On September 29, China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing announced: The total amount of social logistics nationwide from January to August this year243.6 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%, the steady growth of total social logistics and structural optimization are advancing simultaneously. Logistics prices are rising, but for a single factory, logistics is not "industry data", but a cost item that directly determines whether domestic trade quotations can be made and whether they dare to commit to re-purchase. This article tells about something that is underestimated by most factories:To do domestic trade, first settle the logistics account, and then talk about getting customers.
Data source:China Logistics and Purchasing Federation released on September 29.
1. Why does the logistics account determine the lower limit of domestic trade quotations
A real scene: a hardware factory in Hebei quoted an ex-factory price to e-commerce customers, including tax, of 18 yuan/set. The customer requested that it be delivered to Zhejiang warehouse. The logistics cost for a single piece of complete vehicle delivery to Zhejiang is 2.1 yuan, the part-load delivery costs 3.8 yuan, and the express delivery costs 5.5 yuan-the three performance methods make the actual gross profit margin of the same quotation differ by nearly 8 points. When domestic trade customers compare suppliers, the difference between the factory price is only one to two cents,Logistics costs and delivery timeliness are the real gaps。Factories that cannot calculate this account either offer falsely high prices and lose orders, or contract with tears and lose money.
What is more hidden is return logistics. The average return rate of domestic trade e-commerce channels is much higher than that of wholesale channels. Many factories do not include the two-way freight, replacement of packaging materials, and labor for secondary shelves at all. There is no "reverse logistics" column in the quotation, and the profit statement will teach you a lesson once the peak season is over.
2. Three performance models corresponding to three business structures
| Performance model | What is suitable for? | aging | cost feature | Suitable factory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factory straight hair (complete vehicle/LTL) | Large, low-value, stable batch size | 2-5 days | The unit price is low, but the threshold for starting volume is high | Orders are mainly wholesale for major customers and few SKUs |
| Cloud warehouse front (third-party warehouse agency) | Small and medium-sized parts, many SKUs, e-commerce channels | 24-48 hours | High cost per unit, but no threshold for shipping | A factory that conducts e-commerce distribution and live broadcast channels |
| Regional warehousing (self-built or shared) | Categories with concentrated sales in the head area | Current Day-Next Day | Warehouse rent + inventory fund occupation | Monthly shipments in a single region are stable over 100 tons |
There are only two criteria for judgment:Customers 'timeliness requirements, and your own individual logistics budget.The more stable approach for most factories is to combine-large customers use direct costs to ensure costs, e-commerce uses cloud warehouses to ensure timeliness, and don't use one model to hard-connect all channels.
Three and four steps to clearly calculate the logistics account
- Step 1: Dissolve logistics costs by channel.All shipments last month are divided into three piles: wholesale, e-commerce, and retail according to customer types, and are calculated as "single freight + packaging + return allocation" respectively. Most factories will find that the actual logistics cost of e-commerce channels is two to three times that of wholesale channels. This figure directly affects the bottom line of your quotations for different channels.
- Step 2: Set a ladder price and starting batch size.It is a rule that logistics costs are diluted with batches. Clearly write in the quotation: starting from 100 pieces, more than 500 pieces including freight, and differentiated quotations in different regions. It not only screens out small orders that are not cost-effective, but also gives major customers a clear channel for concessions. It is also well-founded during negotiations.
- Step 3: Promise timeliness must be aligned with capabilities.The details page says "Delivery within 48 hours", so the warehousing and delivery capacity must be sustainable. Half of the trust in domestic trade customers comes from the certainty of fulfilling the contract: it is better to promise to do it steadily within 72 hours than to write 24 hours and then overtime every day. In the customer's repurchase decision,"this one never delays" is worth more than "this one is 20 cents cheaper."
- Step 4: Review the logistics data once a month.There are four fixed numbers: single logistics cost for each channel, return rate and return cost, proportion of overtime shipments, and number of logistics complaints. If costs rise for two consecutive months, we will revisit the carrier, and check the in-warehouse process if the overtime ratio exceeds 5%. Logistics accounts need to be calculated monthly, not at the end of the year.
4. Connection between logistics accounts and customer acquisition
The customer acquisition actions of many factories are disconnected from their ability to perform: online launches attract small orders from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, and factories are only good at straight hair delivery for complete vehicles in the north, and performance costs directly eat up the gross profit. The correct order isDetermine the performance model first, and then launch the channel--What timeliness, minimum order quantity, and area you can undertake determine which channels you should go to and find what customers. In turn, logistics data can also feed back customers: areas with low return rates indicate that the products have a high degree of matching and are worth adding; areas with concentrated returns first check the reasons before deciding whether to continue investing.
1-8 The total monthly logistics volume increased by 4.9%, indicating that domestic cargo flows are recovering and there is no shortage of opportunities on the demand side. What is missing is that the factory changes logistics from "ex post cost" to "design variable before quotation"-this step is right, and for the same product, your domestic trade quotation can be cheaper than others and maintain profits.
common problems
1. What should I do if a small factory has no quantity and cannot talk about logistics prices??
There are three ways: first, concentrate scattered shipments into fixed daily shipments, and exchange batches for part-load prices; second, join the local carpooling of goods in the same industrial belt (Yongkang, Linyi, Linyi and other industrial belts all have ready-made consolidated transportation services); Third, use the bargaining power of third-party cloud warehouses. Cloud warehouses are concentrated major customers to carriers, and the discounts they receive are usually lower than the prices negotiated by the factories themselves. Let the cost be reasonable first, and then pursue the ultimate low price.
2. Will Yuncang Forefront put too much money on inventory??
It is enough to control the inventory at 1.2-1.5 times the shipment volume of this channel in the previous month, and use monthly sales data to dynamically replenish the goods instead of covering them all at once. In the early stage, only the fastest 20% SKUs can be pre-sold to Yuncang, and the long-tail SKUs can continue to be sent to the factory. The essence of Yuncang is to exchange funds for timeliness. How much and what to lay out depends on the sales data.
3. How high is the return rate abnormal??
Looking at different channels: the normal return rate of wholesale channels is below 1%; 10%-20% for apparel in e-commerce channels is the norm in the industry, and 3%-8% for functional products. If the average value of similar items exceeds double, there are three links to check: whether the description on the details page is consistent with the physical object, whether the packaging is transportation-resistant, and whether the delivery quality inspection is in place. The return cost (two-way freight + secondary processing labor) must be included in the channel cost, and the channel quotation will be re-calculated.
--Qihang AI Foreign Trade Research Institute·Let China Intelligent Manufacturing Set sail to the sea| Foreign trade customer consultation: 180-0327-6609
