UPS and SF Holding, the parent company of Chinese express delivery operator, SF Express, have announced that their planned joint venture (jv) has received the approval of China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).
First unveiled in May this year, the jv focuses on collaboration in the development and provision of international delivery services from, initially, China to the US and, in the future, to other trade lanes.
It combines SF’s extensive 13,000 service points across 331 cities in China, the world’s largest and fastest growing package delivery market, with UPS’ globally integrated 220-country network.
“The jv approval is a positive development for international trade and allows the two leading companies to leverage their complementary networks, service portfolios, technologies and logistics expertise,” UPS said in a statement.
It described SF as “a market leader in express delivery in China, with extensive China-wide network coverage, comprehensive service capabilities, and the highest brand recognition in the Chinese small package industry.”
The jv was a continuation of UPS and SF’s collaboration that began in 2015, when the UPS Worldwide Express service was made available at SF’s Heike retail stores in Shanghai and Shenzhen, the US package delivery giant noted.
Commenting on the jv and its significance, Ross McCullough, President of UPS Asia Pacific, said:
“We’re delighted to help the many customers in China who will now be in a position to trade more easily across borders and better compete on the global stage thanks to product offerings from the UPS and SF joint venture.”
He continued: “UPS has an aggressive multi-year growth plan in China. Aligning our two networks will increase our market presence by connecting China’s consumers and manufacturers to the US. and around the world with logistics solutions that strengthen cross-border B2B and B2C capabilities. This jv is highly symbolic of UPS’s confidence in long-term growth opportunities in China.”
For his part, Alan Wong, Group Vice President of SF, remarked: “The establishment of this joint venture boosts global expansion of Chinese enterprises beyond local borders.
He added: “SF and UPS are able to maximise the strengths of both companies to continuously innovate and create more competitive products that deliver strong value for customers.”
The alignment of UPS’ and SF’s transportation networks is designed to provide customers with greater coverage, additional routing options, increased capacity, and more choice in transit times and service options.
Customer service benefits include time-in-transit reliability with 5-7 business days deliveries; end-to-end visibility using SF’s tracking tool and UPS’ state-of-art technology; single point of contact and flexibility with late order cut-off times for shipment pick-ups and multiple delivery options.
UPS concluded: “The joint venture supports these highly competitive joint service offerings on the China-to-US lane, with planned expansion to markets in the rest of the world. Both companies can now utilize their own assets to boost operational effectiveness and efficiency for businesses while aligning business processes in order to provide seamless customer care for all parties shipping out of China.”
Customers seeking an economical solution for less urgent shipments can opt for Global Reach Plus, the new joint venture's deferred express product “that features the full visibility and reliability of a premium express service.”
