Meiliantong: Exploration and practice of digital supply chain thinking in commodity trading

1. There are many problems such as price fluctuations in the traditional coal circulation field

Coal is an important energy resource and an important commodity. Therefore, the orderly supply of coal resources, the fairness, efficiency and convenience of market transactions, the universalization of coal resources, and the orderly and stable prices are the basic guarantees for the healthy development of the national economy, and also involve the fairness of market participation of many small and medium-sized enterprises. and a sense of benefit.

my country’s coal resources are mainly distributed in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Xinjiang and Mongolia, while coal users are spread all over the country, and most of them are small and medium-sized enterprises. The actual coal trading scenario is that most of the coal mining companies, the source of coal, are state-owned coal mines, and the transaction method is generally to pay first and then deliver the goods. Most coal end-users are small and medium-sized enterprises. Due to their limited cash purchasing ability, they generally purchase coal on credit from traders, and most of the traders are small and medium-sized traders. As a result, many coal traders have gathered in the coal supply chain.

Coal traders aim to obtain the difference in coal sales prices. Therefore, artificial barriers of time and space, monopoly control of coal resources, artificial market conditions, and large fluctuations in coal prices have become the basic means for traditional traders to make profits.

The traditional coal circulation field has gathered a large number of traders, which will inevitably lead to various phenomena such as ups and downs, ups and downs, undercurrents, and chaos in the coal trading market, which will cause great harm to the national economy and the real economy, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.

2. Coal Link: Creating a new business format and new model for commodity trading in the era of digital economy

To achieve greater unity of fairness and efficiency in the digital economy era, the traditional trading model of bulk commodities must be innovated. In this context, the vice-president units of China Small and Medium-sized Commercial Enterprises Association – Zhejiang Sanye Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Wangsheng “Coal Link”, a novel digital coal spot trading platform jointly invested and established by Businessbao Co., Ltd. and Chaoyang Zhiyuan Logistics Port Co., Ltd., came into being. It subverts tradition and creates a new format and model for commodity trading in the digital economy era.

It is reported that the “Meal Link” platform has four major functions: information services, platform transaction services, supply chain financial services, and online freight services.

(1) Information Services

Adhering to data elements is the core engine that leads to fair competition, safe and orderly supply, and price stability in the coal trading market. Use data elements to break the barriers of time and space and improve the inclusiveness of coal resources.

“Meal Chain Link” strategically cooperates with the professional data analysis organization – Business Society to provide professional data analysis services for the coal industry chain and supply chain to all member companies settled in “Meal Chain Link”, using data resources to promote research and development, production, circulation, The coordination of the entire value chain of services and consumption promotes the prosperity and development of a unified and fair coal trading market with orderly competition.

(2) Platform trading services

“Meal Chain Link” relies on industrial Internet infrastructure to create a convenient and efficient online coal spot trading market. As long as users click the mouse on the Internet platform, they can realize various coal transactions and meet various payment methods of users.

(3) Supply chain financial services

Small and medium-sized enterprises have always been a vulnerable group in the coal supply chain. To achieve fairness among all participants in the market economy under the digital economy, it is necessary to enhance the voice and choice of small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain, and supply chain finance is an important tool.

In “Meal Chain Tong”, small and medium-sized enterprises can obtain bank supply chain financial loans for purchasing coal, which are provided by “Meal Chain Tong”. This loan is entrusted by the user to “Coal Link” to connect with the coal mines in the coal source area in the form of centralized mining. It makes full use of the advantages of funds and procurement quantity to sign a long-term supply agreement, which provides small and medium-sized enterprises with the choice of coal resources and the adjustment of coal prices. Really fair and equitable treatment in price negotiation. The most important thing is that it directly reduces procurement costs and achieves the true unity of fairness and efficiency.

Example��Meiliantong signed a special service agreement with a cement production company in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province. The company’s annual coal consumption is 600,000 tons. It entrusts “Meal Chain Tong” to conduct centralized procurement, which reduces the procurement cost by 20 yuan per ton. It is expected to reduce the procurement cost by 12 million yuan throughout the year.

(4) Online freight services

Coal has a long transportation line from the coal source to the end user. The online freight platform is the basic guarantee for achieving efficiency, fairness and safety in the field of coal circulation.

3. Three major differences between Coal Link and the traditional coal trading market

“Meal Link” is a digital coal spot trading platform. The main differences from the traditional coal trading market are:

Difference 1: “Meallink” is a service platform with data resources as the core engine. Effective supply of data resources, digital empowerment and financial assistance are the core influences of the platform in attracting customers. The traditional coal trading market is a bidding trading market, and coal resources and prices are important factors in attracting customers.

Difference 2: The profit model of “Meal Chain Tong” comes from the sharing of centralized procurement. Therefore, win-win cooperation is the development foundation and basic concept of “Meal Chain Link”. Traditional traders make profits by earning the difference in coal sales prices. Therefore, time and space barriers, resource monopoly, and artificially created market conditions have become the basic means for traditional traders to make profits.

Difference three: “Coal Link” has shortened the time and space distance between coal sources and end users, making coal resources universally beneficial. Allowing users to freely choose coal resources and participate in price negotiations truly reflects the fairness of market economy participants.

4. Meallink provides an important breakthrough for the digital transformation and upgrading of small and medium-sized enterprises

By 2025, my country’s digital economy will enter a period of comprehensive expansion. “Meal Chain Link” has created a new business format and new model for the coal spot trading market based on the innovative spirit of pioneering and trialling. It is believed that with the promotion and application of “Meal Chain Tong”, more bulk commodities will spring up to imitate the “Meal Chain Tong” model. The rapid development of digital commodity trading models has provided an important breakthrough for the digital transformation and upgrading of traditional enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The digital commodity trading platform helps traditional enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises achieve digital transformation with the characteristics of low threshold, quick results, strong sense of gain and obvious benefits. Taking “Meal Link” as an example, all enterprises related to the coal industry chain and supply chain can join “Meal Link” for free, enjoy various data resources developed by the platform, and use data resources to promote research and development, production, circulation, services, and consumption. Full value chain collaboration. Help enterprises accelerate the promotion of online marketing, remote collaboration, digital commerce and other applications, and extend from point-to-point to full-service and full-process digital transformation. At the same time, due to the connection of supply chain finance, the digitization of corporate financial management has been accelerated, solving the problems of traditional enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises that “do not know how to transfer”, “cannot transfer” and “dare not transfer”. (The author is Ye Bei, vice president of China Small and Medium Commercial Enterprises Association and chairman of Zhejiang Sanye Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd.)

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