Guangzhou Yili Logistics Co., Ltd.
Guangzhou, China Site Visit
November, 2015
By
Eric Xiang

Key Personnel:
Mr. Xing Xianwei, General Manager

Guangzhou Yili Logistics Co., Ltd. (Yili Logistics) is a third-party logistics provider focused on the cold chain. Founded in 2004, the company is headquartered in Guangzhou with branch offices in Chengdu, Chongqing and Zhengzhou and has over 100 employees.

Yili Logistics focuses on cold chain transportation and distribution within the city and most of its customers are local. Yili Logistics has 30 owned reefer trucks with temperature control ranging from -18 degrees to 20 degrees Celsius. Yili Logistics also has 300 subcontracted trucks dedicated to its daily operation, which helps in balancing out space during peak season. All of the trucks are GPS equipped so the company can manage the trucks by tracking and tracing the shipments and transit time and providing real-time temperature control.

Since most of its customers are local and the destinations are mainly supermarkets or retail stores, the goods are usually stored in the customers’ own warehouses. Yili Logistics does manage one 800 square meter warehouse for transit shipments.

With its experience in Guangzhou, Yili Logistics expanded its business by setting up its first branch office in Chengdu to develop local business there. In 2011, Yili Logistics started providing logistics services to Everbright Dairy in Chongqing. Yili Logistics started cold chain, long-haul transportation from Chongqing to various destinations. With that experience, Yili Logistics expanded the long-haul transportation to Chengzhou. Currently, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing and Chengzhou are the main cities that Yili Logistics does business.

Yili Logistics is a small logistics company, but not too small for the cold chain. Yili’s customers include Circle K, FamilyMart, Trust-Mart, PARKnSHOP, and Everbright Dairy. Yili Logistics is a qualified service provider in the market. According to Mr. Xing Xianwei, Yili Logistics is the nominated Cold Chain Logistics Service Provider of Airshow China held in Zhuhai, Guangdong each year. Yili Logistics delivers the food from Guangzhou to Zhuhai during the show.

Yili Logistics has years of experience in handling in-flight meals produced by the joint-venture company between Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Lufthansa.

Yili Logistics is a professional at cold chain transportation and distribution within the city, and it has experience in retail including stores and shopping malls. If Yili Logistics can expand its business in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hangzhou, etc., it will have good potential for growth. As e-commerce business for cold chain logistics keeps growing in China, Yili Logistics has a new opportunity if it can expand its e-commerce business.

Sources: A&A Primary Research, http://www.yili56.com/