G7北京总部展示的卡車(chē)物(wù)联网与人工(gōng)智能(néng)技(jì )术。公(gōng)司的名(míng)字来自世界上最長(cháng)的沙漠公(gōng)路——G7（北京-乌鲁木(mù)齐）高速公(gōng)路。摄影师：Gilles Sabrie/Bloomberg

中(zhōng)國(guó)有(yǒu)众多(duō)的卡車(chē)在广袤的國(guó)土上运送货物(wù)，而在连接到 G7 車(chē)队管理(lǐ)网络之后，它们将能(néng)做到更多(duō)。

借助物(wù)联网技(jì )术，防疲劳摄像头能(néng)识别司机的不良驾驶情况，内置的高级驾驶员辅助系统可(kě)以发送「与前車(chē)距离过近」的警报，实时货载称重技(jì )术还能(néng)预防盗窃。

G7 的总部设在北京，他(tā)们的目标是把从仓库到交付的整个物(wù)流过程中(zhōng)的所有(yǒu)步骤都数字化与可(kě)视化。据 G7 创始人翟學(xué)魂介绍，新(xīn)冠疫情迫使人们待在家中(zhōng)，随之网上購(gòu)物(wù)激增。包括联邦快递、亚马逊、中(zhōng)國(guó)邮政和沃尔玛在内的许多(duō)客户对于卡車(chē)安(ān)全和货物(wù)追踪空前关注，因此也带来更多(duō)机遇。

他(tā)们的最终目的是提高物(wù)流效率。降低货运成本可(kě)以同时提高货运公(gōng)司和生产(chǎn)厂家的利润。同时，如果产(chǎn)品成本更低、按时送达并且完好程度更高，消费者也能(néng)从中(zhōng)受益。

据 Bloomberg Intelligence 分(fēn)析师 James Teo 称，中(zhōng)國(guó) 2019 年的物(wù)流总费用(yòng)约占该年 GDP 的 15%，而欧洲和美國(guó)的这一数字只有(yǒu)个位数，这一差异凸显出中(zhōng)國(guó)降低物(wù)流成本的必要性。

Teo 称：「在電(diàn)子商(shāng)務(wù)快速增長(cháng)的推动下，中(zhōng)國(guó)的物(wù)流需求迅速攀升。物(wù)流公(gōng)司要处理(lǐ)的包裹数量不断增加，亟需提高效率并降低单位成本。」

成立于 2010 年的 G7，名(míng)字取自世界上最長(cháng)的沙漠高速公(gōng)路 G7 （北京-乌鲁木(mù)齐）。G7 利用(yòng)物(wù)联网技(jì )术采集卡車(chē)司机在驾驶过程中(zhōng)使用(yòng)手机的次数、停車(chē)加油的次数，并大力推广線(xiàn)上结算方式，促进物(wù)流行业降本增效、改善安(ān)全行驶状况。

一名(míng)员工(gōng)在对路由器进行编程，之后将用(yòng)于监控卡車(chē)司机和挂車(chē)状况。摄影师：Gilles Sabrie/Bloomberg

物(wù)联网技(jì )术还支持实时更新(xīn)卡車(chē)的载重和温度，确保货物(wù)以最佳状态交付，例如需要低温保存的货物(wù)等。人工(gōng)智能(néng)技(jì )术还可(kě)以根据眨眼频率来判断司机的注意力是否集中(zhōng)，从而帮助降低事故发生率。如果司机对于蜂鸣警报没有(yǒu)反应，安(ān)全管家工(gōng)作(zuò)人员会打来電(diàn)话，敦促休息。

中(zhōng)國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)院发展研究中(zhōng)心市场经济研究所原所長(cháng)任兴洲在上月的一次会议上讲到，「中(zhōng)國(guó)流通业得到的重视是建國(guó)以来前所未有(yǒu)的，并且流通和物(wù)流的效率直接影响到整體(tǐ)经济的发展。」

据 G7 首席财務(wù)官张杰龙介绍，G7 已经吸引到包括淡马锡和腾讯在内的投资者，目前正在制定新(xīn)一轮融资计划，并且可(kě)能(néng)会考虑进行上市 IPO 。张杰龙表示，公(gōng)司上一轮融资是在 2018 年，当时估值达 12 亿美元。

屏幕显示的是 G7 車(chē)队管理(lǐ)网络所连車(chē)辆的实时数据。摄影师：Gilles Sabrie/Bloomberg

投资者，尤其是中(zhōng)國(guó)投资者，希望布局未来技(jì )术领域的需求正在上升。本月早些时候有(yǒu)知情人士表示，软银旗下的遠(yuǎn)景基金 Vision Fund 2 正在牵头对美國(guó)加利福尼亚州一家名(míng)為(wèi) Flock Freight 的初创公(gōng)司进行 1.135 亿美元的投资，这家公(gōng)司的目标是改变美國(guó)國(guó)内卡車(chē)运输货物(wù)的方式。

G7 的其他(tā)支持者包括钟鼎资本、厚朴投资、中(zhōng)國(guó)银行等。CrunchBase 的信息表明，G7 已经过六轮融资，累计募集资金 5.1 亿美元。

「下一个十年，产(chǎn)业数字化程度将不断加深，」翟學(xué)魂表示。他(tā)所在的 G7 总部，铺满整面墙的屏幕，正显示着公(gōng)司平台所连接的约 180 万台卡車(chē)的实时数据和图像。「物(wù)流車(chē)队的数字化和可(kě)视化管理(lǐ)，会是我们对行业做出的历史性贡献。」

以下為(wèi)英文(wén)报道原文(wén)：

Trucks in China Are Watching If Drivers Doze, Speed or Slack Off

Trucks in China connected to G7’s fleet-management network do more than just haul goods across the vast nation.

Using Internet of Things technology, they can employ anti-fatigue cameras to call out bad driving, built-in advanced driver-assistance systems to send warnings about insufficient space between vehicles on highways, and real-time cargo weighing to prevent stealing.

Beijing-based G7 aims to monitor all steps along a product’s logistics journey, from warehouse to delivery, remotely. Covid-19, which has seen a jump in online shopping as people stay home and avoid crowds, has presented an added opportunity, with customers including FedEx Corp., Amazon.com Inc., China Post and Walmart Inc. more focused than ever on security and tracing, according to G7 founder Zhai Xuehun.

It’s ultimately aimed at making logistics more efficient. Reducing the cost of transporting goods means higher margins for not only trucking companies but also manufacturers. Consumers benefit too through lower costs and products that arrive on time and in better shape.

Logistics costs in China accounted for around 15% of economic expansion in 2019, versus single digits in Europe and the U.S., a discrepancy that underscores the imperative for China to lower the expense, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Teo.

“Logistics demand in China is growing rapidly, driven by the fast growth of e-commerce,” Teo said. “The number of parcels that logistics companies have to handle is rising, so there’s a need to improve efficiency in order to lower unit costs.”

G7, which was founded in 2010 and takes its name from the G7 Beijing–Urumqi Expressway, the world’s longest desert highway, collects a plethora of other fleet information too, ranging from how many times drivers use their cellphones while on the road to how many times they stop to refill gas and what electronic payment methods they rely on.

Its technology can also provide real-time updates on a truck’s payload and temperature, helping to ensure goods that need to remain cold, for example, are delivered in optimum condition. Artificial intelligence is also used to help lower the rate of accidents by determining whether drivers are losing focus based on the frequency of their blinks. If the driver’s behavior fails to response to a buzz alert, service hotline staff will place a call urging them to take a rest.

“There’s never been so much emphasis put on China’s circulation industry since the country was established,” Ren Xingzhou, former head of the market-economy research unit under the Development Research Center of the State Council, said at a conference last month. “The efficiency of circulation and logistics directly impacts overall economic development.”

G7, which has already attracted backers including Temasek Holdings Pte and Tencent Holdings Ltd., is working on plans to start a new round of funding and may consider an initial public offering at some point, Chief Financial Officer Zhang Jielong said, declining to elaborate. The company’s last fundraising round was in 2018 when it raised money at $1.2 billion, Zhang said.

And demand from investors, particularly in China, to get in on the ground floor of the technologies that will power tomorrow is rising. SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund 2 is leading a $113.5 million investment round in a California-based startup called Flock Freight that seeks to change the way goods get trucked around the U.S., a person familiar said earlier this month.

Other G7 backers include Eastern Bell Venture Capital Management Co., Hopu Investment Management Co., Bank of China Ltd. and Tsinghua Holdings Venture Capital Co. The company has raised a total of $510 million over six rounds, according to Crunchbase.

“The next decade will bring an era of deepening digitalization,” Zhai said from G7’s headquarters, where a wall-sized screen displays real-time data and images of the some 1.8 million vehicles connected to the company’s platform. “The digital and visual management of logistic fleets will be our historic contribution to the industry.”

— With assistance by John Liu, and Ying Tian