"Now is a war, a war without gunpowder." Said the boss of a grain-producing area outlet in a Tongda department. Perhaps this is the first-hand experience of many couriers this year.

At the beginning of the year, many express outlets asked the author what is the development trend of the express industry this year? Will the price war be eased? Double One judges that the industry growth rate will slow down in 2019, the stock market competition will intensify, the head pattern will be unstable, and the price will go further Down.

Up to now, as the policies and measures of various express companies have gradually become clear, the market has given the answer. In Yiwu, last year, the price of small items less than one kilogram could be maintained at around 2.4 yuan. Only Best's low-price strategy was below 2 yuan, but the minimum was not less than 1.9 yuan. There were many low-quality customers. And this year, some mainstream express companies have already achieved 1.6 or even 1.5 yuan for express delivery within one kilogram, and the receipt price is even lower than the delivery fee level in many areas. The degree of competition is astonishing.

This competitive situation not only leaves no room for second- and third-tier express brands, but even first-tier express companies will face great pressure if they do not have cost advantages.

Judging from this signal, 2019 will be an anxious battle for leading express delivery companies. For any express delivery company, this year must not be lost, otherwise it is very likely that the gap will be opened.

Here, Shuangyi provides some suggestions to express companies for reference.

First of all, the most important thing is that the headquarters must clearly recognize the severe situation this year, truly change the concept, devote itself to empowering the outlets, strengthening the end, focusing on the interests of the end outlets, and enhancing the competitiveness of the outlets. With the continued price competition, the profitability of outlets has gradually weakened. The outlets are the foundation of the network. Without the foundation, delivery services are not guaranteed, and it is difficult for companies to last. Therefore, the headquarters must change ideas, mechanisms, and policies, streamline administration and delegate power, be fair and transparent, and accelerate decision-making efficiency and execution.

For example, in terms of the operation process of the transshipment center, some companies are weighing the whole vehicle, and some companies are weighing a single package. The weighing of the whole vehicle will greatly improve the efficiency of unloading. We all know that timeliness is the first vitality of express delivery. The process of sacrificing timeliness is adopted for self-interest, which shows that the concept of real service outlets has not been implemented.

Secondly, for the headquarters, cost control is still an important task. The current express delivery competition is still price competition, and whoever has outstanding cost control capabilities will become a key advantage.

In terms of cost control, the first is to reduce costs through scale, but as the scale of each express delivery company reaches an average of 20 million votes per day, the margin of cost reduction on scale gradually appears; the second is to reduce costs through investment. The main reason here is to invest in the transfer center automation equipment, telescopic machines, self-owned vehicles, etc. to reduce costs; the third is to increase the performance appraisal of the center staff, and improve the efficiency of the center operators through performance management and improve their remuneration levels. Strictly assess the loading rate; the fourth point is to transmit the reduced cost to the end, so that the outlets can truly enjoy the advantages of cost reduction.

In addition, the headquarters must pay attention to the three aspects of provinces, centers, and terminals.

As far as the provinces and regions are concerned, the way that the management supervises the outlets is no longer suitable for the development situation. According to Shuangyi, the provincial headquarters of a certain express company often runs outlets and customers, and keeps abreast of the frontline situation in order to make better decisions. Decision-making, and this express company is developing rapidly;

For the center, it is necessary to strictly control the outlets to improve the timeliness, such as controlling the time of vehicle entry and exit. Vehicles in the outlets are fined for a few seconds late. Vehicles must open the door to wait for reversing and unloading after the weight is over, and specify the unloading time for each vehicle. , Only in this way can the express delivery time be guaranteed. Nowadays, there is a big gap between the management of various enterprise centers. In the same area, the delivery time of some enterprise outlets is less than ten minutes, and some enterprises are as long as several hours. The gap is evident;

For the terminal outlets, it is necessary to ensure stability and service, not only to serve the outlets fundamentally, but also to strictly control issues such as false receipts, so that the quality of the entire network can be guaranteed.

In addition to the headquarters, outlets must continue to upgrade in the face of the current competition. Less complaints, more learning and improvement, can prevent themselves from being eliminated by the industry. For outlets, the first is management upgrade. When external profits are getting thinner, we need to control our own costs and improve our ability to open up markets and service levels. The harder the industry, the more it can inspire the wisdom of practitioners, so we see new models and management methods continue to emerge at the end.

There are many ways to learn, you can learn from the surrounding branches, you can learn from the national benchmarks, but the cost of learning in this way is very high. Then another way is to walk into Double One's classroom, learn about the most advanced management experience, and gain some tips to be useful. No matter what industry in the future, the improvement of management philosophy and management ability will make us use it for a lifetime. The second point is to do a good job of upgrading talents. Every position must have suitable talents, especially the marketing, customer service, operation and other supervisors must be upgraded, and talents must be introduced vigorously.

Although the competition in express delivery is fierce, there is still an annual increase of tens of billions of items. There are huge opportunities here, and the key lies in our own. I hope that in 2019, we can all meet a better self.