As I See It
Parcel Sorting using Modified Motorised Flatbed
Trolleys in Guangzhou By Amanda Lee Siek Hsia
Photo 1 : Battery-operated flatbed trolleys moving around the Guangzhou Old CBD
China ’ s parcel sorting and delivery system is a crucial part of its e-commerce and logistics industry , which has seen tremendous growth in recent years . It involves various components and technologies that work together to efficiently sort and deliver parcels .
Guangzhou , like many other large cities in China , has a sophisticated online purchase parcel sorting and distribution system to handle the high volume of e-commerce orders .
Being a major commercial and logistics hub in China , Guangzhou has numerous courier and delivery companies operating within its online purchase parcel sorting and distribution system . Prominent logistics providers like SF Express , YTO Express , and ZTO Express , among others , are involved in handling parcels within the city .
With thousands of parcels to be collected from hundreds of collection centres and sorted according to the thousands of destinations in various parts of China and overseas within a day , it demands a complex network of movements of sorted parcels within the Guangzhou Old Central Business District ( GOCBD ) in a speedy , efficient and economic way .
Flatbed Trolleys
One common and economic way for the smaller parcel sorting centres to operate is the utilisation of locally modified battery-operated flatbed trolleys that can be manoeuvred through the streets and narrow alleys of GOCBD .
The flatbed trolley is essentially a piece of plywood installed with four castor or trolley wheels at the four corners . It commonly has a handle at one end for workers to push the trolley around . These Guangzhou street-side electric-powered motorised flatbed trolleys are installed with a battery at the base at the back and a brake handle at the front with a control for speed by the side to steer through the streets .
The movement of numerous motorised flatbed trolleys within the congested GOCBD can be a nuisance to the city ’ s land transportation system . Therefore , the Guangzhou City Government limits the use of such flatbed trolleys to off-peak traffic hours , from evening until 8 a . m . Owing to this limitation , one can observe massive movements
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