File photo: Employees of YTO Express, a Chinese courier company, sort a pile of packages in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province. The manager of the distribution center said that over the next 10 days they will be extremely busy delivering more than 20,000 packages a day. The Double 11 shopping festive is also a huge business boost for China's logistics industry. Photo: VCG

The coronavirus outbreak has put China's courier sector in a unique and unprecedented position in supporting the economy, industry insiders said on Monday, with more courier firms to evolve into comprehensive logistics services providers. 

The coronavirus outbreak, which many have called a "black swan" incident, initially hit courier providers' activities along with other sectors, but the blow was much less severe than in the manufacturing, catering or tourism sectors, said Zhao Xiaomin, CEO of market consultancy Guanshuo.

But with the pandemic causing severe disruption to supply chains, logistics and courier services providers have risen to prominence as "a mainstay of individuals' lives, companies' operations and the national economy," Zhao, who is also a logistics expert, told the Global Times on Monday.

The courier sector now has an unprecedented position in the economy, he commented. 

An index measuring the nation's courier development rose 25.2 percent year-on-year to 221.4 in April, according to data released on Friday by State Post Bureau, the nation's postal service regulator, an indication that the courier sector has gradually shaken off the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and gotten back to an upward spiral.

The pandemic turned out be a spur for many courier companies, accelerating their evolution into comprehensive logistics services providers, Xu Yong, a courier industry veteran in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Monday.

In one notable sign, heavyweight SF Express has made inroads into online food delivery, with the launch of its "Feng Shi" mini program.

SF Express confirmed to the Global Times on Monday that the mini program is a platform serving group dining needs. It is up and running within the courier but has yet to be publicly available. 

SF Express has been a pioneer domestically in diversifying into other logistics-related segments, Xu said, adding that its domestic peers remain largely focused on express delivery but may also venture into other lines of business.

Global Times