Aug 6, 2020|
German and French TV Channels Film JD’s Livestreaming Initiative in Guangxi
by Yuchuan Wang
30 kilometers from the center of Beihai city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Defang Song operates a 28-acre farm growing sweet potatoes, passion fruit and more. This year, with the help of JD, he has sold nearly five thousand kilograms of sweet potatoes online, 50% of which were through JD Live, JD’s livestreaming platform.
On August 3rd and 4th, ARD (Germany’s largest public service television broadcaster) and France24 (a state-owned international news TV channel in France) went to Beihai and filmed the story of Song selling on JD under the impact of COVID-19.
Since Beihai is a coastal city, Song had the idea to raise agricultural products with seafood like shrimp, fish and crab instead of fertilizer. The price is also double that of normal sweet potatoes. Due to the impact of COVID-19, his sweet potatoes were hard to sell as logistics companies and traditional channels were shut down.
The cooperation with JD helped him sell during pandemic. Since January, he started to supply his sweet potatoes to JD’s online Beihai Specialty Pavilion and work with professional livestreamers to promote his products. JD helps him handle delivery from Beihai to consumers’ doorsteps nationwide.
Before every livestream, Song will roast some sweet potatoes to give consumers a sense of the quality even when they are not able to taste them.
“Livestreaming quickly helps me draw consumers’ attentions and brings traffic. I sold over 5,000 kilograms last year, before working with JD. I’m very confident I can sell over 10,000 kilograms this year,” said Song. “JD is really good at selling online, something I didn’t expect. They offer me the livestreaming platform and professional livestreamers. It feels like pennies raining from heaven.”
According to iResearch, a leading research company in China, transaction volume of e-commerce livestreaming is expected to reach RMB 916 billion yuan (~US$ 132bn). But farmers like Song are not empowered with the livestream capabilities. Most of the farmers in China do not know what to say and how to sell during a livestream session which usually lasts several hours.
ARD and France24 also visited JD’s livestreaming base in Beihai which was launched in January 2020. The base has 20 livestreaming rooms where JD helps local farmers and companies connect with professional anchors to promote sales.
In addition, JD also holds regular livestreaming training sessions to help more farmers and entrepreneurs learn how to do e-commerce livestreams.
“Beihai is home to a range of agricultural and seafood products, but they were sold well only in and around the region. With the launch of Beihai Specialty Pavilion and livestreaming base, we will help those quality products sell to hundreds of millions of consumers on JD across the country.” Said Qi Huang, operations manager of Beihai Specialty Pavilion on JD.
JD Beihai Livestreaming Base
Sep 27, 2024|
Leveraging AI to Drive Innovation, Reduce Costs, and Create Jobs: Insights from JD.com’s Chief Economist
At the 2024 FORTUNE Global 500 Summit in Guangzhou on September 26th, Dr. Shen Jianguang, Chief Economist of JD.com, shared how the company utilizes AI to transform its operations across retail, logistics, and more, while driving significant workforce expansion. “By integrating advanced technologies throughout our business, JD.com has more than tripled its workforce in the past six years from 180,000 to 620,000, all while increasing salaries,” Dr. Shen explained during the panel discussion titled “‘Changes and Opportunities’—Chief Economists’ Perspectives.”
AI tools have enabled JD.com to boost efficiency and elevate the customer experience. For example, JD’s AI-driven digital human livestream hosts have helped over 5,000 brands increase off-peak hours’ sales conversion rates by 30%. Additionally, AI-powered customer service representatives offer more personalized support, and logistics couriers use AI to deliver packages faster and with greater sustainability.
JD.com’s customer service representatives
“The competition in China is so fierce, and that’s what drives innovation—you have to innovate to survive,” said Dr. Shen, underscoring the role of innovation in reducing costs and increasing productivity. This is especially crucial in China’s e-commerce landscape, where consumers are becoming more price-conscious. “Consumers are looking for the ‘extreme quality-to-price ratio,’ meaning they want high-quality products at lower prices,” he added. At the same time, Dr. Shen noted a growing trend in rural and lower-tier markets, where significant growth opportunities are emerging.
Dr. Shen also discussed China’s recent economic stimulus packages. “Policy initiatives are important. When people perceive a shift in policy, the market responds,” he said, referring to the government’s subsidies for home appliance trade-ins introduced earlier this year. This program has stimulated demand for affordable, high-quality products, as reflected in the increased sales of subsidized items.
Guangzhou, the host city for the summit, launched a new round of consumer goods trade-in subsidies on September 1st, positioning online platforms like JD.com as essential providers of seamless trade-in services. Over 800 home appliance brands have partnered with JD.com in Guangzhou, offering more than 8,500 products. Additionally, JD.com is working with its brand partners on a Customer-to-Manufacturer (C2M) model, leveraging consumer insights to drive innovation for more tailored products.
JD.com provides one-stop trade-in services for home appliances and home goods
The panel discussion featured Dr. Shen alongside Minggao Shen, Global Chief Economist at GF Securities, and Robin Xing, Chief China Economist at Morgan Stanley, with FORTUNE Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell moderating. The panelists agreed that while AI is still in its early stages, its potential is vast. With China’s stimulus policies and a functioning capital market, the private sector is well-positioned to unlock considerable industrial and social value.
JD.com ranked #47 on the 2024 Fortune Global 500, moving up five spots from the previous year. Guided by its mission to “Make Lives Better through Technology,” the company remains committed to cost management, operational efficiency, and enhancing user experiences, while continuing to invest in employee development and upskilling to foster both business growth and workforce advancement.
(vivian.yang@jd.com)
Sep 13, 2024|
JD.com Showcases Cutting-Edge Supply Chain Innovations at 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS)
JD.com unveiled its latest digital supply chain technology advancements at the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), held in Beijing from September 12 to 16. As a global partner of CIFTIS for the fifth consecutive year, JD.com demonstrated its commitment to driving digital transformation across industries. Notably, JD Cloud’s digital human powered by its ChatRhino (or Yanxi in Chinese) large language model (LLM) and JD Health’s Dermatology Service Platform were recognized with the “China Service Practice Case” and “Innovation Demonstration Case” awards, respectively.
JD Cloud’s ChatRhino AI digital human, a pioneering innovation in the field, played a key role during JD.com’s 618 Shopping Festival, becoming the first large-scale commercialized digital human in the industry. Developed entirely in-house, ChatRhino has supported over 5,000 brands, increased off-peak hours’ conversion rates by over 30%, and logged more than 400,000 hours of live streaming with a reach of over 100 million viewers and more than five million user interactions, the digital human has driven over RMB 10 billion in gross merchandise value.
In April 2023, JD Health launched China’s first online skin hospital, featuring over 6,000 registered doctors, including more than 3,500 from top-tier hospitals. Using JD Health’s Jingyi Qianxun (京医千询) LLM, the platform integrates vast medical expertise to deliver smart diagnostic support. The Dermatology Service Platform streamlines the diagnostic process at every stage of patient care, improving treatment efficiency while maintaining the highest standards of medical care.
At CIFTIS 2024, JD.com also introduced several breakthrough retail technologies, including JD.Vision, an early native application for Apple Vision Pro; Jingyan （京言）, an AI assistant for e-commerce; and Jingdiandian （京点点）, an AIGC-powered content generation platform. JD Logistics presented a virtual logistics park leveraging digital twin technology to simulate operations such as storage, packaging, sorting, and highlighted carbon-neutral logistic park practices. JD Industrials launched the “TAIPU”(太璞) digitally intelligent supply chain solution, tailored to optimize demand, procurement, fulfillment, and operations for industrial products. Additionally, JD Finance presented its suite of digital financial products and services, including consumer finance, payments, and wealth management.
JD’s exhibition also highlighted its digital and physical supply chain integration advancements across various business sectors. Key initiatives included cross-border e-commerce operations through JD Worldwide, omnichannel retail by ochama (JD.com’s Europe-based brand), country-specific online flagship stores known as JD National Pavilions, and on-demand retail and instant delivery service under JD NOW. These innovations attracted significant attention and reinforced JD.com’s leadership in advancing the digital transformation of supply chains.
(vivian.yang@jd.com)
JD.com Launches Real-Name System for Booking of Movie Tickets
