JD.com to build drone logistics network
May 29, 2017 Category Retail, Weekly
Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com plans to build a low-altitude drone logistics network in Shaanxi province to better service rural areas. The network will span a 300-kilometer radius and include hundreds of routes and drone air bases for e-commerce shipments. Heavy-load drones are expected to be able to carry loads of over a ton, and will be able to transport products to both remote areas and cities. Rural areas with poor infrastructure have long posed a challenge for Chinese e-commerce companies, as deliveries can be difficult to make. Drone deliveries would open up a larger customer base for e-commerce companies like JD.com and Alibaba, since about half of China’s population still live in rural areas, where delivery may be difficult. “JD.com will be the first in the world to test drone delivery on this scale. “We envision a network that will be able to efficiently transport goods between cities, and even between provinces, in the future,” said Wang Zhenhui, Chief Executive of JD Logistics, JD.com’s newly-established business group. JD.com already operates its own logistics network across China, with its own warehouses and delivery workers. In contrast, its largest rival Alibaba works with a network of delivery companies via its logistics arm Cainiao. Last year, JD.com started trialling drone deliveries to the countryside outside of Beijing, and in Jiangsu, Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces, the South China Morning Post reports.
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