JDer Lab #7 with Helena Xu: Finding Fulfillment in the Everyday

Posted on by Kelly Dawson

JD.com’s more than 280,000 employees range from warehouse workers to nation-renowned doctors, with a wide range of backgrounds and areas of expertise. In the next installment of our JDer Lab series, we speak to another JDer about what it’s really like to work for China’s largest retailer.

 

 

For Helena Xu, Senior Business Development Manager of Cross Border Payment at JD Digits, job satisfaction isn’t necessarily pinned to the big “aha!” moments. Sometimes it’s the little moments that add up to a larger sum.

“Sometimes when I’ve had a long and exhausting day, I leave the office and look at the bright JD logo with the cute JD mascot dog, lighting up the night sky… and I feel a sense of fulfillment.”

Other days it might be in the moment when she hears about an exciting new business model that has the potential to reshape the entire industry—and knows she has a team of brilliant people and the resources to make it happen.

Although there are also those banner days that really do feel like mountain peaks, of course. Xu led one project to obtain an overseas financial license in order to establish a new business model, preparing meticulously over nine months in cooperation with a dozen JD departments. “Finally we made it,” she said. “And on that day, I was so happy. It was almost like giving birth to a baby. It was a marvelous day.”

Working with brilliant people certainly helps, she said. Many of her clients are pioneers in their own industries, so when they propose business ideas or encounter problems, it’s often uncharted territory. Xu’s team at JD Digits is able to respond fast and with a high level of professionalism.

“I am really proud of this, because we feel we are actually growing with our clients and making history together,” she said. “JDers come from different countries, regions and different industries, but they are all very young. When I talk about young, it’s not about physical age, but rather the kind of spirit that’s about people willing to share and take on new challenges. That’s something I love about JD.”

In fact, with time being such a rare resource for everyone these days, she thinks often about how both her teammates and the JD environment have impacted her life.

“There is a universal question of how to gain or obtain two days of efficiency or experience within one day,” she said. “Actually I think the answer would be working at JD because here the working environment is extremely intensive, dynamic and fast-paced. So your limit is surpassed and your capability is stretched…and finally, your horizon is expanded. As a result, you will find out your time value is doubled.”

Xu sees bright things ahead for JD.

“I feel JD is an exciting and fast-moving company, so I am really looking forward to leaving our footprints all over the globe, to connect, influence, and improve the whole world,” she said.

(kellydawson@jd.com)

JDers Awarded “Most Beautiful Couriers”

Posted on by Ling Cao

by Ling Cao

JD won two awards in the recent “Most Beautiful Courier” competition organized by China Post News and overseen by the State Post Bureau. The company’s Wuhan Asia No. 1 Cargo Fleet was among 5 courier teams industry-wide to win the award; and JD’s Pinglai Liu was among 14 couriers to receive the honor.

While the award title includes “beautiful,” it means beauty and warmth of heart.

The award ceremony was held on September 29th in Beijing, in recognition of the hard work of China’s over 4 million couriers, who deliver more than 200 million parcels per day. Their work was particularly meaningful during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year.

As one of the select individual couriers to receive the award, Liu has been working in Zhaotong City, Yunnan province for over five years. During his time as a courier he has faced many different conditions, even navigating slippery mountain roads to send villagers to distant villages.

For example, he had carried elderly people across the river during flooding. Liu said

Because of his consistent doorstep delivery service, Liu has established closed relationships with local customers. “I remembered one snowy day, there was a vast expanse of snow and ice, and people were easily skidding on the road. My customer called me immediately and asked me to send the parcel on a later day after the snow had melted. I was so moved that customers care and understand us even though they normally hope to get the parcel in time.”

Nowadays road conditions have improved in Zhaotong City, and Liu doesn’t need to navigate treacherous roads for delivery. But he still provides help to others whenever he can. For example, he had carried elderly people across the river during flooding. Liu said, “This is not just an award on the surface. I want to provide the best service to local villagers so that they can enjoy the same type of convenience as people in big cities.”

As one of the 5 teams that won the award, JD’s Wuhan Asia No. 1 Cargo Fleet includes 99 couriers and drivers, who provided non-stop transportation and delivery service during the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, ensuring the livelihood of many. In total, they delivered 6,000 tons of daily necessities to local people at the height of the outbreak.

As one of the 5 teams that won the award, JD’s Wuhan Asia No. 1 Cargo Fleet includes 99 couriers and drivers

One young driver from the fleet, Mingguang Yang, said, “We didn’t have time to think otherwise. We simply thought we could reunite with our families on next Chinese New Year’s Day. For this year’s Spring Festival, we had work to do to provide support during this difficult period.”

 

(ling.cao@jd.com)

 

JD Unveils Data-Driven Marketing Methodology

Posted on by Martin Li

by Martin Li

JD has unveiled a data-driven marketing methodology to help brands increase total customers.

The methodology is named JD GOAL, with G referring to the target group; O referring to osmosis, as in tapping growth potential in the target group; A referring to advancing customer value; and L referring to increasing customer loyalty.

The methodology is aimed at helping brands conduct more efficient marketing to achieve growth, with the help of JD’s rich data and insights on its over 400 million active users.

More than ten well-known brands have partnered with JD in applying this marketing methodology, including L’Oréal, Swisse, OLAY, Casino, Head & Shoulders, SK-II, Microsoft and OPPO.

More than ten well-known brands have partnered with JD in applying this marketing methodology, including L’Oréal, Swisse, OLAY, Casino, Head & Shoulders, SK-II, Microsoft and OPPO.

Unilever employed the methodology before JD’s super brand campaign in August, categorizing its customers into different groups, including young people and families in smaller towns and middle-class people in cities. Then it applied differentiated marketing strategies. As a result, its marketing ROI targeting core customers grew by 68%.

Chinese dairy product maker Yili’s Jindian brand used the JD GOAL marketing methodology in its campaign on JD Super in August, engaging customers via channels like campus, livestream and JD’s offline stores. The number of buyers increased by 77% during the campaign.

 

(bjlihao3@jd.com)

 

 

 

JD & South Korean Ambassador to China Promote Korean Products

Posted on by Rachel Liu

by Rachel Liu

The South Korean Embassy in China held an opening ceremony for the Online Exhibition of South Korean products at the Korean Cultural Center in Beijing on September 29th. JD Worldwide participated the event as a key invitee of the embassy.

Jason Jiang, director of merchant management and operations of JD Worldwide discussed in a closed-door session with the South Korean Ambassador to China, Mr. Jang Ha-sung, on introducing more South Korean products to China.

“The economic ties between South Korea and China have been affected by COVID-19,” said Ambassador Jang. “We hope to better support South Korean enterprises to enter the Chinese market through holding this event.”

Jiang introduced JD’s plan to better promote South Korean products on JD Worldwide

In the discussion, Jiang introduced JD’s plan to better promote South Korean products on JD Worldwide, JD’s platform for imported products, including promoting the brands through exhibitions during the upcoming Singles Day (November 11th) promotion and the co-building of the South Korean National Pavilion on JD Worldwide. JD will also work more closely with organizations such as the Korean International Trade Association (KITA) and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) to better introduce South Korean brands.

“Chinese consumers have always been very passionate about South Korean products, especially beauty products and snacks,” said Jiang. “JD Worldwide would love to be the gateway for South Korean brands to enter the Chinese market. We provide comprehensive support for brands from store launching, operations to marketing campaigns. JD’s customer insights will help the brands get a deeper understanding of the market. We hope to help the brands achieve healthy and sustainable growth on JD Worldwide.”

JD has been ramping up efforts to introduce more South Korean brands to Chinese consumers, especially after the outbreak of COVID-19. Many brands have developed successfully on the platform. Take popular beauty brand JM Solution for example: Since it joined JD in October 2018, the brand has accumulated over 1 million customers and sold 2.5 million boxes of facial masks. Even during Q1 2020, the height of COVID-19, sales of the brand still increased 83% y-o-y. The brand also debuted its new sleep mask on JD Worldwide. Ninety days after the product launch, sales on JD accounted for 93% of the total sales of the mask on all channels.

When COVID-19 caused difficulties for some overseas brands entering the Chinese market, JD adapted by taking business development events online for South Korean brands. On May 20th, JD Worldwide worked with KITA to hold the first-of-the-year brand recruiting conference to introduce the process and policies required for launching on JD Worldwide, and the support that the platform can provide. Over 250 Korean brands joined this online event.

On July 1st, the two sides joined hands with LG International, the company under LG Group that focuses on trade, to leverage their supply chain and logistics advantages to provide more convenience for South Korean brands to develop in China through JD Worldwide.

 

(liuchang61@jd.com)

In-Depth Report: The Secret Ingredients to JD’s 135% YOY Mooncake Sales Increase

Posted on by Ella Kidron

by Ella Kidron

Like everything in 2020, trends around mooncakes ahead of China’s upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival this year, are anything but ordinary. With Mid-Autumn Festival and the eight-day Golden Week holiday (National Day) happening concurrently this year, many consumers take a much-needed trip to their hometown for a family reunion after half a year in lockdown.

As a traditional Chinese food that symbolizes family reunions, mooncakes are an essential ingredient for the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration. This is the case not just in China, but around the world for overseas Chinese and others who choose to observe the holiday. According to a recent report, over the next five years the mooncake market will register a 3.4% CAGR in terms of revenue, and the global market size is estimated to reach $2539.6 million by 2025, from $2219.6 million in 2019.

Given the unique circumstances of this year, the mooncake market in China has seen some surprises. JD Big Data Research Institute has the low down.

First, mooncake sales on JD increased 135% YOY (Note: year-on-year from here on out refers to the lunar calendar), the largest amount of growth on record. Some of the reasons for this growth include purchases of gifts for families in preparation for the journey home, the movement of more consumption of mooncakes online, increased customization of products and packaging, and increased attention to quality.

Xiaojun Wang (王晓军), general manager of dry goods at JD FMCG Omnichannel who oversees the mooncake business had a clear strategy going into the sales season. “We have continued to vigorously develop exclusive C2M mooncake products, causing the proportion of C2M mooncake sales to continue to increase.”

Providing consumers more access to mooncakes through a multi-pronged approach is also important. He explained that this year the team has also carried out numerous omnichannel activities such as offline tasting promotions, joint marketing with JD New Markets, SEVEN FRESH, Yihaodian and other self-operated channels. “We have also integrated offline stores of suppliers such as Daoxiangcun(稻香村，literally means Village of Rice Fragrance), integrated supplier resources and implemented an omnichannel operations strategy to gain a larger increase.”

Selected data from JD Big Data Research Institute report on mooncake sales trends

Selected data from JD Big Data Research Institute report on mooncake sales trends

From local to regional

One famous Shanghai mooncake brand, Xinghualou (杏花楼, which literally means Apricot Blossom Tower) discovered that one of the many benefits of starting to sell online is that they can reach consumers far outside of the Shanghai region. The brand was surprised to find that through JD, besides Shanghai, their mooncakes sell best in Chongqing, a city about 2000km west. Despite the fact that Shanghai (known for light and sometimes sweet cuisine) and Chongqing (known for lots of spice) have very different eating preferences from a regional perspective, they happen to overlap in taste preferences for mooncakes. It might be near impossible for Chongqing consumers to find Xinghualou mooncakes locally, but they can access the real thing, just as if they were in Shanghai. Previous reports also indicate that the channels consumers choose to buy mooncakes from are becoming more and more diversified. Thanks for services like JD Logistics’ broad coverage network, many brand are observing similar trends. For example, consumption of Guangdong- and Beijing-style mooncakes by consumers in Northwest China has increased 160% and 190% respectively.

From standardized to custom

It is not enough to provide nice-looking traditional mooncake boxes anymore. Now it is all about appealing to consumers’ individual needs and preferences. This is where JD’s data-driven product development approach, Consumer-to-Manufacturer (C2M) comes in.

In fact, C2M products have accounted for between 60-70% of mooncake sales on JD this year. Through Big Data, JD is able to provide manufacturers with insights about specific tendencies from regional or economic status standpoint, all of which can help guide them as to packaging, price range, flavor and more.

As a result of making products that are suitable for JD consumers, sales have improved, as has customer satisfaction. Sales of mooncakes on JD have surged in the last few months. From July 21st to September 16th, sales of the Palace Museum (Forbidden City) themed mooncake gift box developed through JD’s Consumer-to-Manufacturer (C2M) initiative increased 143% YOY, and became the most popular mooncake gift box on JD. A custom mooncake box developed with Starbucks also saw sales increase among young customers. According to JD’s research, only 10% of consumers surveyed are aware of the concept of C2M. But 92% of consumers surveyed are satisfied with C2M products, whether or not they know how the product is designed.

To develop new products, JD mooncake buyers will spend significant time analyzing customer profiles and market trends. And, once a product is ready to go, they will do taste tests to ensure quality. One JD mooncake buyer even gained 20 pounds as a result of taste testing mooncakes in advance of sales season, all in the name of guaranteeing an unmatched customer experience.

JD’s C2M mooncake box in partnership with the Forbidden City

JD’s C2M mooncake box in partnership with the Forbidden City

Early this year, JD Super formed a mooncake alliance with famous Beijing snack brand, Daoxiangcun , Guangzhou Restaurant (广州酒家), traditional Peking duck chain Quanjude (全聚德) and other brands. Under the alliance, members have access to five major types of resources provided by JD, such as customization through C2M. Furthermore, on Sept. 28th JD Super kicked off its livestream for mooncakes in which executives of major mooncake brands, as well as industry experts discuss the Mid-Autumn Festival traditional and mooncake production process. On that day JD Live, the company’s livestream studio, attracted over one million viewers.

JD and brand partners launch alliance for mooncake sales

JD and brand partners launch alliance for mooncake sales

From a ‘good bargain’ to ‘good quality’

COVID-19 has brought significant unprecedented challenges to mooncake brands this year. According to industry experts, the main sales period for mooncakes kicked off late and is shorter than previous years. As a result, many mooncake makers were not optimistic about sales performance this year.

However, consumption demonstrates a positive upward trend. Not only has the number of consumers increased by a lot, but also a considerable number of new consumers come from lower-tier markets. Moreover, as consumers across the board pursue quality much more than last year, major brands with top-level mooncake boxes have seen good sales.

Owing to these factors the average price of mooncake products on JD has increased by more than 35% compared with last year. In addition to highly developed areas such as Beijing and Guangdong, the main driving force of the price increase actually comes from Northwest, Southwest and Central China. This sends a clear signal to the whole industry that consumers are moving from emphasizing price and convenience to focus on brand and value, including taste, safety, nutrition (a hot topic in the wake of COVID) and more.

Who is buying these mooncakes anyway?

By analyzing mooncake growth across tier 1-6 cities based on unit price, brand concentration, high education and age, JD Big Data Research Institute discovered that 70% of JD’s mooncake consumers have undergraduate or higher degrees. Sixty-five percent of consumers were born after 1990. In addition, consumption from the “small town middle class” is on the rise. These consumer groups are pushing the overall market from performance-to-price ratio to pursuit of brand and aesthetic.

One type of mooncakes, five kernel or mixed nuts (五仁), which have been shunned in recent years, surprisingly occupy first place in sales this year (although its overall proportion has declined). Five kernel mooncakes are traditionally from Yunnan province. The very first five kernel mooncake was born there in 1939, while the baking style is in fact Cantonese. The five kernels are apricot seeds, peach seeds, peanuts, sesame and melon seeds (or sunflower seeds).

One of the causes for concern around five kernel mooncakes is that the production process is quite complicated, and in the past some companies use peanut kernels to replace other nuts in an attempt to cut costs. The fact that these mooncakes perform well on JD, especially those from top brands, is testament to the extra mile JD and its buyers go to ensure that only the best of the market is made available.

What’s next?

With this year’s mooncake season nearing its end, Wang and the team are thinking about what’s next. “Overall, this year’s mooncake market presents the following characteristics – health and nutrition, tasty and fashionable, varied style and abundant flavors. Overall quality will see improvements.” He sees the proportion of online sales continue to expand. “Online will become a leader in development of the industry.” While the overall market may remain basically flat or even experience a slight decline, high quality brands and enterprises will maintain a stable growth trend.

 

(ella@jd.com)

JD Guarantees Authenticity of Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crabs

Posted on by Rachel Liu

by Rachel Liu

As autumn arrives, many people across China are craving a delicious seasonal treat: Hairy crabs. Often enjoyed during Mid-Autumn Festival with family, the delicacy is much beloved.

In China, hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake, Jiangsu province, have a special reputation for premium taste, but customers can’t always be certain that the crabs they’ve purchased are in fact harvested from this lake.

Data shows that in 2017, the actual market value of crabs harvested from Yangcheng Lake was RMB 300 million yuan, but the sales of hairy crab featuring the name of “Yangcheng Lake” was up to RMB 30 billion yuan that year. That indicates that about 99% of hairy crabs sold as having been harvested from the lake were fake, intentionally mislabeled to dupe customers.

JD is determined to ensure the authenticity of hairy crabs sold through its e-commerce platform. Its professional aquatic product buyers work almost year-round to guarantee that customers can have peace of mind when they purchase the crabs from JD.

Though the hairy crab is a seasonal food during autumn, one of JD’s professional  buyers Jie noted that he and his colleagues begin visiting the farmers at the beginning of every year in preparation for the autumn sales. “We pick out the 30 best hairy crab suppliers from over 3000 ones to work with JD ,” said Jie.

To ensure 100% authenticity for Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, JD adheres to the strictest standard in the industry, requiring merchants to submit six certificates before they can sell the crabs on JD under the name “Yangcheng Lake hairy crab.”

“If you don’t have all six certificates, your product page cannot have the words ‘Yangcheng Lake’, because we want to ensure authenticity during every process before the product is launched on JD,” said Jie.

What’s more, each hairy crab sold on JD has a unique trace code. Customers can scan the QR code to see the comprehensive delivery process of the hairy crab from fishing, packaging and through delivery.

JD buyers also have strict processes for preventing the crabs from dying during delivery: “First of all, we would carefully select the products with best quality, and JD logistics will use cold-chain throughout the whole delivery process,” Jie said. “In this way, the percentage of dead crabs can be lowered to 4%.”

JD buyers also conduct random inspections of merchant facilities. If they find a problem, the merchants will be fined for all of their orders in the prior seven days. Thanks to these strict rules, customers enjoy a higher quality experience.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday approach, JD data found that sales of hairy crab have increased over 300% YOY in many cities. Sales of hairy crab from Beijing customers have ranked No.1 in the past two years, followed by Jiangsu province.

 

(liuchang61@jd.com)

JD Partners with Xpeng Motors To Install Charging Piles

Posted on by Kelly Dawson

by Kelly Dawson

JD.com has signed an agreement with Xpeng Motors, an electric vehicle startup that recently raised $1.5 billion in an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. As part of the agreement, JD Service Plus will provide Xpeng’s customers with integrated and fully managed services for their electric vehicles, including measurement, installation, maintenance and after-sales service of home charging piles, which are typically used for single-vehicle charging.

Xpeng Motors is committed to providing premium services, and its decision to partner with JD Service Plus was taken with care, an Xpeng spokesperson said.

“We were very cautious in choosing a partner for home charging services, because this is an important part of the car owner’s consumer experience,” he said.

JD.com has signed an agreement with Xpeng Motors

With a fully integrated national service network, efficient response time and standardized high-quality service capability, JD Service Plus is empowering partners by assisting emerging industries in solving common pain points—like the question of how new electric vehicle owners will charge their vehicles with limited space and knowledge about whether their parking garage has the correct conditions for installation, for example.

To address these concerns, JD Service Plus offers “one-click, worry-free services”, with the ability to provide full-scale services across China, including assessment and installation within 72 hours, and repair and maintenance. The company’s fulfillment rate is 100%, with 100% positive feedback. Customers can expect two-year warranty service, and a response from customer service within 1 hour when reporting issues.

Additionally, JD Service Plus will provide intelligent storage management solutions for Xpeng Motors’ household charging piles, relying on the powerful warehousing resources of JD Logistics. The company will be able to arrange goods in advance, and install nearby according to actual demand to ensure faster response times. As demand has increased, after-sales logistics costs have decreased, which means lower costs for consumers too.

electric vehicle owner in Beijing’s Shijingshan District experienced the company’s commitment to premium services first-hand,

 

On September 28th, one electric vehicle owner in Beijing’s Shijingshan District experienced the company’s commitment to premium services first-hand, when JD Service Plus installed a new home charging pile for his electric vehicle.

“From the preliminary survey site to the installation, the engineers were professional, meticulous and standardized,” said the customer, Mr. Liu. “They even helped me clean up the site after the installation, which made me feel very relieved.” He gave the services a five-star rating.

In recent years, the electric automobile industry has gained more and more attention in China. During this year’s National Two Sessions (National People’s Congress and National People’s Political Consultative Conference), a government work report pointed to the importance of “building charging piles and promoting electric vehicles” as an important component of strengthening the infrastructure of this emerging industry. In response, government entities across China pledged to devote resources toward supporting this goal. This year the State Grid plans to invest RMB 2.7 billion yuan and add 78,000 charging piles with 53,000 in residential areas. Additionally, Shanghai, Henan, Shandong, Sichuan and other places have introduced development plans for household charging piles, introducing supporting policies such as electricity subsidies and simplified procedures.

As a result of the new partnership, JD Service Plus and Xpeng Motors are poised to set a benchmark for high-quality service in this emerging industry.

 

(kellydawson@jd.com)

A Grandma, a JD Courier, and Handmade Mooncakes

Posted on by Ella Kidron

by Ella Kidron

Ahead of this Mid-Autumn Festival (a traditional Chinese holiday for family reunion and eating mooncakes), JD courier Qingfeng Wang received an unexpected phone call which ended in him hand-making mooncakes with a customer. “What type of mooncakes do young people like?” An 80-year old customer in the area that Wang services was on the other end of the line asking in anticipation. In the last half year, she has come to rely on Wang for help after earning his trust, and is accustomed to calling him whenever she has questions.

He couldn’t help but wonder to himself: “Why did she suddenly want to know what kind of mooncakes young people liked?” It wasn’t until Wang arrived at the elderly woman’s home that he suddenly understood that, with the festival approaching, she was determined to hand make mooncakes for her granddaughter, Zhongjie Xu (许钟杰) working in Xi’an. “She has liked sweet treats since she was little, and I want to surprise her.”

He arrived at the woman’s house, and the two spent time browsing various mooncake molds available online, carefully considering each one. They eventually settled on several molds, including ones with images of Peppa pig, a rabbit and a kitty claw, as creative mooncakes tend to appeal to young people. Wang was well-aware that in her old age, moving about would get more challenging, so much so that her children usually deliver food to her. The woman’s wish was simple, but he knew that making it a reality on her own might pose challenges. Even though he’d never tried his hand at mooncakes, determine to help her out, Wang went online to figure out how to make them. When the goods arrived, Wang didn’t waste a minute in delivering them and the two went straight to work. Wrapping the mooncakes was not an easy job, but the elderly woman remained extremely meticulous throughout, determined to get it exactly right.

JD courier Qingfeng Wang and customer making mooncakes

JD courier Qingfeng Wang and customer making mooncakes

When they were done, the woman looked at the plate of handmade mooncakes and exclaimed, “My granddaughter was always by my side when she was little. At that time my hands and feet were still deft, so every year when she told me she wanted to eat mooncakes, I would quickly be able to make them.” She added that this time by making the mooncakes, she wanted to remind her granddaughter of the taste of her childhood. Upon receiving the mooncakes, Xu felt surprised yet guilty that she hadn’t gone to accompany her grandmother on account of a work commitment.

Wang also felt the extra effort was totally worth it. “I never realized that I’d be able to take this opportunity to learn how to make mooncakes.” He recalled the first time that he made a delivery to the elderly woman. Xu had specifically given him a call to explain that her grandmother had experienced physical difficulty and ask if she could trouble him to bring the package into the house. The elderly woman and Wang have been in close contact ever since. Not only has he provided a service, but, in a true JD fashion, he frequently goes above and beyond to deliver trust with a warm heart.

 

(ella@jd.com)