First government-approved drone deliveries in Indonesia
China's retail giant JD.com considers Indonesia’s first government-approved drone flight it performed earlier this month as "a breakthrough for drone delivery in Southeast Asia".
The successful trial, which took place on 8 January in West Java, where the drone delivered backpacks and books to students, opens the door for future commercial drone use in Indonesia and the Southeast Asia region.
JD.com and its JV partner, e-commerce company JD.ID, were early movers in taking e-commerce to Indonesia. JD.ID, which launched operations in 2016, sells 1 million SKUs and serves more than 20 million consumers across the country which is spread out across many islands. Its operations leverage a logistics network consisting of ten warehouses across seven islands, covering 483 cities and 6,500 counties. (ah)