Coalition boosts eCommerce in Helsinki

Recently, Finland’s main air hub, Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport (HEL) has become a Mekka for eCommerce shipments flown in by freighter aircraft from the Far East.

There are several reasons for this upswing: demand-driven issues combined with operational and organizational aspects. Above all, however, it is the cooperation of dedicated service providers and new technological tools introduced by them that speed up customs clearance, the handling of goods and the flow of imports.

Nordic Parcel Express
The head partner and the driving force in the coalition is Nordic Parcel Express, an AUG23-founded one-stop parcel provider operating at Helsinki Vantaa international airport, that specializes in customs clearance and all related formalities. Close collaboration with road feeder companies covering the last mile is part of its service portfolio.

Luis Pimentel heads Tallinn-based Freeport OÜ,  picture: company courtesy.

Feeport
An important player in this coalition is Feeport OÜ, a Tallinn, Estonia-headquartered newcomer. The company was founded in 2021, in response to the new EU VAT eCommerce legislation. Feeport is also the owner of x7trade, a neutral Software as a Service (SaaS) that automates the bulk submission of low-value eCommerce declarations of goods imported into the EU from third countries and ensures compliance with the EU’s Import Control System 2 (ICS2), along with full customs and shipment status updates across the supply chain. x7trade is used daily in 10 EU Member states by various clients including integrators, new eCommerce logistics operators and customs brokers.

“Our ambitious goal is to enable clients (current and potential ones) to be able to operate across the entire European Economic Area (EEA) by the end of 2025. As we observe there is a clear trend now, when cross-border eCommerce is being directly injected by air into each EU member state, to cut delivery times and improve customer experience. And in order to benefit from this trend, the supply chain members need a neutral solution like x7trade, allowing them to operate seamlessly across the European markets. By neutral, we mean that we only provide the technology, and we do not compete with local supply chains and their services be it last mile delivery, handling, processing or customs brokerage of eCommerce, etc.,” explains Luis Pimentel, CEO of Feeport OÜ.

Qstep
Another partner in the coalition is Tallinn, Estonia-based Q-step logiciel OÜ (Qstep). Founded ten years ago, the firm has specialized in developing Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms for air cargo, mail and eCommerce handling. The Qstep platform is used by various ground handling agents (GHAs) in Stockholm, Helsinki, and the Baltic Airports: Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius. Its air cargo handling platform, for example, is able to process eCommerce shipments on parcel and goods item level, a particularly important factor when presenting goods to customs as well as for customs reporting purposes.

Samuli Naskali, Managing Director, ASR Cargo Center Helsinki and Co-Founder of Nordic Parcel Express

Finnish Customs
However, despite all the efforts of the players mentioned, the rise of eCommerce throughput in Helsinki would have been much slower had Finnish customs not cooperated from day one, as Samuli Naskali from the ASR Cargo Center in Helsinki points out: “Finnish customs have played a big part, which has allowed for very fast brokerage, resulting in extremely fast flows of shipments at Helsinki Airport. In late 2023, we actually had issues with the customs system crashing due to large number of clearances, but customs were quick to act and improved systems to be able to handle large quantities. Meanwhile, the customs agents are able to clear more than 200,000 eCommerce shipments a day, if needed,” the manager applauds.

The eCommerce turnover in Helsinki is also boosted by the fact that the traditional European hubs are reaching their limits. Often, they are jammed and, especially during peak times, delays in ground handling are the rule, says ASR Manager, Samuli Naskali, who is also a co-founder of Nordic Parcel Express. This has had a negative impact on the transit times of shipments, to the detriment of the customers who expect timely delivery of their shopping orders.

New trade lanes
In the meantime, flexible Chinese eCommerce stores have responded to this. On their initiative, new supply chains have been set up, covering the pick-up of goods at their production sites until handover to an agency at the destination airport. By channeling the flow of eCommerce shipments in this way, the parcels bypass crowded major European hubs. Vantaa Airport, in particular, is benefiting from this latest trend.

There are also geographical advantages benefitting HEL. As Beijing has not joined the Western sanctions against the Putin regime, Chinese airlines, unlike their European or Japanese competitors, can use Russian airspace to swiftly cruise from East to West. Compared to Lufthansa Cargo, IAG Cargo or AFKLMPM Cargo, this gives them a time advantage of around 2 hours per flight and it costs correspondingly less fuel. This regulatory issue also explains why the eCommerce figures in Helsinki have risen sharply.

“Last December, we exceeded one million parcels customs cleared,” reports Parcel Express on its own website. Come DEC24, they expect this figure to be topped at Helsinki Vantaa.

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