[200313.EN.BIZ] China Post: Express GDP Proportion To Match Developed World By 2020

CHINA will continue to improve the quality of online shopping service and the reliability of delivery this year, China State Post Bureau director Ma Shengjun told Xinhua.

The express sector's value will double that in 2010 by 2020, and its percentage in the GDP will catch up with that of the developed world, said Mr Ma.

Personal complaints from Commerce Minister Chen Deming of his unhappy online shopping experience has put the domestic express industry in the spotlight after he told the National People's Congress that a present he ordered on Christmas Eve for his granddaughter did not arrive until January 5.

Mr Ma, whose State Post Bureau is responsible for the express sector, expressed regret about the minister's unhappy experience.

He pledged that China will improve express service in quality as well as in business volume. Delivery time in urban area of major cities will be shortened to under 48 hours, he said.

Statistics show there were 2,500 batches of express packages delivered every day in 2012. Some 1,500 resulted from online shopping, involving 800,000 messengers making deliveries.

Mr Ma said China will have at least two mega express companies with annual business revenue of over CNY100 billion (US16.09 billion) and a few over CNY50 billion by 2020, to lead the development of the industry.

At present, poor connections in the supply chain, low quality of some of the 8,000 express companies and cut-throat competition have created a mess in the sector. The State Post Bureau handled 31,752 complaints in January, 95 per cent of them about express service failure.

Mr Ma said the bureau has worked policies to enhance service quality, such as tightening control on issuing business permits.

Express delivery is an important part of online shopping, he said. Making sure a product arrives quickly in the hands of a consumer and in good condition is the biggest challenge facing the industry.

Mr Ma said he had noticed the application of new technologies like "intelligent package self-service pick up box" in the other countries. "China will also seek ways to make dropping off and picking up packages more convenient," he said.

Source : HKSG, 18.03.13.