Express delivery companies are preparing for "618": the worst time for inventory pressure at terminal outlets has passed or is ready for recovery due to insufficient manpower
Our reporter Li Chunlian
Recently, e-commerce platforms such as Pinduoduo and JD.com have successively announced a number of discount rules, and the annual "618" mid-year promotion has kicked off.
However, due to the recent repeated epidemics in some regions and other factors, this year's "618" faces multiple challenges.
Among them, as an important part of the express delivery industry, there are situations such as insufficient manpower and obstacles in logistics, and there are certain difficulties in dispatching and collecting.
Lei Zhongnan, CEO of Express 100, told the "Securities Daily" reporter that the express industry chain is long and complex, and there are differences in the resumption of work and production of upstream platforms, trunk logistics and terminal outlets. Passivity", the repair of the service network will take a certain amount of time, and the upcoming "618" promotion will also put express companies under multiple pressures.
How to ensure the timely delivery of express delivery during the "618" big promotion this year is an exam question for express delivery companies.
The industry generally believes that the express delivery industry is expected to usher in a turning point of recovery under the stimulus of "618".
Push four safeguard measures
Actively prepare for "618"
Every year "618" is one of the busiest "festivals" in the express industry.
This year, the epidemic has occurred frequently, and express delivery companies need to actively prepare for the battle to deal with the problems caused by the epidemic.
"Securities Daily" reporter learned that express companies such as Shentong Express, YTO Express, Yunda Express, and ZTO Express will cooperate with Cainiao to jointly launch four major logistics guarantee measures during the "618" promotion period, including price guarantee, compensation, and epidemic prevention. Security guarantee, customer service after-sales guarantee, etc., and provide special services for merchants.
In addition, during the "618" period, the four express companies mentioned above all promised to keep the agreed price unchanged for the existing cooperative merchants and maintain a reasonable and stable price for express delivery.
Yunda Express revealed to a reporter from Securities Daily that in response to the "618" big promotion, the company made predictions on package flow, flow direction and other information.
Arrangements have been made for personnel, venues, vehicles, dispatch services, network operations, and after-sales services.
A relevant person from ZTO Express told the "Securities Daily" reporter that during the "618" e-commerce promotion, ZTO Cloud Warehouse will provide customers such as brand merchants, social e-commerce, and live broadcast e-commerce with pre-promotion and commodity pre-sales. Exclusive services such as package and green collection can effectively solve the problems of slow delivery, wrong delivery, and untimely delivery of merchants during the promotion.
In addition, in terms of terminal delivery, we will make full use of the terminals of more than 70,000 "Tuxi Life+" and Tuxi Express Cabinets across the country to do a good job in the delivery and delivery of the "last 100 meters".
In fact, due to the epidemic, the express logistics industry in some regions is still at a critical stage of resumption of work and production.
In this regard, the relevant person of Jitu Express told the reporter of "Securities Daily" that for the outlets that are actively resuming work, they will give payment incentives, preferential delivery policies, and special support policies; they have prepared sufficient various types of anti-epidemic materials in advance. Provide support at the time of resumption; assist and supervise the resumption of work sites to implement the requirements for resumption of work and production, such as applying for and using site codes, and personnel for closed-loop management, etc.
The person also mentioned that the current national network operation of Jitu is stable, and some areas where the epidemic situation has improved are promoting the full resumption of work and production in an orderly manner.
Among them, the work resumption rate of Jilin branch reached 100%, Shanxi branch reached 99%, and the two places are basically stable; Shanghai branch is actively and steadily recovering.
Affected by the epidemic
Industry growth slows
In fact, under the background of the epidemic in the past two years, the importance of the express delivery industry has become more and more prominent.
In 2021, the volume of express delivery business will exceed 100 billion pieces.
However, since April this year, due to the impact of the epidemic, the growth rate of the express delivery industry has slowed down.
According to data from the State Post Bureau, in April, the business volume of express delivery service enterprises nationwide completed 7.48 billion pieces, a year-on-year decrease of 11.9%; business income reached 74.05 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 10.1%.
To a certain extent, the decline in express delivery business reflects the current predicament faced by express delivery companies.
"Because the resumption of work and production in the express delivery industry involves a long chain, and affected by multiple factors such as the current epidemic situation and the different recovery conditions of upstream platforms, trunk transportation and terminal outlets, there are still some difficulties in the resumption of work and production in the industry." The above-mentioned Jitu relevant person said, For example, in some areas, front-line personnel are still on duty gradually, and there is a shortage of manpower, so there are challenges in dispatching and collecting parcels; in some areas, due to the upgrade of control and static management, "last mile" delivery cannot be carried out, and the stranded goods need to be stored in the inventory area. Goods, resulting in greater pressure on the end network.
Lei Zhongnan mentioned that the epidemic has exacerbated the elimination rate of outlets and stations, and has also exacerbated the shortage of couriers. The lack of transportation capacity of various express companies will lead to lack of service quality.
"Especially during the e-commerce promotion period, there will be a surge in orders in the short term, and problems such as difficulty in recruitment and management of express companies will be more prominent." A person in charge of a relevant company told the "Securities Daily" reporter.
Wei Jianhui, an analyst in the brand retail industry of Analysys, also told the "Securities Daily" reporter that the express delivery industry is a labor-intensive industry with a wide range of personnel movements.
my country's express delivery industry is mainly based on road freight, and air transportation accounts for a relatively small proportion. Coupled with different levels of control measures in various places under the background of the epidemic, it has brought obvious adverse effects on the normal operation of the express delivery industry.
The worst time has passed
Turning a crisis into a turning point into a consensus
At present, the epidemic situation in many places has improved.
The arrival of the e-commerce promotion is expected to further promote the recovery of the express delivery industry.
The State Post Bureau pointed out that due to the impact of the epidemic, the development of the industry has slowed down slightly. The "Notice of Measures" was issued to break through the policy blockages and solve the difficulties of smooth flow. There are obvious signs of industry recovery, and the future stabilization and improvement can still be expected.
The more it faces the test, the more it can be seen which company has the stronger ability to deal with the crisis.
Data from Express 100 shows that express companies with a high degree of informatization and high intelligent collaboration efficiency "return blood very quickly".
Lei Zhongnan said, "This also shows that the express delivery industry has moved from price competition, service competition, to the competition stage of information efficiency and advanced technology. This will not only become the support of the turning point, but also the key to the competition point.
With the arrival of the "618" promotion, can the express delivery industry usher in an inflection point of recovery?
In this regard, Lei Zhongnan believes that although the uncertainty of the epidemic has hit the express delivery industry, the development trend of the industry will not change.
The worst time brought by the epidemic to the express delivery industry has passed, and the key position of the express delivery industry has become more prominent. It has become an industry consensus to turn a crisis into a turning point, and even to a certain extent, it is conducive to the optimization and integration of the express delivery market.
Zhao Xiaomin, CEO of Guanshuo Capital and an expert in the express delivery industry, told a reporter from Securities Daily that in the context of the epidemic, considering the competitive situation in the express delivery industry, express delivery companies must first maintain cash flow this year, and focus more on improving their own competitiveness. The network needs to undergo a mode upgrade.
"Judging from the current trend, there may be a relatively large increase in data in June." Zhao Xiaomin said that during the "618" period, while doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control, all express delivery companies need to use the company's technology and processes to Only by reflecting the incentive mechanism to a greater extent at the end can there be a chance to spend it smoothly.
(Securities Daily)