"Prisoner's Dilemma" refers to a special game between two arrested prisoners. Even if cooperation is beneficial to both parties, it is difficult to maintain cooperation.


On July 6, Best Group officially launched a ¡°door-to-door¡± delivery service from China to Southeast Asia. At present, the service has covered five countries: Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Singapore, and will cover more areas in the future.

Four days ago, Bestcai announced that it had fully launched its express delivery business in Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia, and planned to build 7 transshipment centers and 270 express delivery stations in Malaysia in the next three years.

This means that Best is constantly increasing its overseas market. In fact, Best is not the only company targeting overseas markets. Now the price war in the domestic express delivery industry is getting more and more cruel. A set of data from the State Post Bureau shows that from 2007 to 2019, the unit price of express delivery dropped from 28.5 yuan/piece. To 11.8 yuan/piece.

Express delivery companies have not thought about ending the price war. In early May, after the Tongda company issued a price adjustment announcement, they collectively "changed their faces" and even withdrew the price adjustment announcement. This endless trial has exposed the stalemate behind the industry's price war.


In this context, express delivery giants such as SF Express and Tongda are paying more and more attention to the development of overseas business. ZTO Express Cambodia opened a special line for land transportation between Cambodia and Vietnam in March this year, and held a groundbreaking ceremony for overseas warehouses in July; Shentong International actively promotes the construction of global overseas warehouses this year, and plans to add 40 overseas warehouses. YTO has successively opened new Southeast Asian international freight routes from May to June.

However, must overseas markets be easier to develop than domestic markets?

Not really. When domestic express companies go to sea, there are three mountains that are destined to be unable to bypass-United Parcel (UPS), Deutsche Post (DHL), and Federal Express (FedEx). This is because the advantages of the three major express delivery giants in terms of localization, air cargo capacity, and capital are beyond the reach of Tongda companies in a short time.

For this reason, "going to sea in groups" has become the key point for Chinese express companies to grab food from the tiger's mouth, and national policies are constantly guiding this. Ma Junsheng, director of the State Post Bureau, has encouraged express companies to go to sea in many important public occasions-"encourage companies to integrate resources and build and share in channel networks, cargo organization, and air transport capacity."

On March 18, Ma Junsheng once again mentioned in a signed article published in the "Learning Times", "We must go to sea in groups. Express companies and e-commerce companies are encouraged to go to sea together, through strategic alliances with overseas logistics, freight forwarders, and express companies. Through investment, mergers and acquisitions, various channels, especially dedicated line channels, will be unblocked, the construction of overseas warehouses will be accelerated, and overtaking will gradually be achieved in curves.

Surprisingly, the leaders of express delivery companies have also expressed their approval of the strategy of "going to sea in groups".


In 2017, Nie Tengyun, chairman of Yunda Express, said that in terms of overseas layout, joining express delivery companies has more advantages in expansion, and hopes that everyone can unite and form a group to participate in globalization. Yu Weijiao, chairman of YTO Express, also said that YTO has made some internationalization in recent years. In the future, everyone can work together in cross-border customs and core logistics facilities, which will have more advantages.

In 2019, Lai Meisong, chairman of ZTO Express, said that it is a grand goal for China Express to move towards the world stage along the ¡°Belt and Road¡± related countries. The realization of this goal cannot be achieved by a single express company alone. "Hold together to go to sea" and cooperate with each other. Yang Tianping, senior vice president of SF Express, also believes: "The best way for China Express to'go out' is to'go to sea in a group."

The policy guidance is in place, and business leaders also agree, but they are implemented in specific actions, and everyone is still accelerating and landing in their own way. At present, Shentong is working hard to cultivate the European and American markets. Zhongtong is in Cambodia, Best is in Thailand, and SF is in the United States. They have not shown the meaning of "going to sea in groups".

Is it possible that the group of express companies that go to sea are also caught in the "prisoner's dilemma"? Or is it that everyone avoids being stunned and "in the dark"? Will the express delivery companies usher in the day when they truly "go to sea in groups"? "E-commerce News" will continue to pay attention.


Reprinted from: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1671708838525237193&wfr=spider&for=pc