495Recently, the cross-border e-commerce platform Temu announced that starting from March 23, it will officially implement a new policy regarding logistics management.
Specifically, for self-delivery merchants at the Guangdong and Yiwu warehouses, a strict appointment system will be enforced. Regardless of whether the VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) or JIT (Just-In-Time) model is adopted, the appointment process must be strictly followed. Goods that are not scheduled in advance will be directly rejected by the warehouse.
The core of this policy is to standardize the merchants' delivery process. From the generation of the pickup code, driver verification, time slot reservation, to unloading code scanning and departure confirmation, each step must be completed through a digital system to ensure a closed-loop operation.
Image source: Google
The introduction of the new policy is not a simple rule adjustment, but rather a deep optimization of Temu's supply chain efficiency. By enforcing the appointment system, the platform centrally manages the previously scattered delivery times of merchants, avoiding congestion, labor waste, and operational errors caused by disorderly arrivals at the warehouse.
The Rising Compliance Threshold and Survival Challenges for Small and Medium Sellers
For small and medium sellers who rely on the Temu platform, the most direct impact of the new policy is the increase in logistics management costs.
In the past, some merchants may have relied on temporary adjustments to delivery times to cope with inventory fluctuations, but now they must plan in advance and strictly follow the platform's appointment slots. Especially for smaller sellers lacking a professional logistics team, the increased complexity of the process may lead to a higher risk of operational errors.
For example, if a merchant fails to generate the pickup code in time or the driver does not complete the code scanning verification, the goods may be rejected, thus affecting inventory turnover and sales plans.
However, the policy pressure also forces merchants to improve their supply chain capabilities. Those who can quickly adapt to the rules and establish standardized delivery processes will receive higher fulfillment ratings and more platform resources.
Industry insiders have analyzed that Temu's move is essentially a means to screen for high-quality suppliers. By raising the operational threshold, merchants who cannot meet efficiency requirements are eliminated, thereby optimizing the platform ecosystem. In the future, small and medium sellers may need to increase their investment in logistics outsourcing and digital tools to maintain competitiveness.
Image source: Google
Platform Strategy Upgrade
The implementation of Temu's new logistics policy reflects a shift in the competitive logic of the cross-border e-commerce industry.
In the past two years, platforms represented by Temu and SHEIN have rapidly seized the market through low-price strategies, but as their scale expanded, shortcomings in supply chain management gradually emerged.
The enforcement of the mandatory appointment system marks the platform's shift from "pursuing speed" to "pursuing stability," strengthening control over the logistics process to reduce warehousing costs and improve order fulfillment rates.
Image source: Google
This adjustment also has far-reaching and multi-dimensional impacts on the platform's development.
First, the improvement in logistics efficiency will directly enhance the consumer experience and reduce customer complaints caused by delivery delays; second, standardized processes help the platform accumulate supply chain data, laying the foundation for subsequent intelligent warehousing and inventory forecasting; more importantly, Temu is sending a signal to the capital market that it already has mature supply chain management capabilities, paving the way for a long-term profit model.
However, in the early stages of policy implementation, merchants may experience a painful adaptation period. How to balance efficiency improvement and ecosystem inclusiveness will be a contradiction the platform needs to resolve.
Image source: Google
Conclusion
Temu's new logistics policy may seem like a simple rule change, but it is actually a landmark event marking the industry's entry into a mature stage.
For merchants, passively adapting to the rules may bring short-term pain, but actively embracing digitalization and standardization is the way to survive; for the platform, optimizing supply chain efficiency will determine the sustainability of its global expansion.
In the future, as cross-border e-commerce competition shifts from price wars to comprehensive capability competition, rule upgrades like Temu's may become the industry norm. Only those participants who turn compliance costs into core competitiveness will be able to gain an edge in this efficiency revolution.
