Express to convenience stores, mixed operating advantages

All the way to the logistics, the traditional courier enterprises are facing great impact. Intensified competition prompted the private express to shun Fung to open up new markets, in order to facilitate the combination of convenience stores and express to seek new breakthroughs.

2011, the logistics industry in a uproar in the curtain, whether it is the representative of E-commerce Taobao, Jingdong Mall, or traditional electric appliance retailer Suning, all in this year, exerting the logistics industry. Taobao cost tens of billions of dollars into logistics treasure, Jingdong Mall Hao throw 1 billion yuan to build their own logistics channels, Suning set up easy to buy, innovative supply chain logistics capabilities. This makes the e-commerce industry, "the last kilometer" of the express industry, in the enjoyment of online shopping in the explosion of business growth, but also have to face the challenges of new competitors. Not only that, before the roundabout intervention in the domestic express business ups, DHL, TNT and FedEx (FedEx) and other foreign express companies, but also in full swing to apply for operating licences, and is expected to reverse the current frustrated situation in 2012, fully into the domestic courier market for a long time.

Although the purpose of the road to The courier business is not the same, but an indisputable fact is that the next few years, the express industry will continue to maintain high-speed growth. According to the postal industry "Twelve-Five" planning, by the end of 2015, the courier Business Market scale will reach 143 billion yuan, the annual processing volume of more than 6.1 billion, annual growth of more than 20%. Express industry contains a huge increase in space, is to attract enterprises scramble to enter an important reason. A large number of foreign players to join, so as the traditional private courier company representative of Shun Fung, four-pass, and other companies in the internal and external attack, had to seek new growth point, as far as possible to avoid the future of the risk of marginalization.

Express to the convenience store

20 years has been a low-key development of Shun Fung, to Shenzhen as the base, in China has set up more than 2,200 business outlets, throughout the domestic 250 large and medium-sized cities and more than 1300 city or town, with more than 100,000 employees, to become a typical representative of private courier enterprises. It is estimated that in 2010 its sales volume of more than 12 billion yuan, profit margin of about 30%.

In the face of the impact of the people from all the road, 2011 Shun Fung through the cooperation with the Third-party convenience store mode, will express business extended to the terminal, trying to borrow power third-party network channels, accelerate its express business development. October 2011, Shun Fung in Shenzhen and 7-11 convenience stores to reach a cooperation agreement, the Shenzhen area of more than 100 7-11 stores have become the "authorized Agent Point", the same year in December, Shun Fung announced that with Guangzhou 8-word chain of convenience stores 48 stores in the package business cooperation. In order to attract customers to use the convenience store express service, customers in Shun Fung "authorized agent Point" convenience store sent to enjoy a certain discount, 1 kg with the City Express charge of 9 yuan, 11 yuan in the province, respectively, compared to its standard express cheap 3 yuan and 2 yuan.

In fact, Shun Fung has already dabbled in convenience stores in Taiwan. 2007 only in Taiwan set up business outlets in China Shun Fung, so far with the family, Lerfoux, OK convenience store more than 4,900 stores to carry out 24-hour convenience store pick-up services. If you need to send, in the confirmation of goods to meet the delivery conditions, and know the collection of convenience store name and code based on the customer only need to call the customer line orders, and told customer service staff to specify the convenience store code and name, and then take the goods to the nearby convenience store, and then fill out the required form to complete the entire shipping process. The collection process is also simple, in the goods arrived at the designated convenience store, Shun Fung will send notice to the recipient, the recipient in the designated time with identity card to the convenience store check the identity can pick up the goods. Shun Fung apparently tasted the sweetness of co-operation with convenience stores in the island before replicating the model to the mainland market.

According to industry estimates, shun Fung and the convenience store cooperation express parcel business, will be convenience stores to take about 8% of the profit. Despite a certain weakening of profits, the current express industry is generally facing the problem is how to expand the volume of business and reduce costs. Cooperation with convenience stores, on the one hand, help express companies to reduce distribution personnel, on the other hand, in maintaining their own balance of the premise, so that convenience stores for express business to provide a higher marginal profit and advertising effects.

In fact, before cooperating with other brand convenience stores, Shun Fung has built more than 20 self-convenience stores in Shenzhen, and has been operating in low profile for nearly half a year. And with other brand convenience store stores are mainly concentrated in the scope of the urban area, Shun Fung in Shenzhen to open the proprietary outlets are not in the core business district, but in the development of the retail industry relatively backward Baoan, Longgang District Two, and these proprietary convenience stores mostly from the original access to express Transit station evolved. At present, Shun Fung's proprietary convenience stores in Guangdong province only pilot, the goal is to build 1000 convenience stores in the country. Cooperation with other brand convenience stores is just a way to expand channels, the main direction of the convenience store is shun Fung. Of course, as a professional civil courier company, Shun Fung's intention is very clear, reduce courier costs, increase site collection and improve delivery mode is its real purpose.

Mixed operating Advantages

Although Shun Fung is not the first domestic joint retail Express Company, but its action immediately caused by the peer to follow. In Shun Fung and 7-11 to reach a cooperation agreement soon, another domestic private giant yuantong and Sichuan dance Dongfeng Supermarket also reached an intention of cooperation agreement.

This convenience store and express the combination of a precedent in foreign countries, the industry's conventional practice is to do the retail, when the dot layout to a certain degree, and then borrow force outlets do express business. In Japan, the convenience store's express delivery function has matured, people used to distance home or the company's nearest convenience store to send and receive items, by the way to buy some daily necessities, 7-11 convenience stores have become the Japanese Express access site. International express giant UPS and FedEx are also involved in the retail business, but take the mode of mergers and acquisitions. 2001 UPS acquired Mail Boxes ETC. (later renamed the UPS Store) thousands of stores, 2004 FedEx bought a chain of convenience stores Kinko "s (later renamed FedEx Office), these stores in addition to the sale of daily necessities, Both operating document processing, printing and photocopying, photo printing and express business.

All along, the express industry is to provide door-to-door pick-up or delivery services, but often encounter the recipient is not, or inconvenient to collect the situation. Coupled with the current as a network of the main force of the company white-collar office time is relatively fixed, usually after work in the evening to take pieces. Therefore, express convenience stores have undoubtedly caught the needs of these target customers, easy to achieve fixed-point distribution, without door-to-door service, reducing their own human and enterprise operating costs. In addition, compared to the traditional independent convenience store model, Shun Fung can use its own in the day-to-day distribution of the advantages of transport in the courier at the same time the goods needed to transport convenience stores. As a result, the logistics and sales costs of shun Fung can be reduced correspondingly, and UPS and FedEx Retail store business scope, may be the future of Shun Fung convenience store business expansion direction.

The double problems of store management and consumption habit

Shun Fung from the express industry into the retail industry, from the perspective of the express industry appears to be a major breakthrough, but in the eyes of the retail industry risk is extremely high. In the retail industry, the operation of convenience stores is not a simple distribution facilities and the surrounding customer base of statistics, to a greater extent, but also rely on businessmen proficient in commodity management and procurement of professional technology, and these are precisely the short board of Express Enterprises. As early as 2002, the Shenzhen Total Speed Tatsu Logistics company launched the autonomous "million shop Qualcomm" brand convenience stores, but these stores do not participate in express business. Relying on the storage center of the professional logistics and distribution enterprises, through the way to join, today's million stores have more than 200 stores, but in Shenzhen all over the various convenience stores, with logistics advantages of the million-store development situation is not optimistic. Not only that, the current chain of convenience store industry is entering the era of meager profit, but also for Shun Fung Convenience store the prospect of wiping a layer of shadow.

In addition to the difficulties of operating convenience stores, Shun Fung also had to face the habit of consumers, the vast majority of consumers have been accustomed to door-to-door express way, to the site or spontaneous courier items in a short period of time or difficult to be accepted by consumers.