Online retailers give intelligent logistics a boost

A man sits on a mobile robot at an expo holds in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, Sept 8, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

Major Chinese online retailers are beefing up efforts to build intelligent logistics systems, by deploying robots in warehouses to enhance work efficiency, in preparation for the upcoming Singles Day shopping spree.

Cainiao Network Technology Co Ltd, the smart logistics network of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, announced on Tuesday it had launched a flagship intelligent warehouse in Huiyang, Guangdong province, containing a fleet of more than a hundred mobile robots.

The robots are responsible for moving goods in the warehouse. They are activated once a shopper places an order on Alibaba's B2C shopping site Tmall, and the robot sends the shelf containing the parcel to a warehouse clerk, who will sort through the parcels and later ship the designated order to the customer.

Cainiao said it would launch such warehouses in Shanghai, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Hubei before Nov 11.