If you have any questions or topics you are hoping we will explore, please email press@jd.com.

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

JD joins Int’l Consumer Products Expo in Hainan

JD participated in the first major event held in Hainan since the Hainan Free Trade Port was announced, the inaugural China International Consumer Products Expo from May 7-10. JD cooperated with top international brands to host an exhibition booth highlighting JD Retail Cloud, C2M products and more, as well as a range of events and initiatives. In recent months JD has opened two duty-free stores in Hainan, and plans to open a self-operated shopping mall in the region in coming years.

Technology

Speaking of JD’s restructuring in which JD Digits was merged with JD’s Cloud and Artificial businesses, Chairman of JD’s Technology Committee Bowen Zhou said recently that JD will remain absolutely committed to its focus on technology. “On both strategic and tactical levels, we will continue to invest in the R&D, productization and commercialization of technologies.” Since 2017, the company has invested more than RMB 60 billion yuan in technological research and development.

One area in which JD is forging forward is in JD Cloud’s financial Cloud platform, which took 10.3% market share in the second half of last year, according to a report released by global market intelligence firm IDC on May 12. JD Cloud has serviced 780 financial institutes, including banks, insurance, trust and securities companies.

Logistics

JD has begun operating two highly automated warehouses in Poland and Germany to serve local clients. Both warehouses started trial operations in March, and are ideally situated to cover most of Europe, providing convenient and rapid fulfillment for clients. The warehouses will utilize JD’s cutting-edge AGV (automated ground vehicle system), a transformative technology that is 2.5 times more efficient than the manual picking used in traditional warehouses.

Retail

During an online event series titled “Retail Connected,” hosted by World Retail Congress in lieu of its annual offline retail conference, JD Retail’s Head of Strategy Development Chenkai Ling spoke about JD’s ongoing focus on omni-channel, how the pandemic has permanently altered retail, how fragmentation of the retail space is a positive development, whether delivery speeds in China can be shortened even further in the future, and more.

Health

JD Health will cooperate with PKU Healthcare Tairan, a Chinese company committed to treatment in the field of urology, in order to provide systematic, convenient and private male disease diagnosis and treatment services, and cooperate with offline hospitals across the country. Approximately 361 million men in China suffer from various male-specific diseases, according to WHO.

Additionally, JD launched its first health insurance product, “Family Doctor Insurance” on May 8. The insurance will integrate health management services into traditional medical insurance, covering everything from claim settlement to disease prevention.

International Business

H.E. Amb. Irit Ben-Abba, Ambassador of the State of Israel to China, visited JD headquarters on Apr. 28, to discuss potential collaborations between JD.com and Israel in the areas of technology innovation, supply chain and logistics, cross-border trade, sustainability and more.

Have a bit more time? Check out some of these reads:

JDT’s Chief Economist’s Analysis of China Census: After the release of China’s once-in-a-decade census, Dr. Jianguang Shen, chief economist of JD Technology, wrote about the bright spots and challenges reflected in the population’s structural changes:

https://jdcorporateblog.com/jdt-chief-economist-outlines-highlights-and-challenges-on-chinas-census-2020/

Gen Z Consumption Trends on JD: Gen-Z purchased a disproportionate amount of domestic products, signaling a loyalty to local brands, according to JD’s new Gen Z consumption trends report. Read more about the group that had the highest growth rate in online shopping turnover in 2020: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jd-unveils-gen-z-consumption-trends/

JD Brings E-commerce to Tibet

JD is expanding into Tibet, where residents have struggled to both sell and receive products in the past due to an average altitude of 4,000 meters and complex terrain. By helping Tibet develop its e-commerce ties, JD hopes to improve the living condition of local people, bring more high-quality Tibetan products to customers, increase the income of local farmers and more. Read more about how JD’s expansion:  https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-depth-report-jd-com-brings-e-commerce-to-tibet/

 

 

Read past JD News Roundups below

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JD News Roundup 2021 Vol. 7

(Apr. 10-23)

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

JD Releases First ESG Report

JD.com released its first ESG report on Apr. 19. Stemming from its mission of “Powered by Technology for a More Productive and Sustainable World,” the report highlights JD’s long-term approach to ESG initiatives. A few areas worth noting include: Green supply chain, green data centers, poverty alleviation and giving.

Logistics

JD Logistics and Tencent Smart Retail launched the JD-Tencent Cloud Warehouse at the 2021 JD Logistics Cloud Warehouse Partner Conference held on Apr. 17. The new solution will provide systems, branding and marketing to merchants, MCN (multi-channel network) organizations and warehousing companies. With the rise of omni-channel retail and e-commerce livestreaming, the industry is faced with diversified customers and channels, and unpredictable fulfillment pressures. Through the JD-Tencent mini on the Tencent cloud mall, merchants can quickly open stores on WeChat.

Retail

JD.com rolled out a new trade-in service for Apple products after Apple’s Spring Loaded 2021 event on Apr. 21. The service enables JD customers to trade-in up to five old electronics products for one new Apple product. The service is an upgrade of the old trade-in service, which only allows customer to trade-in one old product toward the cost of a new product. In the future, the new trade-in service will be expanded to other mobile phone brands on JD.

JD and Juqi, a popular dinning chain in China with 21 restaurants in Beijing, announced an innovative cooperation on supply chain in Beijing on Apr. 9, making JD the first platform in China that is capable of providing a one-stop supply chain solution covering both the entire food and materials supply category, and integrated warehousing and distribution services. Through the cooperation, JD will also provide intelligent inventory management, and bring Juqi’s semi-prepared food to consumers through JD’s platform.

JD launched a home cleaning service operated fully in-house on Apr. 8, which marks another big step for the e-commerce giant in the local service market. The company’s trust-based and high-quality brand image gives it a leg up when introducing its self-managed domestic services and addressing some knotty problems in this industry.

Health

JD Health and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Beijing signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Apr. 21, with the goal of connecting the Danish and Chinese markets in the health industry. The immediate step following the signing of the MOU is the launch of a Danish Health Pavilion online, which will help better facilitate Danish brands joining JD and provide more comprehensive and convenient products and services for JD Health users.

Global pharmaceutical leader GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced plans to expand its cooperation on consumer health with JD Health on Apr. 19. Through the cooperation, GSK will create a variety of customized products for JD Health, which will also be the first platform in China to sell them, thus further enriching healthcare product categories on JD Health. In return, JD Health will leverage its own platform resources and supply chain capabilities to shorten the transaction process, and assist GSK’s consumer healthcare products’ sales online.

International Business

JD Global Sales has unveiled a consolidated shipping service in 16 markets including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and more, enabling more convenient cross-border shopping for customers. With the shipping service, products purchased from both JD’s first-party business and third-party merchants can be shipped in the same parcel. JD Global Sales has seen rapid growth of its business in the past year, with sales volume of orders placed by overseas Chinese on the platform increasing 251% YOY in 2020.

JD Worldwide celebrated its sixth anniversary on Apr. 15. Established in April 2015, JD Worldwide has become a trusted platform for Chinese customers to shop for imported products online and offline, which offers over 10 million SKUs (stock keeping units) of imported products from 20,000 brands and 100 countries, covering categories including maternal and baby, fashion, beauty, electronics, food, health supplements and more. Ahead of the anniversary, the platform announced that international supermodel Liu Wen will be its new brand ambassador. In addition, JD Worldwide will soon launch the Cuba National Pavilion store to foster more exchange between China and Cuba.

Have a bit more time? Check out some of these reads:

Xianfeng Wang and Danhua Nie are two JD.com employees who volunteered to move to Tibet to break ground for new e-commerce development in the region. They share on the transition to local life in Tibet, overcoming the high altitude, and what JD endeavors to do in the region: https://jdcorporateblog.com/when-e-commerce-reaches-plateau-pioneer-work-of-two-jders-on-the-roof-of-the-world/ 

What does China’s Q1 trade data reveal? According to Dr. Jianguang Shen, chief economist of JD Technology, the data sends a strong signal for a shift in global recovery momentum: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jdt-chief-economist-chinas-q1-trade-data-reveals-a-shift-in-global-recovery-momentum/

Dr. Xiaodong He, a vice president at JD.com, deputy managing director of JD AI Research and an IEEE Fellow with decades of experience in most game-changing fields of AI talks about how conversational AI will transform how people think about and enjoy customer service in any industry: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-depth-report-ieee-fellows-series-dr-xiaodong-he-using-ai-to-break-down-communication-barriers/ 

 

JD News Roundup Vol. 6

(Mar. 26-Apr. 9, 2021)

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

Logistics

To mark the 15^th annual Earth Hour, JD announced a commitment to the gradual transition of its logistics parks to using green power, starting with three logistics parks in Sichuan province. JD Logistics is the first Chinese logistics company to join the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) in 2019.

JD Farm, JD’s smart agriculture business, launched a digital tea farm project in Ya’an, Sichuan province on Mar. 27. The project implements IoT hardware and software in the tea farm in order to monitor water and soil quality, weather conditions, and insect infestation, as well as transportation-related information. The project will help the farm better manage its operations while enhancing supply chain transparency.

A JD Logistics courier poses for a photo with a tea grower

Retail

JD Auto Services opened its first self-operated car maintenance store on Mar. 28 in Beijing. To date through brand authorization and franchising chains, JD Auto Services’ offline network has covered 1,200 car maintenance stores in 163 cities across the country. D Auto will continue to open self-operated car maintenance stores in different cities, such as Tianjin, Shanghai, Suzhou, Xi’an and more. These stores will also act as the training hubs for JD Auto Services’ network, ensuring a consistent level of quality across the country.

Health

JD Health released its financial year 2020 annual results on Mar. 29. This is the first annual results the company has released since its listing on Hong Kong Stock Exchange ( 6618.HK) on Dec. 8, 2020. The company announced net revenue of RMB 19.38 billion, an increase of 78.8% YOY. Profit (on a non-IFRS basis) was RMB 0.75 billion.

Former vice chairman of the Chinese Medical Association’s diabetes branch Zou Dajin, joined JD Health as academic leader of its diabetes rehabilitation center on Mar. 25. Zou, who is a well-known endocrinology expert in China, started making use of big data and AI to help with recovery of diabetics after joining the chronic disease management company Hill United Health. JD Health has been adding experts from a range of medical fields at a steady clip as it builds out its internet hospital.

International Business

JD Global Sales and Visa Inc. announced an agreement to deepen cooperation in cross-border e-commerce. Under the partnership, JD Global Sales and Visa agreed to jointly launch an online merchant subsidies program, targeting consumers across Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas markets. The program aims at facilitating the overseas expansion of Chinese brands and merchants, helping them recover from COVID-19 at a faster pace.

Thomas Østrup Møller, Ambassador of Denmark to China, visited JD Beijing headquarters on Apr. 9 for a discussion on future cooperation opportunities. Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen, Denish Tech Ambassador, also joined the discussion online from Copenhagen.

Have a bit more time? Check out some of these reads:

JD.ID, JD’s joint venture in Indonesia celebrated its fifth anniversary on Mar. 28. To mark the occasion, the company’s CMO, Leo Haryono, spoke with Ashley Dudarenok, a LinkedIn influencer and founder of Alarice and ChoZan, about the company’s journey since 2016, and consumer trends in Indonesia, and what to expect from JD.ID going forward: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jd-id-cmo-five-years-on-jd-id-laser-focused-on-quality-and-service/

The rise of the Wuchang rice brand: JD has been working with Wuchang city in Heilongjiang province to build out its iconic Wuchang rice brand. Learn how JD has done it: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-depth-report-jds-role-in-building-the-wuchang-rice-brand/

Head of JDL AI: Taking the leap from academia to industry: Learn more about Dr. He Tian, who has shifted from taking the most advanced industry research and is now applying it in business. “At JD, when I write a piece of valuable code that shaves off one minute of delivery time for couriers carrying packages to customers, that one small line of code may save all of JD’s couriers 400,000 miles of distance over the course of a year and make millions in profits over time,” said Dr. He: https://jdcorporateblog.com/head-of-jdl-ai-taking-the-leap-from-academia-to-industry/

It has been one year since the lockdown that put China’s Wuhan on the map. Here’s a glimpse of Wuhan today through data: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jd-data-wuhan-one-year-on/

 

 

JD News Roundup Vol. 5

(Mar. 13-Apr. 26, 2021)

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

Health

JD Health announced the establishment of a specialized medical center for seniors on Mar. 26. The center aims to help seniors them better manage their healthcare needs from prevention to cure by providing access to premium doctors, appointment booking, prescription services and more, thanks to JD Internet Hospital and JD Health’s medicine procurement platform. The establishment of the center is yet another example of how telemedicine and online platforms can improve the healthcare system and access to medical resources as a whole.

Separately, JD Medicine Procurement, the medicine wholesale and procurement service platform under JD Health, celebrated its fourth anniversary. In line with the anniversary, the company also became the first distributor of a new anticoagulant medication, Rivaroxaban manufactured by pharmaceutical company Nanjing Chia Tai Tianqing. JD Medicine Procurement’s nationwide distribution network which includes offline drug stores and its superior logistics service, will ensure pharmacy merchants and customers get medicine more conveniently and securely. Customers can also purchase the medicine via JD Pharmacy, JD Health’s online medicine retail platform, with the prescriptions from JD’s internet hospital. To date, JD Medicine Procurement has covered more than 90% provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China, with nearly 300,000 registered procurement terminals on its platform.

JD Medicine Procurement celebrates five years

International Business

JD.ID, JD.com’s e-commerce joint venture in Indonesia celebrates its fifth anniversary on Mar. 28. Among the company’s business highlights: The number of people who registered on JD.ID in 2020 was nearly 40 times higher than in 2016 when JD.ID was getting started. Orders are up to 50 times in the same period. Daily active users are also approximately 15 times higher and daily app downloads have increased 10 times since 2016. View a snapshot of JD.ID’s five years of milestones below.

Retail

JD will help nearly 100 fresh produce markets in Shanghai go digital this month. Using JD’s omni-channel fulfillment service, local residents will be able to access fresh produce online via JD and have their orders delivered in as fast as within one hour. This is the first time that an entire produce market in a city has been put on an e-commerce platform. The program is a partnership among JD Fresh, Shanghai Municipal Government and Beijing Rally Data Software. The program brings the local culture of going to the market online, without impacting the experience or the quality, while adding more convenience to the process. Read more here.

A new “deposit and delivery service” will enable consumers to store tires bought online through the JD platform at designated JD Mini Storage locations. Once the tires are bought, they can be stored for a year. When they are ready to be used, consumers need only to select the time and delivery address for the tires, and can have them installed with just a few clicks. With the program, consumers can enjoy promotions on tires without the hassle of worrying about where to store them.

Logistics

JD saw sales of citrus during its Citrus Shopping Festival increase 172% YOY. Behind the robust sales is the company’s ability to get involved in the very early stages of the supply chain. JD has established warehouses at the production origins of citrus in order to ensure ultimate freshness when the products reach customers. Furthermore, these warehouses which combine processing and sorting functions shorten the overall supply chain, increasing overall efficiency while lowering costs.

With spring tea season around the corner, JD Logistics will provide 24-hour delivery for spring tea from Anhui province to 27 cities in Jiangsu province. Spring tea refers to the first batches of tea harvested in early spring before Qingming Festival in early April, and is believed to be of the best quality among different seasons’ tea. Preserving freshness is a vital factor that influences the price of spring tea, but since tea gardens are mostly in remote villages, the challenging transportation conditions can pose problems for ensuring timely delivery. This is where JD Logistics come in to ensure freshness.

Have a bit more time? Check out some of these reads:

Jinfeng Yi, head of Machine Learning at JD Technology is working on using cutting edge technology to construct a more intelligent, collaborative and effective supply chain. Read his story here: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-depth-report-a-young-scientist-embracing-broader-future-of-ai/

As the stresses of career and life wear on China’s younger generation, sleep has become an ever more elusive obsession, according to the new “Five Senses Sleep Consumption Report for Gen Z” released by JD Big Data Institute. View the report: https://jdcorporateblog.com/ahead-of-jds-sleep-festival-new-report-finds-gen-z-is-seeking-perfect-sleep-conditions/

 

 

JD News Roundup Vol. 4
(Mar. 1-12)

If you have any questions or topics you are hoping we will explore, please email ella@jd.com. 

Earnings

JD.com reported fourth quarter and full year 2020 earnings on Mar. 11. Among the financial highlights, the company saw accelerated user and topline growth. Accelerated user and topline growth: Annual active customers of 471.9 million, an increase of 30.3% from FY2019. Full-year net revenue of RMB745.8 billion (US$114.3 billion), an increase of 29.3% from FY2019. Net service revenues for the full year of RMB93.9 billion (US$14.4 billion) an increase of 42% from FY2019. Read the full release: https://ir.jd.com/news-releases/news-release-details/jdcom-announces-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2020-results

Below is a quick snapshot of highlights:

JD Retail will continue focusing on the enhancement of its integrated supply chain and technology capabilities, ominichannel and online market ecosystem expansion, CEO Lei Xu shared during the call to discuss the earnings results. “What JD aspires to is a middle platform ability that can be applied in more diverse use cases and channels. With this goal in mind, we have been investing unswervingly in supply chain and technologies to help merchants – both online and offline, big and small, including brands and factories – to improve their operations efficiency, to enhance their customers’ experience, and to improve their risk-resistance capacity,” said Xu. Read more: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jd-retail-ceo-supply-chain-omni-channel-and-ecosystem-are-three-key-strategies/ 

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

Retail

JD Super, JD’s online supermarket, is going to build an end-to-end, integrated supply chain for agricultural products from the initial planting stage, through transportation and sales.

JD’s third E-Space store will open in Xi’an, following the opening of the Chongqing store in 2019 and the Hefei store planned to open this year. The store’s claim to fame is the ability to experience virtually every product or service, making it not only a socializing destination but also a “third place” of sorts.

JD continues to build out its roster of brands on the platform. Recently APEDE MOD, a New York fashion brand which has gained traction in China recently, opened a flagship store on JD.

Health

JD Pharmacy, the pharmaceutical business under JD Health, has started providing O2O services for a new rare disease medication under Novartis, MAYZNT, which treats multiple sclerosis (MS). JD is the first online partner of the medicine. The news comes after JD Health launched its rare disease center at the end of February. The center provides rare disease patients all over China with access to a wide range of resources, including being able to consult medical professionals online thanks to telemedicine. This is an area JD Health will continue to develop.

Tech

JD welcomed two respected IEEE Fellows to its roster of tech talent. Dr. He Tian joins JD has vice president and the head of JD Logistics AI and Data Science, in charge of smart logistics algorithms, data products and map services. Dr. He’s team will build dedicated, intelligent algorithms and systems for supply chain and logistics scenarios. In addition, Dr. Dacheng Tao has been appointed the director of JD Explore Academy where he will lead the team to explore innovative AI applications which might drive JD’s business in the future. Dr. Tao is an internationally-recognized scholar in the field of AI and information sciences with a focus on machine learning, deep learning, computer vision and image processing. His papers have been cited nearly 60,000 times – a demonstration of how essential his research is to the field of AI. The addition of these Dr. He and Dr. Tao adds to JD’s growing list of IEEE fellows and reinforces the company’s commitment to tech innovation.

JD has launched a test run of DCEP, or the e-CNY, in Chengdu – the third city the company has participated in the rollout of the digital RMB for. Over 4.2 million customers participated in the lottery, of which there were over 203,060 lucky winners who received either RMB 178 yuan or RMB 238 yuan.

Logistics

Located in the southeast of Shenyang, Maizitun (literally means Village of Wheat) is a fast-growing logistics hub. After JD.com launched one of its “Asia No.1” logistics parks in 2010, a project aiming to build the largest scale and most advanced network of e-commerce logistics centers in Asia, more and more logistics companies have established their businesses in Maizitun. The area has become the logistics hub for the southern Shenyang area. Read more: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jds-asia-no-1-boosts-economic-development-of-rural-area/

As China’s homegrown COVID-19 vaccines require two to three doses per person, the country has seen a demand for transporting 2.8 to 4.2 billion doses on the market. The enormous demand for the vaccine is accelerating the development of global cold chain logistics, especially in China where the infrastructure has relatively lagged behind developed countries. Read about JD’s work to transport the vaccine leveraging its cold chain logistics infrastructure: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-depth-report-the-developing-cold-chain-capabilities-of-jd-logistics/

International Business

JD CENTRAL is developing its business by adhering to three core characteristics: quality, price and service (QPS). Its recently announced QPS benchmark will help merchants on the platform continue to leverage JDC resources to improve their level of service, and contribute to the rising prominence of e-commerce in China. Read more here: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jd-central-in-thailand-sticks-to-doing-the-right-things/

Have a bit more time? Check out some of these reads:

The secret ingredient behind JD supermarket SEVEN FRESH’s menu? A world-class chef who previously cooked for Queen Elizabeth herself. Read his story here: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-depth-report-seven-freshs-secret-ingredient-a-chef-with-royal-experience/

Periods should not be a financial burden. JD’s social e-commerce platform Jingxi plans to work with manufacturers to provide an economical feminine hygiene option without sacrificing quality. https://jdcorporateblog.com/periods-shouldnt-be-a-financial-burden-heres-how-one-retailer-is-helping/

When Qinran Liang joined JD Logistics 13 years ago, he was brand new to the industry. Since then, he’s grown a lot—and so has the company, which at the time was a traditional logistics player in service of JD’s retail business. “The company has transformed, step by step, day by day,” he said. Read his story here: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-depth-report-the-meaning-of-a-jder-in-the-eyes-of-a-long-serving-employee/

 

 

(ella@jd.com)

JD News Roundup Vol. 3

COVID-19: Tech to the Rescue: JD has rolled out a smart delivery vehicle in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, one of the latest epicenters of the COVID-19 outbreak. Last year, when COVID-19 first broke out in Wuhan, JD used a smart delivery vehicle to ensure safe delivery to the hospitals. The vehicle is a demonstration of JD’s level-4 autonomous driving technology on public roads without human interference.

The Busy Chinese New Year Holiday Season

Similarly, JD Health is gearing up for the upcoming Chinese New Year to ensure consumers can access doctors and buy medicine during the week-long holiday. Leveraging its supply chain advantages, JD Health has prepared sufficient pandemic prevention supplies to ensure uninterrupted medical supply during this holiday season. Meanwhile, the company will continue offering 24/7 online consultation services, which will include free consultation, providing patients with access to medical professionals via telephone and video calls at their conveniences. In addition, JD Health has upgraded its “family doctor” telemedicine service program with medical services that are tailored for easy use by elderly consumers.

JD Logistics will keep its promise to deliver during Chinese New Year for the ninth consecutive year. As such, JD as upgraded the subsidies it will provide to employees to RMB 200 million, doubling the amount previously announced in January. With an expanded delivery scope for CNY this year, customers in 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, nearly 300 cities and 1,500 counties and districts can receive orders at the fast speed they’ve become accustomed to from JD.com.

Consumers who don’t want to or are unable to prepare their own Chinese New Year dinners can get everything they need from SEVEN FRESH, JD’s omnichannel supermarket. The company is providing ready-made meals, which are cooked by SEVEN FRESH chefs and then delivered directly to customers’ doors. This is particularly relevant this year as many consumers won’t be heading to their hometowns for the holiday, and thus will be left to fend for themselves.

Other Business Updates

JD will support the second DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment) test program in Suzhou, partnering with the Suzhou Municipal Government from Feb. 5-26 to jointly launch the DECP X Suzhou’s Chinese New Year Promotion of JD Event. Local residents will be issued 150,000 DCEP red envelops with RMB 200 yuan each. Lottery winners can purchase selected products on the JD app, Jingxi app and the JD Finance app. This is the second time for Suzhou to test the DCEP program on a large scale. Last Double 12 Grand Promotion, the Suzhou government issued RMB 20 million in DCEP red envelopes, becoming the first city to test using DCEP for online consumption scenarios.

A new JD Mini Storage solution will allow skiers to store and ship bulky and heavy skiing and snowboarding equipment. Through a partnership with the Jiangshan Lihong (江山力宏) group, the service will initially be available to seven ski resorts across China. In the future, JD will look to other ways to enhance the skiing experience. For example, the development of a special bracelet can provide warnings related to the conditions on different ski slopes. JD Mini Storage offers a hassle free solution for consumers to store their items in JD’s warehouses, short or long-term.

International Business

PG Mall, a leading Malaysian online retailer, joined JD worldwide on Jan. 27. Over 10,000 sellers and over one million products, such as bird’s nest and durian, will be launched on JD Worldwide in the next few years. According to meta-search website iPrice, PG Mall is the third most visited online marketplace among foreign-owned online marketplaces in Malaysia. The partnership follows JD’s efforts last November to directly source products from popular platforms including Rakuten, Kintetsu, AUTOBACS, SOLETRADER and more.

JD welcomed two jewelry brands, Rosantica by Michela Penero and COLLEC from France, to its platform. The partnership will empower the two niche brands to reach more Chinese consumers, taking advantage of JD’s technology-based e-commerce solutions, from marketing to logistics.

Have a bit more time? Check out some of our recent long reads and data reports, here:

• In-Depth: JD C2M: Supply Chain’s Journey from Mass Market to Niche Market: There are countless definitions and ways of positioning Consumer-to-Manufacturer (C2M). The term has become a buzzword in China, but there are many misconceptions about it. JD’s head of supply chain innovation Hu Hao discusses how C2M is driving supply chain transformation and what’s coming next for the model.
• In-Depth: JD’s Commitment to 100% Authentic Products: JD has been about 100% authentic products since day one. Today the company’s approach to ensuring a counterfeit-free platform is not only extensive, but also technologically advanced.
• In-Depth: The Intelligent Facets of JD Health: Health tech is getting more sophisticated by the day. JD Health is one of the companies reinventing and digitalizing the healthcare industry in China for all participants in the supply chain.

 

In photos, this week at JD: https://jdcorporateblog.com/photo-gallery-this-week-at-jd-january-30-february-5/

 

JD News Roundup Vol. 2

If you have any questions or topics you are hoping we will explore, please email ella@jd.com.

by Ella Kidron

COVID-19: Steadfast Commitment to Society

With a handful of COVID-19 cases cropping up in different parts of China, JD has wasted no time gearing up to provide aid, starting with a special channel for the transportation of aid to Shijiazhuang, Hebei province (300 km south of Beijing) on Jan. 16. JD Fresh also announced a plan to at least triple its inventory of daily necessities for residents in Beijing and Hebei, ensuring sufficient supplies. With classes migrating online, JD Logistics quickly mobilized to deliver teaching materials to 650 kids in Shijiazhuang who were under quarantine last week.

JD Health has also taken a series of measures to ensure the supply chain of medication and offer free medical consultations. The company also announced it will offer door-to-door nucleic acid testing services in 21 cities across China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, and Hangzhou, available for both group and individual reservations.

JD Logistics will keep its promise to deliver during Chinese New Year for the ninth consecutive year. For employees working during the holiday, JD Logistics will provide nearly RMB 100 million yuan in subsidies, ensuring benefits for employees that are higher than the national standard. With an expanded delivery scope for CNY this year, customers in 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, nearly 300 cities and 1,500 counties and districts can receive orders at the fast speed they’ve become accustomed to from JD.com.

Digital Transformation

Luohu district in Shenzhen signed a partnership with JD Logistics in which JD will support the district in building and developing smart logistics parks, warehouses and city infrastructure, among other aspects. In other news, Henan Xinhua Bookstores Publishing Group will work with JD Logistics to establish a dedicated warehousing and distribution network for the book industry in Henan province in three years.

Business Updates

The Chinese New Year Grand Promotion is now underway. Kicked off on Jan. 20, the promotion offers not only a huge variety of products reflecting changing consumer preferences for gifts around the new year, but also interactive activities to help consumers enjoy an abundant holiday season. JD will provide RMB 10 billion yuan each in subsidies and coupons respectively. Read more about what’s in store for this year’s CNY promotion: https://jdcorporateblog.com/jds-2021-cny-promotion-is-around-the-corner/

JD has been selected as a finalist for the 50^th annual Franz Edelman Awards, the most prestigious honor for achievements in analytics and operations research. The project that clinched the honor? JD’s research and application of analytics in automated or unmanned warehouses. Over 5,000 robots have been deployed in 100 of JD’s total 800 warehouses, with plans to increase the robot fleet to 100,000 in the next five years. The final winner of the award will be announced at a later date.

JD has opened 14 SEVEN FRESH (omnichannel supermarkets) stores in one month beginning Dec. 18. The newly opened stores include the standard SEVEN FRESH model and the smaller community store version, SEVEN FRESH LIFE, which provides a wide range of essentials for consumers within a set radius.

JD Worldwide hosted Mr. Nick Coyle, CEO and Executive Director of the China-Australia Chamber of Commerce, on Jan. 20, to support the trade and e-commerce development between China and Australia and introduce Australian products to JD customers ahead of Chinese New Year. The livestream on JD Worldwide was Coyle’s first ever. Chilean Ambassador to China, Mr. Luis Schmidt Montes, Commercial Counsellor Ms. Natalia Cortés and Ms. Clare Fearnley, New Zealand ambassador to China, have also been guests on JD Live.

Mr. Nick Coyle on JD Live

International Business

JD Central (JDC) will be one of the major players to lead online retail in Thailand, according to leading English-language newspaper Bangkok Post. Online will become a major channel for shopping in Thailand in 2021, with e-commerce giants JD, Shopee and Lazada dominating the segment, according to the report. JDC achieved a 550% growth in the gross merchandise value (GMV) of its e-commerce platform in its first two years in Thailand, after starting operations on September 28, 2018.

 

Have a bit more time? Check out some of our recent long reads and data reports, here:

• In-Depth: JD’s Foray into Duty Free: Bring in More Players, Add Categories, Sell O2O: JD made its move into the duty free industry by opening a store in Sanya, Hainan province on Dec. 30, 2020. What is attracting e-commerce players to China’s RMB 150 million “blue ocean” and what is JD doing to set itself apart from the pack?
• In-Depth: “Too Old” is Simply a Myth: Tech Companies Narrow the Digital Gap for the Elderly: Many young people have embraced the convenience of digital technologies, but many elderly without a grasp of the latest knowledge are at risk of being left behind. Read more in our article, originally published on the World Economic Forum’s Agenda Blog.
• More Orders to and from afar as Consumers Gear up for CNY: With the uptick in COVID-19 cases, many people working in China’s tier-1 cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen (colloquially known as Bei-Shang-Guang-Shen), will spend their Chinese New Year holiday in the city where they work, rather than traveling elsewhere, such as to their hometowns. As JD Data indicates, however, this safety precaution has not precluded these people, from appreciating family and friends from afar and vice versa.

In photos, this week at JD: https://jdcorporateblog.com/photo-gallery-this-week-at-jd-january-16-january-22/

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JD News Roundup Vol. 1
(Jan. 1-8, 2021)

by Ella Kidron

Happy New Year from JD.com! After a brief three-day reprise last weekend, we are back at it, bringing you the latest company news. Here are a few quick updates from the first week of 2021.

Business Updates

JD PLUS Day Promotion: JD PLUS, JD’s premium membership program, held its annual grand promotion on Jan. 8. Benefits include the opportunity to use RMB 1.8 yuan to purchase cosmetics and handbags, as well as discounts to purchase a wide range of other products. JD PLUS has already cooperated with over 800 brands, including Unilever, Siemens and Yili, with 720 brands providing 5% discounts for members purchasing products on JD. Members can also enjoy special prices for millions of products on JD.

JD enters the duty free market: Ahead of New Year’s, JD Worldwide opened a duty free store in Sanya, the popular tourist destination in China’s Hainan province. By joining the duty free business, JD can benefit brands and traditional industry players with supply chain capabilities and digital tools. Unlike traditional duty free stores, which tend to focus on cosmetics, luxury, fashion, alcohol and more, JD has leveraged its advantages in the consumer electronics area to focus on sourcing these types of products for the store. This move also expands the benefits of duty free to a wider customer base. We recently spoke to a few regular duty free customers about their views on the industry. Hear from them here: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-customers-eyes-jds-differentiated-duty-free-shopping-experience/

JD Logistics upgrades its Tibet infrastructure: JD Logistics unveiled its updated logistics system in Tibet in collaboration with the local government. An integrated warehousing and distribution center was opened in Lhasa on the first day of the New Year, and will serve as an important logistics infrastructure to drive up supply chain efficiency for the local economy, with priority on the promotion of local agricultural products. The move signifies a milestone for Tibet’s logistics development and is designed to provide a comprehensive network in Tibet.

Have a bit more time? Check out some of our recent long reads, data reports and lighter reads here:

In-Depth: Providing One More Reliable Choice for Customers with Private Label Brands: A look into JD’s private label brands, and the overall state of the private label industry

With the coldest winter in over 60 years coming over Beijing this week, any guesses as to what people are stocking up on? JD data has some insights here: https://jdcorporateblog.com/in-high-demand-on-jd-four-must-haves-for-beijings-blistering-winter-commute/

In photos, this week at JD: https://jdcorporateblog.com/photo-gallery-this-week-at-jd-january-1-january-8/

 

 

(ella@jd.com)