The Double 11 Shopping Festival has come to an end. During this year’s Double 11 campaign, the number of parcels is expected to reach approximately 1.5 billion. Coupled with returns and re-deliveries after shipments are sent out, it may take nearly a month for the logistics sector to resume normal operations. Disputes caused by delayed deliveries have also been occurring one after another, escalating into a social issue. On one side is the rapidly growing volume of express delivery business; on the other side are consumers who are increasingly "eager" to receive their parcels. This compels the express delivery industry to reflect on and address a critical challenge—how to ensure that massive quantities of parcels are delivered to every consumer faster and better. Fast and efficient delivery has thus become a necessity.
Therefore, the traditional express delivery industry is in need of a technological revolution to undergo transformation and upgrading, and smart logistics represents an inevitable trend.
In recent years, "smart logistics," marked by "Internet +" efficient logistics, has accelerated its development. The future development direction of smart logistics will first focus on reducing costs while improving quality. To this end, the technologies of smart logistics will be primarily reflected in four aspects: artificial intelligence (AI), Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, automatic identification, and data mining. In the era of Industry 4.0, the R&D and construction of smart logistics systems have become a key factor in e-commerce competition.
It is understood that the "Wutong" system—independently developed by Shentong Express with independent intellectual property rights—was fully put into use during Double 11. It provides integrated services such as operation, inquiry, settlement, and management for domestic and international businesses as well as transit centers at all network outlets. Yuantong, through its "big data" system, uses digital codes to sort parcels by region, leverages data to predict the parcel receipt volume at each express node, and monitors real-time delivery information. Yunda has launched 13 information processing platforms and over 50 sets of information systems; its end-point intelligent optimization system, dynamic vehicle intelligent monitoring system, and supply chain management system (including cloud warehouses) can effectively handle the peak express delivery season. Meanwhile, the Zhongtian system—independently developed by ZTO Express—can provide multi-dimensional data visualizations and quantitative references during Double 11, enabling real-time monitoring of parcel status at all express network outlets and transit conditions at sorting centers...
While continuously enhancing their hardware, express delivery companies are also accelerating the pace of information technology development. Various "cutting-edge technologies"—such as 4G video monitoring systems, vehicle monitoring and dispatching systems, in-transit driver APP reporting, APP vehicle check-in systems, and vehicle condition detection systems—have been put into use one after another.
Currently, many e-commerce giants, including Amazon and JD.com, have laid out plans in the smart logistics field. Alibaba’s substantial investment also has a clear intention: to seize the trillion-yuan market of future smart logistics. This also means that competition in new retail and global logistics will enter an intense phase.
"The era of relying on manual labor for parcel collection and delivery is gone forever. In the future, intelligence and technology will play an increasingly critical role in the industry’s development. Whoever fails to keep up with the development of the times and technology will quickly lose market share and be eliminated," a vice president of an express delivery company told reporters. "The trend of ‘smart logistics’ is in the ascendant, and more ‘cutting-edge technologies’ will be integrated into the express delivery industry in the future. As 2017 is drawing to a close, we still need to wait and see whether smart logistics can deliver a satisfactory year-end development report by the end of the year."
