It’s becoming clearer by the day that China is beating the U.S. in the one aspect of e-commerce that basically sets the tone for the whole experience: fast delivery.
如今，有一件事实日益清晰：中国公司在电子商务的“快速送货”这一环节中击败了美国，而该环节的服务从根本上决定了网购的整体体验好坏。
“The U.S. is a tremendous innovator, but in e-commerce it’s really racing to catch up, ” Haoyu Shen, CEO of JD Mall, said in an email a day before JD.com JD -0.06% released figures from its June 18 anniversary sale—JD’s answer to the attention Alibaba gets for its November Singles’ Day sale—during which it processed 15 million orders, a 100% increase from the previous year. “In the U.S. people can’t believe that we offer same-day delivery—free—for orders made before 11 a.m. in basically every major Chinese city, ” Shen explained. (Free comes with a minimum order of $13.)
在发布618店庆日销售数据的前一天，京东商城首席执行官沈皓瑜在一封邮件中称，“美国拥有不计其数的创新，然而在电子商务领域，美国确实正在追赶中国的脚步。”618店庆是京东主要为与阿里巴巴“双十一”大促抗衡打造的促销活动。今年店庆期间，京东斩获了1500万份订单，同比增长100%。沈皓瑜解释说：“美国人很难相信，在京东购物时，上午11点前的订单都能享受当日送货服务，而且这一服务已基本覆盖中国各大主要城市。”（订单金额满79元还可以免去送货费）。
Same-day delivery isn’t novel in China anymore. Alibaba’s logistics arm that partners with couriers ships to 34 cities for next-day delivery and said this year it expects that number to hit 50. But JD.com, Alibaba’s BABA -0.07% rival and the closest equivalent China has to Amazon.com BABA -0.07% , with dozens of warehouses scattered around the country and a direct sales model that wards off fake goods, started same-day delivery five years ago and last year counted 43 cities. It says it has expanded since.
当日送达服务在中国并不是什么新鲜事。阿里巴巴的物流部门已经与快递公司合作，在34个城市提供隔日送达服务，而且宣布今年服务范围有望增至50个城市。但作为阿里巴巴的对手，也是中国最类似亚马逊的电商，京东五年前便开始提供当日送达服务，而且去年已覆盖43个城市。京东在中国拥有几十个仓库，遍布国内各个地区，其直销模式还有效避免出现假冒伪劣产品。京东称，五年来这项服务的范围一直在扩大。
A direct comparison of China’s same-day credentials to U.S. companies’ is a little unfair. Alibaba, Jd.com, and others enjoy the advantage of cheap labor that is the backbone of China’s advantage. By one estimate there are 35, 000 delivery companiesfighting for packages, cutting profit margins to almost zero but making deliveries to far flung-places in China’s interior, otherwise uneconomical, suddenly appealing if only for a few pennies in profit.
直接拿中国电商的当日保证送达服务与美国电商的相比，其实有点不公平。阿里巴巴、京东等公司的劳动力成本低廉，这也是中国的核心优势所在。据估计，中国有3.5万家快递公司正激烈竞争，利润率已压缩至接近零，就连向中国内陆偏远地区送货这种原本经济效益不高，赚头只有几分钱的业务都突然变得也有吸引力了。
But that’s not the whole story.
但廉价劳动力与京东关系其实不大。
JD, for one, doesn’t benefit from those 35, 000 delivery competitors because it has spent hundreds of millions to build up its own delivery network which last counted 48, 000 workers, 140 warehouses, and 3, 500 delivery and pickup stations.
举例来说，3.5万家快递公司的激烈竞争并没让京东获得多少好处，因为京东的配送网络是花费数亿元自建的，最近统计显示其中包括4.8万名送货员，140个仓库，还有3500个提送货站点。
That doesn’t come cheap, even in a country with cheap labor. Expenses related to delivery increased 97% in the first quarter to $400 million, driven by JD’s expansion into smaller cities and building out its so-called “last mile” delivery business for third parties.
即便中国劳动力成本很低，维护如此巨大的网络也不便宜。受京东进军小型城市及其为第三方打造“最后一公里”快递业务的影响，第一季度公司与配送相关的费用上涨97%，达到4亿美元。
Alibaba’s logistics affiliate, by contrast, works with couriers, which saves the company money but gives it much less control over the delivery process, making Alibaba more vulnerable to fraud.
相比之下，阿里巴巴的物流子公司选择了与快递公司合作，此举虽然节省费用，但却削弱了对送货流程的控制，也让阿里巴巴更容易受欺诈之困。
In the past four quarters, JD has posted losses of $115 million, $73 million, $27 million, and $94 million. The delivery build-out isn’t directly responsible, but it could become a big drag on the bottom line in the future, even if JD has the money from its May 2014 IPO which raised $1.8 billion.
在过去四个季度中，京东分别亏损了1.15亿美元、7300万美元、2700万美元和9400万美元。虽然京东在2014年5月上市时募得18亿美元并不差钱，目前自建配送网络也并非亏损的直接因素，不过未来有可能变成严重的拖累。
The company declined to say in its latest outlook when it would make a profit, but a forecast of another quarter of revenue growth over 50% has persuaded the market to look past the short-term losses: JD’s stock has risen 53% this year and 77% since its IPO last summer—to a future in which even residents in China small cities can depend on same-day delivery for an item that already includes the delivery cost in its price.
在公司最新的展望中，京东拒绝就何时盈利发表意见，但季度营收增长再次超过50%的预测则让市场将短期的亏损抛之脑后（京东股价今年上涨了53%，较去年夏天上市时增长了77%），而是着眼于公司的未来——到那时即便是中国小城市的居民也能享受当日送达服务，运费当然已经含在价格里。
Every story about Apple selling same-day delivery for $19, Amazon offering nominally free same-day delivery (if your order is $35 or more, and if you pay $99 a year for prime), and Uber piloting a same-day program only now with retailers like Neiman Marcus, reinforces the appearance that the U.S. isn’t leading the charge on delivery—it’s catching up.
再看美国，苹果的当日送达服务要花19美元，亚马逊名义上提供免费当日送达服务（条件为订单额不低于35美元，且购买年费99美元的Prime服务），优步也在试运行当日送达服务，但目前仅覆盖内曼马库斯等零售商。种种现状只能一再证明美国在送货服务领域所扮演的角色：是追赶者，而并非是领跑者。
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