What do you think of YTO Express?

After the Spring Festival, many express delivery outlets in Shanghai were reported by the media to be out of stock. Express companies such as YTO and STO experienced varying degrees of parcel backlogs. YTO customer service also stated that there are currently 38 YTO stations in Shanghai that have stopped accepting goods. Some citizens went to express distribution points to pick up packages themselves.

Mia felt YTO's liquidation as early as the end of the Spring Festival holiday, because she originally wanted to mail Turkish souvenirs to her fans, but no one answered the phone she called YTO many times. In the past, YTO's customer service calls were You can place an order over the phone in just a few minutes. If something goes wrong, something will happen.

Yesterday JD.com CEO Liu Qiangdong publicly revealed the scars of the express delivery industry: This is a hidden cancer caused by the rapid growth of e-commerce for more than ten years. The number of employees does not have five insurances and one fund, or there are only five insurances and one fund. The upright Brother Dong pointed out that some express companies deduct benefits from delivery workers.

The express delivery industry is about to be reshuffled, and the storm is about to come.

The past and present life of express delivery

Express delivery companies have actually been around since ancient times, but they were called escort agencies in ancient times.

However, transportation was underdeveloped in ancient times. It took several months to transport goods across provinces by horse-drawn carts and ox-carts. We also had to prevent bandits and robbers from robbing the bodyguards. Therefore, in the past, in addition to being martial arts practitioners, the people in the bodyguard bureaus also There are swords, guns and weapons to guard the escort. Cecilia Cheung is so good at fighting in "The Roar of the East" because of her background in the escort agency.

Before e-commerce developed, there was only one express delivery company, the post office.

The rise of express delivery

With the rise of a large number of e-commerce companies such as Taobao and JD.com, private express delivery companies have begun to spring up like mushrooms after a rain. Even the circulation department of the newspaper office will receive express packages from e-commerce companies in addition to delivering newspapers.

How big is the pie in the express delivery industry? A colleague from our newspaper office resigned to open a courier company. At first, my wife was not optimistic about it, saying that this industry had no future and that it was a dirty, tiring job that no one could do.

Due to the e-commerce dividend period, my colleague’s express delivery company grew rapidly, so my wife simply quit her job to help. It is said that when wages are paid every month, money is put into sacks and sent to the company.

However, the development of the Internet today has changed from barbaric growth to deep cultivation. The dividends in the express delivery industry are also getting thinner.

Vicious competition

To be honest, I like to use YTO because it is cheap. SF Express’s shipping fee in the city starts at 12 yuan, while YTO only charges 7 or 8 yuan. Consumers definitely want service. The cheaper the better, so new express delivery companies only offer low-cost delivery services. According to data released by CICC, the gross profit margin of express delivery has dropped from the original 30% to about 5-10%.

Let’s talk about the current living situation of the courier boy. They generally don't study much and can only do menial and heavy work. When I was at the newspaper office, it rained heavily. Even though there was a tent, the row of express mail at the door was soaked. Damage to items must be compensated.

Exposed to the scorching sun in summer, it is easy to get heat stroke if you work outdoors for a long time to collect goods. Even if you ride an electric bicycle, you are at risk of being caught by the urban management.

Last time, a boy from SF Express accidentally scratched a car in the community and was beaten, insulted and slapped.

Wang Wei, the boss of SF Express, was so angry that he publicly said: If we don’t pursue the matter to the end, I will not be worthy of being the president of SF Express.

It’s windy, rainy, scorching sun, and cold wind blows in the middle of winter. I’ve seen couriers take orders even when their noses are red and runny from the cold.

Long working hours are also a common problem in the express delivery industry. I remember that when I worked overtime at the newspaper office until seven or eight o'clock in the evening, I would see the courier guy still sorting packages when I went out. His dinner is a box lunch.

The work is intense and you are not respected. The turnover of people in this industry is also very high. It is not uncommon to look like a new person in a few days.

The suspension of the express delivery company has a lot to do with the fact that many people chose to stay in their hometowns after the Spring Festival. There was a labor shortage for express delivery boys.

Another point is that you can now make more money delivering food than delivering mail, because major food delivery companies usually have venture capital subsidies, and the profit of express delivery can only be 1-2 yuan per order. In comparison, You can earn 5-8 yuan by delivering food. Many delivery boys have switched to delivering food.

The rise and fall of any industry will go through a process from peak to shuffle, but if there is demand, there will be a market.

Maybe this reshuffle will lead to an improvement in the treatment of courier boys. After all, there are so many losers waiting to be chopped off.

Baijiahao: Miscellaneous Talk on Internet Affairs