“Double-11” shopping festival to test courier firms

World
Europe

China's annual online shopping festival "Double-11" is just around the corner, and that means the country's express delivery industry is expected to face serious challenges.

Official statistics show the shopping frenzy between November 11 and 16, when major e-commerce marketplaces discount their goods, will create 1.5 billion parcels.

For China's express delivery companies, that means an annual exam.

While more and more packages get sent to buyers' homes, it will test both their logistics services and transport capacity.

To avoid overloading warehouses, some have hired more part-time dispatch workers to deal with the flow of goods.

Courier companies have also upgraded their dispatch centers with extra vehicles to tackle the delivery demand, as well as automated sorting machines to help dispatch packages more effectively.

Piled-up packages at an express delivery company's sorting center in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province /Xinhua Photo

Created in 2009, the "Double-11" event was originally launched to tempt single people to console themselves with some retail therapy, spurred on by massive discounts from retailers.

This year, the event's figures are expected to set records again.

Authorities estimate that 30 million square meters of warehouse space will be utilized, along with 90,000 transport vehicles and three million employees.