Keywords: transmission risk, contract risk, logistics insurance products
The risks faced by modern logistics enterprises in their operations are increasing day by day. On the one hand, it is required to reduce both cost and service level. On the other hand, customers constantly require logistics enterprises to provide personalized services to meet their own needs. Therefore, the risks faced by logistics enterprises have also increased.
First, the connotation of third-party logistics enterprise risk
Generally speaking, the risks of modern logistics mainly include the following ten aspects:
1. Possible risks faced by shippers
Risk of compensation caused by loss of goods-a challenge to logistics safety. Including the loss and damage of the goods. Possible links mainly include transportation, warehousing, loading and unloading and distribution. The reason may be objective or subjective.
Liability risk caused by delayed delivery-a challenge to logistics timeliness. Under the requirement of JIT principle, the delayed delivery of logistics enterprises often leads to customer claims. In practice, the basis of customer claims is mostly logistics service agreement. In other words, at this time, the third-party logistics enterprises have to bear the liability for breach of contract.
Liability risk caused by wrong shipment-a challenge to logistics accuracy. Sometimes, logistics enterprises will make mistakes in the distribution path for various reasons, which will lead to the wrong delivery of goods and bring losses to customers.
2. Possible risks of subcontractors
Transitive risk. Transitive risk refers to the risk that a third-party logistics enterprise can effectively transfer all risks to subcontractors through subcontracting agreements.
Fraud risk. Subcontractors with poor qualifications, especially some self-employed transporters who lack honesty and credit, sometimes have the risk of missing goods due to fraud after loading.
3. Possible liability risks of the public.
Environmental pollution risk. Environmental pollution in third-party logistics activities is mainly manifested in traffic congestion, vehicle exhaust, noise and so on. According to the Environmental Protection Law, polluters need to bear corresponding legal responsibilities to the unspecified public.
Traffic accident risk. Traffic accidents caused by transport drivers in the process of transporting goods belong to the act of performing their duties, and their civil liabilities should be borne by their logistics enterprises.
Risk of dangerous goods leakage. There is a risk of leakage in dangerous goods logistics, which will threaten the safety of life and property of the public at any time, and it is worthy of the vigilance of enterprises engaged in dangerous goods logistics.
4. Institutional and legal risks
In terms of standardization, China has not yet formulated a unified and complete industry standard, and lacks systematic and special legal provisions for the logistics industry. At the same time, the logistics laws and regulations that can be directly operated are at a low level, with little legal effect and uncoordinated logistics laws and regulations. Therefore, the lag and imperfection of logistics laws and regulations have emerged, which has also become one of the reasons for the chaotic development of third-party logistics in China.
5. Contract risk
Contract risk: refers to abnormal losses caused by reasons not attributable to both parties to the contract.
Risk of contractual liability with customers. It's a buyer's market now. On the one hand, many third-party logistics enterprises have accepted some very harsh contract terms of big customers under commercial pressure, on the other hand, they have assumed unlimited responsibilities to win business.
Risk of contractual liability with subcontractors. In the cooperation with subcontractors, meeting with good credit can not only reduce costs, but also minimize risks, otherwise it will be miserable.
Contractual liability risk of information system providers. Third-party logistics enterprises often encounter two problems when using information technology: first, the information system fails; Second, trade secrets have been violated. In view of the fact that many modern logistics service contracts clearly stipulate that third-party logistics enterprises should provide goods information to customers in a timely, accurate and uninterrupted manner, it is very important to clarify the legal responsibilities of both parties in the contracts with information system providers.
6. Third-party legal liability risk
The compensation caused by the third-party liability of the third-party logistics enterprises is sometimes quite amazing. If third-party enterprises use their own warehouses to store dangerous goods and explode, or use their own ships and vehicles to cause property losses, personal injuries and environmental pollution, they will bear huge compensation.
7. Investment and financing risks
Modern logistics service is an intelligent and management-oriented industry with a high degree of modernization and needs huge investment. However, the software and hardware level of China's third-party logistics enterprises is not high, and only 39% logistics enterprises have information systems with imperfect functions. Therefore, enterprises must upgrade their own software and hardware, establish supporting software upgrades for information networks, and purchase all kinds of equipment and transportation tools needed for goods storage and transportation, but these investments are all faced with great investment risks.
8. Risks of providing logistics solutions
Third-party logistics enterprises specialize in the original process, management and future development planning of some customers, and then design and formulate plans to charge higher fees. However, if it is proved by practice in the future that the scheme it provides can not meet the expected requirements, or even there are serious mistakes, then the scheme provider will bear legal responsibility for the scheme it designs, just like the architect. So there are also potential risks in this respect.
9. Risks of providing financial services
When domestic logistics providers pour their enthusiasm into warehousing, distribution and electronic network, international logistics giants begin to aim at another key link in the supply chain-capital flow. Logistics giants believe that fierce competition has reduced the profit margin to only about 2% on average for truck transportation, freight forwarding and general logistics services, and there is no possibility of further improvement. There is still a lot of room for financial services at the end of the supply chain, so several large third-party logistics providers, including UPS, have added a financial service to their logistics services as an important measure to win customers.
10. Risk of expanding the scope of liability
Traditional logistics business is mostly simple and single operation, and there are few connection problems; Modern logistics service is a one-stop all-round service, which needs supporting operation and emphasizes scientific and reasonable connection. This invisibly increases the scope of responsibility of third-party logistics enterprises.
Second, the third party logistics risk prevention countermeasures
In the face of rampant risks and claims troubles, how can third-party logistics enterprises "no longer rely more on God's arrangement"? Is the attitude towards risk preference or aversion? Do you want to keep it or pass it on? The practice of all countries in the world tells us that insurance is an effective risk prevention mechanism. On the one hand, insurance embodies the advantages of scattered social resources and centralized management, on the other hand, it embodies the value of modern social mutual aid spirit. Therefore, since the birth of modern logistics, insurance has been favored by third-party logistics enterprises.
Because of the high probability of loss, insurance companies may be unprofitable. In fact, most insurance companies are reluctant to provide such insurance. Because the losses caused are very small, it is possible for logistics companies to bear their own risks. In addition, even if some insurance companies are willing to provide such insurance, the rate must be very expensive. Therefore, it is often not cost-effective to buy insurance, and logistics companies can only rely on their own custody to cope with risks.
Although the single loss caused by this kind of risk is not large, the cumulative loss caused by the high probability is enough for the logistics company to bear, so the logistics company is in a dilemma. Many logistics companies complain that insurance companies charge too high insurance rates when providing such insurance, while insurance companies complain that logistics companies are poor in management, risky and unprofitable. The reason for this complaint lies in the unclear positioning of the insurance function. From the perspective of risk planning, insurance is only a stopgap measure.
Three, the development of logistics insurance problems to be solved
Because modern logistics is a new thing, at present, insurance companies have not been able to provide enough insurance products for third-party logistics enterprises to choose from. People in the logistics industry must clearly see that in practice, there are still many unsuitable places for insurance companies to participate in logistics risk management, which requires the joint efforts of both the logistics industry and the insurance industry. Vigorously developing logistics insurance also requires relevant departments to solve the following problems:
Constantly innovate insurance products. There are cargo transportation insurance and storage insurance in the traditional insurance product system, but relatively independent insurance products separate all links of modern logistics and run counter to the concept of functional integration of modern logistics.
Strive to develop the liability insurance market. Logistics liability insurance is a kind of liability insurance, and its promotion can not be separated from the development of liability insurance market. Due to the lack of a relatively perfect and mature legal environment in China and the low underwriting profit of liability insurance in China at present, the national liability insurance business has shown obvious signs of shrinking in recent years.
Enhance mutual trust. Undeniably, the lack of trust between logistics industry and insurance industry also restricts the development of logistics insurance to some extent. For example, insurance companies are worried that logistics companies will not declare according to the actual business volume when they are unified, resulting in insufficient premium collection; Once out of danger, the logistics company fills in the form afterwards to defraud the insurance money. Therefore, it is of great significance for logistics companies and insurance companies to continuously strengthen dialogue and strive to establish cooperative partnership to promote the development of logistics insurance market.
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