Zhang Yuan and Ma Yang looked at each other.
Ma Yang’s lips twitched slightly. “Qian, putting everything else aside, this name has a rather unfortunate meaning… Are you saying our logistics will be especially slow?”
Pei Qian shook his head. “Old Ma, you’re suffering from a lack of culture. The direction of the headwind is more suitable for flying, understand? Our name means we’re preparing to take off!”
Zhang Yuan blinked, saying nothing.
He couldn’t keep up with Mr. Pei’s leaping thoughts at all!
Just moments ago, Zhang Yuan had been trying to guess what Mr. Pei’s next target might be.
Was it to develop the remaining branch stores?
Or perhaps to focus efforts on Slackin’ Delivery?
It turned out to be neither. Mr. Pei was expanding his operations even further…
The two men stared expectantly at Pei Qian.
Pei Qian cleared his throat. “I know this layout might seem too ambitious, somewhat beyond our current financial capabilities.”
“However, I’m not rushing to establish a large logistics company covering the entire country, nor do I intend to handle same-city courier services.”
“We’ll just focus our attention on Jingzhou City, concentrating on solving the ‘last mile’ problem!”
This world already had online shopping platforms, though they hadn’t yet developed to the later frenzy of universal online shopping.
As for logistics and courier services, they had naturally already covered the entire country and achieved decent development.
However, most courier services were still in a state of unchecked growth. Late deliveries, lost packages, and dumping parcels at self-pickup points for customers to collect themselves were commonplace.
In other words, home delivery was the exception rather than the rule.
Simply put, this was the “last mile” problem.
Even ten years from now, this problem wouldn’t be properly resolved. Apart from SF Express, JD, and a few other conscientious delivery services that would deliver to your door, all other courier services would simply dump packages at collection points and consider the job done.
Solutions like Beehive and Cainiao Stations had been proposed to address the last-mile problem, but the user experience was terrible.
Ultimately, it came down to cost.
It was precisely because delivering each package from the local warehouse to the doorstep was thankless work that most courier services chose to transfer this cost to consumers.
Pei Qian’s idea was simple: everyone avoided this dirty, tiring work because it wasn’t profitable, right?
Well, he didn’t mind!
Since he was going to lose money anyway, why not take on this dirty, tiring work? It would create losses while providing convenience to everyone—what wasn’t to like?
“I’ve already worked it out. Initially, we’ll open one hundred Headwind Stations in Jingzhou City, covering most residential communities.”
“We’ll negotiate partnerships directly with various courier companies to have their delivery personnel place all nearby packages at our stations, after which our couriers will handle the final delivery.”
In simple terms, it would be a Cainiao Station that delivers to your door.
But the issue was that Cainiao Stations were profitable.
The initial investment for a Cainiao Station was only twenty to thirty thousand yuan. You just needed to rent a ground-floor unit in a residential area, paying monthly rent of one to two thousand yuan (considering Jingzhou’s current rent levels), then spend over ten thousand more on shelving, front desk, computers, counters, decoration, and other costs. After that, you could start operations.
After negotiating prices with courier companies, charging between 0.2 and 0.4 yuan per package, and handling two to three hundred packages daily, a station could make about 3,000 yuan monthly from package collection alone.
Cainiao Stations were typically run by two people, with additional revenue streams including product sales, advertising, and courier service offerings.
Overall, Cainiao Stations were profitable, which was why many people actively joined the franchise.
But Pei Qian’s Headwind Stations would be something entirely different because they would actively deliver packages to homes!
On one hand, this added pure costs for delivery personnel. With 300 packages daily, at least one or two couriers would need to work hard, and Pei Qian would pay their wages.
On the other hand, customers wouldn’t need to visit the station themselves to collect packages. With reduced foot traffic, revenue from product sales and advertising would naturally plummet.
Running such a station would require at least three people: one manager and two couriers. Communities with higher volumes might need three couriers. At a standard of 3,000 yuan per person (base salary plus commission), the monthly overhead would be over 9,000 yuan.
Calculating with 2,000 yuan for rent and 9,000 yuan for wages, profits would barely reach three to four thousand, resulting in a net loss of seven to eight thousand.
By this calculation, the initial investment for 100 stations would be three million yuan, with monthly net losses reaching seventy to eighty thousand.
And this was just the beginning. As Pei Qian’s operations expanded and employee numbers grew, losses would continue to increase.
The best part was that these losses could be roughly estimated and controlled!
For instance, if Pei Qian estimated that he needed to quickly spend an additional one million yuan of system funds before settlement, he could rapidly open more than 20 new Headwind Stations. As long as he got the stores up and running a week before system settlement, the funds would be successfully spent, without delaying the settlement.
Unlike Slackin’ Internet Cafés, Headwind Stations could be opened quickly and closed quickly. Small boats turn easily, making them more suitable for quick expenditures.
Pei Qian had decided to prioritize setting up Headwind Stations near Tenda, Fei Huang Studio, Slackin’ Internet Cafés, and his own home.
That way, whether he bought things online or his parents did, no one would need to go to collection points anymore—everything would be delivered to their doors.
Since it was all about benefiting society, he would naturally start with his own family.
Accomplishing losses while doing good deeds—simply perfect!
After hearing Pei Qian’s introduction, Zhang Yuan was thoroughly convinced.
Indeed, Mr. Pei’s ideas were always so difficult to anticipate!
It seemed this was yet another long-term strategy.
Although Pei Qian hadn’t explicitly stated it, Zhang Yuan could roughly guess the intention behind this move.
By solving the “last mile” problem, they would gradually make people dependent on Headwind Logistics.
In the short term, they would continue to lose money, but in the long run?
After becoming accustomed to Headwind Logistics’ home delivery service, people would naturally prioritize Headwind Logistics when sending packages.
In the future, Headwind Logistics would naturally expand into same-city delivery and even nationwide courier services…
However, this strategy was so long-term that most people could hardly have any expectations for it!
Perhaps Headwind Logistics would continue to lose money for several years to come, but once successful, it might profoundly impact various aspects of people’s lives.
Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but look at Pei Qian with deep respect.
Now this was what you called vision!