China express firms opt for self pick-up outlets to save costs
September 30, 2014 Category Express delivery, Logistics
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.
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