JD.com and Rakuten in unmanned delivery solutions tie up

Chinese and Japanese e-commerce heavyweights JD.com and Rakuten have announced a partnership that will see the former’s drones and robots being used by the latter’s unmanned delivery service in Japan.

Rakuten launched its Rakuten Drone offering in 2016 and has been working with corporate partners and local governments. In 2018, its first delivery trial was conducted using a combination of drones and autonomous delivery robots.

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Koji Ando, Group Managing Executive Officer at Rakuten, comments: “We hope to accelerate innovation in the Japanese logistics sector and contribute to building a society that can offer greater convenience to all citizens.”

“We have been using drones and autonomous delivery robots for real deliveries in China for over two years. This is one way we are innovating to make logistics more accessible, reliable and cost-effective,” says Jun Xiao, President at JD-X, JD’s logistics innovation lab. “ In Japan there are many opportunities for drones to make deliveries in mountainous areas, remote islands and in emergency situations.”