Capital calms the logistics industry
Looking back at the short period of five years from 2013 to 2017,the logistics industry has grown from"unknown"to a big enthusiasm.And the appearance of this vent,which has accidental ingredients.In the words of Peng Cheng,a grapefruit investment partner,"Logistics is an industry that happened to be"swept out"under the O2O tide."
Therefore,we can see that before 2016,when entrepreneurs told stories,they mostly compared themselves to"the drop of logistics industry."Until 2016,several major private express delivery companies went on the market,and the logistics industry really became attractive.In the two years of 2016 and 2017,the number of financing cases and the amount of financing in the logistics industry reached their peak.
This is a stage in which capital is quickly sprinting.Once a certain segment is excavated,there will be capital follow-up.
In 2018,hundreds of millions of financing cases appeared frequently,which is a major feature of the financing industry.From the perspective of the financing round,the enterprises after the A round accounted for the majority.Under the catalysis of capital,companies in all segments have emerged from the grass-roots stage,and the market structure has begun to emerge.
In the process of changing the financing situation of the industry,we can also see that 2013-2017 is an era of storytelling.There are more capitals in the layout of business models,and corporate valuations have also increased rapidly;however,the changing market environment The valuation growth does not necessarily reflect the company's value.In 2018,the industry entered the market verification stage,and the trials began.The company began to take off the shell of the startup company and return to business to do business.
Therefore,for the phenomenon of less financing in the logistics industry in the first quarter of this year,Ma Hong,the founder of chessboard capital,believes that not only logistics investment is reduced,but general investment is less;this is a normal phenomenon,a round of intensive investment After that,there must always be a relatively stable observation period.
Capital changed its formerly fanatical posture and turned into a quiet lookout.
"Let the bullets fly for a while."
Affected by changes in China's entire capital market,the total number of funds that have completed fundraising in 2018 has continued to decrease.Capital has gradually become more aware of the industry,becoming anxious and cautious.
"Capital will make some adjustments based on its own characteristics.For example,some LPs,he may be more inclined to invest in some middle and late projects,will pay more attention to the project's profit scale,cash flow and so on."and Jun Capital Logistics Supply Chain Investor Zhang Pan said.
Therefore,from the investment situation last year,capital is more inclined to invest in a large amount of positive items.
From the perspective of investment amount,these financing cases have repeatedly refreshed the financing records of the sub-sectors and even the entire logistics industry.The head enterprises have gained more and more chips,and under the cold winter,they have prepared for the"winter".
In the past when capital invaded,the capital brought a lot of money,but also brought the Internet to play,that is,spending money to buy time,"burning money"is the norm.When the company's development breaks through the grass-roots period,more and more media began to ask the founders of the company"What is the profit model?When will it turn losses into profits?"
During the business model verification period,everyone pays more attention to the company's ability to hematopoietic,which is also a place where entrepreneurs have recently been anxious.Therefore,we have seen that Jingdong Logistics has gradually opened up in an all-round way.Now it has begun to adjust its personnel structure and salary structure.On the one hand,it has lowered the low cost,on the one hand,it has improved the vitality of the organization;after the merger,it has begun to break through the platform,cut into the transaction,the market,In the field of Internet of Things,supply chain finance,etc.;in the field of freight transportation in the same city,enterprises began to expand their borders,from C to B and even to the big B;the giants in the LTL field will no longer blindly“burn money”and start Consolidate the foundation,optimize the network,polish the products,and define 2019 as the quality year...
"Capital-to-business,especially those that get money in the early stage,will be more patient and calmer.For the new financing case,my personal opinion is"let the bullets fly for a while"and the current capital environment can make the project faster."Remover,"said Zhang Qi,investment director of Dachen Venture Capital.
Next,where is the money going?
The first quarter of 2019 has passed.We have sorted out the financing cases published in the logistics industry as of now,and we can find several characteristics from these cases.
1)The amount of financing increased year-on-year.In the first quarter,there were 29 financings in the logistics industry,compared with 24 in the first quarter of 2018.
2)The financing interval becomes longer.It has been a month or so since the last round of financing,which is a relatively large time interval compared with previous years.
3)Increased financing before the A round and the A round.In the financing cases of last year,most of them were financing above the A round,and the project was relatively mature.In the first quarter of this year,the financing of the A round,especially the P re-A round,increased significantly.
4)There are more supply chain companies.In the past,investment was more than a single breakthrough,and now capital is gradually entering the sub-segment,such as fresh food,catering,auto parts,home and other fields,and the entire supply chain is laid out.
For these phenomena,Ma Hong said that it is normal."Industry investment cannot be completely stopped.There is always a small test between large markets.And one of the latitude and longitude lines of"building the chassis"is the S2b mode,which involves Supply chain companies in the fresh,catering,auto parts,home and other industries.This is actually a re-engineering of the supply chain:from the original chimney-style"chassis type"to the"chassis type"that empowers the front desk."
Therefore,from the perspective of capital,it may be possible to introduce where the next money will go.
1)Stock integration.This is a form that is widely recognized in the industry,and the industry has entered the era of stock consolidation.Zhongding Capital has a big method of investment in the logistics industry,namely,Sino-US benchmarking.In the view of Yin Dingping,a partner of Zhongding Capital,the traditional logistics field,the United States has gone through the road,China will go again,and the United States has gone 25 years.Road,China may only take 10 years to complete.
Factors such as capital,technology,and customer demand drive the speed of integration.Intensification,integration,and the entire chain are a major trend.It can be seen that big money flows to the head enterprises,and new investments are beginning to shift toward the integrators.For example,in the past,no one cares about the special line field,the capital has invested in the alliance,Dekun,and in the first quarter financing companies,there are more and more supply chain integrators.
2)Efficiency improvement.In the financing enterprises in the past two years,there are more and more logistics technology companies,and large-scale financing has been born in the fields of storage robots,automation equipment,SaaS systems,vehicle management,etc.At the beginning of the year,there has been a wave of domestic and foreign auto-driving fields.Investment climax.
For the future investment direction,Ma Hong believes that the first stage is to"build the chassis",and the second stage is to create"smart hardware"and"software algorithms".In the next 20 years,it will talk about"efficiency logic";The three stages are supply chain finance and commercial logistics,and eventually move toward"four streams in one."This is not a"business model"but a"business logic."