Macquarie pushes open operating platform to reverse profitability

Recently, Chen Shaotao Logistics Vice president, said in an interview, "We have the opportunity to introduce new business to outsiders, including the Sequoia Capital organization of the brief closure of the party, Beichun also don't forget to take PPT with other electric dealers to share." "At the same time, Mai Lin is advancing the open Operation platform strategy, so that investors Sequoia Capital is also very concerned about."

People close to the Macaulay said that, after all the attempts, it was the latest bet to share the operating platform on the issue of turning a profit, and whether the stakes were right or not.

Hard to solve the loss

Macaulay two years on the market, the earnings has been a bitter melon face. The latest earnings figures show that Macaulay's net loss in the first quarter was $4.2 million trillion, an increase of 8% per cent.

Beichun has explained the problem: first, the reduction of the gross profit margin, the competition between the major power companies, including the continuous guise of the promotional war, price war, Mai Lin is also involved in it. Second, the 2011 Internet advertising price is doubled growth. Same URL navigation, only 80,000 yuan two years ago, advertising fees in 2011 have soared to 2 million yuan; third, the business adjustment led to a drop in net operating income, and Macaulay cut back on the phone center business and Mail-order business, while in the internet put a huge amount of advertising fees.

In the eyes of many in the industry, Macaulay is not in the ranks of profitable people. The founder of a comprehensive class of electric business platform bluntly, can live down to the business can be divided into three kinds: one is good at operating capacity, such as Amazon excellence, the second is strong product driving force, this type of business does not have to do more than large-scale, as long as the product design, operating good goods and users, profitability naturally have Third, the procurement advantage of a strong platform, especially with offline retail channels and background platform.

And another online brand clothing founder told billion Power Network, online clothing business competition is more and more fierce, general clothing electric quotient margin range in 40%~60%, and Macaulay Forest's gross margin of only about 40%, its marketing costs, labor costs, product prices are rising, which makes the Mai Lin see the point of profitability. "Can a website be profitable, look at the comprehensive gross profit rate and the total cost of the ratio on it, the comprehensive gross profit margin of the Macaulay to determine the level of its products, Mai-Lin's product positioning has been formed, the gross margin is difficult to upgrade, and in the current electric business environment, the total cost accounted for not down. ”

In the face of profit difficult, Beichun maneuver. 2010 years later, the extension of the category, travel is still small comprehensive route. Next, make the clothing platform, sell each brand. However, vertical consumers take the integrated route is not everyone can play well, there is no large user group with a fixed comprehensive category. Sell each clothing brand and difficult enemy Taobao and Jingdong, and also affected the sales of its own brands.

At this time, the rise of the electric business services, so that Mai Lin saw a new breakthrough.

Resource idle why not use it

Macaulay See, is indeed the current e-commerce market a soft rib. It is difficult for small and medium electric dealers to find a service that is cost-effective and suitable, leading to outsourcing business. Luggage own brand Potono President Lu Tianyun told billion Power network. "Small and medium power suppliers to find service providers, the demand for low prices, while the quality of service is guaranteed." But now the Electric business Service group, the situation is a mixed bag, the vast majority of unreliable. So in addition to logistics warehousing, model shooting, image processing and customer service center are doing their own.

Chen Shaotao said that in the expansion period, Mai-Lin established a surplus of service resources, just can meet the market demand for small and medium-sized electric dealers and traditional brands to provide logistics services. "The opening business is very good, only the goods will, Li Ning, Adi, Levis are talking to us about cooperation." ”

Compared with some platforms, Mai Lin attaches great importance to the user experience, in the back-end operation links are not small: in Shanghai has a total warehouse, in Beijing, Guangzhou, the extent of the establishment of the warehouse, but also in Jiangsu Wujiang construction of 120,000 square meters operation center. Macaulay Warehouse 70,000 square meters of space, can accommodate 600,000 SKU, the maximum contract volume per day 140,000 single.

Mai Lin Open platform

In addition to warehousing logistics advantages, Mai Lin has more than 1200 telephone service team, more than 40 quality inspection team, more than 600 model resources, and more than 4 million active member users. At the beginning of 2012, Macaulay plans to fully open its operating services.

It looks as if there is demand in the market, and Macaulay has the resources to open up and operate naturally.

But, see this bowl of rice, can not only Mai Lin himself. At present, in addition to the Macaulay, Jingdong Mall announced August Open Logistics warehousing, outstanding High-profile announced open warehousing logistics services, the current cost of storage is 155 yuan/per cubic metre, distribution costs can be as low as 2.75/single. Even just built a warehouse of Suning easy to buy also rushed to announce, the future of Suning Automation warehouse will be open to the outside, the brand can rent Suning automation warehouse.

The initial opening of Macaulay is facing strong opponents.

New seven days Electric Network mall brand director Odawara told billion Power network, the electricity business services as the electricity business itself into the price war. "The Electronic Business service is also one kind of economy of scale, the bigger the cost is lower, the larger the volume of the service company is easier to get a single." ”

In the above several platform, from the volume, the advantages of Macaulay is not obvious. Amazon has a total of 10 operations centers in China, with more than 400,000 square meters of warehouse operations in China. At the same time, logistics is the largest investment in the Amazon in China, the current excellence in the distribution of Amazon's own logistics has reached the country, including county level more than 1000 cities. In Jingdong Mall, according to Liu revealed that the current use of the entire warehouse distribution system Jingdong has more than 1300 companies, the use of Beijing-East distribution of the number of parcels has more than 40,000/day.

From the model, Jing-dong, Mai-lin and excellent warehousing logistics are also different. Excellence and Jingdong have their own distribution company. BEIJING, Shanghai, Guangzhou's goods, mainly by independent delivery method, two or three-line city of goods, then outsourced to a third party, Mai Lin only positions, no own logistics team, distribution of all outsourcing.

The difference between these two points, the merchant said, the choice of Jing-dong, Excellence and the Mai-Lam Warehousing logistics services, the biggest distinction is whether the goods can be easily low-cost to transport to the cooperative warehouse. "No matter whether there is a logistics team, the goods must go to the cooperative warehousing." In addition, since the construction of logistics and outsourcing third-party relations are not, the key is the logistics team is good at delivering what products. ”

Chen Shaotao that Mai-Lin's electrical business services have their own unique: first, the Mai-Lin to do the main clothing, the conflict with other electric dealers is smaller, reducing the customer's wariness; the second is the mature electric business company, with practical experience, than the pure Third-party service companies know more about the needs of the electricity business; The third is more thorough, warehousing decomposition, Logistics distribution, model shooting, call center, product quality inspection, DM marketing, etc. are open to the outside.

Considering the particularity of each appliance business, and other platforms simply sell services, Macaulay also do labor export. For example, a total of three kinds of storage services, such as the first, the merchant's freight to the Mai Lin's warehouse, the merchant's goods into the Mai-Lin's storehouse, the Mai Lin helps the merchant to carry on the entire decomposition, gives him to record the shelf fee, the order fee, the storage fee. The Mai Lin helps the merchant to decompose, uses the wheat forest system to operate. The second, the McCoy people into each other's warehouses, using their systems, is entirely labor outsourcing. Third, off-site delivery, merchants have their own warehouse, you can not use the storage decomposition of wheat forest, directly with the wheat forest distribution.

Is it hard to cut the core business?

In the face of the Mai-Lin-style open, the industry views differ.

Baowenzing, vice president of electrical appliances, said that the major electric platform in the early days of the establishment of the supporting services, the future of the opening-up is an inevitable trend, the cost of the link into a tool to make money. "The service system of the Business-to-consumer platform has developed to a certain stage and has the ability to take out the list, and the cost will be reduced by at least half." ”

"If Macaulay's service is more expensive than a third party service company, or more expensive than the cat and the Jingdong, it will be difficult to get a list of small and medium power suppliers who are very sensitive to the price." If you sell cheaper than your peers, Macaulay won't make any money. And for a listed company, Macaulay to do the electric business service if only to make a small profit, the significance is not very big, after all, the main task is to stabilize the market share. "The former CEO of China New Egg NET, Gu Jianching analysis of the co-founder of my account."

At the same time, the industry's open operating prospects for the business is difficult to predict: if the wind reaches more than 90% of the orders from the visitors, and the excellent and Mai Lin outsourcing services are just beginning, Jingdong has not yet started. It can be foreseen that in a short period of time the electric dealer is still the main business, the third party business will not quickly expand. Moreover, the service of their own and many in the operational difficulty coefficient is not a level, the third party services are experiencing and frustration.

In summary, if the third party service is to be the core business, it is necessary to invest in warehousing logistics, customer service center, photo shoot, quality inspection department and so on. and warehousing logistics investment at a billion of, for any one of the electrical business is a large number.

For the positioning of outsourcing services and strategic significance, Macaulay has never spoken to. But, Chen Shaotao said, Macaulay will soon set up a third party service company in the future. And, the open operation of Macaulay gradually changed the management of DNA. "Before opening, each service department Hanlaobaoshou, one day SKU is also dry, 100SKU work is also dry, inefficient." As each service department becomes independent, the more you do it. For example, you have a car, ask the driver to drive 70 km, three times a day, he will be very annoying. Why do you have to drive three times? But if you pack it to a taxi driver, it wants to give you a 100 trip every day, because every trip counts for money. ”

And it is widely accepted that the opportunity for Macaulay is not on the service provider. "For today's Macaulay, to do their own brand to have the opportunity, platform and do service provider is not necessarily a good choice." "West Street Network CEO Guo Hongjing said, Mai Lin's main business is still its own clothing brand."

Remember me on the account of the co-founder Gu Jianching analysis, Mai Lin's own brand positioning has been formed, in order to improve the gross margin can acquire some designer brands, two or three line clothing brands, grafting resources to make the big. It is not the only feasible way to make the service of the electric dealer. ”

Despite the controversy, Macquarie's outsourcing services have begun to generate revenue for the company. "Only product will already have warehousing and logistics cooperation, good buy also plan to rent our warehouse, Lanmiu want to use our package entrainment brochure, our outsourcing service will definitely be profitable, we are not ignorant on the move forward this step."

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