Chinese joint venture begins parcel deliveries
Shanghai Dazhong Sagawa Logistics, China’s first door-to-door parcel delivery service company has begun operations in Shanghai’s Huadong district.
The firm is a joint venture between Japan’s Sagawa Express and Sumitomo Corporation and Dazhong Transport (Group), a Shanghai-based freight forwarding company. No details of the shareholding structure have been released.In what is believed to be a first in China, Shanghai Dazhong Sagawa Logistics operates a system, which is also used in Japan, where truck drivers take orders as well as collect and distribute cargo. The firm has a workforce of 100, including 67 drivers and 70 vehicles, and this is set to grow to 230 drivers and 160 trucks by 2005 when annual revenues are projected to reach 70 million yuan (HK$65.9 million).
The company will move into a new delivery centre, now under construction, in May and launch a nationwide customer-to-customer service.
Sagawa Express and Sumitomo officials said demand for small-lot cargo delivery service was fast growing in China as more wholesale and retail shops were set up following the entry of foreign consumer goods manufacturers and retail chain operators. The trend is more prominent in Shanghai.
They said the lack of efficient delivery service providers on the mainland was one of the factors that had made the operations of manufacturers and retailers less profitable.
Customers can track their cargo via the Internet, obtain receipts by fax and are assured of time-definite delivery.
