Oct 30, 2020|
JD Shares Insights with Executives during HP and SAP-Hosted Event
by Ella Kidron
JD participated in an event hosted by HP and SAP on the China opportunity titled, “A New Era for Globalization – The China Wave” on October 28th. The event, which was held virtually, gathered nearly 50 technology executives from Fortune 500 companies based in the Nordic region (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway).
Christina Boutrup, renowned author and journalist, gave the opening presentation, focusing on the “Chinese tech revolution.” “We tend to underestimate China and Chinese companies,” she said. She explained that not only are Chinese companies developing leading innovation in areas like 5G, AI, solar, electric cars and more, but also that China’s technology-driven approach to COVID-19 control – such as the apps for people’s health codes based on previous destinations traveled and temperature sensors. In her talk, Boutrup mentioned that companies like JD are paving the way in Consumer-to-Manufacturer (C2M) and omnichannel, among other areas. Last year Boutrup published The Great Tech Revolution, a book focused on Chinese innovation, in both English and Danish. JD was featured in the book. Following the event, Boutrup also posted on her LinkedIn, writing “the future is happening right now – in China!”
Christina Boutrup’s LinkedIn post
JD shared on how, in addition to its eight consecutive-year commitment to keep delivering during Chinese New Year, agility, as well as technology played a key role in its support of the fight against COVID-19. From January 20th to February 28th, JD supplied 220 million food items weighing 290,000 tons. JD Health’s online medical consultations platform handled over 10 million requests during the epidemic period. Additionally, the company deployed autonomous delivery robots for contactless delivery in Wuhan. ‘Da Bai’, the robot that was used to make deliveries to key hospitals was made part of the National Museum’s exhibition on the fight against the virus.
Participants were curious about JD’s C2M model. As people are demanding more health-related appliances following the outbreak, JD has worked with several leading home appliances brands to create products that address this need. JD and LG alone have developed seven C2M refrigerators and washing machines in just two months.
Apr 29, 2024|
JD.com Teams Up with Brands to Launch “Trade-in Alliance for Household Appliances and Home Goods”
JD.com recently announced the “Trade-in Alliance for Household Appliances and Home Goods” in collaboration with over 100 renowned brands. This initiative, unveiled on April 27, aims to expand and enhance trade-in services across China and has already been successfully implemented in 20 provinces and cities.
The Trade-in Alliance allows consumers to access JD’s trade-in services for an extensive range of products, covering over 200 subcategories including TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and more. The initiative caters to a growing demand, with more than 16 million users leveraging JD’s platform since 2023 to exchange their old household items for new ones. This represents a 200 percent increase in first-time users year-on-year.
To further enhance the customer experience, JD.com has introduced the “Three Free & Four Unlimited” trade-in service. This service includes complimentary door-to-door pickup, disassembly, and handling of old goods. Additionally, it places no restrictions on the trade-in items regarding their original purchase channel, brand, age, or condition. With just four simple clicks on the JD app, users can receive generous discounts from their old goods and enjoy the convenience of JD’s one-stop trade-in services.
JD.com also utilizes its logistical strengths to extend these services to even the most remote areas of China. For instance, customers living in Tibet at an elevation of 4,300 meters can now easily access JD’s trade-in options, including doorstep delivery and recycling of old appliances.
The Trade-in Alliance is built on six foundational pillars: service capabilities, brand support, marketing initiatives, industry chain synergies, omni-channel development, and category cooperation. By fostering closer partnerships with leading brands in the household appliance and home goods sectors, JD.com is setting a new standard for hassle-free trade-in services, offering unparalleled convenience and value to consumers nationwide.
Apr 22, 2024|
JD.com Debuts AI Digital Representative of Founder Richard Liu During Livestream, Drawing 20 Million Views in Under One Hour
During a livestream on April 16th, JD.com introduced an AI digital representative of its founder, Richard Liu (Qiangdong Liu), nicknamed “procurement and sales manager Brother Dong (采销东哥).” Liu appeared in both JD Home Appliances and JD Supermarket’s livestreaming rooms, attracting over 20 million views within the first hour and generating RMB 50 million in sales throughout the entire livestream.
The digital representative almost perfectly replicates Liu’s facial expressions, body language, gestures, and voice, capturing even the subtlest movements of his fingers. Behind this technology is JD Cloud’s ChatRhino, an advanced large language model (LLM) that brings the avatar to life.
Behind the Technology
The LLM precisely mirrors Liu’s distinctive expressions and movements, naturally weaving in his occasional finger twiddles while he speaks, accentuating points with hand gestures, and adding nods at just the right moments for emphasis, creating a natural and authentic representation. Perfecting the voice proved to be a greater challenge. Those who have heard Liu speak are well-acquainted with the distinct inflections of his Suqian accent—a characteristic touch from his small-town roots in Jiangsu province. Observers will note the brisk pace of his speech, lighter enunciation, and his tendency to meld words in a seamless flow. His “sh” sounds carry a nasal quality, and he often addresses people as “brothers” to boost morale.
While programming the standard Mandarin dialect is relatively straightforward, teaching the AI to adopt the nuances of the Suqian dialect and Liu’s unique vocal patterns required a precise level of customization from the ChatRhino LLM. For example, the LLM had to provide accurate judgments on when to introduce the nasal tonality or the specific moments to merge words, ensuring the AI’s linguistic output mirrored Liu’s signature speaking style authentically.
Beyond replicating vocal characteristics, the AI’s voice must also be suitable for the casual, dynamic atmosphere of e-commerce livestreaming, such as adopting colloquialisms like “xiong di men” — a phrase comparable to “folks” or “guys” in English — to create a friendly rapport with the audience. JD Cloud’s ChatRhino team fine-tuned the model to focus on sociable nuances. The initial dataset for the LLM consisted predominantly of Liu’s formal speeches—spirited and compelling, yet too ceremonious for the interactive world of livestreaming. To cultivate a more congenial and approachable persona, the team utilized Liu’s recent casual conversations as the primary source material, rich with personal anecdotes and travel tales. This approach shaped the AI’s voice into one that is that is not only natural and approachable but also genuinely engaging for the end user.
As a fully self-developed technology product of JD Cloud, the ChatRhino Digital Representative solution has already served over 4,000 brand merchants, contributing to a 30% increase in order conversion rate during idle hours and helping merchants reduce livestreaming costs, enhance operational efficiency, and optimize user experience. Equipped with 50,000 hours of voice data, this technology enables digital representatives to intelligently adapt to various livestreaming styles dynamically.
The AI is also adept at managing 70% of routine live chat inquiries autonomously without any manual intervention, while also optimizing its responses with a self-improving algorithm. For instance, digital representatives can autonomously fields questions using product details and scripts, and post-livestream, and assimilate new information. Mirroring the acumen of seasoned sales professionals, it boasts a 90% accuracy rate in offering tailored product recommendations when solicited by customers.
The recent introduction of a cutting-edge livestream control console serves as the “brain” for the digital representative solution. It diligently monitors real-time inventory, adjusting the showcased products in the livestream and tailoring the script to ensure relevance—sidestepping items that are out of stock and spotlighting those in high demand. It also gauges and fine-tunes the frequency and style of interactions based on live audience engagement. With this advanced platform, businesses managing multiple livestreams can effortlessly operate thousands of sessions concurrently via cloud services, bypassing the need for intricate local setups. This innovation yields a substantial cost reduction of 30%.
Human-Machine Synergy
The intention behind digital avatars is not to outshine or compete with human talent but to harness the potential of technology to work in concert with livestreamers, maximizing overall growth. Essentially, the digital representative solution serves as a tool for brands and merchants to leverage long-tail traffic once real livestreamers conclude their broadcasts. JD’s analytics indicate this strategy can boost order conversion rates by 30% during off-peak hours, such as late into the night.
Digital representatives also excel in specific product categories that require detailed explanations, such as health products like nursing beds, electric wheelchairs, and oxygen concentrators. The solution can provide constant, round-the-clock guidance, adding substantial value to livestreams when traffic is typically lower.
Last week, JD.com announced an investment of one billion yuan into video content creation. This investment underscores JD’s commitment to leveraging the power of short videos and livestreams to transform the online shopping experience for its users and create new growth avenues for brand merchants.
JD Logistics Announces to Recruit 15,000 Logistics Employees
