Cainiao issued a "choose one" warning to counter Duoduomaicai

Cainiao issued a "choose one" warning to counter Duoduo Maicai

Cainiao issued a "choose one" warning to counter Duoduo Maicai. Cainiao Station pointed out that it uses a third-party collection system for storage , is a breach of contract. The "third-party collection system" in the "ban" refers directly to Pinduoduo's community group buying Duoduo Maicai. Cainiao issued a "choose one" warning to counter Duoduomaicai. Cainiao issued a "choose one" warning to counter Duoduo Maicai 1

Just after the Spring Festival, Pinduoduo's "Duoduo Maicai" made a big move and distributed "hero posts" in multiple cities, announcing Will officially enter the express delivery collection business. To put it simply, in addition to receiving and sorting goods, the collection points of Duoduo Groceries can also work part-time as "express delivery stations" to send and receive express delivery to increase their income.

It is reported that Pinduoduo has now connected with three express delivery companies, Jitu, Postal Service and other express delivery companies, opening up the express delivery signing process. In addition, the first batch of grocery shopping and collection points settled in Duoduo will also enjoy preferential subsidy policies provided by the official, including a 3,000 yuan settlement subsidy, a daily package subsidy of up to 500 yuan, free text messages and intelligent voice notifications, and free PDA and printer upon settlement, etc.

Cainiao Station quickly counterattacked and warned illegal companies to cancel

Pinduoduo’s attempt to use high subsidies to pry open the end-of-express delivery business soon caused a stir Rookie Station's alertness. A Cainiao Station owner in Henan recently received a store promotion from a Duoduo grocery shopping staff, and the next day he received a video learning request when he logged in to the Cainiao Station system.

The content of the video includes that it is not allowed to put Duoduo groceries into the warehouse. If it is discovered, it will be permanently removed. The owner of the post is not allowed to join the rookie post again. Because of this strict rule, the boss finally chose to wait and see for the time being.

Trying to open up Pinduoduo’s own end network

Pinduoduo’s traffic dividend has peaked for a long time, and this approach is to use community e-commerce and express delivery services The combination will further broaden the channels for traffic acquisition and help Pinduoduo and Duoduo achieve new breakthroughs in their grocery shopping business.

More importantly, through this move, Pinduoduo will be able to establish its own express terminal, and at the same time open up the reverse logistics of returns and exchanges, increase the income of the agent point (team leader), and increase its own viscosity. Action, accomplish multiple things with one stone.

Among the current major e-commerce platforms, Alibaba has Cainiao, JD.com has JD Logistics, Suning has Suning Logistics, and ByteDance is developing its own logistics... . ..

To a certain extent, what Pinduoduo lacks is the back-end supporting services to undertake front-end sales capabilities. Although Pinduoduo has found a stable and strong partner in Jitu, it still needs Establishing a network like a post station has a weak back-end, otherwise its service quality will always be in the hands of others.

Audiences across the country have seen JD.com’s performance in this year’s Spring Festival Gala. Why can JD.com gain a foothold in the fierce battle? This is inseparable from its powerful "commodity supply chain + logistics supply chain" that builds a complete supply chain infrastructure. For a platform, the core capability is not only the platform's ability to sell goods and the ability to source goods, but also the platform's service capabilities.

In the entire logistics and transportation network, express delivery stations are the "last mile" and an important node in dealing with consumers. Duoduo Maicai's entry into the express delivery service is not so much paving the way for community group purchases as Duoduo Maicai. It is better to make breakthroughs in the back end through attempts in the form of post stations, thereby consolidating the entire ecology.

Opportunity or risk? Pinduoduo needs to move forward with caution

Duoduo’s grocery shopping business was launched in mid-2020 and has grown extremely rapidly. In a conference call last May, Pinduoduo Chairman and CEO Chen Lei said that China’s retail market still has huge potential. Duoduo Maicai is still in the early stages of providing consumers with a new shopping experience. With the standard of service And with the improvement of consumer experience, the scale of the market will further expand.

Community e-commerce has its own natural traffic advantages in seizing the last mile of express delivery resources.

However, Duoduomaicai wants to attract pick-up points through attractive subsidies. As an effective way, is subsidy an efficient way? Will this short-term effective approach lead to the risk of price wars? From the perspective of the overall environment, I think Pinduoduo will move forward cautiously amid the antitrust and strong regulatory turmoil last year. Cainiao issued a "choose one" warning to counter Duoduo Maicai 2

Recently, Cainiao Station issued a "Reminder of Precautions for Returning to Work during the Spring Festival" to "remind" the entire express delivery industry of the post-holiday resumption of work. This "reminder", which has been hailed as an "ultimatum" by many industry insiders, points out that according to the relevant provisions of the "Cainiao Station Cooperation Agreement", using a third-party collection system for warehousing is a breach of contract. Once discovered, Cainiao has the right to terminate cooperation with the post, and accounts associated with the same partner cannot enter the Cainiao Post again within one year.

The "third-party collection system" in this "ban" refers directly to Pinduoduo's community group buying Duoduo Maicai. Not long ago, Duoduo Maicai upgraded its group leader software to provide a new set of express delivery agents in response to long-standing pain points in the express delivery market, such as forced interception of pickup codes and other information, and consumers being forced to use specific apps to return information. Receive and send technical solutions. This solution does not intercept pickup codes, does not charge commissions to collection points, and does not have terminal brands, and all information is sent back to the courier company.

Some consumers told reporters, “In the past, when purchasing goods from Duoduo Maicai and picking up the goods at the collection point, we often encountered that the pickup code could not be obtained from the Pinduoduo APP and Instead, users are required to log in to other specific APPs to scan the code and pick up the items, and Duoduomaicai's 'last mile' service iteration will help further improve the user's online shopping experience. ”

But why did this "optimization" trigger such a violent reaction from Cainiao Station?

Is "pickup code" a big business?

For many "workers", during working days, most of the goods purchased online are deposited by couriers at express stations or smart express cabinets. After get off work, they can pick up the goods with the pick-up code.

It is worth noting that currently, collection points and express companies do not have the authority to obtain the pickup code. Only Cainiao’s backend server has permission to develop, retain, and query the pickup code.

"After we place the express delivery at the collection point, consumers sometimes call to 'complain' that they have not received the pickup code and cannot pick up the goods. In this case, we become a 'scapegoat' ', because we can't self-certify that the express delivery has been successful," said a courier guy in charge of the express delivery business in Zhoujiadu Community, Pudong New Area, Shanghai.

Sometimes, you may not be able to get the package with the "pickup code". Some netizens once posted that local express delivery stations have "forced code scanning to pick up packages" and "the staff don't recognize the pick-up codes at all."

The pickup code information is intercepted and consumers are forced to use a specific APP to return the information. Behind this is actually a big traffic game. Using "scan code to pick up", every time a user picks up a stored package, it can be converted into an effective click. According to statistics from the State Post Bureau, from January to May last year, the cumulative volume of parcels nationwide reached 235 million. Although it is impossible to calculate the proportion of express delivery that is temporarily stored by the collection point, it can be determined that collecting these clicks into one entrance will create a huge traffic pool.

The continuous influx of traffic makes monetization possible. This also explains why users often receive various pop-up windows or page advertisements after scanning the QR code to pick up items.

The "pickup code" business is not only relevant to e-commerce users, but also strangles the necks of collection points. Currently, Cainiao has to charge a certain percentage of commission to express delivery collection points, calculated on a per-order basis, that is, based on the number of "pickup codes" per day. Once these express collection points take over the business of other "third-party collection systems", Cainiao's commission income will be directly affected.

Experts: Requiring collection points to “choose one from two” is suspected of unfair competition

For a long time, in the express delivery market, information such as pickup codes has been forcibly intercepted and commissioned, and consumers have been forced to Issues such as users being forced to use specific apps to return information. These industry pain points need to be solved urgently, and Pinduoduo has given its own considerations from the perspective of optimizing the platform consumer experience.

As for collection points, they are often self-employed households with low income, poor ability to resist risks, and difficulty in surviving.

Taking on one more business means more income and more hope for them.

According to industry insiders, under various pressures, the upgrade of the express collection and delivery plan proposed by Pinduoduo is a great benefit to the collection points. They are essentially small community service centers that also operate other businesses, such as laundries, fruit shops, and small supermarkets. These practices are not prohibited, only Pinduoduo’s collection is prohibited, which is a very targeted “choose one” color.

In fact, after accessing multiple upstream companies, these collection points can take advantage of their ready-made advantages to enhance their negotiation capabilities. The more companies connected to a collection point, the greater their options and their negotiating power will increase. This will not only increase its revenue, but also improve the competitive structure and promote the long-term development of the industry.

The law has never prohibited an express delivery station or business outlet from cooperating with multiple platform companies at the same time. Who to cooperate with and in what form are the free choices of an inn in a mature market. In the face of competition, platform companies should hand over the choice to express delivery sites and win the choice of sites through service innovation, model change, efficiency improvement, and revenue empowerment. Cainiao issued a "Choose One" warning to counter Duoduo Maicai 3

A promotional picture of Duoduo Maicai's collection point business caused a stir in the express delivery industry. Recently, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily learned from an investigation that Pinduoduo’s community group purchase Duoduo Maicai is currently running a trial collection service. According to multiple station owners, this business system can not only store fresh food, but also send and receive express delivery. Almost at the same time, Cainiao Station immediately issued an ultimatum, prohibiting the station from placing Duoduo grocery orders in its warehouse, otherwise it would be permanently cancelled. Amid the intense tension on the platform, insiders are still concerned about business, that is, will the project make any money? What is Pinduoduo planning?

If there is no free subsidy, the average daily order volume must exceed 50

When the new intention is to target a market, the price will not be the same Exceptions have become an important means of attack for Internet companies. Through screenshots provided by some express delivery practitioners, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily learned that if an express delivery outlet or post station chooses to join Duoduo grocery shopping and collection points, it needs to pay a deposit of 1,000 yuan, and can receive a 3,000 yuan subsidy and package subsidy, as well as free text messages and smart voice. Notifications etc. At present, Duoduomaicai has established system integration with many express delivery companies such as Zhongtong, Yunda, YTO, and Jitu.

Regarding the promotional pictures and information widely circulated in the industry, the relevant person in charge of Pinduoduo responded to a Beijing Business Daily reporter that "Duoduo Maicai is indeed trial-operating the collection point business."

However, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily noticed that, just like Pinduoduo’s ever-tried “one-cut” logic, the 3,000 yuan subsidy was not obtained immediately after the cooperation, but in 3 Within a month, each will receive 1,000 yuan in a single month, and more than 50 orders must be shipped out of the warehouse in a single day. Package subsidies also have certain requirements. The platform divides the reward amount into stages based on the number of waybills. The greater the number of shipments, the greater the reward. For example, if the volume of outbound shipments reaches 50 in a single day, the subsidy is 15 yuan. If the volume reaches 800, a 500 yuan reward will be obtained. In terms of service subsidies, pickup notifications are free for two years, while smart voice notifications are free for three months.

It is worth mentioning that according to the system interface on the mobile phone of Duoduo’s grocery shopping and collection service provided by the bosses, the collection point can not only collect instant fresh food orders from the platform, but also further expand the scope of fresh food self-pickup. It can also send and receive express delivery, which can be said to be "Xiangzhuang dances with sword, aiming at Peigong".

“The system function is very similar to that of Cainiao Station.” A courier station owner who cooperated after the cooperation told a Beijing Business Daily reporter that compared with small supermarkets and other small supermarkets, Duoduo’s grocery shopping staff focus more on contacting express stations. and outlets for publicity.

The rookie who was poached from the traffic circle was warned to be dismissed due to violations

Pinduoduo’s attempt to pry open the end of express delivery with high subsidies quickly aroused the vigilance of peers.

A Cainiao Station owner in Henan revealed to a reporter from the Beijing Business Daily that after a Duoduo grocery store staff came to the store to promote the store, he logged into the Cainiao Station shopkeeper system the next day. A video learning interface pops up, and you must watch it before you can log in to the system. The content of the video mentions that if Duoduo’s groceries are stored in the post station, they will be permanently removed after being discovered, and the post station owner will not be allowed to join the rookie post again. “Considering the consequences, I’d better wait and see.

"He said.

Beijing Business Daily reporters found that in addition to Duoduo Maicai, the third-party terminal brands that Cainiao Post is wary of also include terminal brands of express delivery companies such as Tuxi, Mama Post, and Yunda Supermarket, as well as niche brands. Collection agency brands such as Panda Kuaishou, Kuaibao, etc.

In fact, Yizhan and express collection are very similar. They both provide express delivery and receipt services, and the models are very similar. Franchisees bear the rent. In addition to deposits, manpower, materials and other costs, the company provides training, materials, system technology and other services, and charges various fees such as delivery technical service fees, intelligent voice fees, and contract area delivery fees.

In comparison, terminal brands such as Cainiao Station and Mama Station have traffic support, relatively systematic operations, and high user awareness. In order to squeeze into the market, niche collection agencies usually offer low thresholds, reduced fines, and free access to a variety of services. The side business is a gimmick to attract customers to connect to the system, and because the model is lighter, the site conditions are more relaxed, and it can also be used in small supermarkets, tobacco stores, etc. For example, the number of terminal stores of Panda Express has reached 30,000, and SF Express’s agents. The number of express delivery and delivery stores has exceeded 100,000.

Therefore, once other terminal stores with express delivery and delivery functions enter, it will have a certain impact on existing brands such as Cainiao Post. The traffic share is divided. Whether it is Fengchao charging for overtime storage, Cainiao Station emphasizing free storage, or companies such as Zhongtong and YTO being terminal stations, the ultimate purpose of all kinds of operations is to trap traffic and make money in their own hands.

Screening the profit model of target stations remains to be found

Express delivery operators who are waiting to see the giants enter the market are also thinking about making money in the face of Pinduoduo’s substantial subsidies and traffic temptations, among other things. The miscellaneous expenses of the Yizhan brand are increasing day by day, which has really shaken the morale of the bosses in a short period of time. Some bosses with large average daily orders are considering allocating part of the warehousing volume to Duoduo Grocery, and connecting to Cainiao and Cainiao. Duoduo Maicai has two systems, but they face the risk of being banned. Some have turned to cooperate with Duoduo Maicai, hoping that the volume of fresh food and express delivery will increase. More owners are in a wait-and-see mode. p>

“There is actually no essential difference in which platform you build. The main source of income for the post station is from receiving goods. The most important thing is to negotiate with the express delivery company outlets to allow the couriers to leave the packages in the store. The location of the store and the price charged are all negotiable means by the inn owner. "A former post station owner told a reporter from Beijing Business Daily about his experience: For example, the current post station fee charged by express delivery outlets in Beijing is about 1 yuan/ticket, so if the post station can charge 0.9 yuan/ticket, it will also attract couriers to the store. Submit parcels.

The above-mentioned boss told a reporter from Beijing Business Daily that it is not easy to open a new post station now and it is difficult to find manpower. If there is a shortage of manpower, the skyrocketing number of parcels will be brought. A large number of complaints have come. According to experience, the average monthly fine for a normally operating post station is several thousand yuan, and the industry's profits are not as good as before. Currently, many intern stations in Beijing are changing hands.

It can be seen that Pinduoduo’s access to existing and mature express delivery outlets or stations can not only reduce the entry cost to a great extent, but also observe and select which express stations have relatively stable piece volumes and have long-term cooperation based on ladder-type incentives.

Zhao Xiaomin, an express logistics expert and CEO of Guanshuo Capital, believes that Pinduoduo is currently facing considerable pressure in terms of customer growth and market position, and there has been no major breakthrough in customer experience. The strategy of the terminal link is not very clear, but now it is more difficult to build self-built logistics, and there are many uncertainties in handling the terminal in person. Therefore, we use the existing resources in the market to provide services around the platform, and eventually turn into a long-term cooperation. Pinduoduo is currently

Express delivery professional Xu Yong said that Pinduoduo’s express collection points can effectively complement the platform’s return and exchange services, including door-to-door delivery, to enhance the customer experience. Transaction volume, this is its core purpose, but in terms of end profit, subsidies will end sooner or later. Pinduoduo mainly focuses on low-end products, with limited profit margins, and users are more sensitive to price, so the platform needs to find sustainable profits. model to create synergy with express delivery companies, otherwise terminal operators will soon exit.