Compared to other sectors, Chinese e-commerce firms are among the first batches of firms to embrace automation. China accounts for nearly half of global demand for AGVs, enabling one warehouse to process up to 100,000 orders a day with a staff of 20 human workers, work that previously would have required 300-600 people, according to Beijing-based startup Geek+, a leading domestic robot maker in logistics industry. Other tech giants, like Alibaba and JD.com, have also announced plans to invest billions of dollars to roll out next-generation technologies including totally unmanned warehouses and last-mile delivery robots and drones.
In the Express Lane: Interview with President of FedEx China Eddy Chan
Economic changes taking place in China are rippling across the world, causing rapid upheaval in global supply chains. Manufacturers are moving to lower-wage economies, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is creating a new web of trade flows and the rise of cross-border e-commerce is accelerating demand for goods from across the world. And then, of course, there is a possible global trade war to factor into the equation. Dealing with all this uncertainty requires ice-cool pragmatism, as FedEx’s China head, Eddy Chan, has learned.
Special Delivery: A Glance at China’s Logistics Industry
China’s logistics industry is on the fast track to a bright future. The country’s delivery firms are already posting impressive growth figures, and rapidly rising consumer spending is set to send demand soaring further. Read our infographic to learn more.
SF Express Vies for Greater Market Share
China’s business world is littered with rags-to-riches entrepreneurs—Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, was an English teacher before starting Alibaba. Not all such magnates are equal, however, and joining Ma in the upper echelons of China’s rich list was Wang Wei, chairman of delivery and logistics company SF Express, who initially started out by lugging packages between Hong Kong and mainland China, operating in a legal gray zone as he did so. But now SF Express has grown to become the most successful logistics company in China. Listed in Shenzhen Stock Exchange in early 2017, the company has many competitive advantages over its counterparts.
Chinese E-commerce Companies Head to the Countryside
Chinese e-commerce companies like Alibaba and JD.com are finding a lucrative opportunity in rural areas. But what kind of strategies will work there?
China Data: A Milestone for RMB Internationalization
Essential numbers on China: from the RMB internationalization to the contraction in the luxury market, growth in e-commerce transaction value, and more
China Round-up: More Chinese IPOs in the US; Alibaba Buys UCWeb; and Inflation Woes
The week that was: Alibaba continued to make waves with its UCWeb buy and China Post tie-up; Baidu tied up with Vanke; and expect more Chinese IPOs in the US. Alibaba Remains Active Before IPO China’s dominant e-commerce giant Alibaba continues to make headlines this week, as the company buys out UCWeb for an undisclosed […]
China Roundup: Rules on Foreign Investment in China’s Healthcare Sector Eased and Alibaba’s SingPost stake
The week that was: Government eases regulation on foreign investment in China’s healthcare sector; Alibaba picks up a 10.35% stake in Singapore Post; and the government’s pricing and corruption crackdown squeezes profits of pharmaceutical companies in China. Mending China’s Healthcare System China’s healthcare system is in urgent need of an overhaul (for a detailed […]
Ferrari in China: Turbo Brand
In the face of luxury push-back from China’s government and hyper competition for luxury car consumers, how is Ferrari tuning its China message? 2013 was not luxury’s finest year in China. The government shamed any and all ostentatious displays of wealth and decadence, and Chinese consumers are now backing off the luxury buying frenzy that […]
Global E-Commerce: China’s Jingdong Steps Out
Jingdong, China’s second-largest business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce site, recently went global. It debuted its English-language global site in October 2012. The company ships to 35 countries across the world, including places in Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas. Shi Tao, Vice President (Retail), Jingdong, hopes that in 2-3 years, the company will clock yearly revenues […]
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