Apr 9, 2020|

JD.com’s Robot Delivered China’s First Box of Zespri Kiwifruit

Share:

by Yuchuan Wang and Ling Cao

On April 2nd, China’s first box of Zespri’s SunGold kiwifruit this year was delivered by JD.com’s autonomous delivery robot to its customer Mr. Hu, in Jiading district in Shanghai. Mr. Hu is one of the 150,000 customers on JD to make Zespri orders this season.

“It’s amazing to see a robot deliver to my doorstep. It’s totally contactless and fast, even under the COVID-19 circumstance,” Said Mr. Hu. “JD is always my top choice for online shopping.”

Mr. Hu and his son holding Zespri kiwifruit in front of a JD autonomous delivery robot

Mr. Hu and his son holding Zespri kiwifruit in front of a JD autonomous delivery robot

Earlier in March, JD.com announced to become the world’s first online retailer to supply Zespri kiwifruit from the brand directly to consumers. Zespri’s sales on JD are expected to exceed RMB 300 million annually. On March 23rd, JD launched a pre-order campaign for the brand’s premium SunGold kiwifruit. According to JD’s data, as of April 3rd, JD’s customers have ordered 3.75 million kiwis.

The first shipment of Zespri kiwifruit landed in Shanghai on April 1st.

The first shipment of Zespri kiwifruit landed in Shanghai on April 1st.

During COVID-19, JD quickly deployed its autonomous delivery robots to provide contact-free delivery service. As early as on February 5th, the robot delivery was carried out in Wuhan to address unmet needs. The R&D for this technology is developed remotely by JD’s team in Beijing, and the company is able to provide this technology at just the right time because of its significant experience in autonomous delivering.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com; ling.cao@jd.com)

Share: