BOAO, Apr. 12 (Xinhua) -- Belt and Road construction is becoming scenarios of new technologies and applications such as big data, cloud and blockchain which have been advancing profound changes and resource integration in the field of international logistics, said logistics industry insiders on April 9 at the session of "The Future of Logistics", a sub-forum of Boao Forum for Asia.
The Belt and Road related logistics has developed better than existing logistics in Latin America and Africa, and has greatly enhanced the logistic connectivity among African countries, according to Hans-Paul Burkner, President and CEO of Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Belt and Road route takes up larger share in international logistics
The global logistics market was previously dominated by transpacific and transatlantic lines, share of which has now shrunk to 29 percent, while the share of emerging and regional markets, especially the Belt and Road market, surged to 59 percent currently, said Xu Lirong, Chairman of China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited.
Pursuit of convenience, efficiency and safety
"Both customers and practitioners are emphasizing demand changes, and the whole e-commerce industry is placing increasing importance on 'quickness'," said Wang Zhenhui, CEO of JD Logistics. JD was the first to launch one-day delivery logistic service in 2015.
In Kazakhstan, the country has invested 30 billion U.S. dollars in the past decade to improve infrastructure including highways and railways, and transportation to China and Europe has been reduced from 15 days to 10 days.
Crossover competition
Competition is not confined to logistics enterprises. Crossover competition has pushed logistic industry to switch from labor-intensive to "technology-intensive" and "service-innovating" mode, and to seek professional and refined services.
For example, JD and Alibaba are competing with logistic enterprises by establishing intelligent logistics through technology innovation, such as the application of cloud computing, big data, and blockchain, according to industry experts.
Resources integration
The focus of logistic concept is shifting from traditional market factors, single factor and self-factors to one-stop, opportunity-type and full-process factors, which has accelerated horizontal integration, crossborder merging and clustered development. (Contributed by He Fenglun, Chen Biqi, edited by Niu Huizhe, niuhuizhe@xinhua.org)