JD.com has opened a smart logistics park in Beijing, as the Chinese e-commerce giant tries to swiftly digitize its operations and fight head-to-head with archrival Alibaba.

The facility’s features reflect JD’s plan to embrace what's known as the industrial internet of things, according to a company statement. The park runs on 5G wireless networks with rapid speeds that will allow human staff and machines to communicate instantly and fulfill orders far more efficiently than in the past, the company said in a statement.

The park also has a monitoring system that can detect, analyze, and alert staff to any emerging problems in the warehouse in real time.

Zhe Wenming, the park’s chief architect, said the “first-of-its-kind” facility will help JD provide the “best customer service in the business.”

JD’s move is seen as a challenge to Alibaba’s digitized delivery network, Cainiao, which launched in 2013. Alibaba founder Jack Ma last year drew up a 100 billion yuan ($14.1 billion) plan aimed to make Cainiao deliver packages anywhere in China within 24 hours, and reduce the nation's logistics costs to less than 5% of overall GDP.

Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com)

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