Quick Schoolbag Xu Zhiming The reverse thinking: the faster the cost the lower

Fast Schoolbag founder Xu Zhiming

Introduction: In such a capital is hot hair hot, entrepreneurs can not conceal the excitement of the impetuous era, who will eventually become the next E-commerce industry's broken cocoon and out of the people? Sina Technology launched the "New Power E-commerce" series of interviews, will focus on the development of diversified e-commerce environment, new entrepreneurial opportunities, new business models and the mentality of these entrepreneurs, please attention.

Sina Technology @ tracy (Micro-blog) letters Open, welcome entrepreneurs to contact us, and welcome everyone to give valuable advice and suggestions.

15th Issue guest: Fast Schoolbag founder Xu Zhiming

"Free shipping, 1-hour delivery" is the online bookstore fast schoolbag kuaishubao.com logo, in the major mainstream electric platform to cancel free shipping, to take the time limit to achieve the strategy, fast bag not only continuous free shipping + 1 hours, but also extend the scope of services to Shanghai, Hangzhou and other 6 cities, The category also expands from the book to the snack, the beverage, the daily use and so on.

For the Fast Bag founder Xu Zhiming (Weibo), do a quick schoolbag a set of reverse thinking, specific performance in:

First: Expand the category but do not expand SKU (inventory). The number of SKUs, is often the external and capital assessment of one of the data, and think that the more SKU the better, but the idea of a fast schoolbag is fixed sku, that is, the category will expand, but the total SKU only 1000 or so.

This is also a reference to 711 of the store model, there are different categories but the number of fixed goods, Xu Zhiming hope that the fast bag of goods non-stop turnover, such as this month to sell these 300 kinds of books, next month to sell another 300 kinds of books.

Second: The faster the delivery speed, the lower the cost. The most question for the fast schoolbag is that less order can do 1-hour delivery, if you want to do large-scale, still can guarantee 1 hours? Xu Zhiming that happen to the contrary, the more slowly the cost of order delivery: The current Han Shu package delivery order Average time is 30 minutes, 1 hours to send two single, single delivery member performance is higher, if more time to send 1 single, but the performance will become lower.

Third: Every city category, only replenishment, not the transfer of goods. At present, the practice of fast schoolbags is, every day from the center of the warehouse to the small warehouse replenishment, the reason is that the cost is too high. The future of the fast schoolbag plan only in Beijing to build a large central warehouse, foreign cities from Beijing Center warehouse Unified delivery. In addition to the formation of the scale of the expansion of many cities, Xu Zhiming that they can share costs.

Some of the data on the fast schoolbag is: The customer unit Price is close to 100 yuan, the number of employees has 80 people, the distribution team 60 people, if each person delivers 30 orders per day, there will be profit space. In the whole cost, manpower accounted for 70%-80%, storage cost only about 10%. According to Dangdang CEO Guoqing before Xu Zhiming calculation, fast bag best-selling part can do 5% of Dangdang.

In order to do fast schoolbag, Xu Zhiming sold a set of rooms, with colleagues together 1 million yuan, won 2 million Yuan Angel, total is 3 million yuan start, to last July this 3 million spent, and borrowed nearly 1 million yuan, a total of 4 million yuan support to now, has completed the financing procedures.

Although it is not easy to say that this is not a large-scale business, but Xu Zhiming hope to do slowly, his goal is 2 years after the profit, development to 40, 50 or so cities.

The following is a transcript of the interview:

Expanded category non-expansion product SKU

Sina Science and Technology Tracy: You Sina Netizen, everybody good morning, welcome to Sina Science and technology of new power business interview column. It's a pleasure to have you today, Mr. Xu Zhiming, chairman of the Fast schoolbag, talk to us for an hour. E-commerce mode, welcome Xu, with our friends to say hello.

Xu Zhiming: Hello, everyone.

Sina technology: Fast schoolbag I remember online more than 1.5 of the time, the beginning is to do books. Recently I looked up the data, found that has been expanded from Beijing to many cities, the category has expanded to many areas, can you tell us about our basic data.

Xu Zhiming: Fast schoolbag from June 9, 2010 on line, has now developed to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Xian, Changsha six cities. At the beginning of March, Shenzhen will be added to Guangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan and other cities this year. Category from the earliest books, then slowly increased the magazine channel, now in the increase of food, drink and commodity channels.

Sina technology: How many of our whole SKU?

Xu Zhiming: Currently five hundred or six hundred species, we plan to reach eight hundred or nine hundred species in the second half of this year.

Sina technology: This is only Beijing, or all the cities can cover?

Xu Zhiming: We have the same variety of goods in each city, our basic plan does not break through 1000 SKUs.

Sina technology: Will not do local characteristic purchase?

Xu Zhiming: Basically do not do, relative to do the prevailing products.

will continue to increase the small distribution site

Sina Science and Technology: about the Fast schoolbag mode we discussed a lot of, is also two key points, the first is the rapid operation of logistics warehousing, the other is very narrow selection issues, we first to talk about the situation of courier. Can you give an example, how to arrange logistics, so that all the delivery to reach the range of an hour?

Xu Zhiming: We are different from other electric dealers or distribution modes, take Beijing as an example, we have a small warehouse in Beijing, such as Zhongguancun, CBD, the Asian Games Village will set up small warehouse, so the customer orders we inform the nearest warehouse to help you distribute, so that we can do one hour, our warehousing and distribution are self-built, Not outsourced or cooperative.

Sina technology: For example, how big is your storehouse? What kind of location would you choose?

Xu Zhiming: We generally choose Professional Warehouse, simple office building or residential rooms, generally 30-50 square meters.

Sina technology: How will the goods be arranged? May be faced with this warehouse has no goods to be transferred from other warehouses?

Xu Zhiming: We only replenishment, do not adjust the goods, or do not adjust the goods, there will be a certain commodity because there is no timely replenishment, the situation of the goods broken. Perhaps Zhongguancun a customer orders, the goods in Jinrongjie, we do not direct, because the cost of the transfer is very high, we daily from the center of the warehouse to these small warehouse replenishment.

Sina Science and technology: now can understand a city has center storehouse, have so many small storehouse distribution.

Xu Zhiming: The future is like this, we are only in Beijing to build a large center of the warehouse, the field city by the Beijing central Warehouse unified delivery.

Sina Technology: How many small warehouses are there in Beijing now?

Xu Zhiming: Altogether seven. We only cover the Metropolitan business district, not covering the city from downtown to all areas of the suburbs, we will build a small warehouse or distribution station every 25 square kilometers, we now cover the Beijing business district, the main business district with 7 distribution stations.

Sina Science and technology: This is you have already such idea at the beginning, or start to walk a detour, cover more, slowly shrink down?

Xu Zhiming: Not at first, we started in Beijing to draw more than 30 pieces, each film only a person, this person at home, we put the goods in his home, there are orders for our mobile phone text messages to inform him, he distributed from home.

Sina technology: This is very beginning the original workshop-style operation.

Xu Zhiming: This only ran for one months, and found that there are many uncontrollable factors. For example, a region can not recruit people, or a regional distribution people are ill today, this area can not be distributed today, because this area is only one person. We began to tune in June 2010 after the launch in July, put the original area, because the original area painting smaller, only a few square kilometers of a region, now and the original three or four areas merged into one, rent a warehouse or small distribution station, let the distribution station to work, into the current mode.

Sina Science and Technology: Now the model may only be aimed at the current speed of development, certainly to continue the development, including your category, covering the scope will continue to expand, will not consider the future storage upgrade? Does the pattern change?

Xu Zhiming: According to my current idea will not change, only do one thing, increase the distribution site.

30 per person per day to make room for profit

Sina technology: To give a customer purchase example, how do we run the warehouse?

Xu Zhiming: Orders from Customers, we order from the online Customer service center, Customer Service Center according to the order to identify the customer in what area, such as Zhongguancun, customer service will be the order to the Zhongguancun distribution station delivery.

Sina Science and technology: just you say a site now four or five people, get after the wheel circulation, this situation you calculate, these four or five people is not enough?

Xu Zhiming: At present is surplus, because our popularity is not particularly high, many customers do not know, our current distribution capacity is high to the actual order products, we still have half of the surplus space.

Sina Science and technology: before more than 30 piece area, now only 6, you calculate said that each person delivers 6 each day to have certain cost, each person sends 30 single each day to have the profit space, this adjustment has not changed?

Xu Zhiming: No change, because he covered the area is still so large, the distribution staff or so much, but now the model can be mobile deployment, but the cost of people did not increase. Now the accounting is almost six or seven orders, the distribution of their own costs came out. The current situation is that each person sends only 6 or 7 orders a day, because I didn't produce that much order, but he can actually send 13 to 15. For example, we sent "jobs biography" five months ago, send 15 orders a day. Now I say that half of the space is here, every day to 1000 single can be sent, "jobs biography" is a day 1000 single.

Sina Science and technology: This spare half is you deliberately arrange?

Xu Zhiming: I did not intentionally, but I hope to come to 1000 single, but now did not come, so in the effort to do marketing, do publicity, hope to come more orders every day.

Sina technology: You will not say because the order is not enough, the staff optimization.

Xu Zhiming: The logic is this, you can not send multiple areas, you have to spare distribution power.

Sina Science and Technology: we now customer unit price can reach how much?

Xu Zhiming: More than 90, nearly 100 yuan.

Sina Science and technology: According to profit is not the gap is relatively big?

Xu Zhiming: Only by increasing the number of orders per day can we achieve profitability.

Sina technology: I listen to you talk with other media, we heard that one hour delivery is not likely, this model is particularly difficult, you think this model is not so difficult, or relatively easy to make money, your basis is what?

Xu Zhiming: Do it in fact not difficult, because there has been McDonald's, Pizza Hut and many other businesses have been realized for half an hour, one hour delivery, but the delivery of food transferred to other goods, so it is not difficult to do one hour, from the model is not particularly big innovation. To say that it is profitable, this can not be said to be easy, at present, or lose money.

Sina Science and Technology: What is your idea at present?

Xu Zhiming: The current idea is to do business solidly, efforts to increase orders.

Sina technology: You seem to have heard before, I see is you and other media said before, including now said the biggest cost is people.

Xu Zhiming: Yes.

Sina technology: This is how to understand?

Xu Zhiming: Because we have to build our own distribution, I have to build a distribution team. If you have only one single day, your distribution team will still pay their wages. You said that I am now 1000 orders a day, I still pay these wages, why the current loss of money, no matter how many orders a day, my labor costs are the same.

Sina Technology: You just said can improve this by doing a variety of marketing means change.

Xu Zhiming: Yes, try to do more marketing, let more people know fast schoolbag.

Human cost accounted for more than 70%

Sina Technology: What is the proportion of our whole cost distribution? For example, how much labor costs, including storage costs accounted for?

Xu Zhiming: In actual whole cost, manpower cost occupies 70%-80%.

Sina technology: Can occupy this high? Including warehousing?

Xu Zhiming: Including distribution team, management, some staff at Headquarters. Storage costs accounted for only 10%, and other costs accounted for 10%.

Sina Science and Technology: we now the whole staff number?

Xu Zhiming: We now have 80 people, the distribution team of 60 people.

Sina technology: When it comes to logistics, we will pay attention to this model, which category is suitable for one hour delivery? Because you also do books, familiar with the book industry, from the book industry. People will say that the book industry's gross margin is actually the lowest.

Xu Zhiming: Only 10%, very low.

Sina technology: How did you think about these ideas?

Xu Zhiming: Book by these big online bookstore spell price to spell low, this is already a fait accompli thing. I passed the book because I have more than 10 years of experience in the book industry, relative to the resources and various aspects of better understanding. Second, I consider that books are the most comparable commodity, at this time you are easy to establish a low price possibility, because the low price of the shop does not belong to any one shop E-commerce competitive advantage, everyone for the basic concept of shop, all the shop must be Low-cost, this is the basic attribute, this is the general consumer for the basic properties of the shop, You do not have the basic attributes, you do not use one of your unique services, or other ways to buy the purchase reasons, low price is not a reason to buy. At this time you must first have a low price image, then to win customers. In addition, books and other goods are completely different, the whole China, or the world and other goods are not the same, he has pricing, other goods are not priced. Whether it is the U.S. Amazon or China's when, including now a few big electric dealers will involve books.

Sina technology: But the low price is certainly not your pursuit of the goal?

Xu Zhiming: I just said, low price is not the goal that any electric dealer pursues, he already is a standard, you do not have low price image is battalion's customer's goodwill.

Sina technology: But one-hour delivery will change the customer's understanding of the electrical business.

Xu Zhiming: That's not cheap, you have to have a low price, then you have a unique service or unique product advantages to get the customer's favor. Although we have less SKU, first from the book, Development to the daily eat, drink, use. Just now you also mentioned that books in the eyes of the general people is not a fast, but only to eat, the drug has an hour of property. Or we can change a point of view, for any consumer in e-commerce companies, he would like to be in his own free time range, that commodity can be. The key is to say, from my orders to get the goods in the controllable time, because everyone is very busy now, may travel and meeting arrangements, placing orders, the goods in the uncontrollable time to come, in fact, for many consumers are very not convenient. Strictly speaking, all goods have the need to come quickly after the order, but the demand is not excavated when it is not satisfied.

Sina Technology: You also mentioned the category of the problem, I note that a category is a drug, this drug demand is very large, the drug is now sold online there are a lot of regulation, including a number of licences, this piece you are how to consider?

Xu Zhiming: Medicine is only a few physical pharmacies can apply for online drug sales qualifications, I heard that has issued dozens of licences.

Sina technology: How has this been discussed?

Xu Zhiming: No, we are not qualified to apply for a drug licence.

Sina Technology: Can cooperate with the branch that has the license plate.

Xu Zhiming: Yes, we are talking about cooperation.

Sina technology: I heard you were doing this guoqing with you calculate a ledger, this good can account for the book market share how much, now looks like we can occupy the book market share how much?

Xu Zhiming: Because I am more familiar with National day, he helped me calculate this account, he thought my book best-selling part can do Dangdang 5%, similar to some of the single items I can do, such as "Jobs biography" issued more than 20,000 copies, I sold 10,000, slowly some obvious varieties can do this calculation.

Sina technology: This is the need for event marketing to bring.

Xu Zhiming: Event marketing is not for me a person, for any book, whether it is "hundred Years Lonely" or "Jobs biography", for all the people selling this book the opportunity is equal.

The faster the delivery, the lower the cost.

Sina technology: But we have an hour to deliver the advantage is very obvious.

Xu Zhiming: Yes, at that time, "jobs biography" is a national reunification time to go public, the first day of the listing only Han Shu bag can get the book, other online shop is no way to get, so we sell more than 10,000 copies a day.

Sina technology: I have seen the analysis is calculated with us a sum of accounts, in fact, two hours, or 3.5 hours to send to the customer is also acceptable.

Xu Zhiming: But for me the cost is increased, I am not cost-effective, the faster the cost is lower. This answer many netizens on micro-blog questions, they said that when your home orders more, you will not do an hour delivery. I say this is the reverse, the more orders I send more, or orders to send the more slowly the cost is higher. Why do you say that? For example, you are far away from my distribution station, I am a distributor riding an electric car ride back and forth four hours, so that, first, electric vehicles do not return. Second, he only sent a single one in four hours, and his performance didn't come out. At present, we promise customers an hour, in fact, we send the order time on average 30 minutes, I can send two orders an hour, so I can receive 200 yuan an hour, so for me, the slower performance is lower. Why the more orders send more quickly, Zhongguancun currently has only one distribution station, if the Zhongguancun order enough, I can become three, four distribution stations, so that each service radius will be smaller, we will send the delivery time to further upgrade. So, the more you order, the quicker I deliver.

Sina technology: And each single efficiency and receive the cash will be more.

Xu Zhiming: Yes, so my performance can come out. Why I wouldn't do two hours, three hours. There is another, I can do this mode within an hour, you want to do within an hour must use this mode. With a large warehouse, the center of the warehouse, loop circulation mode of distribution, the limit is four hours, now there are big electric dealers can do four hours, not too fast, because your model has decided so.

Sina Technology: We are also very concerned about, you are doing fast because you have a limited number of SKUs, a company will certainly not stay in this area, will continue to expand this category.

Xu Zhiming: We do not expand the product SKU.

Sina Science and Technology: SKU You already decided, right?

Xu Zhiming: We can see with the sight of the merchant can see, you go to 711 convenience store can see his SKU not more than 1000 kinds, his difference is that he satisfies the customer's demand is not the same, his profit model is also different. We can not say 711 sell tens of thousands of products, we now want to do online 711, we refer to the line of convenience store model to build our portfolio, basically control in one piece. Inside the merchandise is non-stop turnover, I this one months sell these 300 kinds of books, the next one months will sell another 300 kinds of books.

Sina Science and Technology: we now see you into a lot of food, the price of these foods I have looked at is not low, this is not to let each customer unit price higher?

Xu Zhiming: The price is actually related to the price of each item in mind. For example, books sold expensive, because it is already in the minds of everyone can buy low-cost or cheap, you must refer to the same standards. We're launching an event that is also the reason for Amazon's parity. In fact, on food and drink, you just mentioned the customer unit price, we basically use two ways to avoid the customer unit price is too low. First, we try not to choose too small packaging, or too low prices of goods, such as this commodity one yuan, two yuan, if not sell, we will even the lowest purchase price. For example, a few months ago, Beijing Air is not good, we all buy masks, we also sell 3M masks, but a only ternary, five yuan, so that we will not only sell, we sell 10, you can with your colleagues, friends to buy, so the customer price up.

Sina Science and Technology: Because you start is a book, your book also have to guarantee, other still have a variety of choice, this choice is based on what? Or do you simply refer to 711来 election?

Xu Zhiming: In fact, there are two choice basis, the first, understand consumers. Because we serve the Metropolitan business district, you should be familiar with the big city business district consumers to eat, drink, use, read his hobby is what, not only study 711, to study the whole population. We should study 711 and study supermarkets like BHT. The second, we are in fact everyone is a consumer, in fact, you and your colleagues in the consumption of these goods, you have to think about this thing you like to eat, do you feel that this thing is a good thing? Good is a variety of, but the consumer is always like, but also a good thing, with these two can be purchased.

Sina technology: Supplier How do you choose?

Xu Zhiming: Our different categories will choose a larger partner, such as books, we choose to work with more than 30 large publishers at present. We are currently working with 20 or so big magazines. Food, we are currently with three or four big end-dealers, such as our cooperative import food is basically one of China's largest food importers, he specializes in the major supermarkets for imported food, we cooperate with him.

Sina technology: In fact, when it comes to food these things have a shelf-life problem, how do we calculate?

Xu Zhiming: We're pretty focused on the shelf life, and we'll start promotions when the shelf life is coming up.

Multi-Cities can reduce costs

Sina Technology: Beijing has done a good job, you just mentioned that the order is not enough, people have a surplus of the situation, when you expand to other cities, you will not think that there will be a rash basis?

Xu Zhiming: Yes, a lot of my friends have advised me to say, are you a city in Beijing first? Because I want to do is the national big city market, I must from the competition, the development, the position and so on each angle, I as far as possible in my capital withstanding scope, I as far as possible expands this city. The second, actually many cities keep abreast, is actually able to reduce my cost allocation. The cost of my headquarters, when I only support Beijing, and I support more scope and more orders, in fact, the division of the headquarters is relatively unchanged. If my salary is only to support the Beijing market, and the market to support 10 cities is unchanged, the workload is similar, relatively speaking, it is easier to share costs.

Sina technology: But each city will also face hiring, building warehousing and deployment, this cost will follow.

Xu Zhiming: Yes, at that time the city relative business is simple, do not need to do procurement, marketing and so on, other functions are in Beijing, as long as the local distribution function. I just want to be in any city with my old colleagues, or through training and training, with the ability to recruit and complete the distribution function, the city can be opened.

Sina Technology: Is it a system in which the role is particularly important?

Xu Zhiming: Yes, our technology is weak at the moment, and this year we have to strengthen it.

Sina Science and Technology: the fund situation?

Xu Zhiming: I sold a house, with my colleagues 1 million, 2 million of the Angels, we are 3 million yuan start. By last year Tue 3 million spent, I borrowed nearly 1 million, 4 million support to now. Now the financing formalities are done.

Sina technology: Investors will be good for our model?

Xu Zhiming: He won't vote until he sees it.

Sina technology: Do they have a place to worry about?

Xu Zhiming: Because I have seen different investors, he is not worried about the vote, do not worry about the cast. Of course, the first people do not worry about the vote, it must be the end of the same, and love the same. Not before the vote, first, generally worry that this thing is not to make money things. Second, I feel that this is not a big deal and cannot be listed. Third, it is not optimistic about this demand, that an hour is not a demand. Different investment chambers do not vote for reasons that are not good for different reasons.

Sina technology: Their reason for you to set up?

Xu Zhiming: I have no way to change him, everyone can only find a match, how he sees me is not committed to change him, I am only committed to presenting my real situation. My real situation is this, whether it's for the media, for the investors, or for the customers. Whether you like it or deny it is your thing, I don't change you.

Hope to be profitable in two years

Sina technology: The truth is, is this really a small business?

Xu Zhiming: There is no way to assume the future of things, I do not plan too far things. I usually only plan for three years of things, I solid for my customer service good, the variety of construction, find everyone like things, in our service and customers between the bridge, this is what I think every day. This thing to do a solid, I do not believe that a customer likes to do a good job, do not do, not earn money. We look at Sina Weibo you will find that every day a lot of customers to Sina Weibo talk about the shopping experience in the fast schoolbag, whether it is to discuss our fast, discuss our fast Uncle service attitude is good, so many consumers like to give me great confidence. My confidence has, does not come from the other investors to me is not optimistic, but from the customer. I think if the customer likes the thing, we do not do well is our team operation ability has the question. At present, the customer demand is no problem, our team operation ability and effort level is no problem, I have no reason to think this thing is not.

Sina Technology: Three years of planning is probably what?

Xu Zhiming: In more than two years we hope to make a profit and be able to develop to forty or fifty major cities. The category construction is finished this year.

Sina Science and technology: The last question is about the industry of the problem, we feel that is now the electric business of the winter, we are still here to do, how do you see the whole electric business environment, is not that there will be a lot of impetuous feeling?

Xu Zhiming: Say the truth because we are very small, we only dozens of people, a day very poor only hundreds of, matching degree is not so big. I am concerned about the industry, we often say sunrise industry, Sunset Industries, I think only to make money not to make money, not to earn money in the industry. In any case, any market conditions in any industry have to earn money does not make money, the key is that you meet the needs of customers he analysis, customer demand is not to support your profitability.

Sina technology: You are not playing a time difference, such as 711 they started to do dot, so the competition for us a bit big.

Xu Zhiming: I saw in Weibo last week that 711 will do dot in the second half of the year.

Sina technology: Will you have pressure?

Xu Zhiming: Not much pressure.

Sina technology: Why not just cooperate with them?

Xu Zhiming: We are too small, cooperation to have a matching degree, small enterprises do not want to work with the Giants, the two are not matched. I'm so young, I don't expect to work with too big giants.

Sina Science and technology: Just say now oneself slowly develop.

Xu Zhiming: Yes, just develop slowly.

Sina Science and Technology: We also wish the fast schoolbag can bring more surprises to us in the past few years, Hope also has the opportunity to chat with Xu. Thank you.

Xu Zhiming: Thank you.