JD sees Wuhan deliveries surge threefold in March

A customer picks up her delivery from an autopilot robot in Wuhan, Hubei province. (Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily)

JD Logistics, the logistics unit of Chinese e-commerce giant JD, said its overall delivery orders in Hubei province, the region hit hardest by the novel coronavirus outbreak, surged more than three times in March compared with February, surpassing the number of the same period last year.

The company said its delivery service has returned to normal in Wuhan, as the orders that consumers in the downtown area of Wuhan placed on JD can be delivered on the same day.

The categories of products they bought from JD are transforming from rice, noodles, cooking oil, pots and pans, and home appliances, to clothing, cosmetics and travel supplies. Moreover, all of the front-line staff in Hubei are expected to come back to work in early April, while newly recruited employees will also be on duty, said JD Logistics.

Jia Shengzhi, the head of the JD Logistics' operating station in Huangpu of Wuhan, said orders have increased from over 1,000 to 2,700 each day, and 19 deliverymen have returned to work. Moreover, three new employees have been added.

In February, JD Logistics said it planned to offer more than 20,000 first-line positions, which cover warehousing, sorting, delivery and driving.