members. CIFA is directly under the leadership of the Ministry of Commerce and has about 600 direct members (including 23 group members). The establishment of the Association for the member enterprises to build a platform for exchange and cooperation, with a view to *** with the maintenance of the market environment, standardize market behavior, the establishment of a fair and open market economic order, is an important organization of industry self-regulation [5].

The initial structure of the freight forwarding industry, to a large extent, is determined by the way the industry competitors, suppliers and demanders operate, this structure is extremely unstable, in the conditions of large-scale economic and technological change and competitive change, the industry structure will change, the process above is a good illustration of this point.

2.2 China's international freight forwarding industry current macro-environmental analysis

For a long time, China's international freight forwarding has been in the ship, between the goods, to provide services in the capacity of an intermediary, the scope of business is confined to booking, customs clearance, transshipment and other simple links of labor. With the development of the market, this mode of operation by the impact from all sides, so that China's traditional freight forwarding enterprise market share is in a state of rapid decline.

In the general freight market, shipping companies have taken the service extension strategy, the implementation of marketing integration, to provide a set of shipping, freight forwarding in one of the one-stop service. At present, China's COSCO, China Shipping and other large shipping companies, have set up their own freight forwarding agencies, directly to the owner of the sale of space. Foreign shipping companies have also broken through policy restrictions, so far, has set up six wholly-owned freight forwarding companies in China. The shipping company's one-stop service to the traditional freight forwarding business has a strong alternative, this ship, freight forwarding integration of bundled services, to a large extent, shaken to the difference in price and booking money as the profitability of the traditional freight forwarding industry as the basis for survival.

In the multimodal transport market, in addition to shipping companies continue to extend inland transportation services, and efforts to expand door-to-door transportation. Some overseas shipping companies and the railroad sector have joined forces, the launch of rail-sea intermodal container liner, directly provide a one-ticket to the end of the multimodal transport services, so that the freight forwarder's transshipment and multimodal transport business is facing a further impact.

In the political and legal, economic, scientific and technological, cultural and many other macro-factors, two factors have a major impact on the domestic freight forwarding industry, one is China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the second is economic globalization.

2.2.1 The impact of WTO accession on China's freight forwarding industry

China's accession to the World Trade Organization, the international freight forwarding industry will face greater challenges, but at the same time will also get more opportunities.

(1) WTO accession freight forwarding industry will face fierce competition

As a result of WTO accession, China will gradually and completely open up the freight forwarding market, and gradually cancel the restriction on the establishment of wholly-owned foreign enterprises in China, foreign freight forwarding companies will compete directly with Chinese enterprises in the Chinese market, and their many years of experience in business management, strong capital, and internationalization of the network management will inevitably impact on domestic enterprises. Inevitably, they will impact on domestic enterprises. By the end of 2001, China's international freight forwarding enterprises approved by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation has reached more than 2,100, but the scale of their operations and uneven quality of service [5]. After accession to the WTO, China's freight forwarding market to further open up, the commitment is the first year to allow foreign parties to hold, no later than the fourth year to allow foreign wholly-owned. Therefore, freight forwarders will face a new competitive landscape.

First of all, a large number of foreign shipping companies will have to establish their own freight forwarding companies, direct and full control of the flow of goods, to participate in market competition. Corresponding to the domestic shipping companies to set up freight forwarding agencies, overseas shipping companies gradually obtain the right to operate freight forwarding, the establishment of wholly-owned companies, enjoying customs clearance, solicitation and the use of freight forwarding invoices qualifications, and is allowed to set up a number of branches in the country. As a result, the sea freight forwarding industry of public **** forwarding companies further caused serious impact. At the same time, they also use a variety of competitive means to squeeze the operating space of Chinese freight forwarders. Such as for export cargo, to far lower than the freight rate to the freight forwarder to the exporter direct offer, easily snatch away our customers for many years; Through its overseas international network, with the letter of credit on the "designated freight forwarder" way hollow our freight forwarder; In the booking agreement with our freight forwarder, increase the harsh restrictive clauses, limit our sea freight forwarder The normal development of the business; Therefore, if the WTO accession before the foreign-funded shipping companies to participate in the freight forwarding business in the number of enterprises and the business process is still limited, then the WTO accession will have a large number of foreign-funded shipping companies comprehensively involved in the freight forwarding business, will undoubtedly be our public **** freight forwarding company caused great pressure. Secondly, the Sino-foreign joint venture freight forwarding enterprises will have to independent. After accession to the WTO, overseas shipping companies will operate more freely, especially its mainland transportation services will be more unrestricted, foreign-funded companies have long coveted China's market, their strategy to enter China's market is often the first joint venture, the establishment of the bridgehead into the market, the use of joint ventures with Chinese enterprises and the opportunity to understand and familiarize with China's market, once the time is ripe to leave behind the partners, independent business and network operation, to occupy the market in China. The market.

In addition, a large number of shipping companies and airlines have developed logistics business to further control the source of goods. These companies will directly control the large shippers, so that the source of cargo further loss from the Chinese freight forwarders. WTO accession to carry out logistics business of shipping companies and airlines will be more and more, and even ports, railroads, warehousing, production and trade enterprises have to take advantage of their special status and convenience will also be involved in the logistics of the torrent. With the emergence of new competitive subjects, market competition will be more intense, freight forwarding enterprises will be more and more threatened by the survival of space.

(2) accession to the WTO freight forwarding industry will get more opportunities for development

Commodity transportation and commodity exchange is a condition of each other, the goods transport market is the economic and trade on the basis of demand for freight transport services. With the world economy, international trade is closely related, when the economy is in a period of high growth, international trade will appear corresponding growth, freight market is accompanied by the emergence of active and prosperous scene. Its main performance is:

Rapid development of foreign trade, freight volume increased. Accession to the WTO in the first year of China's import and export trade volume that is a significant increase in the volume of freight in and out of the growth of China's freight forwarding enterprises rely on the existence and development of the material basis. According to the International Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast, China's accession to the WTO, the annual gross domestic product will increase by 3 percentage points, equivalent to 30 billion U.S. dollars;

China will become the world's big factory for China's international freight forwarding industry to upgrade to create the conditions. With the deepening of China's reform and opening up to the outside world to expand, more and more foreign large-scale enterprises, multinational corporations to invest in China to set up factories, they have a wider range of freight forwarding requirements, which provides a place for China's freight forwarding industry from the crude to intensive, labor-intensive to knowledge-intensive transformation;

China's transport management system will be reformed in the development of the system. In China, to the late nineties of the last century, the transport market fully formed a buyer's market pattern, the status of circulation began to undergo fundamental changes, circulation modernization is increasingly concerned by all parties; into the new century, China's supply and demand, the market economy continues to undergo major changes, the country's implementation of modernization of the circulation, chain management, logistics and distribution, online sales, etc., which is the This is a "one-war" integrated logistics or multimodal transportation service. Internationally, China's import and export commodities require multimodal transportation, integrated logistics, consolidation and other "one-war" services. Domestic economic development and the increase of foreign exchanges require China to establish a comprehensive transportation system, so that all modes of transportation work under a general objective. This overall goal is to improve the country's comprehensive transportation capacity and efficiency, to provide more comfortable, convenient, fast, economical and safe transportation and logistics services for the national economy.

Enjoying the most-favored-nation (MFN) status due to WTO member countries is conducive to the protection of the rights and interests of China's enterprises abroad, to the elimination of discriminatory treatment of foreign countries against China in terms of tariffs, port surcharges, etc., as well as to the settlement of bilateral disputes under the multilateral framework.

2.2.2 The impact of economic globalization on China's freight forwarding industry

The strengthening of economic globalization is an important feature of the current world economy. Its meaning is that the allocation of resources such as commodities, capital, technology, labor has exceeded the scope of the nation state, in the region or even in the global scope to achieve the optimal allocation of the process, in essence, is a developed countries as the dominant transnational corporations as the driving force, through cross-investment, mergers and acquisitions as the main way of adjustment of the industrial structure in the world. Its creation means "borderless economy" and "global village" and other phenomena, indicating that the world economy, the degree of economic openness of the countries continue to increase and deepen the interdependence of the relationship.

We are in an era of globalization, accession to the WTO will accelerate China's participation in the process of economic globalization, freight forwarding as a link in international trade services for international transport and subsystems, but also being y affected by the impact of globalization, to a certain extent, more than the accession to the WTO brought about by the impact of the more serious and challenges. This impact and challenges are mainly manifested in the following aspects:

(1) increase the demand for logistics

Economic globalization to strengthen the forced domestic and foreign industrial and commercial enterprises to participate in the market competition, more and more attention to focus on the development of the main business, to cultivate the core competitiveness of the technology, management, procurement, marketing, etc., and generally non-core such as in the transportation, warehousing, distribution, and other logistics business as a whole. Part of the supply chain is outsourced to specialized logistics companies, which is an important motivation for the emergence of modern logistics. At present, one of the characteristics of China's third-party logistics market is "both ends of the outside" (logistics demand-side and suppliers are mostly multinational corporations), modern logistics services as a substitute for traditional freight services, the difference between the former and the latter is mainly manifested in the integration of its functions and based on the contract as the basis for customer partnership, which leads to the development of logistics services has great potential. The development potential of logistics services is huge, its rise and development will, to a certain extent, weaken the living space of freight forwarding enterprises.

(2) change the distribution of goods

Economic globalization is a huge driving force is the rapid development of multinational corporations. Production, trade and investment within TNCs have accounted for 2/3 of world production, 70% of total world trade and more than 80% of total world investment respectively. Reflected in the composition of China's foreign trade, the proportion of processing trade has accounted for more than 50% of China's total imports and exports, of which processing trade is a form of expression of the internal trade of transnational corporations. In the arrangement of cargo transportation, based on safety, speed and other service requirements, these trades are usually in foreign countries have chosen a good carrier or freight forwarder, generally will not go with the market, and the use of FOB designated goods in the form of this time with the advantages of the global network of multinational logistics service providers has become their first goal. At present, China's imports and exports of goods in the contract of carriage has been 50% of the proportion of FOB terms. After joining the WTO, multinational companies will further influx of China, China's total amount of import and export although from the absolute number of sharp growth, but due to the growth of most of the multinational companies within the FOB contract goods; the current domestic freight forwarding enterprises due to a general lack of overseas networks, resulting in the structure of the source of the main for the CIF export prepaid source of goods, so in the increase in the amount of freight that can really fall into the hands of the domestic forwarding enterprises in the proportion of Not only will not be higher than before joining the WTO, but also likely to reduce.

(3) reorganization of the structure of the freight forwarding industry

The horizontal merger and acquisition between multinational corporations will make the freight forwarding industry to produce differentiation and reorganization. Deutsche Post, Maersk Logistics, the Netherlands Post and so on in just a few years time to develop into a global leader in freight transportation and logistics giants, with their large-scale implementation of mergers and acquisitions strategy is inseparable. Deutsche Post is one of the most successful examples. It is still a traditional postal enterprise before 1990, and then through the reorganization of assets, restructuring and listing, professional management, etc. embarked on the road of business expansion. 1998 spent a huge amount of money to buy the world's logistics company DANZAS, with the United States UPS and FEDEX to compete, and in 2001, funded 11.4 U.S. dollars to buy the U.S. Global Jet Transportation Company (AEI), the acquisition of these to lay the foundation for its logistics supremacy, and in the future, it will become a global leader in logistics. These acquisitions have established its position as the dominant logistics company. By purchasing the shares of Lufthansa, its shares in DHL have reached 75%, realizing the absolute holding of DHL and establishing its leading position in the express delivery business. Through the above mergers and acquisitions, the current letter, express, logistics, finance and other four segments of the business, becoming the world's largest freight forwarder and listed logistics companies.

China's accession to the WTO, with the influx of foreign capital, policy liberalization, freight logistics industry is one of the key areas of foreign mergers and acquisitions. According to the current situation of domestic freight forwarding enterprises, based on the resources, market, business symmetry or complementary principles, these mergers and acquisitions will mainly occur between multinational corporations, multinational corporations generally will not merge and acquisition of small and medium-sized freight forwarding enterprises currently dominated by state-owned capital. In the long run, these mergers and acquisitions, reorganization is conducive to standardize the business order, accelerate industrial concentration, realize economies of scale, thus to promote the overall development of the industry has a positive effect, but in the short term, resources, business and industrial over-concentration will inevitably small and medium-sized freight forwarding enterprises will bring impacts and challenges.

Consolidating the above, the strengthening of economic globalization makes the vitality of freight forwarding enterprises to participate in international competition lies in their network advantages. At present, the multinational freight forwarding superior to domestic freight forwarding competitiveness is mainly embodied in the overseas customers, designated sources of goods, global network and information systems in these four aspects, of which the most core and the most fundamental is the advantage of its global network operation, the other three aspects are the network advantage of the derivatives and the development of the product. It is from this that some people will be Dexcom (KUEHNE & NAGEL), Pan-Asia Banner (PANALPINA), Simcoe (SCHENKER), FedEx (FEDEX) and other multinational freight forwarders image known as the network of freight forwarders, the market was completely liberalized in 2005 to allow them to operate wholly-owned freight forwarding as the core of the logistics business, they are not only in the designated source of goods market They not only dominate in the designated cargo market, but also can attract and fight for part of the prepaid cargo customers and market through the acquisition of holding in the transition period, the result of market competition will lead to the end of the transition period after the end of a portion of the domestic weak small and medium-sized enterprises to be eliminated from the game.

Figure 1 SCHENKER network - to provide customers with quality service

Chapter 3 China's international freight forwarding industry's development situation

3.1 Overview of the freight forwarding industry marketing strategy

Freight transport market is a contradiction in terms of the unity of demand and supply, the demand side of the vast number of consumers of freight transport services, i.e., the customer, the supply side of the freight transport companies, many companies are competing with each other. The many companies in the industry are competitors. Enterprises want to win in the operation, in addition to analyzing the large macro-environment and their own corporate control of resources, but also must be carefully analyzed in the industry environment, to develop their own business strategy and strategy.

3.1.1 International freight forwarding market customer demand and factors affecting demand

(1) international freight forwarding market customer demand analysis

In the international freight forwarding market, customer demand has unlimited scalability: such as the past has not been the tracking of the flow of goods and to provide information on the demand for cargo has now become the owner of the choice of one of the main conditions of freight services. As a freight forwarding enterprises to continue to develop new services to adapt to the needs of customers continue to improve.

In the international freight forwarding market, customer demand has a multi-level: for example, exporters emphasize the low cost of freight and space guarantee, and importers may pay more attention to the arrival of the service, such as customs clearance capacity, the cost of arranging inland transportation, etc.. The multilevel nature of customer needs provides the possibility for enterprises to choose the target market [6].

In the international freight forwarding market, customer demand is decentralized: with the state-run foreign trade enterprises to rule the world situation is gradually broken, a large number of small and medium-sized production enterprises, private enterprises, foreign investment or sole proprietorships in the country can be independently of foreign trade import and export business, the number of customer base surge in the geographic distribution of a more decentralized, while in each single consignment is also relatively small but frequency is high. This requires that freight enterprises should take a flexible way of soliciting goods and services to adapt to the changes in the structure of the freight market.

(2) the basic factors affecting customer demand

In the international freight forwarding market, the basic factors affecting customer demand mainly include: economic factors, freight service quality factors and social and cultural factors.

In these three factors, the freight service quality factor is the key to influence customer demand in the international freight forwarding market. Because with the freight market price information transparency and deep processing of high-value products on the freight price changes in the enhancement of the economic factors are no longer decisive factors. The American presidential ship APL company to shippers made a questionnaire survey shows: shippers are most concerned about the need for timely delivery accounted for the first place, the freight enterprise fully responsible for the second place. That the freight market customers are more concerned about stability, reliability and comprehensive service.

Freight service quality is the most important factor for customers to choose the enterprise. This is in some famous foreign freight forwarding enterprises on the departmental settings can be clearly seen: at present I work for the international freight forwarding company --- Shanghai Sail Hongying International Freight Transportation Ltd (EGL: EAGLE GLOBAL LOGISTICS), the customer service department is the company's core departments. Customer service this work through the whole process of freight transportation, good customer service can affect its choice of freight transportation enterprises. Including the space can be guaranteed? Is the cargo properly taken care of? Does the salesman have a strong ability to deal with unexpected problems? Are the service links provided extensive enough? Are the payment terms favorable? Can you provide timely and accurate information on cargo movement? Are telephone inquiries warmly and cordially received? The competition among enterprises is actually the competition of providing services for customers.

Social and cultural factors: some customers only trust the local freight forwarding enterprises, while some customers firmly believe that foreign freight forwarding enterprises can provide quality service. But in non-freight quality factors, the enterprise itself goodwill and image will become the main factors affecting the demand, and the company's internal corporate culture often determines the goodwill and image of the enterprise. Corporate culture reflects the sense of collective honor and collective responsibility, he can help the company to establish a good image, which in turn affects the customer's choice of companies that provide freight services.

3.1.2 International freight forwarding industry competitor analysis and market positioning strategy

Analysis and understanding of the competitive situation in the industry, is the basis for enterprises to develop competitive strategy and market positioning strategy. Enterprises must be clear: who are their competitors? What are the competitors' business objectives? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

(1) international freight forwarding industry competitor analysis

For the enterprise first to identify the enterprise's competitors. Subsequently, we should determine the competitor's objectives, should collect as much information as possible, including freight costs, transportation quality, technical level, solicitation channels, promotional tools, scale of investment, financial status, etc., so as to understand the competitor's key objectives. Then to assess the competitor's strengths and weaknesses, this work must sometimes be obtained through secondary data, with the help of industry associations, research firms, customer associations, etc., to find the weaknesses of the competitors also for the enterprise to find a breakthrough in the fight for a certain market share.