Smart logistics integrates artificial intelligence technology to enable the logistics system to mimic human intelligence, featuring capabilities of thinking, perception, learning, reasoning, judgment, and independently solving certain problems in the process of material circulation. Through the integration of e-commerce and smart logistics, and by adopting refined, dynamic, and scientific management methods, the advantages of smart logistics—such as automation, visualization, controllability, intelligence, and networking—are leveraged to drive innovations in four major logistics models: collaborative logistics, real-time logistics, unitized logistics, and program-controlled logistics. The author believes that the logistics industry must gain in-depth insights into the current macroeconomic situation and industrial structure, proactively pursue innovative development, optimize the industrial structure, and advance supply-side structural reforms to create new opportunities for the industry's development.

Existing Problems Behind Rapid Development

Currently, the demand of logistics enterprises for smart logistics mainly focuses on four major areas: "logistics big data, logistics cloud, logistics models, and logistics technologies." A report released by Alibaba Research Institute shows that the market size of smart logistics had exceeded RMB 200 billion in 2016, and it is expected to reach the scale of RMB 1 trillion by 2025. Smart logistics has become a new driving force for the transformation and upgrading of the logistics industry, alongside the widespread application of information-based, automated, and intelligent technologies in logistics. The further in-depth integration of technologies such as the "Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and cloud computing" with the logistics industry will all play a positive role in promoting the transformation and upgrading of the logistics industry.

At the same time, it should be noted that China's intelligent logistics industry is still in the initial stage of rapid development and has significant room for improvement. Prominent issues affecting the development of China's smart logistics include low efficiency in terminal logistics distribution, inadequate infrastructure and equipment, insufficient integration of logistics big data, and the incomplete formation of a smart logistics ecosystem.

Accelerating the Application of New Intelligent Technologies in the Logistics Industry

To address these problems, the author argues that China's logistics enterprises must adopt new ideas and take new actions in the new era. Particularly, as the circulation link is constrained by the traditional supply chain—characterized by "lengthiness, chaos, and inefficiency"—only by giving full play to the advantages of intelligence and applying technologies such as mobile IoT, mobile Internet, cloud computing, and big data to modules like product traceability, online scheduling, automatic distribution, and intelligent cargo allocation can enterprises achieve convenient management of logistics orders, rational loading, intelligent scheduling, and real-time tracking through the Internet, Apps, and cloud platforms, and ultimately realize the visualization, networking, standardization, and intelligence of the entire delivery process. Therefore, to make the logistics industry more "intelligent," it is necessary to accelerate the development of smart logistics, continuously pay attention to new changes in customer needs, and constantly develop personalized and experiential services.

Enhancing the Efficiency of Smart Logistics Management

Logistics management should start with scientific management, improve the "full-life-cycle" control, introduce advanced management experience and mature management systems, and integrate intelligence into enterprise operations. Specifically, logistics efficiency can be improved from the following aspects:

1. Build a big data platform to collect, track, analyze, and model data, develop intelligent enterprises, and at the same time promote the optimization of business processes by upgrading existing processes with new technologies and concepts.

2. Integrate the Beidou Navigation Positioning System to realize intelligent management of personnel, vehicles, and goods, and ultimately achieve visualized control of the entire process.

3. Strengthen warehouse management, use AR technology and AGV robots, give full play to the power of data, and improve inventory management.

4. Establish preventive management response mechanisms, improve various contingency plans, enhance crisis management capabilities, and realize truly up-to-date smart logistics management.

Leveraging the Synergistic Effect of the Industrial Chain

While developing online logistics services, greater efforts should be made to strengthen the construction of offline logistics services. Actively use big data to address the current problem of high empty load rates of urban logistics vehicles and realize the advantages of the industrial chain. Through "platform construction," integrate data and information from logistics companies, merchants, consumers, and third-party institutions to achieve digitalization and visualization of the logistics process, realize the sharing of logistics capacity, and establish service nodes through offline domestic layout, integrate local logistics capacity, and build a "capacity pool."

Creating a Platform for Intelligent Transformation

With the implementation of China's "Belt and Road" Initiative, the weak links in China's cross-border e-commerce logistics have become increasingly prominent. It is necessary to introduce policies to simplify cargo export procedures and improve the efficiency of cross-border logistics and transportation. Encourage logistics enterprises to combine "going global" and "bringing in" strategies, carry out logistics infrastructure construction, and provide tax and policy preferences to achieve the goal of "the government builds the platform, and all parties play their roles." Creating a platform for intelligent transformation should start from three aspects:

1. Increase financial investment to vigorously promote the construction of smart logistics infrastructure. Promote the development of professional service platforms, government affairs systems, and public information platforms to lay a solid foundation for smart logistics construction. Actively advance the construction of smart logistics projects, smart logistics centers, and smart logistics parks, and set a good example for demonstration.

2. Establish a special fund for the development of smart logistics to encourage enterprises to build smart logistics facilities, equipment, and information systems, promote the integration of enterprise smart logistics systems and social smart logistics systems, and provide tax or loan preferences to enterprises or institutions that actively promote the development of smart logistics.

3. Strengthen the cultivation of professional talents in smart logistics. Based on the IoT technology and logistics management majors in various colleges and universities, formulate scientific talent training programs and set up a complete curriculum system according to the skill requirements of smart logistics talents. Strengthen the exchange and cooperation between colleges and enterprises to promote the construction of smart logistics majors. At the same time, enterprises can strengthen the cultivation of smart logistics talents by formulating preferential policies to attract outstanding talents and adopting the school-enterprise joint training model.

Identifying the Direction of Smart Logistics Upgrading

In the future, accelerating the transformation and upgrading of smart logistics will become an inevitable trend, and promoting the better application of IoT technology in logistics is the goal and direction for the next stage of smart logistics development.

Logistics Automation Will Achieve Leapfrog Development

In the new retail era, the concept of "integrated online and offline inventory, and integrated service and products" will have a long-term and comprehensive impact on the development of the logistics industry. In the future, relying on shared IT platforms, every individual, every vehicle, and every idle warehouse may become a shared link in logistics. Logistics resources will be available on a pay-as-you-go basis, similar to cloud computing, and fragmented transportation capacity and warehouse resources may participate in socialized logistics. The smart logistics warehouse system takes three-dimensional warehouses and distribution and sorting centers as the main body, and realizes the rapid satisfaction of consumer needs through detection and reading systems, intelligent communication, and other technologies. With the application of new technologies such as IoT, robots, and warehouse robots, the smart logistics warehouse system has become the best solution for smart logistics. Smart logistics activities are moving from behind the scenes to the forefront and gradually becoming part of the service. According to incomplete statistics, by 2017, more than 2,600 automated three-dimensional warehouses had been built nationwide, with tobacco, pharmaceutical retail, and e-commerce as the main application fields. It is predicted that the market space for logistics automation transformation in China will reach over RMB 100 billion.

Big Data Promotes the Optimization of Logistics Supply Chain

E-commerce big data improves the efficiency of logistics distribution: all order information is sent to the enterprise's distribution warehouse, and the intelligent warehouse can retrieve the location of the nearest warehouse center storing the goods according to the buyer's address in the shortest time and implement delivery from the nearest warehouse. The express delivery department loads the goods according to the number of orders and uses unmanned aerial vehicles or vehicles for automatic transportation to the designated location, thereby saving costs and improving efficiency. In the future, after the formation of logistics circulation data through big data analysis, the traditional model where goods are shipped from brand owners' warehouses will be changed to a model where some products or goods are shipped directly from manufacturers. In this way, data moves while goods remain stationary, achieving optimal routes and improving efficiency. The smart logistics cloud warehouse system, which has emerged relying on the "Internet Plus" model, will develop vigorously. Cloud warehouses are intelligent warehousing models different from traditional warehousing methods, emerging with e-commerce. Their biggest difference lies in the integrated application of intelligent automated equipment and information-based software. Cloud warehouses developed based on intelligent manufacturing will become the backbone of e-commerce development.

Intelligent Logistics Can More Flexibly Meet Consumer Needs

Informatization, intelligence, intensification, and small-batch customization are the future development trends of logistics. Intelligent logistics focuses on customer needs, flexibly implements material allocation, and meets downstream demands. The Internet expands marketing channels: consumer demand information is fed back in a timely manner through the Internet, and this information will quickly reach the command center of production enterprises. Intelligent logistics can promote the optimization and efficient operation of resource allocation, implement order-based management, reduce enterprise inventory, and lower the operational risks of upstream enterprises.

In conclusion, in the future, smart logistics will drive the all-round upgrading of the supply chain through the power of connection upgrading, data upgrading, model upgrading, experience upgrading, intelligent upgrading, and green upgrading, which will profoundly affect social production and circulation methods. It is expected that in the next 3 to 5 years, smart logistics will effectively improve the efficiency of logistics operations and reduce operating costs. Only by building on the existing scale, leading through innovation, giving full play to the advantages of various current technologies, and establishing a standardized, professional, lean, diversified, market-oriented, and information-based smart logistics ecosystem as soon as possible can we promote the leapfrog development of China's logistics market in the future. Smart logistics will also profoundly affect social production and circulation methods, promote industrial structure adjustment and kinetic energy conversion, advance supply-side structural reforms, and provide strong support for the development of China's logistics industry.