China’s largest retailer JD.com is launching an initiative to promote the development of next-generation smart supply chain technologies.

The company’s Global Supply Chain Innovation Centre (GSIC) has been established as an international hub for smart supply chain research and innovation. The centre will bring together industry experts, companies, universities and other institutions to work on research projects focused on new technologies and processes.

The centre will harness capabilities such as data mining, natural language processing, image recognition and machine learning to better understand, anticipate and plan for changes in demand in real-time.

Yu Yongli, head of smart supply chain innovation at JD.com, said: “JD.com has built up an incredible wealth of expertise and experience in supply chain management, including cutting-edge technologies like AI, big data, blockchain and Internet of Things.

“By sharing our resources with leading experts from academia and business, and supporting R&D of emerging technologies, we will empower the GSIC to develop the next generation of smart supply chain infrastructure.”

The GSIC will operate across six key international regions – China, Silicon Valley and Chicago in the US, Germany, the Netherlands, and Australia.

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