1. The "Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development" points out the direction for the modernization of the warehousing industry
In October 2025, the "Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development," which was deliberated and adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, proposed a series of important deployments such as "adhering to the direction of intelligence, greenification, and integration," "resolutely removing bottlenecks and obstacles that hinder the construction of a unified national market," "reducing logistics costs across society," "promoting market diversification and the integration of domestic and foreign trade," and "developing county-level economies with distinctive characteristics and promoting the deep integration of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas." These deployments have pointed out the direction for the modernization of the warehousing industry: based on the overall needs of the construction of a unified national market, with the aim of reducing logistics costs across society, comprehensively promoting the digital and green transformation of warehouse construction and warehouse distribution operations, standard carrier recycling and sharing systems, urban-rural joint distribution systems, and international logistics system construction, and facilitating the deep integration of warehousing into industrial and agricultural production as well as foreign economic and trade supply chains.
2. The pilot project for the open interconnection of logistics data has been fully launched, providing new ideas for the warehousing industry to address structural supply contradictions and the challenge of "involution"
In February 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission, along with seven other departments, jointly issued the "Notice on Carrying out the Pilot Work for Logistics Data Opening and Interconnection", taking the lead in establishing a pilot program for opening and interconnection mechanisms of logistics data resources in 16 cities. In November of the same year, the National Development and Reform Commission, along with ten other departments, released the "Implementation Plan for Promoting the Opening and Interconnection of Logistics Data to Effectively Reduce the Logistics Costs of the Whole Society", creating an interconnection mechanism to address the long-standing issue of "information silos" in the logistics sector. As the "core node" of the supply chain, warehousing's data, such as goods flow direction, inventory turnover, and warehouse utilization, as well as its interconnection with various transportation data, represent a fundamental trend towards supply chain innovation and reducing the logistics costs of the entire society.
3. Shanghai took the lead in introducing the first local special policy on warehousing nationwide, becoming a model for promoting cost reduction and efficiency improvement in logistics driven by warehousing
In January 2025, nine departments including the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission and the Transportation Commission jointly issued the "Action Plan for Optimizing and Improving the City's Logistics Warehousing Facilities and Services (2025-2027)" and the "Supporting Policies for Optimizing and Improving the City's Logistics Warehousing Facilities and Services". This series of documents is the first local policy in China that focuses on warehousing as the core point and aims to systematically reduce social logistics costs. It covers the layout optimization, quality improvement, and service innovation of production, commerce, ports, and international and domestic logistics warehousing. This policy shifts from focusing on logistics to precisely targeting the key node of warehousing, providing a pioneering model for other regions across the country to drive the upgrading of the logistics system through warehousing.
4. The "AI+" strategy is being implemented in logistics, with large models driving the industry towards a new stage of intelligent decision-making
In August 2025, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Implementing the 'AI+' Action Plan", promoting the extensive and deep integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with various industries and fields of the economy and society. Driven by policies, AI and the logistics industry have entered a period of deep integration. Companies such as SF Technology's "Baichuan" digital and intelligent supply chain platform, JD Logistics' "Super Brain Large Model 2.0", and China Logistics Group's launch of the "Liuyun" large model have made optimal decisions in complex scenarios such as warehouse layout, route planning, demand forecasting, and risk control by building a "smart brain". They have moved from the past stage of "process digitization" to the development stage of "decision intelligence".
5. Low-altitude logistics has entered a critical nurturing period from exploration to commercial operation
In 2025, driven by both policy and capital, low-altitude logistics entered a critical incubation period for commercial operation. The national and local governments have explicitly listed the low-altitude economy as a strategic emerging industry, and leading enterprises are accelerating the transformation of their technological reserves into scenario-based commercial practices. For example, Meituan's drone delivery has completed over 250,000 orders, SF Airlines' drones have been regularly tested and applied in special scenarios such as mountainous areas and islands, and JD Logistics has promoted pilot projects in rural distribution and emergency logistics scenarios. Although low-altitude logistics is still in the early stage of "scenario-driven, pilot first", it has shown the development characteristics of "high attention, strong investment, and steady progress", transitioning from a cutting-edge concept to a commercial incubation period centered on scenario implementation.
6. Unmanned vehicle distribution has entered a stage of large-scale and standardized development
In 2025, the delivery by unmanned vehicles crossed the critical threshold from technology verification to large-scale commercial application, transitioning from early single-scenario pilots to normalized and commercial operations across a wide geographical range and complex urban scenarios, entering a new stage of large-scale development. According to incomplete statistics, as of 2025, over 100 cities nationwide had granted road rights to unmanned delivery vehicles, covering major logistics hub cities; the national fleet of unmanned delivery vehicles had increased by over 50% compared to 2024, with over 100 million orders delivered.
7. China's first technical standard for smart warehouses has been officially released, marking a crucial step towards achieving industry consensus
In December 2025, the group standard "General Technical Requirements for Smart Warehouses" (T/WD 123-2025), proposed and managed by the China Warehousing and Distribution Association, was officially released. As the first technical standard specifically targeting "smart warehouses", it clarifies the basic conditions, principles, and general technical architecture for the construction of smart warehouses. It covers general technical requirements for key aspects such as system platforms, communication networks, sensing technologies, and automatic equipment, and stipulates provisions for safeguarding, maintenance, evaluation, and improvement. This standard systematically establishes a comprehensive technical system for smart warehouses for the first time, providing a commonly followed construction framework and technical reference for the industry. After implementation, it will foster a unified understanding of smart warehouses within the industry, promote the development of smart warehouses towards standardization and modularization, and provide important support for accelerating the process of warehouse intelligence.
8. Various industry stakeholders jointly issued the "Declaration on Green Warehousing and Distribution Action" to jointly promote the green transformation of warehousing and distribution
In June 2025, the China Warehousing and Distribution Association, in collaboration with over 60 industry organizations, institutions, and enterprises nationwide, jointly released the "Declaration on Green Warehousing and Distribution Action." This declaration brings together various forces from associations, enterprises, and scientific research, aiming to forge industry consensus and synergy. Through policy advocacy, joint standard setting, technology promotion, and other means, it systematically promotes green practices throughout the entire warehousing and distribution process. This declaration marks an important milestone in the continuous advancement of green warehousing and distribution, following the tenth anniversary of the release of the "China Green Warehousing and Distribution Action Plan." It reflects that the industry's green transformation has progressed from mere concept advocacy to collaborative action.
9. China's first "Warehouse Rack Manufacturing Industry Development Report" has been officially released, filling the gap in data and systematic analysis in the field of racks
In June 2025, at the 20th China Warehousing and Distribution Industry Conference and the 12th Green Warehousing and Distribution Conference, China's first special report on storage racks, "2025 Warehousing Rack Manufacturing Industry Development Report," was officially released. Through detailed data and structured analysis, the "Report" addresses issues such as the lack of authoritative statistics and systematic analysis of storage racks, reliance on spontaneous exploration by enterprises for market development, information opacity, and lack of basis for procurement decisions, providing a basis for the industry to judge market trends and assess competitive landscape.
10. 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of China Warehousing and Distribution Association
The association was declared by the former Ministry of Commerce in 1992, registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs in 1994, held its inaugural meeting by the former Ministry of Internal Trade in 1995, renamed from China Commercial Warehousing Association to China Warehousing Association in 1997, and renamed again to China Warehousing and Distribution Association in 2016. In 2019, it took over the work of the secretariat of the International Federation of Warehousing and Logistics (IFWL). Over the past three decades, the association has started from undertaking some government functions and gradually developed into an industry organization providing professional, vocational, and market-oriented services to the entire industry. With the aim of "promoting the modernization of warehousing and facilitating the development of modern logistics", it has organized a series of basic, policy-related, and industry-specific service work to promote the transformation and upgrading of the warehousing industry, facilitate the development of traditional storage and transportation towards modern logistics, and assist in the standardization and high-quality development of trade and logistics.