51Buy to Provide Logistics and Warehousing for Third Parties
Tencent Tech, 5/07/13
On May 7, Tencent's (0700.HK) consumer electronics B2C e-commerce site 51buy.com announced that it plans to begin trial use of its warehousing and logistics systems for third-party clients in the near future. Luo Lianxu, director of 51buy's joint operations and logistics center, said that 51buy will initially open its delivery systems in the East China region, offering pickup and unified delivery services for third-party merchants in the region by the end of H1 2013. The company will begin offering warehousing and storage services in the second half of the year, providing third-party merchants in the East China and South China regions with item pickup, warehousing, and delivery services.
With the launch of 51buy's logistics services for third-party merchants, Luo said, third-party merchants using 51buy's platform will be responsible only for supplying items. 51buy will take care of all other stages of the process, including operations, marketing, logistics, and after-sales services. Currently there are no independently supplier-operated stores on 51buy's platform. The new service will effectively guarantee that 51buy will offer a wide range of products in addition to an outstanding shopping experience, enabling the site to better satisfy customer demand.
51buy currently has six core warehouses in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Xi'an, and Chongqing, and plans to build another ten secondary warehouses this year. One of these, a 220,000 square-meter logistics center in Shanghai's Qingpu district, is expected to go into operation in 2014, at which point 51buy will set up its own delivery teams in 14 cities around the country.
51buy's product offerings are currently concentrated in the area of 3C goods, with around 100,000 SKUs. While the site continues to narrow the gap with its competitors in handsets, tablet computers, and other IT products, offerings in other areas — including general items and home furnishings — remain 51buy's weak point. The first group of third-party products to be offered through 51buy's logistics service will be general goods complementary to the site's own offerings.
According to a source in Tencent's e-commerce division, the H2 2013 link-up between 51buy and QQ Buy will allow merchants to sell their items on both sites automatically. 51buy will offer its logistics services to a larger number of sellers in H2 2013.
Keywords: Luo Lianxu e-commerce Internet B2C Tencent 0700.HK logistics QQ Buy 51Buy after-sales service
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