Without receiving a call from the courier, the package has already been placed at the post station or express locker... For a long time, "signing for receipt at the express locker" has become a problem for buyers.
Starting from March 1, the "Express Delivery Market Management Measures" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") will be officially implemented. It stipulates that unauthorized use of smart express boxes and express delivery service stations to deliver express shipments without the user's consent is a violation and will be punished. It is expressly prohibited and will result in a fine of up to 30,000 yuan.
Recently, reporters from the Beijing News learned that many couriers have learned about the latest regulations through the company or WeChat groups or short video platforms.
However, concerns about delivery fees and delivery efficiency are still a major concern for couriers.
A courier said bluntly: "If we don't use express lockers and the delivery fee doesn't increase, we can't do anything."
Data from the State Post Bureau shows that in 2023, China's express delivery business volume will complete a total of 132.07 billion pieces, a year-on-year increase of 19.4%.
The express delivery industry has entered a new high-speed development lane. Only by solving the last mile problem and achieving effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity can we promote high-quality development of the industry.
In the future, service and timeliness will still be the focus of competition among express delivery companies.
status quo
Express delivery "was signed for" and buyers complained a lot
"Before, it was delivered to my door, but after the Spring Festival, Fengchao suddenly opened it for me." Xu Yang (pseudonym), who lives in Panjiayuan, Beijing, has recently received frequent text messages from Fengchao express lockers.
He said that in the elevator room where he lived, other people's express delivery was still delivered to his door, but his own express delivery was suddenly put into the express locker.
In the morning, Xu Yang received a reminder of overtime storage charges in the express cabinet, and Xu Yang quickly retrieved the express delivery.
"I place a lot of orders during the Spring Festival. The explanation given by the courier is that after the Spring Festival, their site lacks manpower and has changed many couriers. If the express delivery cannot be delivered, the courier will directly put it in the express locker."
Xu Yang told the Beijing News reporter that after asking the courier to deliver the goods to his door, the other party said he hoped to mark "door delivery" on the delivery address, so as to remind the courier of the need for door-to-door delivery.
Xu Qiang, who lives in Fengtai, has also received text messages from express lockers.
"SF Express and JD.com will communicate in advance. For example, SF Express will conduct artificial intelligence phone inquiries before reaching the last mile, while other express delivery is relatively random."
Door-to-door delivery is difficult, and from the courier’s point of view, it’s more of a cost-effective trade-off.
"Now the delivery fee is one yuan per item. If you encounter a community full of stairs, you can deliver up to 250 orders a day, and you won't be able to do it for the next week. It's too tiring." Wang Jun (pseudonym), a Yuantong courier in Chaoyang District, Beijing ) said that by using express cabinets for delivery, more than a thousand orders can be placed in a day.
A Beijing News reporter interviewed many couriers and learned that couriers use express cabinets to deliver goods and need to pay about 0.3 yuan to the express cabinet for each order, but express cabinets can double to quadruple the delivery volume for couriers.
According to Wang Jun, based on the average delivery fee of 1 yuan per item, the daily delivery volume will increase by about 750 yuan after using the express cabinet, and the average daily income will increase by about 525 yuan.
Wang Jun said that some office workers want to deliver goods to express lockers because there is no one at home during the day, while some elderly people want door-to-door delivery.
"Actually, we are also afraid that we will lose it after it is delivered to our doorstep." Although he chooses express delivery lockers, Wang Jun basically does not call consumers one by one to inquire about their willingness to deliver.
Explore the cause
It’s difficult to deliver goods to your doorstep, but you’re taking the blame for the 1 yuan delivery fee?
During the interview, Wang Jun repeatedly mentioned the distribution fee of 1 yuan per order to the Beijing News reporter, believing that the distribution fee was too low.
In fact, franchise express delivery fees similar to the Tongda system are relatively floating, and the outlet owners have certain pricing power.
The headquarters will regularly settle the overall price with the site, and the outlet owner will then settle the payment to the courier. Some outlets charge 1 yuan to 1.5 yuan per order.
It is understood that SF Express and JD.com’s direct express delivery companies have a reputation for door-to-door delivery.
Many consumers told reporters that these two express delivery companies basically achieve door-to-door delivery. During the delivery process, artificial intelligence customer service or couriers will call customers in advance to ask for their opinions.
However, the express delivery fees and courier delivery fees of these two companies are relatively high.
"At present, our delivery fee is about 2 yuan per order, and it will fluctuate according to the weight. We must inform customers before delivering, and we will do what the customers say." Wang Xiao (pseudonym), an SF Express courier in Dongcheng District, Beijing, told a reporter from the Beijing News He said that compared with the 400-500 orders per day for Tongda couriers, he only delivers about 100 orders per day and receives 100 more orders.
"After all, our express delivery is expensive. If some people ask me to put it in the express locker, I will put it in."
Wang Meng (pseudonym) is responsible for the co-delivery work of Jitu, STO and Yunda Express in Chaoyang District, Beijing.
His delivery habit is that if it is a low-rise building, it will usually be delivered directly to your door.
And if there are only a few express delivery services in a building, they will be delivered directly to the express delivery cabinet.
"After the Spring Festival, many people stopped doing express delivery, so a lot of goods were shipped." In Wang Meng's view, the current express delivery work is very difficult, and the delivery fee is an unavoidable problem. The original delivery fee of 1.2 yuan per order will be It has continued to decrease recently.
In addition, as express delivery vehicles continue to be standardized, non-compliant related vehicles will be eliminated. "The express delivery capacity that standard vehicles can carry has significantly reduced. Now I have to call a freight vehicle to help me deliver express delivery at noon."
The new regulations came into effect on March 1, which was also a watershed moment.
Wang Meng said that if he continues to deliver express delivery to express lockers without the permission of consumers, he will face multiple fines. "In the past, someone complained and could be fined 100 yuan. After March 1, it may be 200-500 yuan." Pai said. The fee income and work efficiency made Wang Meng waver again: "Try to work for a while, and if it doesn't work, change jobs."
Take a stand
Leading companies responded to the implementation of the new regulations: a thousand yuan reward for using technical means
The business volume of my country's express delivery industry has ranked first in the world for 10 consecutive years.
In 2023, the express delivery business volume will be 132.07 billion pieces, and the business revenue will be 1.2 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.4% and 14.3% respectively.
Hou Yanbo, spokesman and office director of the State Post Bureau, once said that China’s per capita annual express delivery volume has reached 94 pieces.
The era of barbaric growth in the express delivery industry is over. With the standardized development of the industry, transformation and upgrading are imperative.
In fact, door-to-door delivery has long been a "standard feature" in the express delivery industry. When using smart express boxes to deliver express items, it is frequently mentioned that the recipient's consent should be obtained, but it is still difficult to implement it in the entire industry.
A reporter from the Beijing News found out that the leading express delivery companies have already started delivering goods to your doorstep as they strive to provide better services.
In September 2022, SF Express launched for the first time the service commitment of "no door-to-door delivery, and compensation will be paid as promised" in 50 major large and medium-sized cities across the country.
In October last year, JD.com upgraded its services and proposed three major service commitments: "Compensation for items not picked up within one hour", "Compensation for overtime in the entire process", and "Compensation for delivery not coming to your door".
Cainiao launched its self-operated express delivery service "Cainiao Express" in June last year. It has upgraded its delivery business for Tmall Supermarket to a national express network. It focuses on quality services such as half-day delivery, same-day delivery, door-to-door delivery and night collection. Nearly 300 cities provide five 100% guarantees: compensation for late arrivals, compensation for damage, compensation for no-shows, interception in transit and destination change in transit.
In addition, Tongda Express also told the Beijing News reporter that it provides door-to-door delivery services to consumers.
Most domestic logistics giants were born in the era of e-commerce dividends, but the current growth rate of the domestic e-commerce market has slowed down significantly, and the express delivery industry is dominated by "price-for-volume".
Competition in the industry continues. In the future, service and timeliness will still be the focus of competition. The terminal distribution link that directly faces consumers will become the key to the express delivery industry's pursuit of high-quality development.
On February 29, relevant personnel of STO Express told the Beijing News reporter that STO Express has always paid close attention to the specifications of end-of-line delivery services, especially the requirement that couriers need to solicit the opinions of recipients before delivery. Focus on work.
After the implementation of the "Express Delivery Market Management Measures", not only are the requirements for express delivery services higher, but there are also clearer penalties from a legal perspective.
It said that based on the current daily delivery volume of couriers, especially in relatively concentrated delivery areas, requiring couriers to call for each item will inevitably affect efficiency.
STO Express will invest in technology to enhance delivery efficiency by optimizing technical means, such as intelligent telecommunications for parcel delivery, customer selection at the front-end collection, and identification of signs for express parcels that clearly require door-to-door delivery.
In addition, we will strengthen delivery training for terminal couriers, enhance service awareness, and rationally adjust delivery structures and routes.
In this regard, Cainiao said that it has always insisted on providing express delivery services according to consumers' choices through pre-delivery, telecom and other methods. "We have strict service tracking to ensure the quality of contract performance. In the future, we will also continue to provide new regulations in conjunction with new regulations." Excellent and affordable quality express delivery service.”
Cainiao said that it has set up monthly star-rated courier rewards. Couriers with good door-to-door delivery and other services can be rated as a five-star courier, with an additional income ranging from 1,100 to 1,200 yuan.
In response to the implementation of the new regulations, JD.com also told the Beijing News reporter that door-to-door delivery has always been their service standard.
In addition to the delivery issue of express lockers, many provisions in the "Measures" are closely related to consumers, including adjustments in seven aspects, including strengthening the regulation of express delivery services, strengthening market order management requirements, and stricting express delivery waybill and code number management regulations.
It stipulates that to ensure the safety of express items, prevent them from being lost, damaged, or lacking contents, express items must not be thrown or trampled on; without the consent of the user, no one is allowed to confirm the receipt of express items, and no express items are delivered to smart express boxes (express cabinets) or Express terminal service facilities such as express service stations, etc.
Beijing News reporter Cheng Zijiao