Thirteen departments have jointly issued a document, forecasting that the smart logistics market will exceed RMB 580 billion in transaction volume this year.

Release date:

2020-09-10

Author:

Jinhua Logistics

　　On September 8, the National Development and Reform Commission, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and 10 other departments and agencies, jointly issued the “Implementation Plan for Promoting the Deep Integration and Innovative Development of the Logistics and Manufacturing Sectors” (hereinafter referred to as the “Implementation Plan”). Compared with earlier policies aimed at fostering “two-sector synergy” between logistics and manufacturing, this newly released Implementation Plan places greater emphasis on deep integration and innovative development, seeks to reduce costs and boost efficiency in the logistics sector, and supports the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry.

　　He Dengcai, Vice President of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, stated that manufacturing is the foundation of the national economy and a major source of logistics demand. In China, industrial goods account for more than 90% of the country’s total social logistics volume, and throughout the entire process—from raw material procurement and production to the point of consumption—over 90% of the time is spent in logistics activities. The degree of integration between the logistics sector and manufacturing determines the development level of both industries and the overall competitiveness of the national economy.

　　According to He Dengcai, as early as 2007, the National Development and Reform Commission, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, convened the first National Conference on the Coordinated Development of Manufacturing and the Logistics Sector. Subsequently, in 2009, the State Council unveiled the country’s first national plan for the development of the logistics industry—the “Logistics Industry Adjustment and Revitalization Plan”—which designated the “Project for Coordinated Development between Manufacturing and the Logistics Sector” as one of nine key initiatives. Over the past decade and more, the trend toward integrated and synergistic development between China’s logistics and manufacturing sectors has continued to strengthen, yielding positive results in reducing manufacturing costs and enhancing the quality of logistics services. However, the level of integration remains insufficient, its scope is too narrow, and its depth inadequate, leaving it still out of step with the overarching goals of fostering a robust domestic market, building a modernized economic system, and aligning with the new development paradigm of dual circulation.

　　As 2020 began, the sudden COVID‑19 pandemic dealt a severe blow to the logistics and manufacturing sectors. Issues such as insufficient supply-chain resilience, weak industrial‑chain coordination, and inadequate integration between logistics and manufacturing became increasingly apparent, directly undermining the stable operation of industries and the normal order of production and daily life. Thirteen years later, the National Development and Reform Commission and other relevant authorities, in line with the new development paradigm of “dual circulation,” have imbued the coordinated development of manufacturing and logistics with fresh contemporary significance, elevating it from mere coordination to deep integration.

　　He Dengcai argues that “synergistic linkage between the two industries” still refers to a collaborative, interactive relationship between two entities, whereas “deep integration” entails blending the two sectors into a unified whole—where each is embedded within the other—thus forging a community of shared interests and a community of shared destiny. This approach is a practical necessity for deepening supply-side structural reform and advancing high-quality economic development; it is an inevitable choice for further enhancing the quality and efficiency of logistics and for driving deeper cost reductions and productivity gains in the sector; and it also represents an intrinsic requirement for adapting to the trends of service‑orientation, intelligentization, and green development in manufacturing, while accelerating innovation in logistics business models.

　　In addition, the Implementation Plan emphasizes encouraging manufacturing enterprises to adapt to the needs of smart manufacturing by undertaking intelligent logistics upgrades and promoting the adoption of cutting-edge logistics technologies and equipment—such as logistics robots, smart warehousing systems, and automated sorting—to enhance the automation, digitalization, and intelligence of production‑related logistics. Analysts note that smart logistics, as an emerging technology sector poised for practical application, will benefit from the deepening integration of the logistics and manufacturing industries, ushering in new opportunities for accelerated growth.

　　According to the “2019 China Logistics Technology Industry Data Report” released by NetEconomy Society, China has become the world’s largest express delivery market, with logistics evolving toward diversification, intelligence, openness, and internationalization. In 2019, the smart logistics market was valued at approximately RMB 487.2 billion, up 19.55% from RMB 407.5 billion in 2018—though this growth rate remains relatively modest compared with previous years. Based on this conservative estimate, the smart logistics transaction volume is projected to exceed RMB 580 billion in 2020.

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