China relies on delivery, but in a large sparsely populated country, that is a challenge

In China, millions of hundreds of packages are sent to people every day. Chinese citizens rely heavily on delivery, but thousands of consumer complaints are also being made.

SF Express and China Post Group Corporation are the two major delivery companies in China. As a private enterprise, SF express is known for its great service, including quick and reliable delivery. However, it did not cover every place in China. China Post Group Corporation, in comparison, they have offset the disadvantages of SF Express but it is often accused of not taking responsibility for great numbers of lost deliveries. 

As the leading company in the delivery field, SF Express is reliable because they have treated the delivery as their “baby” and take full responsibility for damaged deliveries. Moreover, it has the fastest and most convenient service in this field. For example, to deliver items from Beijing to Tibet which is 4064 km only takes three days. SF Express service covers almost every location in the expansive country.

However, considering that China is still a developing country, the prices of SF Express can be expensive for some citizens. Take the example of delivering from Beijing to Tibet: it would cost about $5 Cdn per kilogram for standard delivery. The average income of the citizens in Tibet is only about $1900 per year. Therefore, SF Express is likely to be a luxury service for them. Also, the company does not cover sparsely occupied locations. There are about 146 areas that have population densities below 0.3 people per square kilometre. These areas do not have the service sites of SF Express.

These gaps are made up by the China Post Group Corporation, which Chinese citizens praise: “As long as you have an address, they could deliver to anywhere.” For remote areas, it might be the only company that could come with letters from other regions. As a historical state-owned enterprise company, they are not a commercial enterprise, but rather a public service. No matter the distance, as long as the letter has a stamp, China Post will deliver to the address. The cost of a stamp is less than a dollar.

However, the quality of service has not been well-reviewed. A typical complaint about the company on the Internet reads, “China Post Group Corporation has damaged my delivery, and they did not offer compensation,” or “bad attitude, low service efficiency.” 

One customer shared when he arrived at China Post to mail a package, the worker was playing on a cellphone behind the window and simply threw a box at the customer for the customer to pack himself. 

China Post is reliable in some ways, but not others. “China Post Group Corporation might be late,” one reviewer says, “but they will never absent.” For example, another person has shared that he received a package that should have been delivered three years before. He finally received a message to pick up his delivery. However, as a state-owned company, China Post Group Corporation does not need to concern itself with customer satisfaction.

Neither SF Express nor China Post may be able to meet all customers’ needs, but perhaps together, they can.

Image Credit: DWNews