Focus Interview | Modern Logistics Improving Quality, Efficiency, and Cost Reduction
The position of modern logistics in the market economy is becoming increasingly prominent, with one end connected to production and the other end connected to consumption. According to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the prosperity index of China's logistics industry in August was 50.3%, continuing to remain within the prosperous range. In recent years, China's logistics industry has developed rapidly, and everyone has experienced it. For example, our express delivery volume is increasing and the speed is getting faster. However, the low operational efficiency and high cost of the entire chain remain prominent issues. How to further improve quality, increase efficiency, and reduce costs to benefit enterprises and more people has become an urgent problem that needs to be solved.
A China Europe freight train carrying a batch of new energy vehicles is about to depart for Europe at Chongqing Railway Port. A professional logistics tool called a car bracket is installed inside the container on the train. Although the bracket is small, its function is great. It is reported that the application of frame technology can greatly increase the transportation capacity of a 40 foot container. Originally, a 40 foot container could only hold up to two cars, but with current technology, it can hold three to four cars. In this way, the single box transportation capacity has been nearly doubled, and the logistics cost of bicycles has been reduced by nearly 50%.
In international trade, containers have standard dimensions. If transporting small cars, usually only two cars can be loaded in the front and back. However, with car brackets, the height space on top can be fully utilized. These car brackets were jointly developed by Chongqing logistics companies and related institutions, with the aim of helping car companies reduce logistics costs.
Han Chao, the person in charge of Chongqing Railway Port: In the past, cost reduction was mainly focused on a single internal link within the enterprise, and the space for cost reduction is very limited. Now, cost reduction is more about collaborative operations, collaborating with upstream and downstream of the supply chain to jointly improve transportation capacity and efficiency, thereby reducing logistics costs throughout the entire chain. For example, in automotive frame technology, design and implementation are only the first steps; The next step is to implement a shared loop, which is the key to reducing costs throughout the entire chain.
The fast and short speed of the China Europe freight train can help car companies catch up with changes in demand in the European market in a timely manner. The use of car brackets has also to some extent reduced logistics costs, but for car companies, they still hope to narrow the price difference between China Europe freight trains and sea freight.
Based on this, the efforts of Chongqing Railway Port to reduce costs have not stopped. At the beginning of using the frame, they also found that if the frame was only used one-way, the car company would have to spend more money to pay for the empty container frame on the return journey. So, the cost reduction effect of this car bracket is greatly discounted.
Han Chao, the person in charge of Chongqing Railway Port: For each specialized train, we need to pay an additional cost of over 100000 yuan. This additional cost of over 100000 yuan will offset the logistics costs we previously reduced through frame technology, greatly reducing our cost reduction effect.
In order to help car companies save more than 100000 yuan in logistics costs, Chongqing Railway Port has adopted a transportation model of "new energy vehicles for outbound travel and high-end imported vehicles for return travel" since this year, allowing the frame to be recycled and truly benefiting car companies. In order to meet the increasing demand for new energy vehicle exports and freight volume, in addition to using frames to enhance container space utilization, the railway system has also launched cage cars specifically for transporting small cars.
The Chongqing Railway Port is located in the Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park in Shapingba District. The park has built a "four way coordinated" international corridor in the southeast, northwest, and north, making it a land port type national logistics hub. Establishing such a park can fully leverage its hub advantages, build a platform for the real economy, continuously improve the integrated operation efficiency of "dry support warehouse distribution", and further reduce logistics costs.
Over the past decade, the level of social logistics costs in China has steadily declined. In 2022, the ratio of total social logistics costs to GDP was 14.7%, a decrease of 3.3 percentage points from 2012. Experts explain that what has been reduced is what has been saved, and it is the tangible benefits we have gained.
Lu Chengyun, a researcher at the Logistics Research Office of the Comprehensive Transportation Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission: Don't underestimate this 3.3 percentage point. The number is not big, but it is a significant achievement of our country's cost reduction and efficiency increase policy, and also a result of the entire industry's tremendous efforts. The economic value and significance behind it are enormous. Based on the size of our country's economy, these 3.3 percentage points are equivalent to an economic value of nearly 4 trillion yuan.
Early in the morning, a container ship from Qingdao Port loaded 1200 containers of rubber tires from three companies and sent them to the Middle East, Africa and other regions. The merger of three companies and the simultaneous shipment of so many tires to the Middle East market was unimaginable in the past. And the reason why they have such confidence is because they have corresponding overseas warehouses.
Shandong is a major tire province with a large export volume. In recent years, these tire companies are striving to expand into the Middle East and African markets. But in the development stage, we encountered problems such as small scale and high transportation costs, which became the biggest bottleneck hindering tire export enterprises from expanding their market.
Due to the large fluctuations in newly developed overseas markets, the demand for goods can vary from large to small, from urgent to slow, and the navigation time of sea freight ships is usually more than a month. The tires form a long time difference from the factory to the sales location, and there may be unsold or out of stock at any time. In order to help enterprises stabilize the market, Shandong Port has built public overseas warehouses in the Middle East region, integrating the "fragmented" export model of tire enterprises that used to be "individually led".
Having a public overseas warehouse alone is far from enough, we also need to follow up and extend services. In 2021, Shandong Port opened its overseas warehouse business in Abu Dhabi Port, United Arab Emirates. In 2022, we also conducted professional tire overseas warehouse cooperation in the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The deep integration of logistics and manufacturing has enabled modern logistics and regional economy to achieve mutual development and positive interaction. This deep cost reduction approach has broken the traditional simple logistics model.
He Dengcai, Vice President of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing: The traditional logistics operation model focuses more on warehousing and transportation, and is actually relatively separated from the manufacturing industry, so industry insiders call it "self pulling and self singing". The result of this is that it restricts the development of the logistics industry and also restricts the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry. To solve this problem, it is particularly necessary to promote the deep integration of logistics and manufacturing industries, which requires the logistics industry to be deeply embedded in the industrial chain and form a symbiotic and prosperous integrated ecosystem with the manufacturing industry, in order to enhance the support capacity for smooth national economic circulation.
In addition to helping companies establish overseas warehouses and develop related businesses, Shandong Port Group also leverages its resource advantages in trade, shipping, finance, and actively helps tire companies promote their products in overseas markets. In 2022, Shandong Port participated in hosting the "First UAE China Tire and Auto Parts Exhibition", helping the Chinese tire and auto parts industry expand into the Middle East and African markets. In February this year, Shandong Port and Dubai Chamber of Commerce signed a cooperation agreement to build a dual model cooperation system of "front exhibition and back warehouse", assisting Chinese tire and auto parts enterprises in competing for market share in the United Arab Emirates.
Lu Chengyun, a researcher at the Logistics Research Office of the Comprehensive Transportation Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission: Against the backdrop of accelerating the upgrading of industrial and supply chain systems and building a modern industrial system in our country, promoting the integration of logistics, manufacturing, and commerce is actually to optimize logistics services, create broader market space for the real economy, expand economic scale, and create economic value. Ultimately achieving the goal of reducing logistics costs in the real economy, in order to better promote high-quality development.
The first meeting of the 20th Central Committee of Finance and Economics emphasized the need to accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system supported by the real economy. This cannot be achieved without the strong support of modern logistics. We see that many logistics companies are trying their best to improve quality, increase efficiency, and reduce costs, whether it's installing car brackets in containers, launching cage cars specifically for transporting small cars, or establishing public overseas warehouses. Improving quality, increasing efficiency, and reducing costs is a long-term and systematic work that involves multiple links. It also requires joint efforts from various regions and departments to collaborate, tap into potential, and better promote the development of the real economy.
