Chinese retailer JD.com started doing drone deliveries in four cities
Chinese online retailer JD.com, the second largest in the Asian country after Alibaba, started using drones for product delivery in four important cities, according to DigiTimes.
The cities that will benefit from this service include Xian, Chengdu and Suqian, according to the company.
JD.com also stated that its smart logistics centre in Suqian, the province of Jiangsu, is the first in the world to be equipped with commercial drones.
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The centre is completely automated and has its own drone fleet to do the deliveries, as well as robots that would charge them with products destined for consumers. After flying, the drones return to the base on their own.
JD.com further announced that it reached a cooperation agreement with the aerospace authority in Xian in order to jointly develop commercial drones.
The company had previously announced it will build 150 operation sites for aerial deliveries in the Sichuan province.
JD has started doing drone deliveries due to increased demand in the rural areas. Furthermore, the giant has already developed drones that have the capacity of transporting 50 kilograms of load and it is currently working on drones that can carry 500 kilograms.
Alibaba dominates e-commerce in China, with a market share of around 44%, while JD.com has around 20%.
JD.com registered last year total revenue of $39 billion and a loss of $576 billions. The giant has a capitalization of $45,7 billions and 120,000 employees. JD has American retailer WalMart and Tencent Holdings, known as the ”Facebook of China”, as its shareholders.
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