• The Shanghai–Frankfurt e-commerce trade lane is rapidly growing, moving millions of parcels monthly and reshaping global supply chains.
• Shanghai Pudong Airport has implemented rigorous scanning and customs processes, enabling electronics and cosmetics exports while ensuring data quality and shipment visibility.
• Frankfurt faces challenges in managing package-level data, handling millions of clearances monthly, and harmonising EU customs interpretations across countries.
• Automation, smart software, and real-time data sharing are critical to streamlining flows, reducing redundant handling, and improving efficiency.
• Cooperation between Chinese exporters, European authorities, and logistics operators is essential to build a faster, safer, and smarter e-commerce corridor.

From factory floors in southern China to doorsteps in Frankfurt, the flow of e-commerce parcels has become one of the defining trade stories of our age. What was once a niche channel for small-scale goods has grown into a global phenomenon, reshaping supply chains, straining infrastructure, and raising urgent questions about customs, security, and cooperation between regions.

As Europe’s consumers continue to click “buy now” in record numbers, and Asia’s exporters push millions of packages across the skies each month, the need for seamless collaboration has never been greater. The challenges are shared, but the approaches often differ. Understanding those perspectives is key to ensuring that the bridge between Asia and Europe remains both efficient and resilient.

The Chinese perspective: opportunity hidden in complexity

For Carsten Hernig, deputy general manager and vice president of production, sales and marketing at Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal, the sheer scale of e-commerce offers both opportunities and obstacles.

“Most of the e-commerce actually comes from the south of China,” he explained. “Until recently, electronics and cosmetics were not even allowed on cross-border e-commerce out of China, so everything went through Hong Kong. Now, however, we have implemented processes with customs and security to allow these goods out of Shanghai. That shift is already producing significant volumes.”

The processes in Shanghai are rigorous. Every consignment arrives in individual boxes and is scanned. “Yes, it’s a headache for me,” Hernig admitted, “but it could make your life on the receiving end significantly easier. Each and every box going through one channel gives us a huge opportunity to check, to assure data quality, and to add value.”

He sees customs data and scanning technologies as critical tools in smoothing the path for shipments arriving in Europe. “We can scan the shipments, we can see what is inside, and the customs officer can decide whether that’s good to go or not. The pictures could be transmitted anywhere in the world. Imagine somebody in China uploading an x-ray picture of each and every box into the cloud, and every customs officer in the rest of the world having immediate access.”

But Hernig also acknowledged the need for Europe to adapt. “In Germany, and in Europe generally, the system was built around exports. Now e-commerce waves are coming in, and that changes the picture. The question is how can we, as a major exporter of e-commerce, help avoid congestion on arrival in Europe? How do we make Frankfurt not only the biggest hub, but also the smartest one?”

To him, collaboration is the only way forward. “We are talking about one of the most significant airfreight flows in the world. If we can jointly develop this trade lane between Shanghai and Frankfurt, reflect on what added values we can bring, and work with the authorities to create a strong regulatory framework, we can build a unique selling point for this route. Compliance should not be a weakness—it can be our strength.”

The European view: mastering the data deluge

On the other side of the trade lane, Murat Odabas, managing director at CB Customs Broker in Frankfurt, sees the challenge through a different lens: data.

“The biggest challenge we have is to handle the mass of data,” he said. “Unlike traditional cargo, which can be processed at master airway bill level, e-commerce comes at the package level. A freighter might arrive with 60,000 packages, and on average, there are 2.8 items in each. That’s over 160,000 line items of data to manage. You could do it manually, but you’d need an army of people. So the only solution is automation and smart software.”

His company now processes around 2.5 million clearances per month in Frankfurt alone. “We are not moving cargo, we are moving data,” he explained. “Based on the information we receive, we check against EU sanctions databases, feed it into the Import Control System 2 (ICS2), and in some cases, even issue instructions not to load a single package. That’s the power of data-driven customs.”

Odabas also highlighted the regulatory landscape. “Germany is the biggest e-commerce market in Europe, but years ago Frankfurt was practically a forbidden city for e-commerce. Operators had to route their flows around it. Working with the cargo community, we opened Frankfurt for e-commerce, and now it has become the e-commerce city. But we still face one major issue—harmonisation. The European Customs Code is the same for all EU countries, but in reality, each customs authority interprets it differently. The Dutch customs officer will see it one way, the German another, and the French another again. That inconsistency makes it harder to build truly seamless flows.”

For Odabas, deeper cooperation is the answer. “We need to synchronise processes so that work done once in China doesn’t need to be repeated in Frankfurt. If we touch a package six times, we waste time and money. If we can reduce it to four, everyone benefits. It’s about sharing data, trusting each other, and aligning procedures.”

And like Hernig, he is convinced the trend is irreversible. “Ask yourself, are you willing to stop ordering online? The answer is no. Our children, our families, everyone orders. The question is not if e-commerce will stay, but how we make it faster, safer, and cheaper. That’s the pressure our customers put on us, and it’s the challenge we must solve together.”

Building the bridge

Both Hernig and Odabas return to the same point: cooperation. Whether it is sharing x-ray images from Shanghai, harmonising customs processes in Europe, or investing in AI to spot dangerous goods, the path forward depends on collaboration across continents.

“Technology is there,” Hernig said. “Magnetic scanners, lithium battery detectors, artificial intelligence—they all exist. But if we’re still sending information via telex and fax, it won’t work. As an industry, we have to step forward and actually use the solutions.”

Odabas agreed, while also pointing to cultural differences. “In China, they think simple. They say, ‘we can make pictures, we can send them to Germany.’ But in Germany, the authorities are slower, more rule-bound. Bridging that gap is part of our job—helping both sides understand each other, and making sure innovation doesn’t stop at the border.”

At its core, the challenge of e-commerce is not just logistical, but also political and cultural. Billions of packages will continue to fly between Asia and Europe. The question is whether industry and regulators can keep pace. If they can, the Shanghai–Frankfurt trade lane may not only remain one of the busiest in the world, but also become one of the smartest.