The express delivery industry has seen rapid growth in recent years, thanks largely to the boom in e-commerce, especially in regards to online shopping. Many e-commerce companies, such as Alibaba.com, JD.com, Vancl and Suning.com, have their own logistics systems. Are there any trends where logistics is integrating with e-commerce?

Answered by: Wei Jigang

The level, psychology, pattern and structure of consumer habits have changed in China following its upgrading from a mid-income to a high-income country. Businesses need more efficient, distinctive and individualized logistics services. It requires logistics companies to provide higher-value services that can save time for customers. The gradual industrial upgrading and changes in ways of production will rapidly increase demand for small-lot, flexible logistics services delivering commodities that are small, short, light and thin.

By conservative estimates, daily express deliveries in e-commerce will reach over 20 million by 2020 and 40 million by 2030. The integration of e-commerce and modern logistics will bring about a major change in consumer patterns. E-commerce serves as an important and powerful driving force for the express delivery industry. Almost one-third of the national express delivery business is generated by e-commerce.

As e-commerce grows dramatically, the lagging express delivery industry has created a bottleneck that limits development of e-commerce. More e-commerce companies are expected to establish their own logistics service branches or cooperate with logistics companies in varying degrees. The express delivery industry itself will have to take this e-commerce boom as an opportunity to speed up integration of logistics and e-commerce to create a win-win model for both industries.