E-commerce company JD opens unmanned sorting center

Visitors watch a screen showing smart sorting technologies at a JD.com booth at an expo during World Intelligence Congress in Tianjin, June 30, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

JD.com Inc, China's second-largest e-commerce player, said it has launched the first unmanned sorting center in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, as part of its strategy to build intelligent logistics system.

The whole process of the sorting, from parcel selection to loading the truck, could realize automatization in the Kunshan center, which is also the first of its kind around the world, JD said in a statement.

Compared with traditional automatic sorting centers, the Kunshan center is more "smart". The coverage rate of automated equipment has reached 100 percent and about 9,000 parcels could be sorted every hour.

The parceling efficiency can be enhanced by about four times. It is also using unmanned automated guided vehicles for loading and unloading operations.

JD is increasingly betting on its intelligent logistics operations to differentiate itself from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

Last year, it successfully used drones to deliver online purchases to rural shoppers in Jiangsu province, kicking off the e-commerce giant's use of unmanned aircraft for last-mile distribution.

In November, it finished its first drone delivery in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. On June 18 it began using drones to regularly deliver packages in Xi'an. It also says it will build 150 operation sites for a drone delivery in Sichuan province.

Moreover, robots and driverless cars for deliveries have been applied during the June 18 shopping festival.