Express companies speed up the pace of "going out to sea" and the competition is fierce or they need to "hold together" to break the situation

　　Our reporter Li Chunlian

　　Trainee reporter Peng Yansong

　　Express delivery companies continue to accelerate the pace of "going to sea".

　　On November 14th, Cainiao made public its three-year development plan for Brazil for the first time.

At present, the Cainiao Express network covers more than 1,000 cities across Brazil. Local orders are delivered within 2 to 3 days on average, and core cities such as Sao Paulo can achieve next-day delivery.

　　It’s not just a rookie. At the fifth CIIE that just passed, Jitu Express and YTO International both announced further moves to expand overseas.

　　"The industrial chain and supply chain of my country's express delivery companies are relatively mature, with rich human resources and management experience, and have the conditions for external export and global layout." Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with a reporter from the "Securities Daily". From the perspective of global development, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and other regions are latecomers, and the e-commerce and other industries in these regions have huge room for future development.

　　Southeast Asia has become the main battlefield for "going to sea"

　　After the "price war" in the past few years to grab the market, the domestic express delivery market has gradually entered the second half of the "service competition", and "going overseas" has become a must for express delivery companies to compete.

　　The reporter noticed that since the beginning of this year, many express delivery companies have made efforts overseas. Many companies such as SF Express, Cainiao Network, and ZTO Express have placed their "main battlefield" in Southeast Asia.

In addition, Brazil and the Middle East have also become popular "going overseas" regions.

　　Based on the acquisition of Kerry Logistics last year, SF Express began to steadily enter the Southeast Asian market.

In October, SF Express International E-Commerce Express announced the official opening of the "New Malaysia and Thailand" service.

At the same time, Zhongtong International Southeast Asia Management Center and Yuanxiu (Thailand) Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation agreement on flower transportation, using the China-Thailand, China-Myanmar, and China-Cambodia cold chain logistics cooperation transportation that ZTO International Southeast Asia Management Center has opened.

　　Jitu Express, which relies on low prices to grab the market in China, also originated in Southeast Asia, and currently occupies a certain market in Southeast Asia relying on its scale advantage.

　　Regarding the reasons why express delivery companies choose the Southeast Asian market, some express delivery companies who did not want to be named told the "Securities Daily" reporter that on the one hand, the e-commerce market in Southeast Asia has a large room for growth, and on the other hand, the logistics infrastructure in Southeast Asia is still relatively backward.

　　"On the whole, Southeast Asia is in a stage of rapid economic development, and driven by the digital economy, the consumer industry continues to develop, and the regional logistics demand is gradually becoming prominent." Wang Peng also said.

　　According to the "2022 Southeast Asia Digital Economy Report" jointly released by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, the GMV of Southeast Asia's digital economy is expected to reach 200 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, of which e-commerce will reach 131 billion U.S. dollars.

This is a new blue ocean for the express delivery industry.

　　With the rapid development of e-commerce in Southeast Asia, express logistics will usher in explosive growth.

　　Zhao Xiaomin, an express logistics expert and CEO of Guanshuo Capital, told the Securities Daily reporter, “In the past few years, Chinese express delivery companies have explored in Europe and the Americas. In terms of route, market space and population structure, Southeast Asia is the best stop for Chinese express companies to "go overseas", and at the same time, it is the closest to China in terms of geographical location. Overall, Southeast Asia is more likely to succeed in "going overseas". But Southeast Asia Different from China, many aspects of it are still relatively in its infancy. For Chinese express delivery companies, they cannot completely copy the domestic express delivery model to Southeast Asia, but must integrate the local market.”

　　Zhao Xiaomin further stated that more and more Chinese e-commerce companies are also accelerating their deployment in Southeast Asia. For the entire express delivery company, it is even more important to seize this wave of opportunities.

　　Overseas markets need to "hold together" to find a breakthrough

　　With the increasing demand for e-commerce platforms to "go overseas", express delivery companies need to continuously improve their cross-border logistics and transportation capabilities and accelerate their overseas deployment.

　　The "14th Five-Year Plan" Postal Industry Development Plan pointed out that it is necessary to develop international delivery logistics.

The first is to expand overseas service layout.

Enhance the connectivity and stability of the international delivery network, and encourage the construction of overseas warehouses.

The second is to improve cross-border service capabilities.

Encourage delivery companies to improve cross-border trunk line capacity and supply chain integration service capabilities.

Guide delivery companies to intensively share resources, use overseas professional services, expand overseas business, and implement express delivery overseas projects.

　　At the same time, the bilateral trade volume between my country and countries along the “Belt and Road” continues to rise, bringing broad development space for cross-border logistics.

In addition, after RCEP came into effect this year, it has further promoted cross-border trade through institutional arrangements such as tariff reductions and exemptions, and has also improved the efficiency of cross-border logistics.

　　For express delivery companies, gradually deploying a global network and building an international supply chain can be said to be the next high ground for competition.

　　However, since the international express delivery giants DHL, UPS, and FedEx started business in Southeast Asia and other places earlier than China, this means that the overseas market competition of express delivery companies is also quite fierce.

　　"Exploiting new markets has to face many difficulties. Express delivery companies can give full play to their platform advantages, technological advantages, supply chain advantages, etc., and use relevant experience to carry out better integration locally." Wang Peng further stated that express delivery companies should not blindly copy Domestic successful experience can actively seek cooperation in the local area, such as local retail giants, government departments, industrial funds, infrastructure construction, etc., which is more conducive to mobilizing local resources and better integrating into local economic development.

　　Zhao Xiaomin also suggested that it is possible to consider reaching a strategic partnership with an excellent Chinese company that has already taken root in the Southeast Asian market, which will also accelerate the success rate of the entire Chinese express delivery company going overseas.

Express delivery companies are facing great challenges in "going overseas". In the face of different local cultural backgrounds, laws, etc., it is recommended that domestic express delivery companies develop in groups, and related e-commerce companies can also "go to sea in groups".

　　SF Express once stated that although the current international express delivery giants still occupy an absolute leading position in the cross-border logistics market, Chinese-funded logistics companies have begun to weave global networks through various methods such as strong alliances, overseas mergers and acquisitions, and self-operated joint ventures, especially in Southeast Asia and South Asia. , and the Middle East region are making frequent efforts to seek a breakthrough in the market competition with unique efficient and affordable service advantages.

(Securities Daily)