Unexpectedly, Xiaomi Express, backed by Xiaomi Mall , would become the first "crossover" to fall.
Recently, Xiaomi Express issued an announcement stating that due to business changes, Xiaomi Express will shut down its services. The service prompt page of the Xiaomi Express delivery platform shows:
Due to business changes, Xiaomi Express will close the express delivery service from 0:00 on December 1, 2022. From 0:00 on December 23, all functions such as shipping record inquiry will be closed, and the server will be shut down, prompting users to save relevant information in a timely manner.
In addition, when jumping to the Xiaomi Express applet through the Xiaomi Express WeChat public account, it also prompts: The Xiaomi Express applet system is being updated and maintained - the developer will restore the service as soon as possible after completing the update. Please try again later.
Since the birth of Xiaomi Express, many people have called it " Xiaomi version rookie wrap" , with the intention of relying on Xiaomi Mall, Xiaomi ecology and Mifen culture to block the "super entrance" of express traffic. However full the ideal is, the reality seems to be skinny.
Question is coming: What happened behind the shutdown of Xiaomi Express? What about those "crossovers" that have the same ideas and ambitions as Xiaomi Express, such as Tencent , Baidu , Meituan , Gome Anxun, Douyin , Kuaishou, etc.? When giants cross-border into express delivery, what is the most feasible way out?
01
was created by Xiaomi and trapped by Xiaomi
Xiaomi’s “Express Delivery Imagination” has a long history.
As early as 2015, Xiaomi applied for two patents related to express delivery tracking number identification; in June 2019, the 38th and 39th category trademarks "Xiaomi Express" applied for were approved. The business scope of the 39th category trademark covers package delivery, express delivery services, etc.; the official WeChat public account of Xiaomi Express was officially opened the next month after the trademark was finalized.
On November 21, 2019, , Xiaomi Express platform was officially launched. Best became the first express company to connect to Xiaomi Express; later, SF Express , JD Express , Yunda , YTO, etc. all successively connected.
According to Xiaomi's vision, is to create a click-and-use express delivery service platform that aggregates domestic mainstream express delivery to provide Xiaomi Mall users with cost-effective express delivery services. After users place an order for shipment, the platform will intelligently match the best express delivery service, or the user can choose their favorite express delivery service. After the order is placed, the courier will come to pick up the package at the agreed time.
A person who is familiar with Xiaomi Mall said that Xiaomi pays more attention to "user participation", and "participation" is the soul of Xiaomi's brand concept. In the process of communicating with users for many years, Xiaomi has cultivated a large number of loyal "rice fans". Therefore, the logistics experience of rice noodles is crucial to Xiaomi.
This person believes that in essence, it is natural for Xiaomi to enter the express delivery industry. Xiaomi’s platform positioning, the entire business ecological chain, and the new manufacturing system all require logistics. After years of development, Xiaomi is no longer a simple mobile phone company. Its products have covered multiple ecological chains such as home appliances, home furnishings, and daily necessities. Xiaomi's business territory has also expanded to multiple fields such as smart hardware, medical health, automobile transportation, culture and entertainment, forming a huge ecosystem.
Indeed, as the above person said, due to the expansion of Xiaomi Mall's business categories and the surge in users, at its peak, Xiaomi Express also opened six major entrances, including WeChat, Weibo , Xiaomi Youpin , Xiaomi MIUI negative one screen, Xiaoai classmates among Xiaomi mobile users, and PC web pages.
Unfortunately, the "peak period" did not last long, and problems and limitations became more and more prominent. On the one hand, Xiaomi Express mainly serves the distribution of its own products in Xiaomi Mall and Xiaomi Youpinli. It is difficult to break out of Xiaomi's ecological closed loop. It can be said that it is "made by Xiaomi" and "trapped by Xiaomi"; on the other hand, Xiaomi Express does not have a "cost-effective" advantage when serving the vast rice noodles and C-end user groups. The price of express delivery services is consistent with the official website price of the express company, which puts it at a disadvantage in the competition with its opponents and it is difficult to obtain effective increases.
In addition, Xiaomi Mall, especially the mobile phone business that it was proud of in the past, has been greatly affected by the epidemic in the past few years. Judging from Xiaomi's overall performance in the first three quarters of this year, the operating pressure is not small.
’s latest financial report shows: Xiaomi’s revenue in the first three quarters of 2022 was 214 billion yuan, fell 11.84% compared to last year’s 242.7 billion yuan; profit was 36.2 billion yuan, down 16.98% year-on-year. Among them, revenue of 70.474 billion yuan was recorded in the third quarter. increased slightly from 70.171 billion yuan in the second quarter of , but fell 9.7% year-on-year; gross profit was 11.722 billion yuan, compared with 14.292 billion yuan in gross profit in the third quarter of 2021, a year-on-year decrease of 18%. In addition, the net profit attributable to the parent company in the first three quarters turned from positive to negative, falling from 16.85 billion yuan in the same period last year to -677.2 million today.
According to Xiaomi, since this year it has been working hard to reduce costs and increase efficiency, and improve human efficiency. In recent days, Xiaomi's layoffs have become a topic of discussion in the industry in order to reduce costs and increase efficiency. The pressure on the "mother" of
has also become the core factor that crushed Xiaomi Express and directly led to its closure of services. Many people also believe that Xiaomi’s current business cuts and layoffs are to “ensure sufficient ammunition” for car manufacturing.
02
How are other "cross-border express" players doing now?
Judging from the entry of cross-border players in the past few years, everyone generally agrees: As their own users and transaction scale become larger and larger, self-built, self-sustained or self-operated logistics systems have become a must-choose question for most cross-border players. Xiaomi Express is one of them, and the others include Tencent, China Southern Airlines , Meituan, Baidu, Gome , Byte Douyin, Kuaishou, Alipay .
Question is here again: After Xiaomi’s defeat, how are the other companies developing?
1. Tencent’s “WeChat express delivery”: Almost no external announcements this year
Since 2018, Tencent has entered the logistics field through investment, developing end-delivery robots and order OCR technology . During this period, it also registered “Penguin Logistics” to enter the express delivery market. In 2019, Tencent launched the "Logistics Assistant" interface function through WeChat, and on June 9, 2020, it launched the "Send Express" applet through WeChat.
2021 can be said to be Tencent’s most active year in the express delivery field. Taking advantage of the user traffic advantage in the WeChat system, express delivery services were launched frantically for C-end users: in June of that year, the "WeChat express delivery" service was launched, positioning it as an express delivery service platform; in July, the "one-click, express delivery" service was launched; in August, it was announced that WeChat payment branch would launch a "send now, pay later" service, and payment can be made automatically after the express delivery is completed.
What is strange is that after some "turbulence", Tencent fell into silence this year. I don’t know whether it is affected by the epidemic, but Tencent’s voice in the express delivery field in 2022 is almost zero. Yi Zhan Lao Gui tried to contact a Tencent insider to learn about the matter, but did not receive any news on the relevant progress.
2. Baidu’s “0 yuan delivery”: almost zero presence
202 On Double 11 in 2019, Baidu App launched a "0 yuan delivery" service that focuses on returns and exchanges. At that time, we looked at the form and interface of Baidu's "0 yuan delivery" express service, which was similar to Tencent's "express delivery" service launched in 2019. They are both a kind of business boundary expansion using traffic thinking.
However, it is also regrettable that this year, whether it is daily or Double 11, Baidu has not made a sound in terms of express delivery services, and there has been no significant progress in related businesses.
3. Alipay’s “Send Now, Pay Later”: There are currently over one million users
In November 2021, in order to counter WeChat and Baidu, Alipay launched the express “Send Now, Pay Later” service through Sesame Credit.
Compared with Tencent and Baidu’s “lost voice”, Alipay’s “send now, pay later” has not gained much popularity this year, but what is gratifying and surprising is that it has not stopped in developing its business and operating its user base. Currently, the Alipay Express "Send Now, Pay Later" applet page shows that its number of users has exceeded 1 million.
Yi Zhan Lao Gui tried to learn more about the specific development of this business through relevant people in Alipay, but as of the time of publication, he had not received a reply.
4. Gome’s “Lightning Delivery”: a flash in the pan
In July 2021, Gome upgraded its original instant delivery business “Flash Store Delivery” to strengthen express delivery services and provide “express delivery” services to more consumers. As a result, Anxun Logistics can undertake the distribution of large and small and medium-sized goods at the same time. At that time, the person in charge of Gome Anxun Logistics also said that in the future, the service would not rule out being open to third parties such as , Pinduoduo, , and consumers.
To the surprise of many people, the overall development of Gome this year has taken a “sudden turn”, with frequent thunderstorms and the risk of “ bankruptcy and liquidation of ”. As a logistics company relying on Gome, Anxun Logistics has also been affected. A practitioner in the freight industry broke the news that Accent Logistics has owed more than 3 million yuan in freight charges to many carriers in Henan Province. Since July this year, there has been no settlement of freight charges for Henan carriers, involving cities such as Zhengzhou, Jiaozuo, Kaifeng, etc. Other cities involved include Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and other places.
Gome and Anxun are still not safe. The "express delivery dream" behind the "pop-up store delivery" was short-lived and disappeared with the wind.
5. China Southern Airlines Logistics "Same Day Delivery": Continuous Actions, Development is Good
China Southern Airlines Logistics, which completed the mixed-ownership reform at the end of 2020, took advantage of air transportation to launch the "Same Day Delivery" service by air delivery at the end of July 2021, and promised door-to-door collection and delivery. Through observation and combing, the old man from the inn found that China Southern Airlines Logistics has been making continuous moves in the B-side field this year -
China Southern Airlines Logistics encrypted "cherry flights" were launched in October to provide international logistics and transportation services for Chilean cherries; During the World Cup in Qatar , China-made clothing and ornaments were provided It provides logistics services for more than 10 tons of World Cup peripheral products such as stickers, hand clapboards, horns, and whistles, as well as World Cup venue LED screens, lighting equipment, etc.; in early December, it officially released its own cross-border dedicated line products, opening up collection, air freight trunk lines, customs clearance, last-mile distribution and other links, and using digital solutions to provide one-stop cross-border transportation services for cross-border e-commerce customers.
6. Douyin’s “Door Delivery”: Continuously polishing the service chassis and boundaries
Online electronic form in 2021 With the "door-to-door" service and continuous in-depth layout in the field of warehousing and distribution, Douyin has successively launched multiple express service products this year, constantly increasing the delivery time and product system, such as "Yinzunda" which was tested and launched in January; " speed up to " which was tested and launched in July, and upgraded and launched "Yinxunda" in September.
In addition, Douyin is also preparing to run its own DouChao this year. In mid-to-early June, it was revealed that Douyin had begun a self-operated business similar to JD.com's supermarkets - "DouChao door-to-door delivery", and was piloting it in cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. It is understood that this business is developed by ByteDance’s e-commerce department and belongs to two separate teams from Douyin’s local life business.
7. Kuaishou’s “On-Demand Delivery”: Started to test the waters
In March this year, Kuaishou e-commerce launched “On-demand Delivery”. According to the introduction, "on-demand delivery" was launched by Kuaishou e-commerce and United Express. Kuaishou e-commerce provides "exclusive services" for specific consumers in the end delivery link through matching on the merchant side and delivering according to customer demands.
This service mainly requires the courier to send a call to the recipient, and then choose to deliver the goods to the door, or put them in a courier cabinet or collection point according to the user's needs.
8. Meituan Express: Transforming into "Tomorrow's Delivery" and placing a heavy emphasis on instant delivery
On October 12, according to an article published by the official public account of Meituan Preferred , its community group purchase brand Meituan Preferred has adjusted its brand positioning to "Tomorrow's Delivery Supermarket".
Just from the name "Tomorrow Express", the taste and traces of "express delivery" are obvious. In fact, with the adjustment of Meituan's preferred products and the division of flash sales into the core local life business, the strategic focus of Meituan's business is shifting to an area it is more familiar with - instant delivery.
Previously, the old ghost of the post station once wrote an article analyzing that behind Meituan Selection and Meituan Buying Food is Warehouse Distribution Network, and behind Meituan Flash Sale and Meituan Takeaway is Instant Distribution Network. Moreover, these two " logistics network " are already very complete and mature.
Regarding the warehousing and distribution network, the annual report stated that the "next day pickup" three-level warehousing and distribution logistics network system created by Meituan has now covered most communities and rural areas in 30 provinces across the country. So far, Meituan's "order today, pick up the next day" service model has covered more than 2,000 cities and counties across the country.
Regarding Instant Delivery Network, it is a nationwide takeout delivery network built by an average of over one million active riders per day (total number exceeds 5 million). It can be said to be the most powerful terminal fulfillment system at the moment, with great advantages in delivery timeliness and door-to-door delivery capabilities. Meituan’s peak single-day order volume has exceeded 50 million. This size is basically equivalent to the ZTO Express of the same period, but in terms of delivery efficiency and experience, Meituan Delivery is obviously better.
Backed by these two networks, from delivering within the same city to delivering across the country, from delivering food to delivering everything, the wider the boundaries of "Meituan Express", the clearer the logistics map.
03
"Bringing capital in" may be the best choice
Judging from the development and actions of these giant crossovers this year, the gap is obvious. Some are making strides forward, some are moving steadily, some are temporarily shelved, and some are lingering...
Invariable. Except for China Southern Airlines, which has advanced hardware transportation tools, other cross-border players almost all operate in a light-asset model. With the help of their own business flow, , and user traffic, they build an express service platform interface and cooperate with domestic mainstream express companies to provide logistics services to their users and create a closed-loop ecosystem. At the same time, they increase their voice in the field of logistics and express delivery, thereby exploring and finding new business growth points and strengthening competition barriers.
Cross-border players generally believe that as the scale of users and transactions becomes larger and larger, how to build your own logistics system is an unavoidable topic. The reality is that the current social distribution transportation capacity is relatively complete and abundant. Although major manufacturers continue to penetrate into express delivery, they have already missed the best window period for "self-built logistics or express delivery". If you enter the express delivery market and do not change your business ideas, just rely on building a platform and using your own traffic to cooperate with other express delivery operations, most of them may end up like "Xiaomi Express".
Is there any other feasible way? Of course there is. According to industry insiders, the more feasible way for is to operate through platforms or capital, such as using capital to create a rookie, a Jitu, or even SF Express, , JD Logistics, and .
The biggest reason why Cainiao is currently developing well is mainly due to the previous investment layout of Ali in social logistics. Now Cainiao is also increasing its heavy investment and technology research and development capabilities in the field of express logistics.It can be seen that only relies on a service platform for express delivery and is not very competitive in the express delivery market. Firstly, it does not have a solid logistics chassis to support it. Secondly, it does not have the core voice to transform express delivery services and products. Thirdly, it does not have the third-party logistics express service capabilities for C-side and B-side.
Since last year, many express delivery experts have predicted more than once: After the development trend of the express industry changes, integration and mergers and acquisitions will be a more powerful means for cross-border players to enter. In the future, the express delivery market may see large-scale integration and mergers, with more capital integration, and price competition giving way to industrial capital integration . Jitu swallowed Best Express , and JD Logistics acquired Deppon Express , which is the most direct proof.
From this perspective, for giants with strength, ideas, needs and ambitions, "bringing capital into the market" may be the best posture and choice for cross-border express delivery . Because in this case, what is created is not only a closed loop of service ecology, but also the operational capabilities of the three parties and an expanding circle of business friends.
