The dispute between Cainiao and SF Express has come to an end: both parties still need to cooperate, who can resist money?

Just as the public was still speculating which company would be the next to take sides, the dispute between Cainiao and SF Express ended.

In the early morning of June 3, the State Post Bureau announced that Cainiao and SF Express agreed to fully resume business cooperation and data transmission from 12:00 on June 3.

In this "war" that lasted about 40 hours, Cainiao and SF Express redefined their respective positions in the future logistics interests through a war of words. In this "war", Tencent, JD.com, Meituan, NetEase, Suning and other companies "joined the war", the express box service provider Fengchao increased its popularity, and the "Tongda" express delivery companies may have begun to consider strengthening their control over logistics data.

The dispute between Cainiao and SF Express is essentially a battle for control over logistics data. In retrospect, the multiple rounds of verbal battles between the two sides seem more like an attempt to increase bargaining chips for subsequent negotiations.

Regarding the data dispute between Cainiao and SF Express, many experts pointed out that logistics data is crucial to the Alibaba ecosystem and SF Express's expansion of other businesses, especially the "last mile" logistics data.

It is worth noting that behind the data dispute between Cainiao and SF Express, Cainiao Network, which "does not touch specific logistics and distribution", has already started a confrontation with SF Express in the "last mile of logistics" and fresh food e-commerce.

Cainiao and SF Express logistics data "melee"

The core point of contention in the dispute between Cainiao and SF Express lies in whether both parties have exceeded their authority to query user data, and who was the first to close the intercommunication data interface.

Zhao Xiaomin, an express delivery investor and expert, told The Paper that the dispute between Cainiao and SF Express is a data game between the two parties, involving data security and data sharing. "I don't think there is any possibility that SF Express will give in," Zhao Xiaomin said.

Until Cainiao and SF Express announced a settlement, the outside world still did not know who between Cainiao and SF Express was the first to close the interoperable data interface.

It is understood that Cainiao and SF Express cut off the interface data at 0:00 on June 1. The screenshot of the email released by SF Express personnel during an interview with CCTV showed that around 18:00 on May 31, SF Express sent an email to inform Cainiao that it would cut off the data port at 0:00 on June 1.

Both Cainiao and SF Express accused each other of retrieving user information beyond the scope of reasonable use.

The screenshots of the email released by SF Express showed that when SF Express's security department was auditing the external system interface, it found that the number of calls made by Cainiao using the data interface service provided by SF Express was far from the actual business data. The information security department raised objections to this, believing that during the use of the interface, there may be illegal order checks and leakage of sensitive information.

At around 18:00 on May 31, SF Express notified Cainiao via email that it would shut down relevant data services.

On the afternoon of June 2, Wan Lin, president of Cainiao Network, issued a statement saying that after the Fengchao express lockers and Cainiao data were connected, they had been retrieving a large amount of Taobao users' phone numbers and other information, which exceeded the scope of reasonable use and posed a serious security risk. This was the core cause of the incident.

Before the dispute between Cainiao and SF Express, Cainiao had already clashed with Fengchao, an express delivery locker platform controlled by SF Express.

Fengchao said that during the contract renewal process between March and April 2017, Cainiao proposed that all express locker information must be triggered through Cainiao Kuaigou, the pickup code information must be given to Cainiao unconditionally, and Fengchao needs to return all package information to Cainiao (including non-Taobao orders). Fengchao found it difficult to accept the above cooperation terms. In May, Cainiao proposed to stop cooperating with Fengchao on the grounds of data security. And Fengchao interface information was offline at 0:00 on June 1.

According to the information disclosed by Fengchao, the cooperation between Fengchao and Cainiao includes: Cainiao provides Fengchao with consumer mobile phone number information, and Fengchao provides Cainiao with relevant express locker logistics information such as express locker entry and exit information and Fengchao outlet push. The details of the cooperation between Cainiao, SF Express and Fengchao have not been disclosed by any party.

Regarding the impact of closing the data interface, Cainiao and SF Express have different opinions, both claiming that it has affected merchants.

Cainiao said that after SF Express suspended its data interface with Cainiao, the logistics details of SF Express packages on Taobao could not 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 said that Alibaba's platform had removed SF Express from its logistics options, and Cainiao also blocked the third-party platform interface, which had caused trouble for merchants' shipments.

Industry insiders revealed that logistics details are very important to Taobao merchants. Without logistics details, it will be difficult to judge the interests of merchants and consumers. The consumer's "7-day no-reason return and exchange" time is based on the 7 days from the time of receipt. In addition, the handling of disputes such as sellers' false shipments will also be in a dilemma.

When the gods fight, consumers suffer. When the news of the settlement between Cainiao and SF Express came out on June 3, a user commented, "The seller can't afford it. The customer service has been very busy these past two days, with customers asking about logistics (information) five or six times a day. It's great that it can be restored."

“Data will be the core asset of enterprises in the future”

"Data will definitely be the core asset of enterprises in the future. SF Express should be unwilling to share its most valuable data assets with Cainiao or be controlled by Cainiao for a long time." Li Mingtao, director of the China International Electronic Commerce Center Research Institute, told The Paper.

In the past month, Cainiao and SF Express have been competing to make statements on issues such as information security and logistics data.

On May 16, Cainiao Network announced that from late April to early to mid-May 2017, by cooperating with major express delivery companies such as EMS, Best Express, ZTO Express, STO Express, China Post Group Corporation, Tiantian, Deppon, YTO Express, and Yunda Express, Cainiao Network launched a new privacy-preserving waybill, in which the user's mobile phone number is no longer displayed in full.

On the privacy label, SF Express seems to have bypassed Cainiao Network and started a new business. On May 17, SF Express said that the company has begun to pilot the new version of "Fengmi Label" in some areas, and fully realize the encryption of personal information on the express label. On the same day, SF Express also announced the establishment of a cross-industry information security alliance, with SF Express, Tencent Cloud, Vanke Property, STO, Yunda, Vipshop and other companies joining.

Whether it was a coincidence or intentional, Tencent Cloud was the first to publicly support SF Express in the dispute between Cainiao and SF Express. In the evening of June 1, Tencent Cloud posted on Weibo that "Tencent Cloud helps SF Express deploy its cloud computing business. No matter how much we value the data and business security of SF Express, it is not too much."

On the evening of June 1, Tencent Cloud posted a statement on Weibo in support of SF Express.

At present, Alibaba is rapidly advancing its "new retail" layout, and SF Express wants to make efforts in the commercial sector and O2O field.

"If an express delivery company only provides express delivery services, the impact may not be significant. However, if it also wants to extend other services based on express logistics services, it will definitely pay great attention to user data resources," Li Mingtao told The Paper.

The transportation team of Haitong Securities believes that logistics + information flow + capital flow are indispensable links in today's rapid development of e-commerce. The Ali-SF Express incident (Cainiao-SF Express dispute) reflects the key position of information flow big data in the future e-commerce logistics battle. Big data has become the core. Through the analysis and induction of massive data, the group's purchasing power behavior can be accurately positioned, the consumption potential can be tapped and accurately recursively promoted, and the supply chain closed loop of e-commerce + logistics + information flow + capital flow can be effectively opened.

Yang Daqing told The Paper that data sharing is a boost to the super ecosystem for Cainiao and even the Alibaba system, which will have a deeper impact on China's supply chain. For SF Express, it is a "transmission tower" that accelerates service upgrades, using an open platform big data support system to accelerate service upgrades.

The dispute between Cainiao and SF Express also raises the issue of consumer information protection and supervision. Zhao Xiaomin believes that at present, the categories and extent of logistics data sharing and consumer authorization still need to be clarified and improved by relevant regulatory authorities.

Cainiao Network and SF Express both inform consumers of the platform's use of consumer information and the platform's authorization of third-party platforms to use consumer information through the "Cainiao Legal Policy" and "Privacy Policy" on their respective official websites.

Yang Daqing, a special researcher at the China Logistics Society, told The Paper that in the new business environment of "Internet + Commerce", public information is copied and circulated in all links of the supply chain, breaking the management boundaries of the original departments and the regulatory layer is to some extent hollowed out by the market.

"In terms of logistics information security, in the future, regulators and ecological enterprises will still need to jointly build a new consumer information governance environment," said Yang Daqing.

Behind the data dispute between Cainiao and SF Express is a dispute over logistics business

As for the dispute between Cainiao and SF Express, on the surface it is a battle for control over logistics data, but in fact the two sides have already engaged in a head-on confrontation in areas such as fresh food storage and distribution and the "last mile of logistics."

Alibaba has been making efforts in the fresh food sector through its "new retail" layout, which has posed a threat to SF Express, which has always had a clear advantage in the field of fresh food delivery. Alibaba has built fresh food storage bases internally through Cainiao, and has also invested in Hema Fresh and Yiguo Fresh to expand into the fresh food sector externally.

In terms of the "last mile" service of logistics and express delivery, SF Express previously failed in Heke, while Cainiao Post Station has continued to grow. Cainiao Post Station is led by Cainiao to establish a logistics service platform for communities and campuses, providing users with services such as package collection and delivery.

Cainiao Station is the "last mile service" product provided by Cainiao to consumers. Visual China Information

The "trigger" of the dispute between Cainiao and SF Express was Fengchao Technology. Cainiao previously said that the contract between SF Express and Cainiao for express lockers expired in March 2017. After nearly two months of communication and negotiation, the two parties were unable to reach a consensus on the data connection required for information security, so the contract agreement was terminated. Cainiao also said that it had never asked SF Express to provide non-Taobao data.

In the final delivery link of logistics, SF Express has Fengchao and Cainiao has Cainiao Station, and the two are in competition with each other to a certain extent.

In the field of fresh food e-commerce, SF Express's SF Best Selection has begun to exert its strength, which will inevitably make Alibaba, which is also engaged in similar business, start to be vigilant. SF Best Selection was created by SF Commercial Group, relying on online e-commerce platforms and offline community stores to provide users with daily food.

In addition, Cainiao Network has also impacted SF Express's fresh food delivery business in many places by deploying fresh food warehouses and integrating fresh food origin resources. In June 2015, Cainiao announced the launch of fresh food storage and distribution centers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Fresh food can be delivered to consumers within 24 hours through cold chain distribution, and it said that it would cover 50 cities within the year. Recently, Cainiao announced that it would focus on fresh food origin delivery bases, and by integrating multiple resources, it would reduce the originally expensive fresh food logistics costs. This objectively affected SF Express's "cheese", which had already become the first choice for fresh food sellers in these places.

At present, major logistics and express delivery service providers are increasing their layout of the "last mile of logistics". According to the official website of Mama Station, a subsidiary of YTO Express (600233), the number of offline franchise partners of Mama Station, a product for the last mile of express delivery, has reached more than 16,000.

The transportation team of Haitong Securities believes that trunk line data is intensive and integrated, while the "(logistics) last mile" data is personalized and high-frequency, and is more important.

Haitong Securities' transportation team also said that the "last mile" is a battleground for express delivery companies. In the next ten years, express delivery services will transform from single express delivery to full logistics services. Express delivery services also need supporting services, such as heavy cargo, cold transportation, warehousing and distribution, warehouse management, intra-city distribution, etc. It is necessary to provide customers with comprehensive and integrated solutions and integrate resources based on information technology, otherwise it will not have a competitive advantage.

On May 22, at the 2017 Global Smart Logistics Summit, Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma said that the future growth of logistics companies will depend on data, technology and talent.

On May 22, Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma delivered a speech at the 2017 Global Smart Logistics Summit.

Cainiao and SF Express cannot do without each other

What will happen to SF Express if it leaves Alibaba? Without SF Express, who will fill the position in the Alibaba ecosystem?

It is reported that Cainiao and EMS held an emergency consultation on the night of June 1, and Cainiao wanted to use EMS to replace SF Express in the Taobao ecosystem. EMS has the advantage of a huge network.

Taobao-related businesses have limited weight in the SF Express system. According to the 2016 annual report of SF Holdings (002352), SF Express achieved 2.58 billion express parcels in 2016. Based on this calculation, SF Express's average daily order volume is about 7 million parcels. An SF Express insider revealed to The Paper that orders from the "Ali system" only account for about 20% of SF Express's total business, and SF Express has cooperation with many e-commerce platforms.

In its 2016 annual report, SF Express announced that SF Holdings has a clear leading advantage in traditional business express delivery.

Many experts believe that no matter what conflicts exist among the parties, competition and cooperation are the norm when it comes to commercial interests.

Zhao Xiaomin told The Paper that cooperation among all parties is a general trend. From the perspective of business development, JD.com, NetEase, and Meituan will continue to use SF Express, which has a good reputation for its service capabilities. "EMS joins the battle to grab SF Express's business on Taobao, but it will not have a big impact on SF Express in the short term." Zhao Xiaomin believes that after the business war, all parties should return to the level of business cooperation and business ethics.

Yang Daqing believes that JD.com does not have a high share in the e-commerce logistics market, and SF Express does not have a high share in the e-commerce logistics market either. In some cities, 80% of Fengchao's business comes from members of the Cainiao Alliance. "For Cainiao and SF Express, abruptly severing cooperation is not a long-term strategic choice," Yang Daqing said.

The cooperation between Cainiao and SF Express is a major trend, but each has a clear "sphere of influence".

Yang Daqing told The Paper that Cainiao and SF Express should each take their place. SF Express does logistics big data based on goods, while Cainiao does logistics big data based on flows. Cainiao builds infrastructure, which is like "building a temple". It invites "gods" such as SF Express, ZTO Express, and EMS to "open a temple" in the temple, so that all living beings can "burn incense" and benefit from it. "The 'temple' and the 'god' should not 'fight', but should build a big ecosystem in different levels and stages." Yang Daqing said.

An express delivery industry executive commented on the dispute between Cainiao and SF Express, saying that data from the upstream and downstream of the industry chain should be shared and communicated. Cainiao Network claims to be the "water, electricity and coal" of China's logistics industry. When there is a "power outage and water outage", Cainiao and SF Express need to have a dialogue process and a mutual negotiation process.

In terms of logistics data sharing, Cainiao and SF Express check and balance each other. Yang Daqing told The Paper that although Cainiao and SF Express both need to protect their own ecological data, there is room for sharing in areas where logistics data overlap.

"Cainiao is a supply chain data platform provider. It can monitor service quality only when it obtains full-link logistics data including express lockers. It can ensure consumer information security only when it masters the full-link information through multi-layer certification or cross-certification. SF Express has its own self-contained big data 'reservoir'. On the one hand, SF Express has the responsibility to protect the independent data ecological balance. On the other hand, SF Express also needs Cainiao's cooperation to provide data support for the full-link logistics data." Yang Daqing believes.

Money never sleeps, interests are complicated. Who can go against business?

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.