Russian Post and Chinese e-retailer JD.com have signed a strategic partnership as part of which Russian Post becomes JD.com’s first authorised postal operator following a similar cooperation with the country’s leading express operator SPSR Express earlier this year.
As part of the agreement, Russian Post will deliver products from ‘En.jd.com’ marketplaces across Russia. Items from abroad will be handled by designated postal operators in China, Singapore and other countries, and then delivered by Russian Post. The companies also discussed the possibilities of multilateral cooperation on the Russian territory including joint service expansion, cooperation in the field of supply chain creation and system integration.
"Russian Post has the largest network of delivery points – 42,000 post offices across the country. In addition, we are developing services for the "last mile" by opening dedicated counters as well as parcel collection and pick-up points and we make home deliveries of shipments. The cooperation with Russian and foreign internet stores will certainly help reduce the delivery time of products and improve the service for our customers,” Sergey Malyshev, Russian Post Deputy General Director, Parcels and Express, said.
Victor Suy, General Director of JD.com’s international department, commented: “JD.com actively develops partnerships with major delivery operators worldwide in order to maximise the efficiency of logistics solutions for the end user. The agreement with Russian Post, the federal postal operator with the largest network of delivery points across the country, will allow us to make reliable and fast deliveries to Russian consumers."
Nikko Chen, Director of Global Supply Chain Management at JD.com, highlighted the high level of logistical services as the company’s key feature which enables JD.com to provide the best shopping process. “Russia is a key target market for JD Global, and we are pleased that the logistical advantages of the company are now available to Russian consumers, thanks to the agreement with Russian Post. We believe that this cooperation will make the purchasing process through En.jd.com convenient and affordable for the Russians."
A similar agreement was signed as part of the earlier announced Memorandum of Understanding between SPSR Express and JD.com, with SPSR delivering products from JD.com to Russian shoppers via parcel terminals and to the so-called order pick-up centres (click&collect). The delivery to the terminals is managed by SPSR’s subsidiary Pickpoint.
Meanwhile, Russian Post now generates more than a third of its total turnover from financial services. For the first half year of 2015, Russian Post increased its revenues from financial services by 4.3% compared with the same period last year, bringing their share in the total company revenues to 34%, up from 33% in 2014.
Last year, Russian Post began transforming its business in the financial services segment according to the company’s approved development strategy. As part of the modernisation, the product line has been optimised, the relations with the existing partners have been reviewed and the implementation of inefficient projects has been suspended. The postal operator has completed the first phase of the transformation.
