Why are e-commerce and packaging companies "seeing each other"

E-commerce to promote the development of the express industry, but also to the paper products industry has brought business opportunities. However, the demand for packaging cartons has not been translated into the supply of the paper products industry, and the industry chain has not yet been activated.

E-commerce to promote the development of the express industry, but also to the paper products industry has brought business opportunities. Will demanding packaging cartons make Sichuan paper and paper products feel warm? However, the demand for packaging cartons has not been translated into the supply of the paper products industry, and the industry chain has not yet been activated. Upstream and downstream of the paper products industry have varying degrees of trouble.

E-commerce has trouble

At the mention of the packaging cartons, Zhao Hailu, an e-commerce celebrity in Qingchuan County, caught fire. "What is the e-commerce business is not the customer first? The customer's first impression is the packaging carton." Zhao Haijun said that most e-commerce companies will customize the packaging of their own goods, and have high requirements for the appearance and quality of the packaging cartons. Even according to the different product categories, the design of different specifications and styles of packaging cartons, the effect of this batch of packaging cartons is not good, the next batch will be redesigned.

"The paper product factory just can't understand why we have so many demands." Zhao Hailu said, once and for all, the cost of communication is huge.

Wang Shujuan is one of the “bell clocks” for Alibaba’s listing in the United States. As her online shop continued to expand, it also created the same trouble as Zhao Haijun.

“Initially, we wanted to find large-scale and well-known paper products companies. We did not expect that they would not accept our orders alone.” Wang Shujuan said that they demanded us to have a specification of at least tens of thousands. Even if a box is more than a piece of money, how much should the financial pressure be for such a large number of cartons? Where should I go?

After a series of twists and turns, Wang Shujuan understands that small and medium-sized paper products factories are suitable for e-commerce. “They are flexible and they have a strong sense of service.” Wang Shujuan said that e-commerce companies also have requirements. First of all, paper products manufacturers must have their own designers to adjust their designs at any time; there is a factory of their own, which is highly flexible. , Convenient and timely work.

He Zejun, secretary general of the Provincial Express Delivery Association, believes that with the development of the Internet economy, the ultimate user experience is the pursuit of all businesses, and this experience begins with packaging. At present, the Internet mobile phone company is doing a better job. The corrugated paper with the highest quality is selected for the packaging cartons. There will not be any problems with people standing up. "This small batch, and the ultimate pursuit of quality and customization, will intensify and become the trend of the times."

Paper products factory trouble

Chengdu Wuhou District Yongxiang Packaging Factory was selected by Wang Shujuan as its long-term partner. The main customers of the plant in the past two years have switched from traditional retailers to electricity suppliers. Chen Guo, the person in charge of it, confessed that when he first contacted e-commerce customers, he was really not accustomed to it. “There are only a few thousand in each batch, and they are used up and then down, and the next batch must definitely be changed in design. Sometimes the board is changed. The variety."

Wei Qigang, vice president of Sichuan Xinsheng Group Co., Ltd., directly stated that they are resolutely not doing e-commerce business. “Too much headache, it was too much trouble for one of China’s top e-commerce companies, let alone a small e-commerce company. Every time it takes thousands of cartons, there is no way to do it! We are large-scale and the assembly line is open. There are tens of thousands of boxes, and only a few thousand will surely lose money.” Wei Qigang said that he is more willing to be a business of Mengniu and Yili, and has established a long-term and stable cooperative relationship with them. "It's really troublesome. A carton earns a few cents." Chen Guo also said that, but after he was 85, he was also keen on online shopping. He realized that the electricity supplier's carton is a market with huge potential. He was determined to do so. To this end, Chen Guo also specifically set up a three-person design team. The factory also carried out a certain degree of transformation in accordance with the needs of e-commerce customers.

Chen Guo believes that he and his factory actually experienced a process of gradual assimilation by e-commerce customers. "Fortunately, I am also young and can understand these e-commerce channels and slowly accept them. I will try to meet the needs of e-commerce customers as much as possible."

Chen Guo's personal experience is that in the past two years, Chengdu's paper products factory and packaging plant are increasing, but the needs of e-commerce customers have not been well met. Large-scale paper product packaging factories basically do not accept the business of the electricity supplier. Many small and medium-sized paper product packaging plants cannot keep up with their ideological awareness, or their service capabilities can not keep up, and they have not carried out electricity supplier business. It is also costly for the paper product factory to hesitate. "A lot of specialty papers are not available in Sichuan, and they have to be purchased from Guangdong and Fujian. The cost is too high," said Chen Guo.

Li Tu, vice chairman of the Sichuan Paper Industry Association, said that there is no doubt that e-commerce providers have brought business opportunities and markets that were not available in previous years. However, if they want to dig this bucket of gold, they must improve their service capabilities and rely on services. Earn value and profit. "A lot of e-commerce customers, as long as you serve well, quality can meet the demand, even if you are more expensive, are acceptable."

Paper mill has trouble

The total output value of China's packaging industry is expected to exceed 1.5 trillion yuan in 2015. According to the International Corrugated Board Association's forecast, the corrugated box industry, which is the largest branch of the packaging industry, will maintain a 4% growth in the global corrugated box industry from 2013 to 2016, and China's growth rate is expected to be 7%. It is estimated that by 2017, the global Half of the growth in carton demand comes from the rapidly growing Chinese market.

What are the implications of the rapid expansion of demand for paper mills? Li Tu said that the paper industry in Sichuan Province did not benefit directly. The relevant person in charge of Yibin Paper stated that the situation of the Sichuan papermaking industry is still not optimistic. As half of the province's papermaking industry, Yibin's papermaking companies currently have only one Yibin paper company in production, and their operations are also in trouble.

The 2015 national boxboard output list that was just released shows that Fujian has topped the list with an annual output of 1,711,100 tons and Sichuan is not among the top ten. This data is consistent with the feelings of Chen Guo. “There are some special papers requested by customers that Sichuan cannot find at all. We can only go to Fujian and Guangdong to purchase. The raw materials along the southeast coast are low in price, and the quality is also better. Some high-end packaging for tobacco and alcohol is only for them to do. Got it."

According to Li Tu’s analysis, the paper products processing plant did not do a good job in the e-commerce business, and the e-commerce paper product demand was difficult to be transmitted to the upstream paper mills. The paper mills would not change the product structure and the paper product processing plants would only be able to go from the southeast. Coastal purchases.

The relevant person in charge of Yibin Paper said that after investigation, they believed that the markets in and around Sichuan were not big enough. At present, they only make a small amount of food packaging paper, and do not intend to enter the packaging board. The papermaking industry is capital intensive. A production line is moving between 500 million and 600 million yuan, which is not what ordinary companies can afford.

More than just express boxes, the demand for niche papers is also growing. For example, courier orders must be handled by courier, carbonless copy paper; Valentine's Day sold a very hot bouquet, bouquet is also a special paper. The market for these varieties has grown significantly. “Demand has not been passed on to the supply side, and it may be an important reason why Sichuan's paper industry did not share a share in the e-commerce feast.” Li Tu said.

Seeing trouble at the other

“The plight faced by the paper industry is not special.” Li Wenyu, director of the Center for Macroeconomic Research at Xiamen University, said that after 2010, the Chinese consumer structure has undergone a new round of upgrading and conversion. However, the investment structure has not changed significantly. . As a result, the structure of investment and consumer demand is contrary to each other, making excess production capacity and insufficient supply coexist. The paper industry is just a microcosm of this paradox.

How can the paper industry in Sichuan catch up with the wave of e-commerce? The prescription prescribed by the experts is “Internet manufacturing.” Due to changes in the general reading habits, the printing market has shrunk. But in the past two years, "WeChat Book" has suddenly emerged - users can select a template on WeChat, and after a few operations, they can get a cover and a content layout, and then pay a production fee, and they can quickly receive a copy of themselves or their friends. Private customized version of "WeChat Book." At present, the number of cultural institutions undertaking the "WeChat Book" has reached 100, and the number of online shops has already exceeded 1,000. Due to the nature of private customization, each WeChat book is expensive, and the profit made by the printing company is also considerable.

“The demand for small batches and individualized packaging boxes has soared. How did the paper companies change in a timely manner?” Wu Weiping, founder of Chengdu Siping Software Co., Ltd., pointed out the essence of “Internet manufacturing”—“the cost and efficiency of mass production. Produce personalized customized products.” This professional, who was once the proponent of German Industry 4.0, is the director of the global R&D service center of SAP.

Not long ago, Sichuan Province launched the “Internet Sichuan Manufacturing” platform. Zhang Haiji, general manager of its operations, said that he can imagine that through the “Internet manufacturing”, if the e-commerce company wants to buy a packing box in the future, he will pick up his mobile phone and open the APP, which will fully cover the size, color, material and logo of the packing box. Customized, the system will automatically calculate the selling price. After the consumer orders and pays, the system passes this demand to the raw material supplier. Accessories and raw materials are quickly brought to the production line, and the fully automated production line has a very flexible function, which can be differentiated according to the individualized data of each batch of containers. Through this process, e-commerce needs can be fully satisfied through customization; production companies can achieve zero inventory, and eliminate all channel costs, reduce sales prices while increasing profits.

The future looks very good, but Wu Weiping reminds me that the road is still long. Because the reality is that the degree of informatization of paper products companies is insufficient. In the end, it is necessary to realize the above-mentioned picture, and all aspects of production, sales, research and development, and financial accounting need to be managed in an information-based manner. For many traditional enterprises, it is almost equivalent to recreating factories.

“Deeply ploughing user needs, there is no way to talk about transformation and upgrading.” Wu Weiping said that with the increasing demand for personalized, low-volume cartons by e-commerce, it is bound to push up this market. Once it reaches a critical point, it will appear. Carton companies that meet the "Internet manufacturing" characteristics. "This will be the most vivid practice in the supply side reform of the carton industry."