Walking away from Amazon to protect unit price (2013)

The outline of a carrier that does not chase volume

At the core of this decision was a plain either/or: chase parcel volume, or defend the price per parcel. Stepping back from volume-first thinking and cutting loose a large account that did not pay came with short-term pain in the form of a sharp fall in parcels handled. Even so, by returning to the position it had held since its founding — corporate small-lot delivery — Sagawa Express got its answer in the form of a recovery in unit price.

It should not be overlooked, though, that what turned this choice into durable earning power was the expansion of the e-commerce market itself. There was room to choose your shippers because the whole market kept growing; whether the same decision could have been made in a shrinking one is another matter. The outline of Sagawa Express as a carrier that does not chase volume is something that took shape from this 2013 decision onward.