The temporary cooperation between the two parties expires tomorrow. Will Cainiao Fengchao cut off the data?

Due to the huge differences between the two parties, which have not yet been resolved, according to the agreement on June 3, the temporary cooperation between the two parties will end on the evening of June 30, and the data connection may be interrupted again on July 1.

There are only two days left until July 1st, and the string is stretched very tight - midnight on the 1st is that critical time node.

One end of the string is Cainiao Network, and the other end is Fengchao. A familiar scene, right? At midnight on June 1, the turmoil caused by the disconnection of data between Cainiao and Fengchao has not yet completely dissipated, and now the risk is coming again.

According to people close to Fengchao, under the coordination of the State Post Bureau, Cainiao and Fengchao have been negotiating again for a month on the renewal of their cooperation since June 3. During the negotiation, the two sides restored the data interface that had caused a huge disturbance. However, due to the huge differences, there is still no solution. According to the agreement on June 3, the temporary cooperation between the two sides will end on the evening of June 30, and the data connection may be interrupted again on July 1.

"June 30" Examination

The story began in the early morning of June 1. Due to the expiration of the cooperation, the data interface between Cainiao and Fengchao was cut off, resulting in the parcels delivered by couriers to Fengchao lockers from June 1 without logistics information, and consumers could not receive any information feedback.

The original cooperation between the two parties was very simple: Cainiao provided consumers' mobile phone numbers to Fengchao, Fengchao fed back express locker information, and Fengchao outlets pushed express locker logistics information to Cainiao. It is reported that Taobao orders are about 2 million per day in Fengchao.

Logically speaking, this is not a big event. Based on the current average daily business volume of about 100 million pieces in China's express delivery market, the number of parcels in the affected Fengchao smart lockers is only 2 million, which accounts for a very low proportion. However, due to the intervention of SF Express, the battle between the two sides has become more tense.

On the afternoon of June 1, Cainiao issued a statement saying that SF Express suddenly closed its data interface to Cainiao in the early morning of the 1st. By noon of the same day, SF Express stopped sending back logistics information for all packages on Taobao, causing the logistics details of SF Express packages on Taobao to be unable to be sent back normally. Merchants could not determine whether buyers had received the goods, and buyers could not track the real-time information of the goods. SF Express closed its data interface to Cainiao because of Fengchao. SF Express believes that Cainiao is specifically blocking Fengchao and using this to put pressure on obtaining data from non-Taobao platforms in Fengchao.

The two sides then exchanged insults for a whole day, and each had its own reasons for shutting down the data, most of which focused on data security. However, in the view of Xu Yong, chief consultant of China Express Consulting Network, data security is an excuse, and the core lies in the fact that the parties have not formed rules for the use of data information.

SF Express’s move, coupled with the subsequent participation of companies such as NetEase, JD.com, and Tencent, made the smart locker data interface incident more complicated. The State Post Bureau took emergency action and summoned Cainiao and SF Express executives for a meeting on the evening of June 2. The two sides then agreed to put aside their differences and resume cooperation. On June 3, not only did SF Express’s data interface connect with Cainiao, but Fengchao also resumed cooperation with Cainiao.

However, all parties are well aware that the basis for cooperation between the two sides is still fragile, and the one-month negotiation period is like a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of Cainiao and Fengchao. Is it possible for the two sides to reach a cooperation agreement?

Since June 3, 21st Century Business Herald has been seeking to communicate with Cainiao Network, hoping to understand the real reason for the collapse of the cooperation between the two parties, but Cainiao has not responded. However, according to the statement made by Cainiao President Wan Lin on the afternoon of June 2, after the Fengchao express lockers and Cainiao data were connected, they had been accessing a large amount of Taobao user phone numbers and other information, which exceeded the scope of reasonable use, posed serious security risks, and was the core cause of this incident.

But Fengchao's explanation is different. Fengchao explained to 21st Century Business Herald that the reason for the two parties to cut off the data interface is that during the contract renewal negotiations this year, Cainiao proposed that all express locker information must be triggered through Cainiao Kuaigou, and the pickup code information must be given to Cainiao unconditionally. Fengchao needs to return all package information to Cainiao (including non-Taobao orders). Fengchao found it difficult to accept the above terms, so Cainiao stopped cooperating with Fengchao on the grounds of data security and took down Fengchao's interface information at 0:00 on June 1.

Xu Yong believes that the focus of both parties is not customer information security, but the order volume of non-Taobao platforms in Fengchao data. If Cainiao has data information of other platforms such as JD.com, Vipshop, and NetEase that use the Fengchao platform, it can understand the order share of each company in the entire e-commerce market. "But this obviously touched Fengchao's bottom line." Xu Yong believes that because the two sides had no rules for the use of data, the talks eventually broke down. The one-month negotiation period is obviously to let the two sides discuss the rules.

If the talks fail, who will be hurt more?

On the afternoon of June 28, 21st Century Business Herald contacted Cainiao Network and Fengchao again, hoping to learn about the progress of the negotiations, but both parties remained silent. A public relations person at Cainiao Network said that there was no more information at the moment.

A person close to Fengchao told 21st Century Business Herald that Cainiao's demands were beyond reasonable range and Fengchao would absolutely not make concessions. The negotiations between the two sides this month are likely to end in a bad mood again.

A person close to Cainiao believes that this is a commercial cooperation negotiation, and it is normal for the negotiation to succeed or fail. The important thing is that it will not affect couriers and consumers. He pointed out that Fengchao and Cainiao have only been cooperating for a year, and before that, Fengchao was doing well and growing stronger without the cooperation of Cainiao.

"It's not that simple." A logistics person told reporters that if the talks fail, it will cause great damage to Fengchao's business. Currently, 60% of the business using Fengchao smart cabinets comes from Tongda couriers, and a large number of businesses come from Taobao orders. Since the end of last year, the promotion of privacy labels in the express delivery industry has begun. In mid-May this year, Cainiao teamed up with EMS, Best Express, ZTO Express, STO Express, etc. to jointly promote the use of "privacy labels", replacing the middle four digits of the user's phone number on the label with the symbol *. In the same month, SF Express also announced the pilot of a new version of the "Fengmi Label", which not only hides sensitive fields such as name and phone number, but also replaces the customer's address information with a code.

The data output of Taobao orders through the Cainiao platform will be more confidential, so the couriers at the end will not be able to obtain Taobao user information, including the most important telephone information for accessing smart lockers. Therefore, if Fengchao and Cainiao cut off the data interface, it will be difficult for couriers to deliver Taobao packages to Fengchao smart lockers, and it will be difficult for users to use Fengchao.

This was a huge blow to Fengchao. That is why SF Express was willing to break up with Cainiao to support Fengchao.

Fengchao was jointly invested and established by SF Express, STO Express, ZTO Express, Yunda Express and Prologis on June 6, 2015, with an initial investment of 500 million yuan, of which SF Express holds a 35% stake. Subsequently, Fengchao completed two rounds of financing in 2016 and 2017, and its current valuation has reached 5 billion yuan.

According to official data from Fengchao, Fengchao has completed the layout of more than 70 major cities and more than 50,000 lockers, cooperated with more than 200 well-known domestic property groups, and undertakes more than 3 million parcel deliveries per day on average, while serving 800,000 couriers and 50 million consumers.

Cainiao is not without losses. Xu Yong believes that since the current average daily express delivery volume has exceeded 100 million pieces and will be even higher this year, the rapidly growing volume of packages has put tremendous pressure on the end-point collection. Smart cabinets can significantly improve logistics efficiency, greatly reduce the workload of couriers and improve delivery efficiency, and are widely welcomed by couriers. Among the many smart cabinets, Fengchao smart cabinets have the best efficiency and are the most popular among couriers. If Fengchao's data is cut off and couriers are not allowed to use Fengchao, it will undoubtedly affect the work of many couriers, and it will also hurt consumers, which will greatly damage Cainiao's reputation.

A little-known fact is that the reporter learned from reliable sources that Cainiao Network tried to invest in Fengchao at the beginning of this year when Fengchao was conducting its Series A financing, but was rejected by Fengchao. The reason is said to be that Cainiao Network proposed "same shares, different rights" and demanded greater voice, while Fengchao shareholders, after discussion, believed that "same shares, same rights" should be adhered to. In the end, Cainiao was not among the eight new shareholders added in Fengchao's Series A financing. The financing case was completed on March 10. Coincidentally, it was from March that Fengchao and Cainiao renegotiated their cooperation and finally reached a deal.

Cainiao quickly found another smart locker partner. On the evening of June 8, Chengdu Santai Holdings, the parent company of Suidiyi, the largest smart locker company in the market, announced that it had signed a preliminary letter of intent for cooperation with Cainiao after China Post and Fosun. On June 28, Santai announced after holding an extraordinary shareholders' meeting that the major asset restructuring was still under negotiation, and the two sides were negotiating on issues such as price and equity ratio.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.