The E-Commerce and Mobile payment industry has changed the way Chinese purchase products and services
SUMMARY
On June 18, Jingdong, or JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce company, began testing their prototype drone delivery service, an initiative to reduce transportation costs and delivery times for more remote areas. On the same day, Google announced that it would be investing $550 million to develop new retail solutions using cutting edge AI and logistics technology in partnership with JD.com. In the United States, the Department of Transportation announced plans to partner with American companies such as Intel, a semiconductor manufacturer, and Uber, a ride sharing company, to test commercial drones. Drone delivery enables e-commerce businesses to largely reduce delivery time and reach to customers in remote places. For China, it also helps to narrow the gap between rural and urban. Although it is but a small portion of most of e-commerce business, there is growing interest and potential for technology and courier companies to upgrade the way delivery logistics are conducted.
FAO GLOBAL ASSESSMENT
Varying government regulations, data management issues, network infrastructure integrity, and the ever-changing nature of the e-commerce market will continue to poise challenges for firms looking to master aerial deliveries. Due to the evolving nature of the United States’ drone legislation, firms pursuing this new tech should consider forming partnerships with government agencies, like Intel and Uber have, in order to gain advanced insight into what regulations are on the horizon.
Related Links
- Bloomberg- China Is on the Fast Track to Drone Deliveries
- SF Gate- Google to invest $550 million in China e-commerce site JD
- Asian Times- China’s Alibaba and JD.com invest billions in drones and robots to upgrade logistics backbone of e-commerce empires
- Tech Church- Google makes $550M strategic investment in Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com
About the Author
Weiting Li – International Policy Associate
Weiting Li is an international policy intern at FAO Global, where she focuses on international trade, technology, and environmental policies. Weiting is currently a second year graduate student pursuing dual master’s degrees in public policy at Georgetown University and Business Administration at University of Geneva. Prior to Georgetown, she was the assistant for government relations and working groups at European Chamber of Commerce in China. She graduated from Gettysburg College with a major in Sociology and a minor in Business.
