Meituan from China Introduces New Logistics Drone

The new logistics drone developed by Meituan has delivered 2,500 orders during last June.

Hong Kong, TechnoBusiness HK ● Meituan (HKG: 3690), a leading e-commerce company in China, on Thursday (8/7) introduced a new self-developed logistics drone.

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At the 2021 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Meituan demonstrated how the new logistics drone can work with drivers to deliver orders.

Next, Meituan will explore the opportunity to build a logistics drone demonstration center in Jinshan District, southwest of Shanghai.

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Puzhong Wang, Senior Vice President and Head of On-Demand Delivery Business at Meituan, said that urban logistics networks will present important opportunities over the next 10-20 years.

The new logistics drone network allows Meituan to adapt to different delivery scenarios in residential communities, shopping centers, office buildings, and so on.

“We envision a collaborative and integrated network where logistics drones and delivery drivers work together to seamlessly deliver orders,” said Yinian Mao, Head of Drone Delivery Unit at Meituan.

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To note, the new logistics drone was not developed for a moment. Meituan has started exploring the use of logistical drones since 2017.

Earlier this year, Meituan’s efforts reached a milestone when its logistics drone-delivered food to customers in Shenzhen for the first time.

Crews will take orders from merchants and take them to a logistics drone launch pad for long-distance deliveries. The logistics drone will send it to a special drone drop-off locker.

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After that, the consignee can scan the QR Code to take the order. Last June, the logistics drone was used by Meituan to deliver groceries to residents of Nanshan District who are currently in isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the same month, Meituan logistics drones have completed more than 200,000 test flights and delivered more than 2,500 orders.

Equally interesting is the logistics drone, said Wang, more than 90% of the core systems and components were developed by Meituan himself.

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As an e-commerce company that spans all of China, mainly 2,800 cities, as of March 31, 2021, Meituan has 569.3 million annual active users and 7.1 million annual active merchants.●

—Abbra Matthew, TechnoBusiness HK ● Photo: Meituan

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