Pinduoduo Pulls Off Another "Borrowing Eggs to Make Omelettes" Maneuver.

Pinduoduo's post-expansion strategy is accelerating once again, this time targeting express delivery companies and the couriers behind them.

According to E-commerce World, in regions like Nankang, Jiangxi, Pinduoduo is promoting its in-house logistics service, Pinduoduo Post, by restricting parcel shipments on its platform and exerting pressure on local express network points.

Merchants outside the region are reportedly unable to select Yuantong Express for shipments to the area, and local consumers cannot use this express brand for returns. This has significantly impacted local express network points, post owners, couriers, and others. Since Pinduoduo restricted shipments, local express network points have lost over 200,000 yuan in a month, and related cooperative posts have seen varying degrees of income decline; a large number of network point couriers have experienced a one-third drop in income.

According to "New Entropy," aggressive promotional measures for Pinduoduo Post have also emerged in places such as Yucheng, Henan, in addition to Nankang, Jiangxi.

In addition to offering subsidies to collection points to compete for post business, Pinduoduo has adopted a more aggressive approach to pressure and expansion in some regions.

Zheng Fu (pseudonym), a manager of a Yuantong franchise network point company in Nankang District, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, sought help from various sources under pressure and eventually reached out to "New Entropy" to reveal more details.

"When Pinduoduo merchants print shipping labels, a risk control prompt appears, suggesting they choose another express company," said Zheng Fu. Coincidentally, Pinduoduo does not control the entire region but precisely about 70% of the areas where the company is located.

After reporting the issue to Pinduoduo officials, they responded that it was due to a high complaint rate, leading to risk control. "We believe our complaint rate is normal and not excessively high," Zheng Fu said helplessly. "Compared to our peers, our complaint rate is actually not high. The key is that Pinduoduo did not provide any prior notice or specific decontrol time."

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Zheng Fu immediately suspected it might be related to cooperative network points using Cainiao Posts. "I have set up many Cainiao Posts locally, mainly those with Cainiao signage. Addresses nearby can no longer use Yuantong Express; in contrast, posts using Duoduo signage are hardly affected."

Helplessly, Zheng Fu contacted relevant personnel from the local Pinduoduo and obtained a solution. "Their staff asked me to replace half of the posts with Cainiao signage with Duoduo Post signage. Then they could try to communicate with headquarters to help me remove the so-called control."

E-commerce analysts believe that Pinduoduo is attempting to leverage its platform's influence to pressure express network points and posts, encouraging them to support and promote Pinduoduo Post to achieve its business goals.

However, this approach by Pinduoduo has also caused difficulties for many stations, logistics companies, and the couriers behind them.

"Usually, we receive about 30,000 parcels per day from outside for delivery. Recently, we suddenly found it had dropped to around 22,000 to 23,000, a decrease of 6,000 to 7,000 parcels," said Zheng Fu. "The reason we found was the lack of Pinduoduo parcels."

For logistics companies and posts, the decrease in parcel volume also means a decrease in income, but the relevant staff cannot be reduced, and costs remain the same.

"This has had a significant impact on us. Just for our network point, it's a loss of about 120,000 yuan per month," sighed Zheng Fu. "I haven't counted the losses for the posts because some posts normally handle 900 parcels and employ two people, but now they only have around 600 parcels. With only two employees, they can barely survive."

For express network points, with a daily reduction of 7,000 parcels at an industry average price of 0.6 yuan per parcel, monthly revenue decreases by 126,000 yuan. For frontline couriers, a decrease in the number of parcels delivered naturally leads to a decrease in income. Over time, this may even force network points to lay off some employees, and the same applies to posts.

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It's worth mentioning that regarding Pinduoduo's proposed solution of replacing signage, Zheng Fu also admitted, "I have invested around 180,000 signs, each costing about 10 yuan, totaling nearly 2 million yuan. However, Pinduoduo has offered to replace half of them for free."

For express network points and posts, compromising by replacing signage for free in exchange for a "protective talisman" seems to be the fastest way to solve the problem currently. However, Zheng Fu also expressed his dissatisfaction, saying, "Don't we even have the right to freely choose?"

Obviously, this approach by Pinduoduo has put many participants in the logistics chain in a dilemma and forced them to incur losses.

As the final stop for online shoppers, posts have always been a key focus for e-commerce platforms' layouts. However, setting up posts is not an overnight task, especially regarding qualification acquisition, which can easily lead to violations.

According to public information, Pinduoduo currently only has licenses to operate express posts in 15 provinces and cities, and Jiangxi Province is not among them. The express post business license in Henan Province only became effective on November 1 and only covers the Zhengzhou area. Therefore, promoting Pinduoduo Post locally is suspected of illegal operations.

According to the regulations of the State Post Bureau, companies wishing to operate express posts must be registered and must have a permit for express business operations.

According to relevant legal provisions, operating an express business without a permit will entail certain legal responsibilities:

1. The postal administration or the administration for industry and commerce shall order corrections, confiscate illegal gains, and impose a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan;

2. In serious cases, a fine of not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan shall be imposed; for express companies, they may also be ordered to suspend operations for rectification or even have their express business operation permits revoked.

In fact, postal administration agencies in places such as Xiamen, Baoji, and Henan have previously issued relevant reminders and warnings to Pinduoduo, directly or indirectly, regarding suspected unlicensed engagement in express business activities.

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In addition to being suspected of illegal operations, more attention should be paid to whether Pinduoduo engages in unfair competition.

Similarly, in late April of this year, Cainiao and Pinduoduo were involved in a lawsuit regarding unfair competition. Ultimately, the court determined that Pinduoduo's promotion of the "Duoduo Maicai Terminal System" at Cainiao Post terminals constituted unfair competition, damaging the legitimate rights and interests of legitimate operators and disrupting fair and orderly market competition, requiring compensation and an apology.

Wielding the legal stick is the most extreme and effective means of business warfare since the mobile internet era. However, when the "either-or" situation actually occurs, how many frontline logistics operators can resist the platform? For Pinduoduo, it is understandable to want to build its logistics network to increase platform competitiveness. However, relying on others' resources to achieve one's goals will not be accepted by the vast majority of logistics operators, nor will it be permitted by the law.