Fengchao originally charged the courier, but the money was not enough to make Fengchao profitable, and some consumers were reluctant to pay. The business model of the express cabinet is still not fully operational
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Wen | Ma Lin, a reporter from Caijing
Edit | Yu Le
Fengchao has been a bit annoyed lately. The decision to charge users puts the company, which was supposed to serve consumers, to the opposite side of the consumer. Some residential committees have decided to stop using Fengchao's express delivery cabinets, and more residents have also said that if Fengchao starts charging fees, they will no longer use Fengchao's services.
The matter of express cabinet charges has become a hot search on Weibo, dominating the list for a week, which makes Fengchao unexpected. For Fengchao, charging consumers is a step in its exploration of profit possibilities. But if it loses a large number of users because of this, Fengchao will gain more than it loses.
There is no such thing as a free lunch, and the fundamental purpose of any commercial company is to make a profit. Enterprises provide services and charge corresponding service fees, which would have been a reasonable demand. However, the problem of Fengchao is whether the service object of the express cabinet should be the courier or the consumer? Who should Fengchao charge?
<h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Who is convenient for Fengchao? </h2>
Fengchao originally charged the courier, and the courier was quite buying it.
A courier of the Department of Tongda told the "Finance" reporter that under normal circumstances, the courier needs to pay nearly 2,000 yuan per month to Fengchao, and the courier who delivers more orders pays 4,000-5,000 yuan a month.
There is no upper limit on the number of couriers, the requirement is that all recipients in their own area must be contacted every day, if not delivered, they can be delivered the next day, paid by piece. Therefore, how many pieces can be delivered per day determines how much income the courier can earn.
With the courier cabinet, the efficiency of the courier has indeed increased. "There are many goods, and I really can't send them in the courier cabinet." said the courier. He said that when there is no express cabinet, a single can earn 1 yuan, and after paying the 0.5 yuan express cabinet fee, a single earns 0.5 yuan. In other words, the total number of couriers must reach more than twice the original in order to earn back the cost of using the courier cabinet.
Judging from the choice of courier, this condition can obviously be met. The above courier said that in the case of a vacant seat in Fengchao, the courier will rush to use the courier cabinet.
However, the fee paid by the courier is not enough to make Fengchao profitable. The company's unaudited operating income for the first quarter of 2020 was 334 million yuan, a loss of 245 million yuan, and in 2019, revenue was 1.614 billion yuan, a loss of 781 million yuan.
Li Wenqing, chief marketing officer (CMO) of Fengchao Technology, said in an interview with Caijing that the standard of Fengchao charging couriers was lower than the cost. "Our costs include not only providing terminal services, but also docking with courier companies, the circulation and triggering of information, and the processing of tens of millions of pieces of information every day, which are costs that ordinary consumers can't see."
Enterprises cannot survive without being profitable for a long time. Because of this, Fengchao thought of continuing to charge couriers while also charging consumers, which had previously been free to use Fengchao's services.
The problem is that in the eyes of many consumers, Fengchao's "service" does not provide any convenience for themselves, and they have no reason to pay fees.
"Finance" reporter learned that many consumers still hope that couriers can send express delivery to the doorstep, the use of express cabinets is somewhat "superfluous", and even adds trouble to themselves.
The express cabinet industry has not yet fully cultivated consumer preferences for express cabinet services. The above courier said that there have been many users who are not satisfied with the practice of delivery express cabinets, "After there are express cabinets, the delivery efficiency has increased, but there have been more complaints." ”
In the cognition of some consumers, the express cabinet is an extension of the express delivery service, and even the standard, the courier fee has been paid, and suddenly the express cabinet temporary storage also has to charge, they think that such an operation is unreasonable. "Recently, after Fengchao charged, users have asked to send the courier to their homes." The above-mentioned courier said.
A consumer told the "Finance" reporter that he can understand the work pressure of the courier, because the courier sends a large amount of goods, and needs to be delivered quickly, he often receives the courier's delivery text message at seven or eight o'clock in the morning, because many people are still resting during this time, the courier delivery in the courier box is reasonable, for users who are not at home, the express cabinet is also just needed.
However, some consumers said that there are couriers who do not notify themselves, and directly deliver the delivery to the courier box, of which most of them are couriers. In such cases, it is obviously unreasonable to ask them to pay for "services" that they have not chosen or agreed to use.
< h2 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > can Fengchao make money on the C-end? </h2>
Many courier industry people and consumers have said that since the express cabinet provides services for consumers, it is reasonable to charge the C-end, not that only the courier should bear the cost of the express cabinet, but if Fengchao can fully recognize the value of the express cabinet by consumers, it may not cause too much negative feedback.
"Charges and price increases will themselves cause dissatisfaction among some consumers." A person in the express delivery industry told the "Finance" reporter. Fengchao in the formulation and announcement of the charging plan before the need to do a good job of consumer education, so that consumers understand and recognize the value of the express cabinet, in some consumers have not fully understood and recognized the value of the express cabinet, the sudden increase in price, which is bound to make some consumers feel uncomfortable.
Some consumers have a strong sense of consumer protection, and they are not willing to pay for the commercial routine of "providing free services first, cultivating the habit of use and then charging". Some consumers also do not understand that as an independent company, Fengchao has a profitable demand.
From the perspective of capital structure, Fengchao Technology is a SF enterprise. Enterprise investigation shows that Wang Wei, founder and chairman of SF Express, is the chairman of Fengchao Technology. At present, the shareholding ratio of SF Holdings in Fengchao is 9.75%, the shareholding entity directly or indirectly controlled by Mingde Holdings, a company owned by Wang Wei, the founder of SF Holdings, holds 36.54% of the shares, and the shareholding of Mingde Holdings is 1.25%.
However, at the operational level, Fengchao is an independent commercial entity, not a counter of a courier company.
The above-mentioned people in the express delivery industry believe that this controversy actually exposes the contradiction between couriers and consumers. "The courier does have the phenomenon of grabbing the cabinet, the phone is not contacted, directly thrown into the cabinet, so it is also considered 'proper delivery', saving time to send other express mail." The above-mentioned express delivery industry insiders said.
Li Wenqing also believes that this discussion has exposed the problem of consumer dissatisfaction with the express terminal market service, which is a concentrated outbreak of emotions, and the points of consumer dissatisfaction include: direct delivery without making a call, finding someone to collect the courier, and not sending it to the door.
She said that Fengchao introduced the measure of "saving 12 hours after charging" to encourage everyone not to let express delivery stay overnight and improve the turnover rate of express cabinet use. The charge itself doesn't make much money. "The volume of parcels exceeding 12 hours is already very small, and after this policy, everyone will be more active in picking up the courier and reducing the number of packages left after 12 hours."
Fengchao said that what it really wants to do is to explore the profit model through the membership system. Now with the launch of the membership service, more membership benefits will be offered next. "Some users who travel more frequently and are busy with work have the need for membership mode, and for users who often send express delivery, the membership model can also provide more discounts, in addition, Fengchao will cooperate with merchants to provide members with small samples and small gifts, so that consumers can try new products."
"Fengchao currently serves a wide range of users, with a user base of 200 million, including users who have used and experienced Fengchao services for a long time. In the case of a relatively large user base, it is normal for a company's decision-making to cause discussion. ”
Li Wenqing said that at present, from the data point of view, the proportion of users who are willing to pay is relatively high, and the number of new members is increasing every day, which supports the feasibility of the charging model. But she said specific growth figures could not be made public. "Members are definitely the direction we insist on going, in addition, how to improve the delivery scene outside the express cabinet is also the direction we want to focus on exploring."
For the problem of "directly putting the express locker without informing" reflected by consumers, Li Wenqing said: The country handles 200 million packages every day, 2 million couriers deliver, and the service standard of each package is difficult to call and then send home, which is a dilemma. Recently, Fengchao is also investigating whether it is feasible to call each consumer, "If the courier does not call Fengchao, do automatic voice services, but we found that there are also many consumers who do not answer the phone." ”
Fengchao will remind the courier to call to notify the user, but the courier is not a Fengchao employee, and Fengchao cannot make mandatory requirements for the courier.
According to the "Administrative Measures for Smart Express Box Delivery Services" issued by the Ministry of Transport in 2019, express delivery cabinet operators should set a free storage period, use it after obtaining the consent of users, and have the right to charge overtime services. Fengchao Technology said that it is still gradually exploring consumers' cognition and recognition of the membership system, including the way of rights and interests.
<h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > how can the express cabinet be profitable? </h2>
Fengchao dares to risk being boycotted by consumers to charge, indicating that the commercial dilemma of the express cabinet industry is indeed not easy to break through.
At present, the express delivery industry generally believes that it is difficult for express cabinets to make profits, whether it is Jingdong's attempt at express cabinets in 2012, or the Fengchao made by SF and other express delivery companies, and the speed of rookie before, the express cabinet has been facing the problem of difficulty in realizing.
Because the basic business is losing money, the express cabinet industry has previously tried to do temporary storage business, fresh to distribution business, and advertising value-added business, but these models have not been able to run. A logistics industry investor told caijing reporter that although according to the theoretical model, the express delivery cabinet is a large market, but due to the high yard rent and electricity costs, as well as the one-time investment and maintenance costs of fixed assets, Fengchao and other companies have not been able to make a profit so far.
The investor said that the previous free shipping service of e-commerce and various Internet models that played the concept of "free" have made Chinese consumers accustomed to free services and products, and companies also claim to make money through other channels. Therefore, although Fengchao provides services and has the right to charge, some consumers cannot accept it because it is from free to charged. He believes that this is the negative impact of the Internet thinking of "taking traffic for free and then monetizing it through other means" on the business model of enterprises, "This path is placed in traditional industries, and it may be difficult to maintain a good business model." ”
It is undeniable that the existence of express cabinet enterprises such as Fengchao and Express Easy has great value to the express delivery chain, which can improve efficiency, and the express cabinet also makes up for the lack of residential property and municipal infrastructure. The property and the building did not provide corresponding support for the occupants, and the property responsibilities were assumed by the commercial company.
For Fengchao, this discussion may be a good thing. "This is also a reminder to Fengchao, before a large number of equipment, occupy the market of express cabinet companies, now to consider how to fine operation, since doing this business, you need to undertake user awareness education and industry service rules standardization." Said the above investor.
"Choosing to charge involves a lot of customer service work, and the laying of courier cabinets and basic storage functions is just the starting point." Song Xujun, a global partner at Kearney Enterprise Consulting, told Caijing that any company that provides consumer services needs to have the ability to provide basic customer service, such as e-commerce has established customer service capabilities such as handling customer complaints. ”
Song Xujun said that the express delivery cabinet also occupies some public space, with the nature of public infrastructure, itself will be difficult to charge, the company should be more careful when considering the charge, but also to deal with some consumer concerns, the charge interpretation should be more detailed and transparent.
He believes that Fengchao needs to clarify the value of express delivery cabinets to consumers, make reasonable pricing, and then standardize service processes, standardize services, and clearly define these service standards. For example, to clarify under what circumstances can be put the express locker, under what circumstances can not be put, when should not be charged, if the courier does not notify, incurred costs, how to deal with it, need to be more clearly defined, because issues involving consumer rights and interests are easy to produce contradictions.
Chinese consumers have become accustomed to free services to a certain extent, and in the Chinese market, everyone's way is often to find ways to transfer value to consumers and gain market recognition in order to further explore profitability.
Song Xujun said that it was feasible to charge couriers before, and it was relatively easy to charge such B-end charges as cabinet advertisements and public account advertisements. Because the B-end is more rational, as long as the efficiency of the courier is improved, the B-end is willing to pay, but the C-end sometimes cannot think from a completely commercial and rational point of view, and the merchant still has to try to get the recognition and reputation of consumers as much as possible, so that consumers feel the value for money service.
He said that only by delivering to the hands of consumers can the door-to-door service be completed, which is the characteristic of express delivery services and a consumption habit formed by the development of China's express delivery to the present. If the express delivery becomes to the cabinet, to the cabinet and then to the customer, it is another business model, so it has also caused some controversy, for some consumers, it is a more convenient service, but for other consumers, it is a kind of consumption degradation.