Online sales lead to boom in delivery services
Sep-30-2014 By : fcccadmin
The increase in online sales has led to soaring demand for delivery services. In 2013, some 1 billion parcels were delivered in Shanghai alone, with a total revenue of CNY25.8 billion. Every day, about 100,000 couriers crisscross the city. A Shanghai resident received an average of 39 parcels last year. About 70% of the nation’s express companies have their headquarters in Shanghai, including leading courier firms SF, STO, ZTO and Yunda Express. Service quality remains a work in progress. Many people have had bad experiences with couriers – the loss of packages, refusal to deliver the package at the door or a rude attitude. The government plans to launch a campaign to regulate such firms within three years, and “black and red lists” will be released so residents can evaluate the firms based on criteria such as manners, service, integrity, standards and facilities. Both lists will be released by the end of the year. Delivery personnel will be required to have licenses. Customers’ complaints to the Postal Administration often lead to punishments for the courier firms. Most couriers earn CNY1 per parcel delivered, while others earn a fixed salary of CNY3,500 a month.
Express delivery companies investigated for price collusion
By : fcccadmin
Six domestic express delivery companies are being investigated for alleged collusion after they raised their rates simultaneously in Chongqing. The six companies held several meetings earlier this year to discuss an increase and decided to raise their rates simultaneously on August 1. Delivery companies involved in this case include the Chongqing branches of YTO Express Co, ZTO Express Co, Yunda Express Co and TTKD Express Co. Because of the size of these companies, their action amounts to a pact to control market rates and violates China’s price law. The Chongqing Price Bureau has ordered the six companies to stop charging the higher rates or face fines and other administrative action. YTO Express said that the increase was imposed independently by its franchisee in Chongqing and the corporate headquarters in Shanghai was not aware of the move until the Chongqing authorities acted. Zhang Qizuo, Professor at Chengdu University specializing in the service sector, said it is hard for express companies to get orders in China’s southwestern logistics market, where consumers usually call the cheapest company to deliver their packages or documents.
China express firms opt for self pick-up outlets to save costs
By : fcccadmin
China’s express delivery companies and their e-commerce partners have been forced by high costs to pull back from door-to-door delivery and instead ask customers to pick up their packages to keep shipment prices low and remain competitive. Taobao, the customer-to-customer online trading platform of Alibaba, launched a self-pick-up service in Hong Kong in late August, allowing consumers to choose from 200 pick-up points, including the 125 post offices in Hong Kong, for their shipment options. Picking up purchased goods instead of requesting door-to-door delivery may save consumers more than 50% in shipping costs. Delivery industry analysts feel the “self-pick-up solution” is an option Taobao and its logistics partners were forced to take. “As Taobao expands outside China, with Hong Kong as the first key overseas market, it realized managing logistics capacity is a challenge,” said Gary Ng, Chairman of the Hong Kong Courier Association. Taobao’s registered users in Hong Kong reached 1.4 million at the end of 2012, comprising almost one fifth of the city’s population. China’s express delivery companies delivered 9.2 billion pieces of goods in 2013, up 61.5% over 2012 and ranking it No 2 in terms of business volume after the United States, the South China Morning Post reported.
China to further open express delivery to foreign enterprises
By : fcccadmin
China will further open the domestic express delivery market to qualified foreign enterprises. The country will streamline license approval procedures and encourage mergers and acquisitions (M&As), even those launched with foreign capital, within the necessary review system. China’s international delivery business has become basically open to overseas capital, while domestic markets in major cities have gradually become available to foreign players. The enhanced competition will be an incentive for domestic companies to improve their operations and services, stimulate domestic demand and create more jobs, a government announcement said. United Parcel Service (UPS) has received licenses to operate express services in 33 Chinese cities, and 19 of these were granted this year. Apart from the two major hubs in Shanghai and Shenzhen, UPS also has about 250 operating facilities throughout China. FedEx said that it has been working closely with the relevant authorities to obtain express delivery service permits ever since the new Postal Law came into effect. According to a report released by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and the Development and Research Center of the State Post Bureau, 78.9% of market share is held by private companies, 19.9% by state-owned enterprises and the remaining 1.2% by foreign ones. Chu Xuejian, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Logistics Association, said: “It is very likely that consumers will opt for Chinese companies, which charge less, when they want to deliver less important shipments but opt for foreign ones, which charge more but provide better and much safer service for important goods.”
“Everyone’s Express” enables free-lance couriers in Shanghai
Apr-30-2014 By : agxadmin
A new parcel delivery service based around a mobile phone application that pairs customers with freelance couriers is growing in popularity in Shanghai. It is also being closely monitored by the Shanghai Postal Management Bureau to ensure there is no disruption to the order of the industry. The app, known in English as “Everyone’s Express,” has been developed by RRKD Express and makes it possible for anyone over 18 with a GPS-enabled mobile phone to work as a courier. Customers pay between CNY15 and CNY35 to have a parcel delivered in the city, with the courier taking 80% and RRKD 20%. The company promises delivery within the hour, and if there is a delay customers are free to deduct a percentage of the due payment. It accepts parcels valued up to CNY500. Traditional courier services charge between CNY5 and CNY12 for a cross-city next-day delivery. Xie Qin, Founder of RRKD, said the company has applied to the Postal Bureau for a courier license. It has already been given approval to operate in Sichuan province. RRKD now has 100 franchises, about 5 million users and more than 1 million couriers, Xie said, as reported by the Shanghai Daily.
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