"E-commerce sounds easy. But when you do it, it's tough.''
Shanghai-based New Zealand Trade and Enterprise business development manager Echo Tan describes online competition as "vicious''.
China's economy was very complex, fast changing, competitive and heavily localised.
It was not enough just to have a New Zealand website, expect traffic and people to buy, Ms Tan said.
Setting up online was no guarantee of sales and, while it might appear affordable, there were plenty of hidden costs.
To be successful, businesses had to validate product, budget, their business model and who they needed to work with in the market place.
There also had to be a commitment to build a brand - it was "really hard'' to make that brand stand out from the crowd - and to achieve logistic efficiency, particularly with fresh product, which was very challenging to do.
E-commerce was a growth industry in China, where consumers were enjoying the convenience of online shopping and ability to make purchases 24/7.
Categories with the highest online penetration included food and beverage and Ms Tan believed that category had good potential to grow in the future.
In a country that was home to 20% of the world's internet users, it was the young generation, aged between 18 and 40, that represented more than 85% of the online consumer demographic.
And they were buying on their mobile phones, rather than their computers, because it was easier and more convenient.
At Lianhao Foods in Shanghai, a beef further processing business majority owned by Shanghai Maling, staff were packing for e-commerce orders.
Shanghai Maling's head of investment, Henry Gu, described e-commerce as "hot'' in China, with rapid growth every year.
There has also been quick growth in Lianhao's overall business since it was established in January 2010.
It has two sites focusing on quick frozen products.
That first year, sales were ¥3.1million but that figure had soared to ¥419million in 2015 and its strategy hoped to see sales revenue hit ¥800million in 2018. Staff numbers have grown from 37 to 465.
It had 44 retail stores in Shanghai, a total of 87 throughout China, and more than 95% of its beef was sourced from overseas.
New Zealand contributed about 30% of supply. About 40% came from from Australia and 30% from South America, mostly Brazil.
E-business platforms had been built to achieve a diversified operation. To counteract the high costs of packaging and logistics, Lianhao had warehouses in each part of the province.
