Interview with IVAN Li of Morning Express

Survival of the Fittest

Veteran of the Hong Kong courier industry. IVAN LI, MANAGING Director, Morning Express throws light on the major issues threatening the survival of the local courier industry. He discusses possible solutions that provide food for thought. By KAREN LAM

Ivan Li: “We are the first company to make smart lockers available in Hong Kong.”

There is no end to the problems threatening the local courier industry, chief among them being, the Internet, a scarcity of fresh talent, new entrants, fiercer competition and that ever-present issue of higher operating COSTS! Ivan Li speaks with us on the state of this vibrant industry and the need for its survival.

Mediazone: What are the main issues surrounding the local courier/delivery industry?

IVAN LI: Manpower is the biggest issue plaguing the logistics industry in Hong Kong. The quality of management and how you handle the labour force will be a determining factor for success.

(MZ): How would you summarize the competitive state of the industry?

IL): Every product on the market is trying to compete with something. Some companies like to compete on price, whilst some aim for the best quality. We try to compete for the best quality - ever since we started 28 years ago, we provided a 100 percent money back guarantee for our services. That’s how we compete.


(MZ): How do you plan to grab more market share?

IL): There have been many changes over the last 10 years, with E -commerce being one of them. Everyone says that the future lies in E- commerce but I disagree – logistics is far more important, since without it online shopping would be nothing. Our main expansion is currently in E – commerce however, at this stage, it’s a little unbalanced for demand and supply.


(MZ): What role does the Internet in the growth of your industry?

IL): The Internet took away most of our business in the past but it gives us many opportunities now. During the first ten years of our company’s operations, local delivery of government documents was the bread and butter of the local courier business. When the Internet was introduced during the 90’s, government documents could be delivered via email, which caused us to lose most of our customers. However this has changed – nowadays most of our clients find us through shopping sites such as Tao Bao.


(MZ): Could you speak about the role of quality training of personnel and how this reflects on the growth of your industry?

IL): Morning Express personnel are trained in keeping with our company culture. The long relationship that we have with our staff is one of the main reasons why we are successful. Many people have worked here for over 20 years, and over half of our staff have worked here for over 8 years, therefore company habits become ingrained into their mind set. For example, good attendance, behaviour and willingness to carry out tasks. I’m a big believer in how one’s actions could influence another, therefore new employees are supported by a staff member as their mentor during their first few months of working at the company.


(MZ): Are there any new developments in tracking Technology?

IL): We don’t have any new developments in tracking technology but we are planning on expanding the amount of smart lockers in Hong Kong. We have already been approached by Yahoo to build 100 this year. Smart lockers are basically a self-pickup network. After you finish shopping from an online store, you will receive an SMS containing the password for your locker once the package has arrived. You can then pick up your purchase from a set of smart lockers near your home. We are the first company to make smart lockers available in Hong Kong.

(MZ): How does the delivery business operate in different countries?

IL): Nearly 90% of our business revolves around domestic delivery. Delivering packages through customs is not a major barrier for us therefore our aim is to provide high quality service, no matter the destination. We import more goods to Hong Kong, since more people are interested in buying products from Japan, Korea, or the United States. We work with many partners in order to make deliveries from foreign countries to Hong Kong possible.