Jack Ma: Using a rookie mentality to build an intelligent backbone network with 24-hour access

The CSN project, which has been hotly discussed in the industry for nearly half a year, has finally surfaced, and no one expected it to come out with a surprising name. On the 28th, Alibaba, Intime, Fosun and others launched the construction of the China Intelligent Backbone Network project in Shenzhen, and announced the joint establishment of "Cainiao Network Technology Co., Ltd."

Cainiao, this almost funny name, immediately made people remember this new company. Also impressive was the “Tmall” that Alibaba changed from Taobao Mall.

Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma said at the press conference that Alibaba had been thinking about and working on the construction of socialized logistics infrastructure for 10 years, and decided to do it for another 10 years. "Let us old guys learn to be rookies. Rookies have a younger mentality than anyone else and can withstand the storm."

According to the press release, the "old guys" mentioned by Ma Yun include him, Shen Guojun, chairman of Intime Group and CEO of Cainiao Network, Guo Guangchang of Fosun Group, Zhang Guobiao of Fuchun Group, and relevant persons in charge of SF Express and the three major express delivery companies (Shentong, YTO, ZTO, and Yunda). Of course, they also include China Life Insurance Group and CITIC Bank, which have provided partial financial support for the intelligent backbone network project through strategic cooperation.

Logistics has always been called one of the "three flows" of e-commerce, and is also considered the most difficult obstacle to overcome besides information flow and capital flow of e-commerce. Jack Ma previously stated that according to the current growth rate of e-commerce, the online retail transaction volume will reach 10 trillion in the foreseeable few years, and the visible obstacle to this 10 trillion scale is logistics. Jack Ma also emphasized that what the intelligent backbone network needs to do is to ensure the transformation and upgrading of the entire economy.

People familiar with Alibaba said that Alibaba has always considered logistics from the perspective of building an e-commerce ecosystem, and in the past few years, Alibaba has also been constantly trying and exploring, including Taobao's large logistics plan and Tmall Logistics Platform, logistics partner system and logistics service standard system. However, Cainiao Network CEO Shen Guojun also emphasized that "Cainiao Network will not engage in logistics, but hopes to make full use of its own advantages to support the development of domestic logistics companies and provide better, more efficient and intelligent services for the logistics industry."

Shen Guojun also explained the reason why the company was named "Cainiao". "The first is to remind ourselves that innovation on the Internet is everywhere. In the Internet age, we must maintain a novice mentality to maintain innovation and learning. What we are going to do is new to us and has never been done before. As a newcomer to the industry, the customers we serve are all small and medium-sized enterprises that are just starting out or growing. Compared with traditional big brands and large enterprises, we and our customers are still novices. The name Cainiao is intended to encourage us to choose to grow together."

Jack Ma previously said about the CSN project, "China has so many highways and railways, but there is no UPS. China now has tens of millions of packages, but it has not developed its own logistics system. We are the first private enterprise to participate in the construction of national commercial infrastructure. We may take detours and fail in the process, but if you don't work hard and don't try, you will never have a chance."

Although he calls himself a rookie, Jack Ma also said, "We will never be a slow bird. The slow bird flies first. We don't know why and where to go, and we don't solve the problem." According to the statement, Cainiao Network will form an open network of socialized warehousing facilities throughout China through various modes such as self-construction, co-construction, cooperation, and transformation. At the same time, it will use advanced Internet technology to establish an open, transparent, and shared data application platform to provide high-quality services to various types of companies such as e-commerce companies, logistics companies, warehousing companies, third-party logistics service providers, and supply chain service providers, and support the development and upgrading of the logistics industry to high value-added fields. Ultimately, it will promote the establishment of an efficient coordination mechanism for socialized resources and improve the quality of China's socialized logistics services.

According to Jack Ma, "With the integration of data, warehousing and distribution, operations will become faster and faster. We are going to build a network system. Ten years from now, anywhere in China, as long as you shop online, you can get your order delivered within 24 hours. It can also support 10 million couriers to provide smooth services, so that roads, highways and railways can better play their role as channels."
Ma Yun also said that China's intelligent backbone network is not only the infrastructure of e-commerce, but also the infrastructure of China's future business. He hopes that this network can become one of the three major infrastructures of China's future business together with the online credit system and the online payment system.