Since about 2015, the concept of drones has entered the market. In the past two years, the popularity of drones has remained high, especially the idea of ??drone delivery, which has long received high attention from the industry and the media. Google, Amazon, DHL, GeoPost, JD.com, and SF Express all jumped into the pit to test the waters, and even China Post got involved.
As far as the country is concerned, not long ago, the logistics drone demonstration operation area jointly declared by SF Express and Nankang District of Ganzhou City was approved, becoming the only demonstration airspace in China that has received formal approval. The news that SF Express has obtained the first "license" for drone delivery has once again put "drone delivery" on the hot search. People can't help but want to explore. In the past few years, drone delivery How is the development of delivery in China?
JD.com: Build 185 drone airports in Sichuan, and deliver drones to cities across the country 24 hours a day
JD.com has always been a loyal fan of domestic drone delivery services. Come out from time to time to build momentum for the project. On June 8, 2016, JD.com completed its first drone delivery in Suqian City, Jiangsu Province, and officially put drones into rural logistics pilot operation.
In 2017, Jingdong Smart Logistics National Operations and Scheduling Center was officially completed and put into use in Suqian. At the same time, JD Group and Xi'an Aerospace Base signed a cooperation agreement for JD Global Logistics Headquarters, JD Unmanned System Industry Center, and JD Cloud Operation Center. Driven by these two projects, Xi'an and Suqian, Jiangsu Province, became the first cities to join the formal and regular operation of JD drones.
Judging from this, JD.com is really optimistic about the future development of drone delivery services.
According to news, JD.com’s drone delivery was already in operation during the “6·18” period that just passed.
At the 2017 TechWorld conference just held two days ago, JD.com CEO Liu Qiangdong attended the conference as a guest and announced JD.com’s future prospects for drone logistics at the conference. Liu Qiangdong said: "JD.com plans to build 185 drone airports in Sichuan for delivery, which will enable 'goods from anywhere in Sichuan Province to be delivered to any city in China within 24 hours.'" "2019 Double Ten A few days ago, JD.com will build the first unmanned warehouse without an operator.”
Rookie: Don’t think that building a drone means entering smart logistics.
Regarding drone delivery, Alibaba has actually done it earlier. In February 2015, Taobao teamed up with YTO Express and Shouquanzhai to launch a one-hour brown sugar and ginger tea express delivery service, completing the first drone delivery service.
However, compared to JD.com’s continued investment in drone logistics, Taobao’s event is more like a marketing opportunity. Cainiao Logistics, owned by Alibaba, has always been cautious about drone delivery services and has made little follow-up progress.
Compared to drone delivery, Cainiao obviously prefers logistics robots. At the 2016 Yunqisong Conference, Cainiao announced its “E.T. Logistics Laboratory”. The laboratory's main research projects include a variety of logistics robots including terminal distribution robots, complex picking robot matrices in warehouses, and unmanned distribution robots. In this regard, Cainiao’s research has been fruitful and the robot is expected to be put into use.
Regarding drones, Cainiao CEO Tong Zhiwen said at last year’s Global Smart Logistics Summit, “The current stage of logistics drones is more of a show.” “Don’t think that you have built a drone. It’s entering smart logistics.”
SF Express: Silently walking at the forefront of drone logistics
SF Express was one step ahead of JD.com and took the lead in obtaining the first domestic license. Attention. However, SF Express's success in being approved this time was not a one-day achievement, and it benefited from the structure of the entire system behind it.
Looking back on the development history of domestic drone delivery services, SF Express can definitely be regarded as a pioneer.
As early as 2012, before the concept of logistics drones entered the domestic public eye, Wang Wei, the founder of SF Express, had already proposed the idea of ??logistics drones. And this idea is not only the role of small drones in the "last mile" of express delivery that the current mainstream view is more concerned about, but also hopes to pass through the three sections of "large manned transport aircraft branch line, large drones at the end of small drones" Air transport network, weaving a network covering the whole country.
In 2013, SF Express launched pilot operations of drones. At that time, the media reported on the test flights of SF Express’s self-developed drones. In the following four years, SF Express invested heavily in scientific research in drones, navigation systems, etc., and obtained 151 patents in one day. Of course, the most surprising thing is a video that was exposed on the Internet on July 11: a video of a large drone with the SF Express logo taking off on the water. Its wings are about 10 meters long - this It is an important part of SF Express’s large drone project.
Taking a closer look at SF Express’ development history in the drone project, it seems that it was a natural thing for SF Express to be the first to obtain a license in China. I just don’t know if SF Express, which has obtained the pass, can truly realize its vision.