By Richie Lin    Photo：CANVA

Over the past decade, global supply chains have been repeatedly stress-tested by geopolitical tensions, trade policy shifts, pandemics, port congestion, and transportation capacity disruptions. These events have fundamentally changed how companies evaluate risk. Supply chain resilience—defined as the ability to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and recover from disruptions—has evolved from an operational concern into a board-level strategic priority. A resilient supply chain cannot depend on a single country, port, or market. However, a small or medium-sized company doesn’t have plenty of resources and know-hows to operate in different countries. This is what a 4PL logistic company will do: to design multi-regional logistics networks that allow companies to pivot between markets and routes when disruptions occur.

A. What is 4PL logistics?

4PL logistics — or Fourth-Party Logistics — is a strategic, integrative logistics model in which a service provider manages the entire supply chain on behalf of a client, not just individual transport or warehousing activities. 4PL logistics company will connect and coordinate with different service providers in supply chain to fulfill the targets of customers.

B. What 4PL logistics can do to help customers expand markets in multiple countries.

1. End-to-End Global Supply-Chain Design:

A 4PL acts as a supply-chain architect, not just a forwarder.

It helps customers design logistics networks that connect multiple regions — Asia, Europe, and North America — through:

• Free Trade Zones (FTZs) and bonded warehouses for flexible global inventory positioning. A 4PL sets up an FTZ in China to keep products under customer’s control after receiving products from Chinese factory. And build up bonded warehouses in the Netherlands and Vietnam to be the hubs for EU and Southeast Asian markets.
• Regional distribution hubs to shorten lead times and reduce customs complexity. Netherlands serve as an EU gateway for goods from Asia destined for various EU countries
• Multimodal integration (sea + air + rail + bounded warehouse + truck) to reach diverse markets efficiently. Goods can be re-exported outside the bounded warehouse without incurring import duties.

2. Regulatory & Compliance Navigation

Expanding into new countries means facing different import rules, VAT structures, and product standards.

4PLs help by providing:

• General or limited fiscal representative services in EU. Deferred duty & VAT payment – duties, VAT are suspended while goods remain in bond.
• Compliance management for FDA, CE, MDR, or Lacey Act standards.
• Customs data integration and pre-clearance filing to minimize port delays.

3. Centralized Visibility & Data Control

Through advanced ERP + WMS + TMS integration, 4PLs give customers a single window for:

• Inventory across different countries.
• Transit times, shipping costs, or any logistics related charges.
• Order status and customer delivery metrics.

C. Combine FTZ warehouse in China and bonded Warehouses in Rotterdam to fulfill orders quickly and cost-effectively.

1. Integrate inventory from Asian factories into FTZ warehouse in China:

• Who needs Free Trade Zone:
  • U.S. importers and distributors seeking to expand to new regions such as the EU, ASEAN, Middle East, or Latin America.
  • Asian manufacturers supplying multiple overseas markets.

• What Chinese Free Trade Zone can do:
  • Bonded warehousing (duty-free storage).
  • Light processing, assembly, relabeling, and repackaging.
  • Quality inspections and compliance checks.
  • Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) with real-time data.
  • Serving as a global distribution hub.

• Where are Free Trade Zones:
  • Shenzhen (Pingshan) – close to Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta supply chains.
  • Shanghai, Ningbo, Tianjin, Guangzhou – positioned along China’s busiest trade routes.
  • Inland hubs (e.g., Chengdu, Chongqing) are connected by rail to Europe.

• When do you use Free Trade Zones:
  • U.S. companies want to test new overseas markets without committing to local warehousing in each country.
  • Businesses aim to avoid double taxation when products pass through China but are not sold there.
  • Confidentiality is important (suppliers deliver only to the CBZ, not direct to end customers).
  • Companies require faster response times to fulfill international orders from a central hub.

• Why you need Free Trade Zone:
  • Cost Efficiency: Goods stored duty- and VAT-free until final destination is decided.
  • Flexibility: Repackaging, relabeling, and customization inside the zone.
  • Confidentiality: Customer information is blocked from factories.
  • Market Access: A single CBZ hub can support distribution to multiple countries.
  • Risk Reduction: Mitigates exposure to U.S.-China trade tensions by enabling non-U.S. market distribution.

• How does Free Trade Zone function:
  • Products from suppliers are shipped into a CBZ in China.
  • Goods are cleared into the bonded zone (considered exported from the factory).
  • Within the FTZ, goods can be inspected, repacked, labeled, or consolidated.
  • Goods may be:
    • Re-exported worldwide (no duties or VAT paid in China).
    • Imported into China if sold domestically (duties and VAT apply at that point).
  • Customers benefit from real-time inventory tracking and flexible global shipping.

2. B2B and B2C Distribution via Bonded Warehouse in Rotterdam:

• Import: Goods arrive at Port of Rotterdam or Amsterdam, then issue T1 to transit goods to bonded warehouses.
• Storage: Goods stored in the warehouses without paying duty and vat under customs supervision.
• Order Allocation: Once a B2B customer within the EU confirms purchase, goods will be picked up from inventory and packed to be ready for loading. B2C customer or Amazon warehouse within the EU confirms purchase, goods will be picked up from inventory and packed to be ready for loading. If the destination is Amazon warehouse, bounded warehouse colleagues will check if the goods are attached to Amazon Labels.
• Customs-released: For B2B, non-EU companies can appoint a limited fiscal representative in the Netherlands to declare customs in Netherlands and apply vat-deferment ((Article 23 license in NL) to transfer the vat burden to their EU end customers. Or they can simply choose to let bounded warehouse issue T1 document to transfer the customs to the countries where their end customers locate. For B2C, non-EU companies can appoint a general fiscal representative to declare customs in Netherlands and Pay the VAT to Netherlands government before leaving the bounded warehouse.
• Non-EU Export: Goods sold to non-EU buyers can be exported directly from the bounded warehouses. No duty or vat will be applied.

Based on the above explanations, 4PL logistics provider can act as a single point of contact between the client and all logistics partners including bounded warehouses in different countries, and take full responsibility for designing, managing, and optimizing the entire supply chain.

If you want to have more information, please contact richie_lin@tgl-group.net.

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