A promotion meeting for the cross-border e-commerce platform in Harbin Comprehensive Bonded Area takes place in Harbin on Feb 28. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

A cross-border e-commerce platform based in Harbin Comprehensive Bonded Area announced an overhaul of its import and retail business model on Feb 28.

The new model is designed to improve efficiency and attract more businesses to the bonded area.

From now on, all the products for sale on the e-commerce platform will be imported in advance and stored in the bonded zone. Products will clear customs once they have been purchased.

From placing an order to delivery, the whole process will now only take around half a day.

Ordering goods through our platform is much faster and around 20 percent cheaper than traditional methods of buying imported products, said a manager from Harbin Land Port Operation and Development Co, the operator of the e-commerce platform.

The platform has been operating since June 2018, when it received authorization to do business from authorities in the bonded area.

A wide range of items are available on the platform, with 100 different categories of products for sale to consumers, including cosmetics from South Korea and Japan, and home appliances from Europe and North America.

So far, Harbin Comprehensive Bonded Zone has introduced a total of 20 cross-border e-commerce businesses, with more than 33,000 deals made on the platform, achieving a total import and export volume of more than 10 million yuan ($1.49 million).