Baishicheng’s only loss-making listed express delivery company
Editor’s note: This article is from the WeChat public account “Times Finance APP” (ID: tf -app) , author: Cor. Original title: “How can Best Express’s “losing business” continue? 》
Among the currently listed express delivery companies, Best Group is the only company whose annual performance is at a loss. The person in charge of a Shanghai branch of Best Express told Times Finance that after the Spring Festival, the headquarters of Best Express reduced the delivery fee, leading to the closure of many express outlets across the country.
On October 21st, the “Double Eleven” pre-sale has begun.
For express companies, “Double Eleven” is not only a good time to boost performance, but also a big test of the company’s comprehensive capabilities. However, during this critical period, there have been problems such as the closure of express delivery companies and the stranded express parcels across the country.
The person in charge of a Shanghai branch of Best Express told Times Finance that after the Spring Festival, the headquarters of Best Express reduced the delivery fee to express delivery sites and couriers, leading to the closure of many express outlets across the country.
Best Express outlet bosses run off in Guangzhou
Guo Xin, a citizen of Guangzhou, told Times Finance that he recently bought a product online, which was shipped by Best Express and shipped from Jiangsu to Guangzhou, but after waiting for 20 days, he could not receive it, and finally had to refund it. It is worth noting that its express parcels were stranded in Guangzhou Best Express Panyu Transit Center for half a month.
Mr. Liu, who works in Guangzhou, also had this doubt. The parcels he transported by Best Express also had problems, and he could not receive them after waiting for ten days. In the end, he could only apply to the merchant for reissue.
Times Finance found that the delivery problems of Best Express are not alone. In Weibo and other platforms are full of netizens’ complaints about Best Express.
On the public welfare consumer complaint platform Ju Complaint, there were as many as 1,337 complaint posts about Best Express, most of which were related to express delivery stranded and unmanned delivery, lost packages, and damaged packages.
Picture source: Screenshot of Ju Complaint
In response to the aforementioned problems such as the closure of outlets and the detention of parcels, Times Finance has repeatedly called Best Group for telephone interviews, but they have not been able to connect as of press time.
Times Finance randomly visited Best Express sites in downtown Guangzhou and found that some express sites have closed.
A little brother of Best Express in Panyu District, Guangzhou revealed to Times Finance that in the area he is currently in charge of, due to the departure of the former branch boss and the resignation of the courier, a large number of express packages are stranded, and there are constant calls for complaints. He said that currently there are no outlets in this area, but he did not disclose why the boss ran away.
The person in charge of a Shanghai branch of Best Express told Times Finance that after the Spring Festival, the headquarters of Best Express reduced the delivery fee to express delivery sites and couriers, leading to the closure of many express outlets across the country.
According to China Business News reported that since May 2020, Best Express has been expressing at the grassroots level in many provinces The distribution fee for outlets is reduced by 1-3 gross.
The person in charge of the above-mentioned Best Express Shanghai branch stated that if there is a phenomenon that Best Express logistics information is stagnant for several days in a certain place, it is most likely that there is a strike at the local branch, and it is best to apply for a refund instead of waiting. Courier delivered. The reason why her outlet was able to survive better was because Shanghai’s delivery fees were slightly higher, so she could barely sustain it.
The staff at the transfer center is lost, and the package stays for half a month
October 20In the afternoon of the day, Times Finance came to Best Express Guangzhou South Distribution Center.
Best Express Distribution Center Cargo Truck丨Photo by Times Finance
Best Express Guangzhou South Distribution Center is located in Guangzhou Junjian Auto Parts Industrial Park. There are three large libraryRoom. In addition to Best Express, there are express companies such as JD, SF Express, and Zhongtong in the park, but they are still under renovation and have not yet equipped with machines.
It is reported that Best Express has been stationed in this logistics park for about a year and is the first express company to enter. SF Express, Zhongtong, and JD.com have only recently entered the logistics park.
Best Express sorting worker Zhang Hai told Times Finance and Economics that Best Express Guangzhou South Distribution Center is the Panyu transfer center, which is regarded as Best Express’s largest venue in Guangzhou.
Zhang Hai told Times Finance and Economics that the reason why the above-mentioned express delivery was stranded in the distribution center for half a month was mainly due to the serious loss of personnel in the distribution center, and the unfinished daily work caused a backlog of express packages. He joined the company for less than half a year, but only two people came in the same batch. In the early stage of his employment, new people from this distribution point will come to report training every day, but it hasn’t been in the last month. Instead, colleagues around him keep leaving.
Zhang Hai reluctantly said that the reason why the staff turnover is so serious is because the salary is too low and the living is too heavy. “Colleagues around me, including myself, have the idea of resigning. They work for ten hours a day, but they only get 5,000. This little money is enough to make ends meet, but it’s just a little bit like raising a family.”
According to Zhang Hai, due to the newly-built outlets, the heads of JD.com and SF Express in the park had previously dug the employees of Best Express, and the wages were much higher than Best Express. If it weren’t for the fact that the warehouses of JD.com and SF Express were not well decorated , The machine has not been debugged, maybe many people have already switched jobsPassed. He believes that if JD.com and SF Express are well prepared in the park, the life of Best Express will become more and more difficult.
According to SF’s annual report, the average monthly salary of employees is 8486 yuan. A Guangzhou SF express courier told Times Finance that the minimum monthly salary is above 6000, which is a bit higher than that of Best Express employees.
Zhang Hai told Times Finance and Economics that the strike at the Best Express site did exist, which directly caused the current distribution points to drop to a certain extent every day. However, there is no strike phenomenon in the distribution center, and more of the embarrassment of the loss of personnel and the lack of recruitment.
Best Group is a typical asset-light model. Most of its express outlets adopt the franchise model, and are only responsible for the national hub transit center system. For companies such as Best Express, it is a taboo for express network franchisees to run away. This shows that the company cannot accurately grasp the actual operation of the network and has limited control over the express network. The problem of the transshipment center it is responsible for is even more indicative.
Wang Jing, who is familiar with the logistics industry, told Times Finance that whether it is a light-asset or heavy-asset operation model, their model itself is not problematic, but there will be some phenomena that need to be resolved in actual operation.
In the process of asset-light operations, improper operational decision-making may cause franchisees to run away, express delivery and other problems. This is not a dead spot, but can be prevented and avoided, such as combining heavy assets to operate together, or choosing High-quality partners and so on. Wang Jing said, “Personally, Best should choose the most suitable comprehensive operation model based on product positioning and market demand in this regard.”
Best is the only loss-making listed express delivery company
According to public information, Best Express is a large express company founded in 2003 and headquartered in Hangzhou. The company’s business scope includes: LTL Express, Red Express, special transportation and payment collection and other projects.
On September 20, 2017, Best Group was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It is worth noting that in the three years since its listing, although its revenue can be comparable to that of the “three links and one delivery”, the market value is only a fraction of the aforementioned four express companies.
In addition, Best Group is currently the only listed express delivery company whose annual performance is at a loss. This may be the reason why its stock price has been sluggish throughout the year. Times financial inquiry shows that the closing price of Best Group on the 21st was US$2.77, a 72% drop from the issue price of US$10.
Times Finance learned from Best Group’s financial report for the second quarter of this year that the company’s revenue in the second quarter was 8.418 billion yuan, down 4.2% year-on-year; the net loss was 30.9 million yuan, and the net loss in the same period last year was 22.4 million yuan; gross profit It was 570 million yuan, an increase of 9.6% year-on-year. The financial report said that the decline in the average selling price of express delivery services was the main reason for the decrease in revenue.
Zhang Hai said that since this yearSince then, express companies such as Zhongtong and Yunda have lowered their express delivery orders, and Best, which originally focused on low prices, had to reduce prices.
It is worth noting that since the Spring Festival, in order to make up for the losses during the epidemic, the “price war” in the express delivery industry has intensified.
On October 19, SF Express released its September operating briefing, showing that SF Express’s business volume and revenue increased by 60.35% and 36.07%, respectively, but single ticket revenue fell by 15.16%, which means that SF Express, which originally focused on mid-to-high end, Under the fierce competition in the express delivery industry, it has to join the “price war”.
Wang Jing said that the domestic express market is becoming saturated. In order to seize the market and increase business volume, express companies have to start a price war. Although price wars can allow companies to quickly occupy the market in a short time, they are time-consuming and labor-intensive, and may even affect customer experience due to capital constraints. Therefore, they are not suitable for large-scale and long-term competition.
“When one to three companies stand out in a price war, it is when the price war is nearing its end. I personally think that in the past two years, the price war will come to a phased end and the express market will be reshuffled. The new price war may also strike again.” Wang Jing believes.
Previously, it was reported that Best Group was seeking a second listing in Hong Kong to increase the company’s valuation. The listing plan includes its express and express services, excluding Best Supply Chain, Best Cloud and other businesses. Industry insiders believe that under such circumstances, Best Group may have to obtain financial support from the market when it goes public in Hong Kong, but it seems that reducing delivery fees, express site bosses running away, transshipment center living more and less money, and personnel loss seem to be an endless loop. It is doubtful whether Best Group can obtain the expected valuation and support.
As for the prospect of Best Express, which is taking the low-end route under the industry price war, Wang Jing told Times Finance that it is obviously advantageous to focus on the low-end market in the price war, but Best should pay attention to if it is in the price war. To stand out, how to determine the development direction of subsequent enterprises.
“It can be said that from a long-term perspective, price wars can determine the life and death of a company, but what really determines the development prospects of the company is the direction of the company after survival.” Wang Jing said.