The proportion of online shopping in Inner Mongolia has dropped to 1.38%, Hainan coconuts received free shipping from Tibetan consumers, and multiple e-commerce platforms have launched free shipping services in Xinjiang... In the western region, new changes have taken place in the logistics industry.

  In the first quarter of this year, my country's express delivery business volume reached 45.14 billion pieces, a year-on-year increase of 21.6%, of which the proportion of express delivery business volume in the western region increased by 0.6 percentage points year-on-year. The western region is accelerating its entry into the ranks of "free shipping areas", and the small package is writing a brand new "Western Postal Note".

  New delivery mode

  Faster speed of transportation

  Under the night, Jitu Express Xi'an Transportation Center was brightly lit and trucks were waiting in line. On the operating site of more than 70,000 square meters, multi-layer conveyor belts are automatically operated, and the intelligent scanners are accurately sorted, delivering hundreds of thousands of packages to 7 leagues, cities and 51 banners and counties in western Inner Mongolia every day. Thousands of miles away, the Shenyang Transfer Center is also busy. Trucks loaded with rice, seafood, ginseng and other goods are transported here, traveling to Tongliao, Chifeng, Hulunbuir and other places in eastern Inner Mongolia.

  "We adopt the collective transportation model to concentrate the parcels sent to Inner Mongolia from all over the country to Xi'an and Shenyang transit warehouses, and then uniformly allocate and ship them directly." Xu Xiantao, head of the Inner Mongolia market of Jitu Express, introduced that this model has increased the full load rate of transport vehicles and reduced the number of transits through the scale effect, effectively reducing the transportation cost of a single parcel, and making free shipping services more popular in Inner Mongolia, with a vast area, reaching the doorsteps of thousands of people.

  In Yingzi Village, Mongolian, Aohan Banner, Chifeng City, the Jitu Rural Express Service Station run by villager Li Zhongxu has become the most popular place in the village. On the shelves, there are a wide range of small commodities in Yiwu, Zhejiang, small appliances in Foshan, Guangdong, and vegetable seeds in Shouguang, Shandong. "Last year's 'Double 11', shelves were full." Li Zhongxu said that the service of the collection point covers 400 households of villagers, and now it handles more than 200 express delivery per day.

  The benefit of free shipping has also been transmitted to more merchants. "In the past, express delivery directly sent to Inner Mongolia was charged 15 yuan per kilogram, which was more expensive than the unit price of navel oranges." A navel orange seller from Jiangxi said, "Now, through the transfer warehouse, the logistics cost has been reduced by nearly half."

  At present, the integrated transportation model has shown effects on many platforms. Postal express docking platforms such as Pinduoduo have established 4 transit warehouses in Chengdu, Xi'an, Lanzhou and Hangzhou; SF Express connects with China Railway Container Xi'an Branch to use container trains to transport express parcels; Taobao and Tmall e-commerce platform allows consumers in western regions to enjoy free shipping services more fully through the transportation mode.

  The collection transportation model solves the problem of no free shipping and releases consumer demand. Looking at the business volume, last year, the express business volume and delivery volume in rural Inner Mongolia (banners and counties and below) reached 217 million pieces and 1.131 billion pieces respectively, an increase of 57% and 49% year-on-year respectively; looking at the service level, in 2024, the express delivery service in Inner Mongolia was 236 million pieces, and the express delivery service manufacturing industry was 183 million pieces.

  The further decline in logistics costs has also empowered the development of the delivery network. Today, Inner Mongolia has built 24 logistics parks at the league and municipal level, 35 parks at the banner and county level, and 427 distribution processing centers of various types, forming a logistics network covering the entire district. Major express delivery companies are continuing to improve the transportation network, improve service levels, and promote the extension of "express delivery into villages".

  New shopping list

  Includes large categories more

  Hasyati, a girl from Aksu region in Xinjiang, opened the e-commerce platform on her mobile phone and entered the "Xinjiang Free Shipping" channel. She picked a coffee table, added it to the shopping cart, and then placed an order to pay. "Now, large items can be shipped free of charge, which is very affordable," said Hasyati.

  In recent years, free shipping services have gradually expanded in Xinjiang, and Hasyati's shopping list has been continuously put on new ones-

  In 2023, most of Hasyati’s 53 orders were clothing and daily necessities. In November of the same year, the first Taobao platform in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai sent Xinjiang express delivery warehouses to open warehouses in Hangzhou, improving the problem of online shopping in Xinjiang without free shipping or shipping.

  In 2024, Hasyati's orders increased to 89 pieces, and pet snacks and nutritional health products were added to the goods. Back then, many e-commerce platforms implemented free shipping plans in Xinjiang, which helped speed up the "e-commerce going westward".

  In April this year, Taobao expanded the free shipping category in Xinjiang to large-scale home decoration, achieving "zero shipping fees" for large-scale products such as sofas, beds, and sanitary ware. This time, mattresses, floor lamps, and coffee tables began to appear on Hasyati's shopping list.

  In the more than a year since the "Xinjiang Free Shipping" channel was launched, the number of free shipping products on Taobao platform has increased by 71% year-on-year, driving the release of online consumption potential, and the number of packages for buyers in Xinjiang has increased by 42% year-on-year. "Since the launch of the free shipping service for large-piece home decoration, more than 8,000 brands and millions of products have joined." Lu Di, home decoration supply chain operation manager of Taotian Group, said that the platform's freight subsidy has opened up a new market for enterprises and optimized consumers' shopping experience.

  Through joint efforts of many parties, Xinjiang's logistics industry has shown positive changes.

  The package flows more frequently. Data from the State Post Bureau shows that since the promotion of free shipping, the number of e-commerce express parcels entering Xinjiang has increased by nearly one million pieces per day, with the average daily inbound shipments increasing by nearly 48% year-on-year; the increase in delivery volume has driven the further reduction of delivery costs in Xinjiang, and the ratio of express parcels collected and invested in Xinjiang has decreased from 3.05:1 in 2023 to 2.54:1 in 2024, and the industry development has become more balanced.

  Stronger service capabilities. At present, 8,025 village-level delivery and logistics comprehensive service stations have been set up in Xinjiang, with a coverage rate of nearly 90%, and the "last mile" of terminal services has been further unblocked. In addition, the "Urumqi-Xi'an" express e-commerce train is in two directions, and the entire series is fully integrated, providing guarantees for the transportation timeliness of express delivery companies and reducing costs by about 5% compared with road transportation.

  Recently, Hasyati has a new wish - enjoy free shipping when shopping for fresh aquatic products online. At present, major e-commerce platforms are accelerating the implementation of transit warehouses and local warehouses. In the future, with the improvement of the logistics of all categories of goods in the western remote areas, Xinjiang's free shipping services will be more complete.

  New delivery route

  Deeply expand the layout of counties and villages

  In one week, Li Dong, head of the Sales Department of JD Express Alibaba, drove more than 800 kilometers on the "Roof of the World".

  Mozhugongka County and Linzhou County are far away from the city of Lhasa, and it takes more than two hours to travel back and forth. The farthest village is 70 kilometers away from the county town. Villagers can only go to the county town station to receive and receive express delivery. In order to find the most convenient express delivery route to the village, Li Dong visited these two counties and went to 4 townships and 7 villages in one go.

  "While talking to local companies and village farmers, the purpose is to find suitable village-level self-operated sites and determine the best transportation route," said Li Dong. After several explorations, Mo Zhugongka County and Linzhou County were finally included in the scope of JD.com's self-operated recruitment. A logistics line from Lhasa to many townships in both places was opened.

  "Parcels from all over the world arrive in Lhasa in the morning to sort them, and can be sent to these two counties in the afternoon to deliver the goods to their doorstep." Li Dong clearly remembered that on the day of the official pick-up, it snowed in the county, and the truck drove carefully on the mountain road, and delivered the first batch of packages to the villagers as scheduled. Within less than half a year of setting up the station, the average daily order volume of the business department has increased to more than three times that of the initial stage.

  The development of logistics is like threading a needle, extending the delivery lines.

  From the arrival of the first distribution station in Lhasa in 2011 to the coverage of 43 county-level outlets in the district by 2023, JD Express has weaved an efficient logistics network on the snowy plateau. Today, Lhasa has achieved "same-day delivery", and Linzhi, Shigatse and other regions have achieved "same-day delivery". In the relatively remote Alibaba area, the delivery time has also been shortened to 3 to 4 days.

  Driven by the "e-commerce advance westward", transportation capacity and express delivery are accelerating influx into Tibet. Last year, the number of express delivery in Tibet collected more than 30 million pieces, an increase of about 23% year-on-year; the number of delivery was nearly 120 million pieces, an increase of 25.7% year-on-year, both higher than the national average. 754 postal outlets, 4,641 village post stations and 811 express delivery outlets deliver express services to every corner of the snowy plateau.

  "Through special rectification actions and guide relevant entities to develop a collection and transportation model, the problem of "no delivery" and "no free shipping" in western remote areas such as Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang has achieved positive results." A relevant person in charge of the State Post Bureau said that the delivery service network leading to the western region is getting denser and denser and stronger, helping the local area to activate consumption and improve people's livelihood; in the next step, we will continue to improve the delivery service network in western regions to better meet the people's mail needs.

  In the vast borders and remote mountainous villages, small parcels refresh the definition of free shipping area, continuing the "Western Postal Note" of the logistics industry serving the west. (Reporter Han Xin)

[Editor in charge: Wang Di]