JD Logistics has successfully conducted its first overseas trial flight of its delivery drone in Saudi Arabia, completing a 15-kilometer delivery in just 15 minutes—a journey that typically takes over an hour by conventional vehicle.
The company explained that many JD Logistics courier stations in Saudi Arabia are located far from city centers and even farther from actual customer delivery addresses. In this trial, the straight-line distance between the courier station and the designated drop-off point was 15 kilometers. However, due to complex and unpredictable ground traffic conditions, ground vehicles must take a significantly longer, circuitous route, often requiring more than 60 minutes for delivery.
By deploying its logistics drone, JD Logistics reduced the transit time to just 15 minutes. Upon arrival at the designated landing site, the package was collected by a JoyExpress courier for final doorstep delivery—showcasing an efficient “human-machine collaboration” model.
Traditional ground delivery in the region faces additional challenges, including long travel distances and extreme high temperatures common in the Middle East, which place a heavy burden on couriers. JD Logistics’ drone solution addresses these issues by handling the intermediate leg of “last-mile” delivery, significantly reducing courier workload and improving overall efficiency.
Following this successful trial, JD Logistics plans to further expand its overseas drone service capabilities, with a particular focus on enhancing JoyExpress’s last-mile delivery operations through drone-assisted logistics support.
In October of this year, JD Logistics announced an ambitious five-year plan to procure 3 million robots, 1 million autonomous delivery vehicles, and 100,000 drones—deploying them across the entire logistics and supply chain ecosystem to drive automation and efficiency at scale.
