Logistics Seizes the “Internet Plus” Opportunity to Build a New Freight Ecosystem

Release date:

2020-10-20

Author:

Jinhua Logistics

In recent years, China’s e‑commerce sector has experienced remarkable growth, maintaining a robust momentum of expansion. Alongside this rapid development, the country’s e‑commerce logistics industry has also grown at an astonishing pace. Both self‑built logistics networks of e‑commerce platforms and third‑party express delivery services have continued to expand, while the term “internet logistics” has increasingly entered the lexicon of the traditional logistics industry.

E-commerce stocks are driving the rapid growth of the logistics and express delivery sector.

The rapid expansion of e‑commerce has fueled an explosive growth in the logistics and express delivery sector, making express delivery one of China’s most dynamic industries. From 2006 to 2014, China’s annual express delivery volume grew at an average rate of 37 percent. In 2006, the total volume stood at 1 billion parcels; by 2014, it had surged to 14 billion parcels. Starting in 2011, the sector expanded at a year‑on‑year pace exceeding 50 percent, reaching 62.8 percent in 2013.

The internet is driving the digital transformation of logistics.

In the era of mobile internet, logistics informatization has undergone even more disruptive changes. Smartphones are increasingly replacing HHT terminals. In 2014, Best Express independently developed a mobile app for its field staff, enabling functions such as barcode scanning, data entry, branch‑location lookup, and message posting, thereby seamlessly integrating the company’s logistics information system with mobile devices and facilitating real-time information exchange. At the same time, most Shanghai‑based hazardous‑goods logistics and express delivery companies have also launched their own dedicated apps, allowing customers to arrange shipments from virtually any location.

Internet Plus Logistics has propelled China’s logistics sector onto the fast track.

The internet has transformed spending patterns in third- and fourth-tier cities and rural areas, expanding the reach and depth of logistics networks. E‑commerce has narrowed the urban–rural divide, enabling rural consumers to access the same products online as their urban counterparts. These technological and logistical shifts are giving rise to a new commercial circulation system. Logistics is an iterative, relay‑style process that ensures the efficient allocation of societal resources; the internet helps turn information asymmetry into symmetry, thereby optimizing resource distribution. Against the broader “Internet Plus” backdrop, the widespread adoption and application of technologies such as the Internet of Things, next‑generation information technologies, and advanced management science in the logistics sector—coupled with the deep integration of the internet, mobile connectivity, big data, and cloud computing—will render logistics increasingly intelligent and smart. Such developments will drive the transformation and upgrading of the industry. Accordingly, government regulators and logistics companies must embrace the “Internet Plus” mindset, continuously refining operational processes and management practices to build a modern, socially integrated logistics system characterized by information symmetry and transparent pricing, thus propelling China’s logistics sector onto the fast track of “Internet Plus” logistics.

How can the logistics industry catch the “Internet Plus” express train?

Seize the opportunities presented by “Internet Plus” and the future expansion of the internet.

“Internet Plus” is not merely an extension of Internet applications; it places greater emphasis on deep integration with traditional industries and shares a common conceptual lineage with initiatives such as the “Industrial Internet,” “Industry 4.0,” and “Made in China 2025.” At present, developed countries worldwide are beginning to shift away from a mindset that prioritizes finance over industry, formulating strategic plans to promote the convergence of the Internet and traditional sectors, thereby seizing the commanding heights of development. The “Internet Plus” era also represents one of the opportunities for China to achieve leapfrog development.

In the “Internet Plus” era, the express delivery and logistics industry urgently needs innovation.

Today, radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is still in its nascent stage in China, and both its awareness and application are poised to become one of the new avenues for innovation in “Internet Plus”‑driven express delivery and logistics. At the same time, emerging business models such as the “non‑vehicle‑owning carrier” approach and the O2O model also represent promising directions. In today’s internet‑driven era, the express delivery sector is expanding rapidly, and it is certain that many new‑type courier companies will emerge. However, the more traditional an industry is, the greater its commercial opportunities—and the express delivery and logistics sector is no exception.

Shijiazhuang’s village logistics has jumped on the “Internet Plus” bandwagon, enabling villagers to receive parcels right at their doorsteps.

E‑commerce’s expansion into rural areas has become the prevailing trend. Yet, the reality remains that delivery services typically reach only county seats or townships, leaving a significant gap in last‑mile logistics. How to break through the cost bottleneck, bring products and services right to consumers’ doorsteps, and bridge that “last mile” has long been a pressing challenge for the industry. Leveraging more than 200 grassroots village‑level outlets within its network, the Jinzhou City supply and marketing cooperative, in partnership with an e‑commerce firm, has established a shopping‑service platform. By adopting an O2O model that seamlessly integrates online and offline channels, it has built a modern rural distribution network that combines agricultural and sideline products, agricultural inputs, and everyday consumer goods, while enabling two‑way circulation—thus securing a commanding position in the burgeoning rural e‑commerce market.

Related information: Business scope: general cargo transportation, heavy‑weight cargo transportation, domestic land freight forwarding, warehousing services, air freight forwarding, international freight forwarding, customs clearance and inspection agency services, supply chain management, vehicle affiliation, vehicle insurance processing, and other comprehensive logistics services.

The Internet is ushering in a new era of logistics.

The central government is vigorously promoting the development of a modern circulation system, and the logistics and express delivery sectors still need to step up their pace.

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