The logistics industry plays an important supporting role in the development of the national economy, and is also significantly influenced by domestic and global macroeconomic conditions. According to the Haitong International Research Report, in 2022, the express delivery industry was affected by the phased impact of the epidemic, and the growth rate of business volume was operating at a low level, lower than the level of the same period in recent years. How can China's logistics industry restart and refresh after three years of the epidemic? During the period of low growth, how should logistics companies seek incremental growth? At the 2023 (12th) Transport Union Summit hosted by Transport Union recently, several industry figures including Shentong Express (002468), Anneng Logistics, Nissan Supply Chain, and Kyushu Tong (600998) Logistics shared their experiences and thoughts.

“In the past three years, we have gone through the process of survival. In the 21st year, we started to feel like bottoming out and rebounding. In the 23rd year, we hope to see each other at the top of the mountain. This is the deepest experience of Wang Wenbin, the president of Shentong Express Group, for the past three years. Wang Wenbin pointed out that the current logistics market is facing three challenges. The first is in terms of consumer experience: when receiving door-to-door express delivery from third-party agents, consumers have higher requirements for service and have different levels; The second aspect is the stock market: after several years of rapid development, the Chinese express delivery industry has gradually entered the stock market, and competition is self-evident and very fierce; The third aspect is technology: how to trigger digital transformation through technological upgrades has become a challenge faced by logistics enterprises, including Shentong Express.

When the times change and we are exposed to individual enterprises, Wang Wenbin summarized that after three years of transformation and rebirth, Shentong Express has begun to see an upward trend. Firstly, in terms of production capacity, in recent years, Shentong Express has invested billions in the construction of distribution centers, production of automation equipment, and purchase of vehicles, which has increased the parcel production capacity from 2000 million days in 2020 to 6000 million days now; Secondly, in terms of technology, Shentong Express has invested heavily in becoming the first company in the express delivery industry to use a public cloud for its entire website business, processing billions of data per day; Thirdly, in terms of management, from extensive to meticulous, Shentong Express has attempted to manage every small item or package; Fourthly, in terms of organization, Shentong Express advocates for legitimate business operations, long-term principles, simple trust, and achieving what is said. In terms of performance figures, Shentong Express achieved a net profit of 36.33 million yuan in 2020, and incurred a loss of over 900 million yuan in 2021. By 2022, the company had turned losses into profits, achieving a net profit of 288 million yuan.

Image: Wang Wenbin, President of Shentong Express

As the leader of the express transportation industry, Anneng Logistics has also been tested by the "elephant turn". Qin Xinghua, chairman, CEO and president of Anneng Logistics, said, Today, due to environmental changes, the express transportation industry began to accelerate its internal expansion in advance, which left us unprepared for sudden changes. Originally, our management and business models were still in the growth period. In the past, we could obtain 10000 tons of goods in the market in three months and a high volume of over 50000 tons in ten years. However, the market environment has suddenly changed, and we need to adapt to the environment. How can we survive? We need to change, change formations, change methods, and change a series of knots Construction."

During the transformation period of Anneng Logistics, one is the optimal total cost and the other is strong coverage. The former, Qin Xinghua emphasized that Anneng Logistics needs to achieve a 1 cent lower than the industry's leading level, the total cost capacity of the express transportation industry is 1 cent lower than the industry's level, and the comprehensive cost of the entire chain, combined with site cost, transportation cost, unit price level, and end coverage cost, is 1 cent lower than the entire industry. This is because 'total cost capability is one of the core competitiveness of the entire logistics industry'; As for the latter, he pointed out that density will determine the response speed, which can be transformed into the first mover advantage of Anneng Logistics. "The denser the coverage, the greater the market share, the fastest response speed in the last kilometer, the highest service quality, the fastest demand response and timeliness, and the positive cycle begins. During the transition period from crisis to crisis, Anneng Logistics achieved six major achievements: extreme cost reduction and efficiency increase, reshaping product structure, improving ecological environment, enhancing enterprise resilience, and achieving healthy business growth. According to the latest announcement, Anneng Logistics is expected to turn losses into profits in the first half of the year and record a profit of no less than 230 million yuan.

Image: Qin Xinghua, founder of Anneng Logistics

Indeed, in the process of logistics enterprises emerging from the new era, confidence is more important than gold, and determination is more important than confidence. As mentioned by Wang Yang, co-founder and president of Yunlian Think Tank, when logistics companies pursue change and innovation, motivation, vitality, and tension are crucial. Firstly, when seeking motivation, do not forget to overcome the obstacles to development in order to better promote the organization's continuous transformation; Secondly, do not be afraid of the chaotic or severe internal competition in the logistics market environment. The key lies in how to discover innovation opportunities from this chaotic environment and adapt to changes in the environment with innovation; Finally, the structure of pressure and pressure should be actively transformed into a structure of tension and tension, with the gaze outward rather than inward. The Yunlian Summit has always regarded innovation and change as its core concept. Since its establishment in 2012, it has been committed to exploring the path of industrial transformation and upgrading and enterprise growth and growth, promoting the integration of global industry wisdom and local operational experience, promoting the common prosperity and development of the logistics industry value chain, and achieving better cooperation between upstream and downstream of the logistics industry chain.

Image: Wang Yang, co-founder and president of Yunlian Think Tank