The Current State of Global eCommerce - Interview with Keith Schneller, International Trade Consultant

Keith Schneller, global eCommerce expert, and International Trade Consultant at Resonance Global.

Interviewed by James Eron, Partner, Kung Fu Data.

JE: We're talking today with Keith Schneller, formerly of eBridgeAsia, who is now working on a project with USAID. Keith, always a pleasure to chat with you and thanks for your time today.

KS: It's good to chat with you again as well, James.

JE: I understand you're working on a new global eCommerce project with USAID. Can you tell me what does that entail? What are you up to?

KS: Things were slowing down for my business over in China with the trade war that has evolved over the past few months, especially on the food side of things, so this opportunity came up for me to work with the U.S. Agency for International Development on a global eCommerce project (USAID). Right now, I'm working with a contractor called Resonance Global and they've asked me to provide support to a group within AID called the Trade and Regulatory Reform Office. They do a lot of work with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations and other multilateral organizations working with developing countries around the world. One of the things that all of them are looking at is eCommerce and how we can help small and medium size companies in these developing countries take advantage of modern eCommerce trade flows. That's what I've been keeping myself busy with in recent days.

JE: We knew each other from our time in Shanghai when you were the director of USDA's Agriculture Trade Office. Are you still involved in China eCommerce?

KS:  I'm not directly involved in China’s eCommerce, but I think USAID is interested in my background working with Chinese eCommerce companies and it seems they are really taking the lead in global eCommerce. In fact, Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, is a special advisor to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development. He is working with them to create some programs to help entrepreneurs in developing countries take advantage of eCommerce. Even though I'm not directly involved in China eCommerce, I'm still following a lot of what they're doing. Alibaba recently acquired Lazada in Singapore, so they're working throughout Southeast Asia. They also acquired another platform in Pakistan that works in Sri Lanka and in Bangladesh as well. It's been very interesting looking at global eCommerce from a 50,000 foot perspective.

JE: One of the things that I get asked a lot that's on the mind of people these days is how has the current Sino-American trade situation affected global eCommerce? What are you seeing out there?

KS: So far, the global eCommerce situation has not been affected too much and mainly what I'm referring to is cross-border eCommerce trade. I know there are still American companies who are putting product in free trade zones in China and using the Tmall Global or JD International channels and so far the Chinese government has not put any additional tariffs on those products. So far, there’s been no impact on cross-border eCommerce trade. Hopefully the issue will be resolved soon and we can all get back to normal business. Perhaps in the future, USAID might be able to help SMEs in developing countries take advantage of Chinese eCommerce channels as well.

JE: One other thing I wanted to chat with you on is where do you see eCommerce going? What are the trends that you're seeing? Obviously, you're based in Washington. Love to get your insights.

KS: Well, I've been doing a lot of research online and am seeing a wide variety of trade numbers. The U.S. International Trade Commission published a report this past year saying that global eCommerce trade was around $28 trillion USD which is mostly B2B eCommerce. I guess it all depends on your definition of eCommerce.  I’m not quite sure where they're coming up with these numbers. I would assume a lot of the numbers are proprietary and then when you get into cross-border parcel trade I'm not quite sure how you can break out parcel deliveries from conventional wholesale business. That's something I'll be looking at in the next few weeks and we might be able to back into some of those numbers by looking at Alibaba data or trying to get data from Amazon or eBay or even the Universal Postal Union that collects international parcel trade statistics.  It looks like the percentage of eCommerce as a market share of conventional retail is growing at a pretty rapid rate, so it's really changing the whole world of retail.

JE: Keith, always wonderful to chat with you. Thanks for your time today, and look forward to catching up with you again.

KS: Thanks for having me, James. Let’s keep in touch!

About the Author

James Eron has over 20 years of consulting and industry experience in China, Japan, and the US. As a Partner at Kung Fu Data, James is a China market entry expert bringing quality brands into China and executing strategic turnarounds for brands struggling in the world's most competitive eCommerce market. His work makes extensive use of China eCommerce data to identify and capture market opportunities. Clients include a wide range of B2C brands from apparel, cosmetics, and luxury to pet food and consumables.

James is a frequent writer on China eCommerce topics and is regularly invited to speak at events surrounding China’s e-commerce sector. He is also global ambassador for the Global Retail Insights Network (GRIN), a community of creative, inspired retail minds helping shape the future of global commerce.

About Kung Fu Data

With offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and San Francisco, Kung Fu Data is an independent data firm and market maker possessing a rare combination of authentic understanding of the West and China in-depth local know-how. Since 2010, we have used proprietary data and optimization technology to help foreign brands enter and thrive in China’s largest e-marketplaces. Our sole mission is to bring brand owners a level of strategy and data transparency they never thought possible.

About Keith Schneller

Keith Schneller grew up on a farm in northeastern Colorado and spent 24 years as a career diplomat with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). He worked as an Agricultural Attaché in Vienna, Austria, covering six other eastern European Countries from 1995-1999. He later took his family to greater China to head up USDA’s Agricultural Trade Offices in Guangzhou, Taipei, and Shanghai from 2003-2014. After transferring back to DC in 2014, Keith was promoted to Assistant Deputy Administrator of the Office of Trade Programs at FAS where he was responsible for USDA’s export credit and dairy/sugar import programs.

In 2015, Keith took early retirement from USDA and launched his own consulting business, eBridgeAsia, LLC, with the goal of further assisting U.S. companies and associations explore eCommerce channels in Asia. During his last four years as Director of USDA’s Agricultural Trade Office in Shanghai from 2010-2014, eCommerce and the use of social media in China exploded. Keith led the charge in launching several first-ever, American online food promotions in China. 

During the summer of 2018, Keith started working with a development organization called Resonance Global on a global eCommerce project with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Keith will assist them in developing strategies for USAID missions around the globe to enable SMEs in developing countries take advantage of modern eCommerce sales channels.