By reporter Chen Shijun and intern Wang Xia from Shanghai - The recent bomb in a courier parcel in Tianhe District of Guangzhou has once again exposed the security loopholes in courier services, and the attention to courier safety continues to increase.
Currently, Zhejiang Shaoxing has piloted the real-name system for couriers. Whether this should be promoted nationwide and the timeline for its eventual rollout have become topics of interest both inside and outside the industry. Yesterday (February 23), Wang Jiahong, the daily affairs manager of YTO Express's Yangpu branch in Shanghai region, told the "Everyday Economic News" that he had indeed seen relevant information about the implementation of the real-name system on the company's internal network.
YTO Express stated that for first-time customers and those without fixed locations, they must first present their ID cards. After the courier staff verifies their identity and inspects the package contents, they will then accept the delivery.
The company's internal network has received notification from headquarters.
On February 6, after a citizen in Tianhe District of Guangzhou received a courier parcel, it suddenly exploded. This incident seemed to become the engine driving the national promotion of the real-name system for couriers.
It is reported that starting from April 2011, the State Post Bureau and public security departments designated Shaoxing as a pilot city for the real-name system for couriers. Customers must go through procedures such as "showing ID cards, unpacking inspections, verifying items, and registering information" before sending each parcel. Shaoxing has publicly stated that this action was quickly implemented by all 25 courier companies in Shaoxing County, with noticeable results.
According to a previous report by the "Xiangtan Morning Post", starting from February 20, Hunan STO Express required couriers to add the step of "the sender showing an ID card or other valid identification, confirming the completeness and authenticity of the information filled out by the sender" when collecting parcels.
Wang Jiahong introduced to the reporter of the "Everyday Economic News" that they had already received notification from the company headquarters on the company's internal network. When collecting parcels, they not only need to check the contents of the parcel but also inspect the ID documents. This is another measure following the announcement issued on the official website of YTO Express on February 17, emphasizing the inspection of every parcel and strictly enforcing the "opening box for inspection" rule.
It is understood that YTO Express does not seem to target all parcel senders in the specific implementation of the real-name system.
Wang Jiahong said: "For the sender's ID documents, we do not conduct a hundred percent verification. We mainly verify whether the bill information and ID information of the scattered piece customers match. However, for monthly settlement customers and group customers, since contracts were previously signed, there is no requirement to check the ID."
Regarding the impact of the real-name system on courier companies, Wang Jiahong expressed that due to the more complicated work procedures, it increases the time spent on collecting and delivering each ticket, increasing labor and thus raising operational costs for the enterprise.
Wang Jiahong introduced: "Our location has over 20 couriers, and one person collects and delivers over 100 parcels a day. It takes approximately 5 to 6 minutes longer per parcel than before, and sometimes even 10 minutes more. Recently, our couriers generally work until 9 p.m., so we have been continuously recruiting new staff."
Experts say the execution effect will be discounted.
In fact, the current promotion of the real-name system for couriers seems to be experiencing some "conflicts" from enterprises.
Previously, the media reported that "starting March 1, ZTO Express will lead in implementing the real-name system," but soon ZTO Express denied this via its official Weibo account. Simultaneously, ZTO requested that all outlets must conduct on-site inspections of the contents when collecting parcels. If the user refuses inspection, the collection can be refused.
Xu Yong, chief consultant of China Express Consulting Network, told the "Everyday Economic News" that in a buyer's market, various courier companies, in order to compete for market share, find it difficult to fully implement the real-name system during actual operations. It is also hard for the real-name system for couriers to become routine.
Yesterday, the reporter from the "Everyday Economic News" called YTO Express pretending to be a consumer and asked if the company would collect parcels if the sender could not temporarily provide an ID card. A courier from Xuhui District replied, "Under normal circumstances, it cannot be collected, but sometimes it depends on what the content is. For example, if the content is documents or the sender is a student, presenting a student ID card will suffice."
Xu Yong introduced that the main purpose of implementing the real-name system for couriers is to prevent the mailing of hazardous materials. However, compared to other criminal methods, courier-related crimes are rare. In terms of safety and efficiency, a choice needs to be made. Real-name systems "let the entire society pay when encountering difficulties, which is quite costly."
Statistics show that China currently has approximately 13 million single pieces per day. With around 10 million people requiring their information to be verified and registered daily, the workload would be enormous, making it difficult to implement.
Xu Yong believes that the method of the real-name system for couriers cannot fundamentally eliminate courier safety loopholes. Many times, couriers cannot determine drugs, explosives, and other dangerous goods with the naked eye, and criminals may use forged documents.
Wang Jiahong also frankly admitted to the reporter that couriers find it almost impossible to distinguish fake IDs, and consumers are also concerned about the safety of their personal information.