Express delivery should be "door-to-door" rather than being left at a courier station without the consumer's consent. How can this seemingly simple problem be solved? Industry professionals believe this is not a problem that couriers alone can solve, but rather requires a systematic solution.

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Without any notification, packages are directly left at courier stations, or even signed for on the recipient's behalf; packages left in smart lockers without authorization incur extra storage fees when overdue; not only do couriers fail to deliver to the door, but courier stations even threaten consumers with direct returns... These are all "pitfalls" that ordinary people encounter when receiving express deliveries.

Consumers troubled by these problems now see hope. On March 1, the "Measures for the Administration of the Express Delivery Market" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") will officially take effect. It stipulates that "packages shall not be arbitrarily delivered to smart parcel lockers, courier service stations, and other terminal delivery service facilities," "packages shall not be thrown or trampled," and "except in cases of force majeure, packages shall be delivered to the recipient's address and recipient within the promised time limit as agreed"... These measures are all aimed at protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

In recent years, the resilience of China's express delivery industry has continued to strengthen. Last year, China's express delivery volume achieved a leap from "100 billion per year" to "100 billion per month." In December last year, monitoring data from the State Post Bureau showed that China's annual express delivery volume exceeded 120 billion parcels for the first time, setting another record high.

As the express delivery industry accelerates its pace of high-quality development, solving terminal delivery problems has become an essential part of promoting the industry's high-quality development.

There are still many problems with the "last mile" of express delivery

Public demand for solving the "last mile" problem of express delivery remains high.

Logistics expert Yang Daqing has observed that it is still quite common for parcels to be left at courier stations or smart lockers without consumers' consent, along with rough sorting and other issues. He believes that behind this lies the lack of lean management and non-standard services in express delivery companies.

At the same time, Yang Daqing stated that the express delivery industry already has some service standards, but relying solely on industry standards without regulatory safeguards still makes it difficult to effectively promote the upgrading of express delivery services.

For a long time, it has not been uncommon for recipients' packages to be placed in smart lockers or courier stations without permission. In some areas, several courier outlets are often consolidated into one courier station, which to some extent holds a "monopoly" position. Not only do they not provide door-to-door delivery services, but sometimes even when consumers call multiple times, delivery only arrives a week later; in some cases, only after consumers call to complain do relevant personnel choose to deliver to the door.

In rural areas, the "last mile" problem of express delivery is even more prominent. In some areas, it is very difficult to deliver packages to villages; most are delivered to courier stations in towns. Villagers rarely receive inquiry calls from couriers and are generally just notified to pick up their packages at the courier station. Some villagers have to travel several kilometers or even more than 10 kilometers to pick up their packages.

It is worth noting that the shortage of township courier outlets has given rise to "towing fees." In some villages and towns not within the delivery range, residents who go to pick up their packages themselves must pay a "towing fee" of 1-2 yuan, or 3 yuan in remote areas. Whether or not to charge the "towing fee" is a matter of survival for many people operating courier storage points in townships. They need to bear labor and vehicle costs to bring these packages back.

In response to these problems, the "Measures" stipulate that express delivery companies, without the user's consent, shall not confirm receipt of packages on the user's behalf, and shall not arbitrarily deliver packages to smart parcel lockers, courier service stations, and other terminal delivery service facilities. It also mentions ensuring package safety, preventing loss, damage, and shortage of contents, and prohibiting throwing or trampling of packages.

Regarding the content in the "Measures" about "couriers not arbitrarily leaving packages at stations," many netizens expressed their anticipation. At the same time, they also commented: "The rules are all good, but the key is to put them into practice."

The burden falls on the shoulders of individual couriers

Behind China's over 100 billion parcels delivered each year are couriers constantly on the run, delivering each package to consumers' hands. The implementation of the new express delivery regulations will ultimately rest on the shoulders of individual couriers.

Xu Yong, vice president of the Express Delivery Branch of the China Communications and Transportation Association, believes that after the "Measures" officially take effect, the following phenomena may occur: express delivery complaints will increase. On the one hand, couriers who fail to deliver packages to the door as required may be complained about; on the other hand, when couriers deliver to the door and the recipient is not home, complaints may arise over issues such as lost packages.

Therefore, many people believe that after the "Measures" officially take effect, more pressure will be transmitted to couriers.

At around 7 p.m. on February 25, a STO Express courier named Li Ming (pseudonym) in Chaoyang District, Beijing, was still delivering packages. He had just sorted through more than 30 packages and spent over half an hour calling the recipients one by one, with dozens more packages still unsorted. As usual, he would leave these packages directly at the recipients' doorsteps.

Li Ming delivers about 300 packages a day. Before deducting various costs, his income per package is about 1 yuan. Li Ming said his delivery volume is not particularly high. Although the residential compound has smart lockers, he generally delivers directly to the door, mostly leaving packages at doorsteps and leaving without calling or knocking.

Article 28 of the "Measures" stipulates that the recipient may sign for or confirm receipt of the package in other easily identifiable and preservable explicit ways, or designate a proxy to inspect and confirm receipt of the package.

Delivering packages is a time-pressed job, and it is not easy for couriers to confirm receipt with each recipient or relevant person one by one. Li Ming makes many calls every day. Getting through on the first try is lucky; often he calls three times without an answer. Each package takes two to three minutes, and combined with delivering to the door and knocking, many people are not home, making it even harder to have the recipient sign personally or have someone else collect on their behalf. Li Ming was unaware that the "Measures" were about to take effect, and even less clear about the impact this new regulation would have on him. He said: "Delivering one by one like that is impossible."

On February 25, a Yunda Express courier in Chaoyang District, Beijing, saw on Douyin that the new express delivery regulations were about to take effect. He stated that although the residential compound has smart lockers, he has always delivered to the door, likewise leaving packages at doorsteps and leaving. "If we must call every time, then there's no way to deliver."

Giving consumers more choice

The "price war" in the express delivery industry has persisted for a long time. Xu Yong pointed out that the express delivery industry's "e-commerce dependence" has a long history—that is, packages from e-commerce account for the bulk of express delivery orders. "Now the pricing power of express delivery is not in the hands of express delivery companies but mostly in the hands of e-commerce platforms, because e-commerce controls the supply of goods and uses its supply advantage to压低 express delivery prices."

Express delivery fees are generally relatively low, and couriers at the terminal end of delivery receive even less per package. More deliveries mean more income. To improve delivery efficiency, many couriers choose to leave packages directly at courier stations or at the recipient's doorstep.

In Xu Yong's view, with the implementation of the new regulations, the pressure of "door-to-door delivery" will indeed be transmitted more to couriers. Couriers will need to call consumers one by one, and delivery efficiency will also be affected. For those at the terminal end of delivery whose delivery fees are already low, the impact on delivery efficiency means their work is being "loaded up."

"The era of barbaric growth in the express delivery industry has ended, but the inertia of barbaric growth remains. A considerable number of express delivery companies still rely heavily on price wars and economies of scale to gain market share." Yang Daqing believes that price wars bring mutually destructive competition rather than mutually motivating competition, causing bad money to drive out good money, which is harmful to market order, enterprise development, and people's experience. The economies of scale it brings are also watered-down economies of scale.

Yang Daqing believes that more detailed and stricter "Measures" will help the industry enter a positive cycle of competition and will also help law-abiding and compliant companies grow bigger and stronger. He believes that under decentralized and destructive competition among enterprises, couriers' rights and interests will not be fundamentally protected. In the short term, in areas with insufficient terminal manpower, the pressure brought by the new regulations will be directly transmitted to couriers, and couriers may be the ones who feel it most acutely. The express delivery industry needs to improve the trade union system to truly safeguard the rights and interests of express delivery practitioners. In the long term, if the "Measures" are strictly implemented, some enterprises with extensive development models will inevitably see their market space shrink, thereby promoting the industry to enter a virtuous cycle of positive development. Only when enterprises grow bigger and stronger can couriers' rights and interests be truly protected.

Cost issues have also raised consumer concerns. Door-to-door delivery to some extent means increased costs, because "the wool ultimately comes from the sheep." So, will express delivery fees rise as a result?

"In practice, it is very difficult for express delivery 'door-to-door delivery' to be achieved by one department alone." Xu Yong also pointed out that this is not a problem that can be solved by couriers alone, but requires a systematic solution. Multiple departments should establish a coordinated mechanism, not only starting from express delivery companies themselves, but perhaps also intervening earlier at the e-commerce stage, so that consumers can independently choose the express delivery brand and the delivery location when purchasing products—home, courier station, or smart locker, etc. However, each option requires express delivery companies to clearly mark prices, "giving the choice to consumers."