From Linyi City, Shandong to Guangzhou City, Guangdong, follow one express shipment to experience the changes in the transportation and logistics industry
The express delivery industry is recovering steadily and showing resilience
Our reporter Li Xinping
In March, the average daily business volume of the express delivery industry was 275 million pieces; on April 10, due to the spread of the domestic epidemic, the business volume dropped to 242 million pieces; on May 6, with a series of logistics guarantee policies After the introduction, the business volume quickly recovered to 315 million pieces... In the first half of the year, my country's express delivery business volume reached 51.22 billion pieces, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%, and the online retail sales of goods supported by express services accounted for more than 1/4 of the retail sales of consumer goods.
From the suspension of operations of some outlets, the blocked network, the backlog of express shipments, and the rapid realization of a "V"-shaped rebound, my country's express delivery industry has shown strong resilience.
Let us follow one express shipment from Linyi City, Shandong to Guangzhou City, Guangdong, feel the changes along the way, and listen to the stories of industry recovery from practitioners.
Time: 12:30 on August 4th
Location: ZTO Express Linyi Lanshan District Aolong Branch
Static management is unable to collect the pieces, so it will be the distribution of civilian materials. The epidemic prevention and control situation has improved, and the service will be directly entered.
"Brother Kong, I'm back. Today, the car is full!" At about 12:30 noon on August 4th, Yang Guiyong, the parcel picker, got off the car and reported to Kong Gangling, the head of the Aolong branch in Linyi Lanshan District, ZTO Express today. 's collection results.
The express with the tail number 7174 is also among them, which was successfully collected and then went to the outlet to wait for sorting and departure.
"When you come to Yi, go shopping, stop at each store for 1 minute, and spend more than 40 days without eating or drinking." There are many shops, busy logistics, 44 home appliance business parks, and 117,900 e-commerce sellers, allowing Linyi's express delivery business The quantity ranking broke into the top 20 in the country, second only to Beijing and Zhengzhou in the northern cities.
The Lanshan District, where Kong Gangling's outlets are located, is the central area of Linyi Mall.
There are 87 professional wholesale markets gathered here, which can provide more than 60,000 kinds of commodities in 27 categories, and have more than 2,000 logistics lines, which can reach all cities above the county level in the country.
At 8:00 every morning, Kong Gangling will dispatch 20 parcel pickers on time to pick up the parcels in the 6 wholesale markets that are mainly served.
On average, 70,000 to 80,000 votes for express mail can be collected in one day, and even 120,000 votes can be received during peak periods such as "618" and "Double 11".
Covering a small network of only a few square kilometers, it supports more than 60 people and their families.
On July 6, an epidemic broke out in Lanshan District, and the wholesale market was forced to shut down. Some young brothers could only stay at home, and Kong Gangling's network business was stagnant.
"When the manpower was at its tightest, only 7 of the 35 courier guys could work normally." Kong Gangling said that after the wholesale market was closed, it was basically impossible to collect parcels.
At that time, Kong Gangling was full of thoughts, what else could he do besides waiting?
At a critical moment, the staff of the Linyi City Post Administration brought good news: According to the policy, postal express companies can apply to become a livelihood material guarantee unit, and relevant vehicles can pass through the area at a fixed time every day.
Kong Steel Ring made the declaration for the first time.
"We do logistics, and it is an honor to help transport people's living materials and contribute. And we can also pick up the goods at the distribution center to meet the online shopping needs of local citizens." Kong Gangling said.
From July 8 to July 21, outlets have maintained this special operating mode.
During this period, from the beginning of only one train per day, to 7 trains per day, and then to free passage from 12:00 to 14:00 every day, Kong Gang led seven brothers to overcome various difficulties to deliver express , there is no large-scale backlog in the network.
At the same time, ZTO headquarters also extended a helping hand in time.
On the one hand, the delivery fee standard of the outlets where Kong Gangling is located has increased by 0.3 yuan per piece, and part of the increase in delivery fee will be directly distributed to the personal account of the courier.
On the other hand, a low-interest loan of 600,000 yuan was issued to Kong Gangling to help him tide over the difficulties.
"The 600,000 yuan loan is very critical." Kong Gangling said that his branch has a lot of outbound shipments and few inbound shipments. "It is impossible to collect shipments, and the network's income has dropped sharply, but wages, rent, car loans and other expenses are also saved. No. With a low-interest loan of 600,000 yuan, the funds can be transferred even more.”
"The situation of epidemic prevention and control has improved, and we will directly enter the site to serve." On July 22, the area where Kong Gangling's branch was located was released from static management, and everyone was gearing up for a big fight.
This time, Kong Gangling decided to extend the service one step further and open the service point directly to the warehouse of the merchant, "This way the supply of goods is more dispersed, even if the wholesale market is closed again, we can collect and deliver goods from the warehouse. ."
On the first day of resumption of work, thanks to the orders accumulated by merchants during the market shutdown, Kong Gangling’s outlets collected 50,000 tickets.
"Today, the collection volume has recovered to about 60,000 votes a day, and I believe it will be restored to 80,000 votes in a while." Kong Gangling said.
What makes Kong Gangling even more excited is that after the resumption of work, Linyi City’s policy package has also been implemented one after another: as a small-scale taxpayer, Kong Gangling’s outlets can enjoy VAT exemption in July, and the monthly rent can also be reduced or exempted.
"The two items add up to more than 50,000 yuan, which boosted our confidence." Kong Gangling said that at present, customers are actively resuming work and planning promotional activities. It is expected that the "Double 11" business volume will increase by another 2%. .
Looking forward to the future, Kong Gangling said that if the development momentum is good in the second half of the year, he plans to apply for an equipment loan from the headquarters and install a set of small automatic sorting line equipment for the branch. By then, the efficiency of leaving the port will be higher.
Time: 16:00 on August 4th
Location: ZTO Express Linyi Transshipment Center
The closed management mechanism of the center is becoming more and more mature. Even if there is a shutdown, the company has a record and can adjust the route to ensure the continuous flow of goods as much as possible.
At 16:00 on August 4, Wang Enfeng, a driver under Kong Gangling, drove a 4.2-meter-long van to the Linyi Transit Center of Zhongtong Express.
After a series of operations such as disinfecting, waiting, positioning, and unloading, the tail number 7174 express officially entered the transshipment center.
Here, all shipments will be reassembled according to different destinations, waiting for the high-speed.
Due to the large volume of business, Zhongtong has set up a transshipment center in Linyi.
The automated sorting line here can handle 200,000 tickets per hour, and is equipped with 500 operators, 300 full-time mainline drivers and 170 trucks with a length of 17.5 meters.
Every day, 900,000 express shipments are sent directly from here to all parts of the country without going through the North China Transshipment Center.
As a key node supporting the express network, the smooth operation of the transit center is related to the operation of the entire network.
Since the beginning of this year, affected by the epidemic, the ZTO Express Linyi Transit Center has experienced two closures. Although each time only lasted for three days, the transit center has explored a set of "countermeasures" to deal with various emergencies.
—— Nucleic acid testing will be conducted when entering the park. Operators and drivers will be tested in separate areas without contact with each other.
As a key industry, the transit center is the most densely populated part of the entire network, and daily nucleic acid testing is essential.
"Thanks to the help and coordination of the local postal administration. Government departments enter the park at regular times every day to provide testing, which saves us the trouble of finding testing points and queuing long lines." Cui Fukun, head of ZTO Express Linyi Transshipment Center, said, more Importantly, improved detection capabilities allow us to separate operators from drivers, effectively setting up a "firewall" to avoid cross-infection.
——The drop-and-hook connection mode is adopted, and drivers from medium and high-risk areas do not get off the bus and hand over the goods without contact.
"As long as the vehicles come from medium and high-risk areas, we will always use drop-hook connections." Cui Fukun said.
The so-called drop and hook connection means that after the truck arrives at the transfer center, the whole vehicle is disinfected first, then the seal is affixed, and then a special person guides it to the connection point to unload the trailer, and then the driver drives away and goes to the designated parking lot to rest.
In the parking lot, they will conduct nucleic acid and antigen tests and wait for the cargo to be assembled.
When the goods are ready, they drive the front of the car again, pick up the trailer at the designated location, and set off for departure.
Throughout the process, the truck driver had no face-to-face contact with other operators.
——Once shut down, immediately activate the adjacent transshipment center, quickly adjust the logistics route, and ensure the continuous flow of goods.
The transshipment center does everything possible to practice internal skills and ensure safety. In the event of an emergency, the enterprise also has a plan.
On April 9, the operation of the Linyi Transit Center was suspended, and the Jinan Distribution Center quickly filled the space to undertake the transit task.
Wang Enfeng has run to Jinan several times.
Although the outlet is more than 260 kilometers away from the Jinan transshipment center, it takes seven or eight hours for a round trip, but for Kong Steel Ring, it is the best result to be able to transport the goods smoothly.
Cheng Ji, the relevant person in charge of the headquarters of ZTO Express, told reporters that there are currently 99 transshipment centers and 3,700 trunk transportation routes in the entire ZTO network.
Once a new situation arises in an area due to the need for epidemic prevention and control, ZTO will adopt the strategy of adjusting the construction of the package, and solve it by detouring and direct opening.
At the same time, in the area where the transfer station is set up, the closed-loop management of vehicles and personnel is implemented throughout the whole process, and the "contactless" logistics service is used to ensure the smooth transportation of express shipments.
Time: 21:00 on August 5th
Location: ZTO Express Guangzhou Transshipment Center
Now, everything is smooth again. The truck driver Bao Dongjun can make seven or eight trips a month and earn more than 10,000 yuan per month.
When the shipment with the tail number 7174 was sorted at the transit center, Bao Dongjun, the driver of the Zhongtong convoy, was also making the final preparations before departure.
At 15:30 on August 4, Bao Dongjun drove the truck to the gas station and added 821 liters of oil, which was enough for him and his companions to run back and forth between Linyi and Guangzhou.
"Fill up the gas at the designated gas station before departure, and the company will directly settle the fee. We are more worry-free, and the trouble of refueling on the road is also saved, and the speed is faster." Bao Dongjun said.
Afterwards, Bao Dongjun returned home.
As soon as I entered the house, my wife had prepared braised pork, vegetables, and rice at the dinner table.
Bao Dongjun sighed: "It's still delicious and warm at home."
At 20:30 on August 4, Bao Dongjun arrived at the Linyi Transit Center on time.
During this period, he did the last nucleic acid test before departure at the company's nucleic acid test point.
"The testing point is in the company, which is much more convenient. Before, we had to go to the hospital for testing by ourselves. Not only did we have to queue up, but we also had to pay in advance, and then we took the documents to the company for reimbursement." Bao Dongjun said with a smile.
At 21:20, the trailer was connected with a "click", and Bao Dongjun and his companion Master Xie set off on time.
The tail number 7174 express will follow the car from Linyin South Toll Station to the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, and then it will travel 1705 kilometers all the way, and it is expected to arrive in Guangzhou in 24 hours.
Maintaining a speed of 80 km/h, three and a half hours later, Bao Dongjun and his companion Master Xie stopped briefly in the service area.
After going to the bathroom and changing shifts, Bao Dongjun ushered in his first rest.
Pointing to the Beidou monitor installed in the car, Bao Dongjun said: "More than 4 hours is fatigue driving. It will call the police after a while. We usually change shifts every 3 and a half hours."
The resting place is just behind the cab.
The front of the car is less than 5 square meters, the kitchen is to the right of the steering wheel, and the bed is behind it.
After running long distances for many years, Bao Dongjun has developed the skill of "sticking to the bed" and recharged his energy for driving three and a half hours later.
At around 17:00 on August 5th, Master Bao prepared dinner for the two in the small cab, "Bring pancakes and order dishes, it's simple and convenient."
At 21:00 on August 5, Bao Dongjun got off the expressway from the Guangzhou exit of the Daguang Expressway and arrived at the Guangzhou Transit Center of Zhongtong Express after 2 kilometers.
"Going off the expressway today is so smooth. Now I only check the health code, not the itinerary code." Bao Dongjun said that when the epidemic was more serious before, it was not only troublesome but also easy to check the health code, itinerary code, and nucleic acid test results when getting off the expressway. Traffic jams, "At that time, we were most afraid of high-speed accidents and traffic jams. If we accidentally stayed in medium and high-risk areas for too long, and the health code changed color, it would be troublesome."
The changes in the service area also made Bao Dongjun very satisfied.
Previously, many high-speed service areas were closed, and it was very inconvenient for truck drivers to go to the bathroom and increase supplies.
Data from the Ministry of Transport shows that on April 10, 364 service areas were temporarily closed due to epidemic prevention and control; on April 23, the number dropped to 27; Zero target.
"All service areas are open, we are more at ease." Bao Dongjun said.
After checking in with the mobile phone, waiting for the killing, and unloading the goods, Bao Dongjun's work was successfully completed.
"Do a nucleic acid test in the company and you can go back to the dormitory. On the 6th, we took a day off, and on the 7th, at 4 a.m., we picked up the goods and set off back to Linyi." Bao Dongjun said.
Bao Dongjun cherished the free time on the 6th.
Previously, they could not get off the bus in Guangzhou due to being from medium and high-risk areas.
After staying in a small space of less than 5 square meters for a long time, Bao Dongjun felt that sometimes his head was buzzing, "Now, everything is smooth again, I can run seven or eight times a month, and my monthly income can be 10,000 yuan. Diverse."
As Bao Dongjun arrived in Guangzhou, the shipment with tail number 7174 also entered the sorting process again.
At 15:00 on August 6, the shipment was signed by Cainiao Store No. 107 Songbei Street, Songzhou, Baiyun District, Guangzhou.
The 72-hour express delivery that many consumers are accustomed to has been successfully completed.
From Linyi to Guangzhou, it is just one of the many routes in Linyi, an important logistics town.
ZTO Express is the only company that sends 90,000 express parcels from Linyi to Guangzhou every day, which can fill 9 high-capacity trailers with a capacity of 17.5 meters.
Under the support of increasingly smooth logistics, Linyi achieved online retail sales of 25.38 billion yuan in the first half of the year, an increase of 29.6%.
From the shock and the backlog of express shipments to the rapid recovery of growth, China's express delivery industry has withstood the pressure and strengthened its resilience.
Within 600 kilometers arrive the next day, 1500 kilometers arrive the next day, and more than 3000 kilometers arrive in 3 to 7 days... The express logistics industry with faster turnover, lower cost and wider scope will also bring more convenience to people everywhere.