How COVID‑19 Accelerated the Rise of Unmanned Logistics in China

1. Pandemic adds pressure to logistics labor shortage, automation as a solution

Since the first COVID‑19 case was reported in Wuhan in December 2019, the epidemic spread nationwide, reaching over 80,000 confirmed cases by early March. The crisis forced people to stay home, causing a surge in online and O2O orders that heavily depend on logistics.

At the same time, China faces a chronic labor shortage: the working‑age population fell below 900 million in 2018, and labor costs for delivery have risen sharply. The combined impact of the pandemic and dwindling labor supply pushes logistics firms to accelerate the shift from labor‑intensive to technology‑intensive operations.

2. Unmanned technology applications in logistics

Unmanned warehouses

Autonomous warehouses replace human workers with robots and automated systems, achieving fully contact‑less operations. Suning’s “Compass” control system coordinates AGVs, robotic arms, and automated sorting, enabling a complete order‑to‑dispatch cycle in about 20 minutes and boosting picking efficiency to 600 items per hour while cutting labor costs by over 50%.

Unmanned heavy‑duty trucks

Long‑haul trucking, which carries nearly 80 % of freight, benefits from Level‑4 autonomous trucks such as Suning’s “Xinglong‑1”. Equipped with AI, radar, high‑precision maps, and fast reaction times, these trucks can safely operate at up to 80 km/h on highways, reducing driver labor and improving fleet utilization.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones)

Drones have been deployed for medical supply delivery, disinfection, and remote communication during lockdowns. Their low cost, small size, and strong anti‑interference capabilities make them suitable for hard‑to‑reach rural areas, where they can cut delivery time and cost dramatically.

Unmanned delivery robots

Low‑speed autonomous delivery robots, such as Suning’s “Biu” robot, have been used in hospitals and residential complexes to provide contact‑less parcel delivery, reducing infection risk and easing the burden on human couriers.

Smart lockers

Unmanned smart lockers serve as key nodes for “no‑contact” delivery. Suning has installed over 3,000 lockers in major Chinese cities, supporting multiple pick‑up and drop‑off modes and aligning with national policies that promote contact‑less logistics.

3. Conclusion

In the short term, fully unmanned logistics faces challenges, but the pandemic has dramatically increased demand for contact‑less delivery and accelerated consumer acceptance of autonomous solutions. Continued advances in AI, 5G, and sensor technology are expected to drive further cost reductions, efficiency gains, and service quality improvements across the logistics value chain.