How Yanxuan Built a Scalable Third‑Party Warehouse & Delivery System

Warehousing and distribution play a pivotal role in the supply‑chain ecosystem; Yanxuan established a comprehensive third‑party service model that covers all domestic and overseas e‑commerce scenarios with global reach.

Three core capabilities are provided:

Business: Logistics and delivery for parcels of any size, covering full‑scene capabilities.

Data: A nationwide order‑pool service supporting major logistics providers.

Brand: Unified waybill service across the network.

Yanxuan Distribution Center Overview

The distribution business includes forward and reverse express parcel delivery (DMS) and bulk freight transportation (TMS). Forward delivery covers direct shipping to users, on‑site collection for returns, and repair shipments, supporting China and selected international routes such as the United States and Japan.

Core Challenges

Challenge 1 – Reducing Dependence on Service Providers

Yanxuan lacks its own warehouses and logistics, relying on partners; rapid response to new warehouse or carrier requests is needed.

Different partners have heterogeneous systems; integration is required.

Partner‑provided services face customers directly, so Yanxuan must quickly detect anomalies.

Challenge 2 – Ensuring Data Security and Reliability

Multiple partners may provide both warehousing and delivery; data security must be guaranteed.

Partner system instability can affect other services; isolation is required.

Inconsistent handling of waybill information across carriers must be unified while protecting customer data.

Challenge 3 – Enhancing Customer Delivery Experience

Detect and resolve carrier‑side exceptions automatically to maintain logistics experience.

Maintain next‑day delivery targets for fast service.

Present a consistent brand image despite using various carriers.

Distribution System Evolution

Initial Stage

The system handled express parcel delivery and bulk freight separately. Express delivery used an integrated warehouse‑dispatch model for domestic customers, while bulk freight relied on manual offline operations for inter‑warehouse transfers and vehicle booking.

Standardization & Online Stage

Freight Booking & Transport Standardization: Defined core processes and applied workflow rules.

Transport Process Management: Real‑time vehicle tracking, dispatch, sign‑in, and anomaly reporting via a fast‑logistics app.

Warehouse‑Dispatch Separation: Introduced an independent middleware to connect all carriers, reducing reliance on any single provider (addresses Challenge 1).

Information Security: Middleware supplies only necessary data to partners, preventing cross‑data exposure (addresses Challenge 2).

Abstract Components: Core processes are componentized, enabling heterogeneous carrier integration (addresses Challenge 1).

Capability Reuse: New warehouses or carriers reuse existing middleware capabilities, shortening onboarding time (addresses Challenge 1).

Resource Isolation: Separate gateways and deployments isolate carrier traffic, preventing a single failure from cascading (addresses Challenge 2).

Standard Waybill: Unified waybill design enhances brand consistency across carriers (addresses Challenge 3).

Logistics Node Standardization: Map diverse carrier nodes to standard nodes for unified tracking and performance metrics.

Data Standardization: Standard address library and carrier codes unify upstream/downstream data.

Automation Stage

Automatic Booking: System selects optimal vehicle and carrier based on user requirements and product data.

Proactive Anomaly Tracking: Detects logistics stalls, delayed deliveries, etc., creates work orders, and closes the loop via middleware.

Business Monitoring: Key metrics are visualized; alerts trigger email notifications on anomalies.

Automated Integration: Standard API and testing tools reduce partner integration effort.

Waybill Interception: Policy‑driven interception commands are issued and carrier responses synchronized.

Warehouse Service Monitoring: Health checks on all servers with automatic alerting.

These automation features reduce manual effort and enable real‑time issue resolution, directly addressing Challenge 3 and continuously improving user logistics experience.

Core Highlights

Global Reach

The center supports delivery across all domestic regions and selected overseas markets (e.g., United States, Japan), enabling rapid response during high‑demand periods such as pandemic emergencies.

Delivery Capability Reuse

Standardized and automated infrastructure allows warehouses to leverage Yanxuan’s existing logistics capabilities without direct carrier integration, reducing cost and improving control while maintaining data security.

Proactive Anomaly Monitoring

Daily, around 400 abnormal orders (e.g., forward handover differences, logistics stalls, delayed deliveries) are automatically detected and resolved, keeping defect‑per‑million‑opportunities (DPMO) low and placing Yanxuan among industry leaders.

Automatic Booking Success

The system achieves a 90% success rate for auto‑booking, saving roughly nine person‑days of operational effort per month.

Future Planning

Yanxuan’s mission is to make a better life easily reachable; the distribution center will continue to lower logistics costs, increase speed, and enhance user experience through finer‑grained operations.