The express delivery industry in China is accumulating new variables.
on April 29th, an annual report of Yunda Co., Ltd. announced a new change in the pattern of China express delivery industry. The annual report showed that Alibaba had invested in Yunda and held 2% of its shares.
This change has become a new climax of the changes in the express delivery market in China. Before that, the industry has been stirred by some new forces.
on April 7th, SF Express and CICC * * * jointly established "Fengwang Express"; On March 19th, JD.COM's "Zhongyou Express" obtained the express delivery business license, and recruited franchisees in Guangdong, Jiangsu and other places. Earlier, the Southeast Asian express delivery company "J& Rabbit Express", which is closely related to OPPO, was established. T Express) "has quietly and quickly completed the internet since landing in China last year.
Just as the development of SF Express, Three Links and One Reach, JD.com and other e-commerce platforms have developed simultaneously, the emergence of new express delivery forces is closely related to the rise of hot social e-commerce and live e-commerce.
At present, new e-commerce forces such as Pinduoduo, Aauto Quicker and Tik Tok are growing rapidly, and they are competing with Taobao and JD.COM. Therefore, new express players have also targeted the new e-commerce platform and the sinking market.
The relationship between Extreme Rabbit Express and Pinduoduo, the dark horse of e-commerce, has been talked about by the outside world. In recent years, the share of parcels in the express delivery market in Pinduoduo has been rising. According to the information of the State Post Bureau, 5.98 billion parcels were delivered in March in the whole country, and the total number of physical express parcels in Pinduoduo exceeded 1.5 billion, accounting for about 25% of the national express parcels.
and the target of JD.COM's multi-post express is more clear. In official website, Zhongyou Express said that it is a courier company focusing on sinking market and economic business development. Its market positioning is "providing courier services for domestic e-commerce platforms, Wechat business micro-stores, new e-commerce, professional markets and retail investors", focusing on 3KG small pieces and e-commerce parcels, and "striving to become a well-known courier company with the best cost performance in China."
Essence Securities believes that China Post Express may give priority to Jingxi (JD.COM's social e-commerce platform) and third-party sellers of JD.COM platform. Because at present, Jingdong Logistics mainly serves big brand businesses, but it is not attractive to small and medium-sized businesses on the JD.COM platform, and it is mainly based on three links and one access, and the express delivery of public mail can make up for this gap.
according to the data, in 219, more than 7% of new users in JD.COM came from the low-end market, which became one of the main driving forces for JD.COM's accelerated growth. Grasping the sinking market quickly is the key to JD.COM's growth.
The Fengyun Express, which is owned by SF Express, may target the sinking market. Although it is still in its infancy, the outside world cannot know its specific strategy, but SF Express's attitude towards the sinking market can be seen from the financial report.
In the recently released 219 financial report, it named the sinking market and the value of new e-commerce platform, and believed that "with the upgrading and transformation of China's consumption structure, sinking market, new e-commerce platform and large e-commerce parcels will gradually become the engines to drive the growth of the industry, which is expected to bring new growth momentum to the industry."
Starting from sinking the market, it is expected to become the key for new express players such as Jitu to change the industry structure. However, the existence of market opportunities is fair to both new and old players, and from which dimension, it is impossible to sit idly by.
So, in the "encirclement and suppression" and "counter-encirclement", how sure are the polar rabbits to be the victorious side?
"The rabbit moves really fast, and the outlets in our city have already joined," said Zhao Hejun, the owner of a courier outlet in Liaocheng, Shandong.
when the outside world began to notice polar rabbit, the company had almost completed the layout of its outlets in China. According to official data, Polar Rabbit has established 76 transshipment centers, matched 5 sets of high-speed automatic lines and allocated more than 5 sets of matrix sorting equipment.
according to the news from polar rabbit, its service outlets have achieved 1% coverage in provinces and cities, 98% coverage in counties and 9% coverage in towns and villages.
However, according to all-weather technology, it seems that it is not accurate to achieve 1% coverage of provinces and cities nationwide. There are no outlets in official website, including Tibet, Xinjiang, Gansu and other provinces, which shows that "outlets are under development".
An insider of Extreme Rabbit also proved this point. Before April 29th, the company had completed the grid connection in 19 provinces and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning and Guizhou will also be connected to the grid on April 29th, totaling 23 provinces and cities, excluding some western provinces or autonomous regions. The last batch of network-starting areas are northwest provinces such as Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, and the planned deployment time is May 31.
Even so, the speed of Extreme Rabbit is extremely fast. According to the logistics industry WeChat official account's "Post Station", before the J& of Extreme Rabbit Express, J&; Several key members of T's founding team are located in two floors of E-World Huaxin Garden in Qingpu District, Shanghai. Since the first half of 219, on the one hand, they have actively recruited and supplemented the team strength, on the other hand, they have made low-key plans and prepared for the network.
It took less than one month from the registration of Shanghai Polar Rabbit Supply Chain Co., Ltd. on September 16, 219 to the completion of the registration of provincial branches in mid-October; On October 24 last year, "Extreme Rabbit Express" WeChat WeChat official account was launched and launched; In March of this year, Extreme Rabbit Logistics began trial operation in some areas.
Up to now, "Extreme Rabbit has 19 ordering channels in China, including three official channels and 16 e-commerce platforms". According to the information of Extreme Rabbit, at present, its three official channels are website, 4 telephone and WeChat applet. The 16 e-commerce platforms include Pinduoduo, Dangdang, Youzan and Suning.cn.
The speed and scale of this construction is still the result of being interrupted by the epidemic. Some insiders said that the original plan of Extreme Rabbit is to spread franchisees in third-and fourth-tier cities before the Spring Festival, and then start the recruitment of couriers after the Spring Festival to complete the construction of the last mile distribution.
The reason why Extreme Rabbit can move so quickly is that it got the national license through Shanghai Long Bang Express Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Long Bang") in China, and it is also related to the long-term accumulation of OPPO offline-from the founder to the employee, Extreme Rabbit has a close relationship with OPPO.
According to public information, the founding team and early investment of Extreme Rabbit came from OPPO, and its founder Li Jie was the founder of OPPO Indonesia. Not only that, all-weather technology found through inquiry that Fan Suzhou, the actual controller of the main body of Extreme Rabbit Company, also worked in OPPO Indonesia and lived in Bandung, Indonesia for a long time. It was not until 215 that he began to enter J&; T Express。
"People above the manager level or with partial sales posts are basically OPPO", and a new employee said that the company also gives priority to OPPO people at the franchisee level.
JD.COM's China Post Express is also in full swing at present. In mid-January, Zhongyou Express submitted the application materials for registered trademarks to the Trademark Office, and began to recruit partners in Guangdong Province in early March. In the first round, there were more than 16 franchisees in Guangdong Province, eventually forming the scale of 3 first-class franchisees. In addition to Guangdong, the regions that are currently open to joining have been extended to Quanzhou, Suzhou and Wuxi. Changzhou and Shanghai (Puxi area).
According to industry sources, on April 18th, China Post Express officially launched the network test operation in Guangdong Province, and the network test will be launched in southern Jiangsu and Shanghai around May 18th, so that China Post Express South China and East China will serve the JD.COM 618 promotion together before 618.
According to various data, at present, Polar Rabbit adopts the strategy of direct marketing as the main strategy, supplemented by agency, and opens its agency in remote or rural areas. Using direct marketing in the core area to ensure the consistency and quality of services; At the same time, use the form of joining to expand the coverage area of express delivery network.
the mass mail express has gone out of the opposite way, focusing on expanding franchisees with lower costs and recruiting franchisees in various places.
franchisees have different attitudes towards the entry of several new express delivery forces.
Many franchisees, represented by Li Hejun, have a positive attitude and have asked how to join.
and behind the positive attitude of these franchisees is the reality that the profits of traditional express delivery franchisees are getting lower and lower. In recent years, the financial reports released by Shentong, Yuantong and Yunda all show that the revenue of express delivery business and single ticket revenue all declined year-on-year.
"At present, the delivery cost of each express outlet is getting lower and lower, and the price war is fierce, and the customers compete fiercely." Li Hejun said that franchisees all want to find new sources of income, especially the legendary relationship between Polar Rabbit and Pinduoduo, and the relationship between JD.COM and China Post Express, which makes franchisees "greedy".
But from the current point of view, it is not easy to join Extreme Rabbit. "After four calls, the other party said that they would be contacted by local investment personnel every time, but they did not follow up every time." He said that the customer service didn't even want to give him the phone number of the merchants directly, which made him very strange.
"The operation of prefecture-level cities has been taken by OPPO dealers. We talked about it two days ago, and only towns and villages were allowed to join. The staff of China Merchants Department was the salesman of the previous mobile phone channel." Another franchisee said that at present, a large part of the people in charge of the provinces and regions of Extreme Rabbit are the original OPPO team. It is also reported that the agency right of the polar rabbit has priority within OPPO, and it will be external if no one does it.
however, it is relatively easy to recruit the express delivery service. In order to attract the franchisees, the express delivery service has also introduced the franchise benefits. A franchise link posted by a merchant of the express delivery service shows that the express delivery service will give franchisees outlets industrial machines, portable printers, and various subsidies and concessions.
However, Zhongyou is also selective about franchisees. The above-mentioned merchants of Zhongyou said that at present, the company mainly recruits people who are already operating express outlets, and he does not recommend joining those who are inexperienced because it is "difficult to do".
However, some franchisees have expressed concern about whether to join Extreme Rabbit and China Post. Their concern lies in how to make money.
A person in the express delivery industry believes that the operation of express outlets is becoming more and more difficult due to the fierce price competition in the franchise express delivery market. "If Extreme Rabbit and China Post are finally as good as the three links and one reach, then the attraction is not great."
the most critical factor is how many resources these new players can get. "Who can be sure that Extreme Rabbit Express is cooperating with Pinduoduo? If you cooperate, it is worth doing. Without Pinduoduo's cooperation, the risk is too great. "
Due to the lack of support from mainstream e-commerce, the order volume of Extreme Rabbit Express is not large at present. "There is no quantity, and at present, only 2 or 3 pieces are delivered in one day." A courier outlet owner said that Extreme Rabbit Guangdong has started to deliver, but it mainly receives OPPO's pieces. "Only 1 to 2 pieces are delivered in one town, so it's better to join the three links."
"According to my previous experience, Extreme Rabbit can't do it." He Qidong, the owner of the express outlet, was originally interested in being an extreme rabbit, but recently he contacted the local person in charge of Extreme Rabbit and gave up the idea. "I have seen the joining conditions, and the other party clearly stated that he should be prepared for losses."
He is worried that Extreme Rabbit will probably make the same mistake as Anneng Express. He Zhidong used to be a franchisee of Anneng Express for two years, and earned 4, yuan in two years. However, in 219, the internal capital chain of Anneng Express broke, and the liquidation contract fee, franchise fee and material cost were "spit" back to 1, yuan.
One of the phenomena he observed is that most of the people who are actively joining Extreme Rabbit and China Post are small express franchisees outside the SF system, such as Pinjun Express, Promise, Long Bang and so on.
not only the franchisees are hesitating, but also the couriers are holding the same attitude.
According to the information of major recruitment websites, Extreme Rabbit Express is currently recruiting couriers in many parts of the country, but the treatment given is not outstanding, which is almost at the same level as that of Three Links and One Reach.
Due to the uncertain prospects and the average salary level, many couriers are also waiting to see, and some couriers who had previously worked in Tongda Department began to join. "I am going to join the polar rabbit because I can't see hope in Yunda." A former yunda courier thinks that he is working for a period of time with a try mentality to see the prospects.
In fact, although Extremely Rabbit and China Post quickly established a network, the most important thing is to have a market share.
according to the data of the state post bureau, the brand concentration index CR8 of express delivery and parcel service in the first quarter was 85.9, which was 4.2 higher than that of the same period of last year, and the market share accelerated to the head enterprises, making it more difficult for second-and third-tier express delivery enterprises to survive.
Therefore, new players such as Extreme Rabbit and China Post want to grab meat from the mouth of Three Links and One Access, or fight for price or service. Zhao Hejun believes that "if the service and price are similar to those of the three links, why will the merchant give the courier to a novice?"
However, both price and service are faced with the problem of cost. According to the research report of Essence Securities, in Yiwu, for e-commerce customers with an average daily shipment of more than 1, tickets (small pieces below .3KG), the express price of three links and one arrival is basically around 1.-1.4 yuan. Taking a medium-sized first-class outlet as an example, if the price of 2.6 yuan/ticket within 1KG is taken into account, the profit of a single ticket is only .2 yuan/ticket, which is basically in a meager profit state.
therefore, if the price is lower than the three links, it means that Extreme Rabbit and China Post will directly enter a loss state.
All-weather scientific and technological inquiry shows that the price of polar rabbit express delivery is slightly lower than that of "Tongda Department" when facing the C-end, and the goods within 1kg are delivered in 8 yuan, 1 yuan and 12 yuan outside the province, while the "Three Links and One Reach" items in the province are generally the first in 12 yuan.
In the face of big customers, industry insiders revealed that the cost of receiving a single ticket to the agent level is basically around 3 yuan, but the price given to big customers is around 2.8 yuan, which is lower than the cost price.
In some places, there are even outlets that shout out the news that Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai will send free mail three days before opening, and then half price will be paid four days later, which makes people in the industry stunned.
36kr reported that a person in charge of a polar rabbit network directly said, "Be prepared to lose money for two years first".
In terms of gaining market share, Extreme Rabbit and China Post are also facing embarrassing identity problems. It is a double-edged sword for these two companies to bear the label of "Pinduoduo" and "JD.COM" express delivery. On the one hand, it can quickly enhance their popularity, but on the other hand, it means that it is difficult to expand e-commerce platforms of different camps.
Under this consideration, both companies are trying their best to downplay their Pinduoduo and JD.COM colors. For example, there is no official cooperation between Extreme Rabbit and Pinduoduo, and the words related to JD.COM can hardly be found in the official website of China Post.
in order to get more orders, express delivery companies don't want to wait in line too early. Take Yunda as an example. According to the previous report in Reuters, Alibaba Group Holdings Co., Ltd. plans to buy at least 1% of Yunda Holdings, but it only holds 2% of the shares at present. It remains to be seen whether Alibaba will increase its holdings in the future.
For Pinduoduo and Polar Rabbit, people in the express delivery industry also think that Pinduoduo may not be there.