There was once a viral post exposing SF Express: "Just now, an SF Express courier blew up at our company. 'I earn 15,000 yuan a month; would I risk my job for your 2,000 yuan gift?' The whole office fell silent." Many dismissed it as a joke, but it's true. SF Express's high wages are famous in the industry. Typical delivery staff earn 3,000-4,000 yuan a month, but at SF Express, 5,000-6,000 is common, 8,000-10,000 for experienced staff isn't high, and 15,000 isn't exceptional. Let's dig into this 15,000 yuan story. SF Express couriers are incredibly dedicated. Some have been in car accidents on the road, gotten up, checked themselves, and continued delivering. There's an online joke about SF Express: a man told his online-shopping-loving wife, "Honey, see how hard couriers work? No buying, no hurting." You might wonder how a delivery person can earn so much. I'd summarize SF Express's model simply: pay a high school graduate a master's salary to do elementary school work. Why? It all goes back to Wang Wei. Everyone knows SF Express is a private courier company, founded in the Pearl River Delta, starting by smuggling packages, business letters, and contracts between Hong Kong and Guangdong. Back then, e-commerce wasn't developed, so SF Express's full name is SF Express (顺丰速运), not SF Express (顺丰快递)—if you see the latter, it's fake. SF Express's business essentially carved into China Post's (EMS) cake, so from the start, state authorities weren't fond of private companies like SF Express. They'd conduct random inspections and impose fines, but SF Express kept growing. Today, SF Express Group reportedly has over 200,000 formal employees. SF Express's courier business has long expanded beyond the Pearl River Delta to major first- and second-tier cities nationwide. In 2013, SF Express brought in three investment institutions. Based on external valuations, this private courier leader is now valued at over 30 billion yuan. Wang Wei personally, according to Forbes China Rich List calculations, has a net worth of 25.7 billion yuan, ranking 26th. So, a courier earning 15,000 a month isn't much, right? Actually, 15,000 a month is a vague figure because SF Express couriers earn performance-based commissions with no cap. The real top earners reportedly make 40,000-50,000. Hearing this, you might want to become a courier. Wang Wei's logistics empire is built on these couriers working their tails off, delivering one package at a time. So, how does Wang Wei get these couriers to work so selflessly and maintain good service? Jin Cuodao's Money Rules has two blades, also our slogan: "Human nature, disruptiveness." Let's use these two blades to analyze Wang Wei. In SF Express's early days, many questioned or even dismissed its model—"dismissed" is putting it mildly. Over a decade ago, some even said, "Is SF Express a courier company? Isn't it just a pyramid scheme?" Why did Wang Wei face such rejection from peers? Because he did something groundbreaking at the time: converting the common franchise model to direct operation. In the courier industry, besides SF Express, the well-known ones include the Four Tong and One Da (Shentong, Yuantong, Zhongtong, Huitong, Yunda) based in East China. The owners and employees of these five companies mostly come from Tonglu, Zhejiang, and are called the Tonglu Gang. In the early courier industry, everyone used the franchise model, and SF Express was no different. What's the franchise model? When a courier company enters a new area, it finds a local company as a franchisee to run operations, but the assets belong to the local boss. The headquarters provides the unified brand, logistics, and management, then collects franchise fees. The advantage of franchising is rapid expansion when conquering new territory. Because many hands make light work? In trendy terms, it's an asset-light model since headquarters doesn't need many people, mainly handling management and strategy. Wang Wei initially did this too, but he quickly realized this wasn't the courier company he wanted. Why? Poor service. In the franchise model, couriers' direct boss is the local company owner—essentially a "strong lords, weak central" model, making management hard to standardize. Once local operations grow, they might think, "I'm supporting headquarters; why should I listen to you?" So Wang Wei launched a drastic "feudal reduction" campaign, completely transforming SF Express into a direct-operated courier company in the early 2000s. At that time in China, besides the national team EMS, this was unique. Switching to direct operation meant the company couldn't spread outlets and expand aggressively like franchise companies. Couriers' wages came from headquarters, significantly increasing operating costs. But Wang Wei put great effort into boosting courier motivation. He invented two methods: First, contracting. Like the household responsibility system, each courier has their own territory in the city. No one else can take it, but if business in your area grows slowly and shows no improvement within a certain period, you're replaced. Second, piece-rate wages. There's a saying in the courier industry: "collect one, deliver two"—for every package a courier collects, they should deliver two. What we call "delivering" mostly refers to deliveries, and that's where the real money is. At SF Express, the more you deliver, the more you earn, with no cap. In other words, every courier at SF Express is essentially working for themselves—each is an individual business within a big company. Sounds a bit like taxi drivers, right? Actually, it's different. Taxi drivers can slack off and not pick up fares, but if a courier's area gets packages and they don't move, one complaint call and they're done. Under the contract system, every courier actively seeks out customers and serves them well—the richer the territory, the more they earn. So, in early years, some attacked Wang Wei, calling it a pyramid scheme. Of course, that was just a passing trend; customers see clearly. I once heard a real joke: A customer complained about a courier. SF Express customer service asked what happened. The customer said, "I called for a delivery, said it would arrive this morning, but at 6 a.m. someone was knocking on my door, waking me up. I'm exhausted." Actually, this joke isn't funny at all. For that courier, it's like, "Please accept this package quickly; I still have the next stop." So everyone thinks SF Express's delivery speed and service are reliable—there's a reason. Let's talk about Wang Wei's Money Rules.

  1. Fast Speed In recent years, especially with e-commerce growth, the courier industry has seen fierce price wars. But SF Express did something disruptive: "Price war? You play; I won't." SF Express is just proud. If you've used SF Express, you know: Beijing to Shanghai, arriving next morning—standard next-day delivery—costs 20 yuan. That's almost double the competition. Even when rivals think about cutting prices, SF Express raises them. Why does SF Express dare to keep prices high? Because customers trust it. That's reputation. Why trust it? One word: fast. Wang Wei truly made courier service express. You might think that's obvious, but in reality, many Chinese courier companies are slow delivery. This is the advantage of the direct-operated model.
  2. Fast Layout Although Wang Wei doesn't speak publicly much, competitors watch SF Express's every move closely. Why? Because what Wang Wei does today might be what you do tomorrow. For example, in 2009, during the severe economic crisis, many small courier companies died, and SF Express experienced rare losses. But Wang Wei did something astonishing: he applied to establish an airline, spending money to buy planes. When other courier companies recovered from the crisis and tried to catch up, SF Express, with its own cargo planes, was already far ahead. Others could only watch from behind.
  3. Fast Innovation Wang Wei knows exactly who SF Express's core asset is: the individual couriers. Online, you can find a photo from an SF Express annual meeting where Wang Wei awards excellent couriers, bows 90 degrees, and says to the audience, "Who are SF Express's most beloved people? The couriers." With a boss who values you spiritually and rewards you materially, how can you not work hard? But Wang Wei now faces challenges. When he started, couriers were mainly from the 60s and 70s generations. Now, the 90s generation is entering the workforce. Older couriers are aging, but will the 90s generation want to be couriers? Will they be willing to serve customers humbly? That's a big question. However, despite rapid growth, SF Express never wants its veteran employees to fall behind. Ventures like e-commerce and Hi-Ke convenience stores are attempts to transform and find new paths. Many see Hi-Ke and think, "What is this? A mishmash." But in terms of innovation, Wang Wei and his team are ahead again. Whether personally or as a team, macro or micro, they always stay one step ahead—that's Wang Wei's most powerful Money Rule. With this speed, Wang Wei has built firewall after firewall, leaving even Ma Yun's Cainiao Network feeling helpless. -END- Featured Content Click the title below to read directly: [Line Sales Rep Practical Operation Guide (with full PPT download included)