GUIDE 2026-08-15
EU Warehouse vs Air Freight: Lead Time & Cost Tradeoffs
EU warehouse stock is fastest (3-7 days) but requires minimum order. Air freight is flexible but expensive. Here's how to choose.
**The speed-cost tradeoff**
For Europe-bound shipments, you have two main options for speed:
**Option 1: EU warehouse stock (3-7 day delivery)**
- Kexin holds 5,000+ cases in our Frankfurt warehouse
- 3-7 day delivery to any DE / NL / FR / AT / BE / IT / ES / PL / CZ address via DHL / DPD / GLS
- 0% customs duty (intra-EU)
- 0% VAT import (B2B reverse charge)
- Mix-container, 1000+ pieces per shipment
- Best for: urgent orders, samples, mid-volume restocks
**Option 2: Air freight from China (15-25 day delivery)**
- Kexin ships from Shenzhen / Ningbo via DHL Express / FedEx / UPS air freight
- 15-25 day door-to-door delivery
- Customs, VAT, duties: handled by you or DDP
- Best for: medium-to-large orders, new product launches
**Option 3: Sea freight from China (30-45 day delivery)**
- Kexin ships from Shenzhen / Ningbo via FCL / LCL sea freight
- 30-45 day port-to-port
- 35-50 day door-to-door with customs
- Best for: large orders, cost-sensitive, non-urgent
**When to use EU warehouse**
✓ You need cases within 1-2 weeks
✓ You have repeat orders (predictable volume)
✓ You want to test the European market without big inventory risk
✓ You need samples for trade shows or customer demos
**When to use air freight**
✓ You need cases in 2-4 weeks (between EU warehouse speed and sea freight cost)
✓ You have a one-time order (no repeat volume)
✓ You want to test a new product before committing to volume
**When to use sea freight**
✓ You have a large order (5,000+ pieces)
✓ You have 30-60 days lead time flexibility
✓ You want the lowest per-unit cost
✓ You're replenishing stock for a known product
**EU warehouse cost comparison**
Per-unit cost (rough example for medium case):
- EU warehouse: USD 18-25
- Air freight: USD 22-32 (USD 4-7 freight added)
- Sea freight: USD 15-19 (USD 1-3 freight added)
The EU warehouse premium is typically 5-15 % over sea freight — but you get 3-7 day delivery instead of 30-45 days.
**Inventory planning**
Kexin can hold dedicated EU warehouse stock for you:
- Minimum commitment: 500 pieces per SKU
- Refill: monthly air freight from China
- Storage fee: included for first 3 months, USD 0.5/piece/month after
- Order picking, packing, shipping: included
This way, you have "infinite" inventory in Europe without holding it yourself.
**How to start**
1. Send us your forecast (SKUs, monthly volume)
2. We propose a dedicated EU warehouse plan
3. Initial stock ships by air freight (15-25 days)
4. We re-stock monthly based on sales
**Recommended: Hybrid approach**
For most European distributors, the hybrid approach works best:
- Stock 2-3 months of fast-moving SKUs in EU warehouse
- Replenish by air freight for medium urgency
- Use sea freight for slow-moving SKUs and large refills
Contact: [email protected] / +86 135 9055 5309.