Zebra Technologies Corporation has entered a tripartite agreement with Jingdong Group (JD.com, NASDAQ: JD) and Digital China to develop a joint laboratory to conduct research and development in the Internet of Things (IOT) and e-commerce logistics.
The establishment of the “IoT + E-commerce Logistics Lab” at JD.com’s pilot warehouse in Beijing’s Shunyi district marks another milestone in the alliance. Zebra and its channel partner, Digital China have been providing JD.com with innovative transport and logistics solutions, including barcode printers, mobile devices and barcode scanners in its warehouses and order fulfillment chain to give them real-time visibility into their operations.
“For more than a decade, JD.com has continuously invested in logistics technologies and accumulated rich experiences in technology operations and management, collaborating long-term with leading companies in the industry, such as Zebra Technologies and Digital China,” said Bing Fu, Vice President, Jingdong Group and Head of Logistics Planning and Development, Jingdong Mall. “We look forward to the potential of this lab with Zebra and Digital China and share breakthrough technologies in the logistics field to achieve win-win outcomes.”
The joint research lab is established under a shared vision of creating a practical scientific research platform to bring together the best practices, resources and talents in logistics management, data collection, mobile computing, machine vision, cloud computing and IoT. The R&D facility will enable the alliance to carry out research and development, prototype implementation, test and evaluation, and application demonstrations, leading to the development of next-generation logistics solutions.
“We began our exploration and research into the Internet of Things industry in 2004, and have accumulated outstanding capabilities to provide technologies and solutions for the industry,” said Bin Zhu, Associate President, Digital China. “With over 3,000 partners in the IoT space, we are able to provide comprehensive technologies, solutions and services for coding, tagging and identification, locationing and sensing, transmission, analytics and visibility, and cloud. The establishment of this ‘IoT + E-commerce Logistics Lab’ embodies JD.com, Zebra and Digital China’s shared strategic vision in IoT, and will contribute to the development of intelligent logistics industry.”
The output will enable JD.com to harness innovative technologies and solutions further boost its capabilities in logistics services as well as increase enterprise efficiency and productivity, which will continue to improve the retail experience for customers. The key areas of research and development for 2017 aim to help JD.com improve the productivity of its current picking and packaging operations using mobile devices; increase the visibility of the tens of thousands of trays and cage trolleys used in JD.com’s operations; and to seek potential of applications of machine vision and data analytics in the logistics industry.
The agreement was signed by Eddie Wu, general manager of Zebra Technologies, Greater China; Bing Fu, vice president of Jingdong Group and head of logistics planning and development at Jingdong Mall; Bin Zhu, associate president of Digital China, and Jun Yan, general manager of loT at Digital China.
“Zebra is committed to innovation and development, including in IoT and solutions to help organizations harness the three megatrends of IoT, cloud computing and mobility,” said Eddie Wu, General Manager, Greater China, Zebra Technologies Asia-Pacific. “This will enable enterprises to gain greater visibility into their operations and real-time actionable insights to make smarter business decisions. We aim to continue our commitment in innovating with our partners and customers to develop technologies and solutions that will help make organizations as smart and connected as the world we live in. Together with JD.com and Digital China, we look forward to the results that will make a positive impact on the logistics industry.”
