China attempts to standardise logistics industry

UNDER new guidelines set out by China's Standardisation Administration, domestic furniture removal companies will not be allowed to call themselves a "logistics enterprise".


This is just one of 18 guidelines issued by the office to outline methods to define and categorise logistics companies in China.

The newly introduced measures also serve to divide the domestic logistics industry into three categories depending on which types of services a logistics firm provides, whether they be: transportation, storage and warehousing, or integrated one-stop supply chain solutions.

Companies within each category are then ranked according to five different grades, with the top rating being "5A".

To qualify for a "5A" rating, logistics companies must offer a minimum of 200,000 square metres of storage space and the standard of their service offering must be accredited by independent industry experts.