JD Offline Experience Stores Put High-tech Retail on the Schedule for Travelers

Posted on by Hui Zhang

JD.com has opened two new innovative stores at Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) and Hohhot East Railway Station in Inner Mongolia, further expanding China’s largest retailer’s Boundaryless Retail strategy, which is enabling consumers to buy what they want, whenever and wherever they want.

The stores leverage JD’s latest retail technology in order to make it easier and more enjoyable for travelers to make purchases on the go. JD has expanded its retail offering to convenience stores, supermarkets, partnerships with hotels, and now airports and railway stations.

Located in the departure lounge of Terminal 3 at BCIA for the next three months, the pop-up store will offer popular travel items including daily necessities, clothing, mobile accessories, beauty products, and bags and suitcases. The store utilizes JD’s smart store technology to understand how customers interact with products as well as which products to offer them. The integrated JD Zu Chongzhi platform can analyze customer behavior and traffic flow, such as generating heat maps, in order to assist with product selection and inventory management, ensuring smooth store operations.

JD.com has opened two new innovative stores at Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA)

“Beijing Capital International Airport is delighted to be hosting one of JD’s pop-up stores,” said a spokesperson from BCIA.

“Outfitted with items popular among travelers, the new shop will not only offer the products they want to buy most on their journeys – it will also allow them to personally experience what shopping of the future will be like, brought to them by China’s largest and most innovative retailer.”

China Railway Express and JD have cooperated at Hohhot East Railway Station to open a 100-square-meter unmanned convenience store. It also exploits JD’s technological capabilities, with features such as facial recognition payment, and smart vending machines, which automatically process payments once customers select their products and close the door of the machines. Later, the store will use a Mini Program in WeChat so that customers can choose to buy on the spot and take their purchases with them or shop online and have them delivered to a convenient location, in line with JD’s Boundaryless Retail vision – empowering consumers to be able to buy whatever they want, whenever and wherever they want it.

China Railway Express and JD have cooperated at Hohhot East Railway Station to open a 100-square-meter unmanned convenience store.

JD Logistics and China Railway Express have cooperated in logistics transportation since 2014 and have worked together to help facilitate the JD Luxury Express “white glove” delivery service as well as fresh food delivery via high-speed rail.

Bing Zhang, general manager of JD Social E-commerce and Retail Innovation, said he was thrilled the company’s cutting-edge store technologies are being rolled out in the travel market.

“Many of our customers enjoy shopping while traveling and we’re determined to make sure they benefit from the convenience of JD wherever they are.”

“The new stores in Beijing and Inner Mongolia will provide them with a truly seamless experience that is unrivaled anywhere,” he added.

JD.com Partners with Brands to Raise Money for Left-behind Children

Posted on by Hui Zhang

JD.com, China’s largest retailer, has partnered with top brands on its e-commerce platform to raise money for China’s millions of left-behind and disadvantaged children.

Working with Wardrobe of Love, a charitable foundation, JD launched a “Season of Giving” event ahead of the New Year, from Dec 20 to 25, in which the company partnered with consumer brands to donate a portion of their sales to deliver clothing, books, school bags and other much needed items to children living in remote areas with harsh environments.

JD launched a “Season of Giving” event ahead of the New Year

As China has undergone a period of rapid urbanization, many parents have been forced to move away from their rural hometowns to find employment in cities, leaving their children behind, often to be raised by their grandparents. While the numbers of left-behind children have declined in recent years, there are still almost 7 million left-behind children in China, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Together with its charity affiliate, JD Foundation, JD worked with some 1,500 brands such as Mentholatum and Zippo, to donate 0.1% from every sale to children living in remote and extremely cold areas. In addition to the donations, approximately 30,000 items have been delivered to schools in remote areas of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Yunnan, Shaanxi and Hebei provinces.

The donations were enabled by Aixin Dongdong, a JD-powered technological function that conveniently facilitates micro-donations. Brands that use the function are able to allocate a select amount of their sales revenue toward the NGO they aim to support. Since August, 12 million products have signed up to enable Aixin Dongdong, raising more than RMB 5 million ($725,172.11). The function is expected to raise RMB 20 million within its first year.

“We are delighted to have worked together with JD.com on such a heartwarming and innovative project,” said Ying Qiao, general secretary of Wardrobe of Love Foundation.

“Wardrobe of Love is committed to warming the hearts of children from remote and extremely cold areas, so as to raise public awareness to their issues. By partnering with China’s largest retailer, we’ve been able to raise money from global brands and bring even more care and love to kids across China just before the New Year.”

Libo Ma, head of Corporate Social Responsibility at JD.com, said: “From day one, JD has felt it is crucial for us leverage our technology and resources to give back to the needed communities. We will continue to fulfill this commitment and to empower all of our partners to do so as well.”

Devoted to changing young people’s lives for the better, JD is focused on creating the brightest future possible for up-and-coming generations. JD Foundation has also donated over RMB 500 million toward scholarships to Tsinghua University and Renmin University over the past two years, providing students from low-income backgrounds with the opportunity to study at some of China’s most prestigious higher education institutions.

JD.com’s JOY Celebrates in the Holidays with Hello Kitty

Posted on by Rachel Liu

JD.com is teaming up with Sanrio to bring the beloved and popular character Hello Kitty to over 300 million consumers in China for the holidays.

Beginning December 22, China’s largest retailer will launch a special sales promotion for Hello Kitty-themed merchandise from a wide range of brands on JD.com, in categories including electronics, FMCG, food, and more. JD will also release limited edition gift boxes featuring JOY and Hello Kitty dressed in holiday-themed clothing available for purchase on the e-commerce giant’s platform.

In the spirit of Boundaryless Retail – the idea of enabling consumers to buy whatever they want, whenever and wherever they want it – JD is bringing the celebration offline with an interactive photobooth in Beijing’s popular Wangfujing APM shopping mall. Customers in the mall can take photos of themselves with JOY and Hello Kitty. In addition, they can scan a QR code on display next to the photobooth to be directed to JD’s online promotion.

“We are delighted to be able to leverage our platform’s extensive offerings to bring Hello Kitty closer to over 300 million consumers across China this holiday season,” said Jipeng Men, Head of Marketing at JD.com.

“As we advance our Boundaryless Retail vision, we look forward to bringing other beloved characters to our customers, providing a truly interactive and engaging shopping experience, no matter where they choose to shop.”

JD’s Hello Kitty holiday promotion is the latest in a series of promotions JD has launched featuring popular characters from movies, apps, and more. Earlier this year, the company launched a similar partnership with LINE FRIENDS.  JD also joined forces with Warner Bros.’ Justice League, late last year, to mark the film’s launch in China. As China’s largest retailer, JD is well-positioned to provide an integrated strategy for brands to reach consumers across a range of different channels.

This time, to mark the promotion, JD has released the following video of JOY and Hello Kitty wishing everyone a happy holiday:

JD.com and Intel Launch New Research Lab for Smart Retail

Posted on by Rachel Liu

JD.com and Intel have launched a joint lab that will explore the use of Internet of Things (IoT) in smart retail solutions. The Digitized Retail Joint Lab will develop next-generation vending machines, media and advertising solutions, and technologies to be used in the stores of the future, based on Intel architecture.

The new lab marks the extension of the robust existing partnership between Intel and China’s largest retailer. So far, scientists have successfully merged Intel’s RRI edge computing and OpenVINO computer vision architecture with JD’s computer vision algorithms to analyze customer traffic and in-store purchasing habits, a solution that helps store owners to provide a more personalized and convenient experience to their customers.

“This lab will combine our collective strengths to develop cutting-edge solutions to bring the precision of online shopping to offline players,” said Zhi Weng, VP of JD.com and head of JD Big Data Platform.

“We look forward to expanding our cooperation with Intel to deliver a best-in-class, personalized shopping experience wherever consumers shop.”

“As China’s most influential retailer and a leader in data-driven offline retail innovation, JD is an important partner for us to continue to develop a wide range of use cases for our latest technology developments,” said Wei Chen, VP of Intel & General Manager of Intel IOTG China. “We are happy to take our partnership to the next level.”

The new lab adds to JD.com’s vision of “Retail as a Service,” or sharing its cutting edge technology and infrastructure with other retailers and industries to revolutionize global commerce. Other efforts include a suite of technology upgrades for brick-and-mortar store owners, including smart shelving, smart price tags, checkout solutions, and more. By helping smaller retailers modernize their operations, JD hopes to enable all consumers’ access to quality products, and to buy whatever they want, whenever and wherever they want it.

By leveraging JD’s big data analysis capabilities and Intel’s advanced edge computing technologies, the companies will build a more sophisticated retail ecosystem and enable the wider commercialization of new products and technologies as well as facilitate their introduction to global markets.

JD Launches Blockchain Based Pharmaceutical Tracking Solution

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

JD has launched a blockchain technology-based JD Medicine Open Tracing Solution in an effort to provide more transparency into pharmaceutical supply chains in China.

Announced at JD’s 2018 Big Data Summit in Beijing, the Medicine Open Tracing Solution is available on the JD Blockchain Open Platform and seeks to address concerns in China about the authenticity of medicines by supplying consumers with reliable and transparent tracing information. The tracing solution will cover every step of production, medical application, transportation, storage and sales of drugs. It has a friendly user interface and leverages IoT solutions to improve data collection efficiency.

The move comes after a handful of recent pharmaceutical safety incidents in China concerning substandard products, particularly when it comes to vaccines, which have been found to be expired or below safety standards in the past. As a result, Chinese consumers are increasingly concerned about the safety and origin of the medicine they consume.

In light of this, JD is teaming up with industry partners including medical software providers, industry associations, and smart hardware manufacturers to develop an entire IoT ecosystem of devices to promote medical traceability, raising standards and increasing transparency across the industry.

“This solution will provide necessary transparency and accountability to all those involved in the pharmaceutical industry, including consumers, businesses and governments,” said Jian Pei, head of JD Big Data and Smart Supply Chain.

“JD has a strong track record in supply chain transparency, and is committed to leveraging our technology capabilities to enable the accurate collection of transparent and reliable information about how medicines are sourced.”

JD launched its JD Blockchain Open Platform earlier this year to provide blockchain capabilities to a wide range of industries. Part of its Retail as a Service (RaaS) initiative, JD is leveraging its strengths in supply chain, technology, logistics and other areas to empower its partners. China Pacific Insurance Company (CPIC), the first company to use the platform, used it to deploy a traceable system for e-invoices, or “fapiao”, the official receipts required in China for business.

JD.com Opens Largest Plant Factory Featuring Japanese Hydroponic Technology in China

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

JD.com, China’s largest retailer, has partnered with Japanese chemical manufacturing giant Mitsubishi Chemical to open the largest hydroponic “plant factory” in China. The factory, part of a strategic partnership between the two companies, brings the most cutting edge technology in agriculture together with JD’s state-of-the-art retail infrastructure.

The factory spans 11,040 square meters and incorporates a hydroponic culturing system with solar light and a closed seedling production environment using artificial light. Currently it can produce spinach, cabbage, red and green lettuce, coriander, and more. The premium-quality, fresh produce will provide JD customers with new options for safe, nutritious and environmentally friendly food options, both online and offline at JD’s 7FRESH supermarkets.

All crops produced at JD’s new plant factory are tracked from the time they are planted to when they are delivered, a step toward the future of food production and retail as consumers worldwide increasingly demand transparency. In China, in particular, consumers place high importance on food safety while the overuse of fertilizer, environmental deterioration, and rapid population increase have caused soil problems.

In the new facility, temperature, humidity, light, and liquid fertilizer are automatically controlled by the factory’s management system, enabling more standardized production of high quality vegetables without the challenge of seasonal changes. For example, spinach produced in the facility contains 80% more folate, 32% more vitamin C, 25% more potassium and 37% more phosphorus than if grown in the field. Meanwhile, the technology makes pesticides and agrochemicals unnecessary, reducing the need for washing.

Meanwhile, the new factory can produce a higher output of vegetables than traditional agriculture systems; it can grow 19 batches of spinach in a year, compared to just 4 batches per year in a field or 6 per year in a greenhouse. It only requires half a liter of water to grow any of the factory’s vegetables. The factory is integrated with JD’s cold chain logistics network, so vegetables can be delivered to consumers’ tables as soon as the same day they are cropped.

“The JD Plant Factory in Tongzhou marks JD’s entry into the very beginning of the fresh food production chain, allowing us to guarantee that the fresh goods we sell have been treated with the care JD applies to everything we do,” said Xiaosong Wang, President of JD FMCG and Food businesses.

“JD’s supply chain technology, logistics network and e-commerce expertise combined with Mitsubishi Chemical’s sophisticated growing technology puts us in an ideal position to create an entirely new model for agriculture, and cultivates a fresh and healthy lifestyle in China.”

Fresh vegetables from the plant factory will be available on JD.com and at 7FRESH stores starting December. JD and Mitsubishi Chemical will cooperate to introduce more fruits and vegetables in the future.

From Competitors to Allies: Chinese Bookstores Get a Boost From JD.com

Posted on by Hui Zhang

Traditional brick-and-mortar bookstores around the world are facing challenges of declining traffic and sales amid fierce competition. Now, in China, traditional bookstores are experiencing a revival thanks to e-commerce giant JD.com.

JD.com, China’s largest retailer, has its own significant online book business. But the company is also providing solutions for book procurement, logistics and technology to 49 offline book stores, including Yitiao and AIO SPACE , part of JD’s “Retail as a Service,” or RaaS, strategy. Under the strategy, the company has provided a wide array of technology and services to companies ranging from consumer goods manufacturers to restaurants and other retailers.

Now, in China, traditional bookstores are experiencing a revival thanks to e-commerce giant JD.com.

 

Using technology developed for JD’s own e-commerce business, the company is helping to modernize supply chains and increase sales for the offline stores. Tangning Books, a bookstore in Guangzhou with two locations, for example, managed a dizzying array of more than 60 book suppliers before partnering with JD on May 15, 2017. The companies worked together to source all the books from JD.com’s inventory, with replenishment services from JD’s nationwide, in-house logistics network every week, significantly saving on labor costs and delivery delays. Sales grew 30% from May to the end of December in 2017, and profits grew 17% over the same period.

Since the partnership began, Tangning Books has reduced turnover to 220 days from over one year. Using JD’s big data analysis capabilities, the store now also has insight about customer buying behaviors, and chooses book assortments tailored to its customer base, leading to more sales.

“Without the help of JD’s technology and supply chain expertise, our business would have no competitive advantage in the traditional mode,” said Ningxin Lu, Founder of Tangning Bookstore.

“Now with the backing of e-commerce technology, we see a bright future for the offline book business.”

Another pain point for offline book stores is that they can’t stock every book customers may ask for in their limited space. Tangning Books lets customers scan QR codes for books they can’t find in store to have the books delivered within 24 hours from JD.com’s deeper inventory instead. In this way, the companies work together to create an “endless aisle” of choices for customers while JD shares profits from the sales with Tangning.

“Offline bookstores are just one example of the many industries where JD’s expertise in supply chain and inventory management, big data and technology can benefit other companies and industries, beyond JD’s own platform,” said Haifeng Yang, general manager of the Value Supply Chain Department at JD Logistics.

JD’s RaaS solutions have helped a number of companies, even beyond retail. Wang Shun Ge, a famous restaurant chain in China, has cut delivery costs to its restaurants by 50%, while getting faster shipments, since beginning to using JD for digital procurement of kitchen ingredients and logistics in 2017.

 

JD.com Recognized for Cloud Native Open Source Technology Usage with CNCF Top End User Award

Posted on by Ella Kidron

JD.com, China’s largest retailer, has been presented with the Top End User Award by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) for its unique usage of and contribution to cloud native open source projects. CNCF is the largest open source community dedicated to Kubernetes and cloud native software stacks and technologies. The award was announced at China’s first KubeCon + CloudNativeCon conference, which gathered thousands of technologists and end users in Shanghai from November 13-15 to discuss the future of open source technology development.

Providing the ultimate e-commerce experience to customers requires JD to house and process enormous amount of information that must be accessible at incredibly fast speeds. To put it in perspective, five years ago there were only about two billion images in JD’s product databases for customers. Today, there are more than one trillion, and that figure increases by 100 million images each day. This is why JD turned to CNCF’s Kubernetes project in recent years to accommodate its clusters.

JD currently runs the world’s largest Kubernetes cluster in production. The company first rolled out its containerized infrastructure a few years ago and, as the clusters grew, JD was one of the early adopters to shift to Kubernetes. The move, known as JDOS 2.0, marked the beginning of JD’s partnership with CNCF to build stronger collaborative relationships with the industry’s top developers, end users, and vendors. Ultimately, CNCF provided a window for JD to both contribute to and benefit from open source development.

In April, JD became the CNCF’s first platinum end user member, and took a seat on the organization’s governance board in order to help shape the direction of future Foundation initiatives. JD’s overall commitment to open source is highly aligned with its broader Retail as a Service strategy in which the company is empowering other retailers, partners, and industries with a broad range of capabilities in order to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and provide a higher level of customer service.

JD’s Kubernetes clusters support a wide range of workloads and big data and AI-based applications. The platform has boosted collaboration and enhanced productivity by reducing silos between operations and DevOps teams. As a result, JD has contributed code to projects such as Vitess, Prometheus, Kubernetes, CNI (Container Networking Interface), and Helm as part of its collaboration with CNCF.

“One contribution that we are very proud of is Vitess, the CNCF project for scalable MySQL cluster management,” said Haifeng Liu, Chief Architect of JD.com. “We are not only the largest end user of Vitess, but also a very active and significant contributor. We’re looking forward to working together with CNCF and its members to pave the way for future development of open source technology.”

Vitess allows JD to manage resources much more flexibly and efficiently, reducing operational and maintenance costs, and JD has one of the world’s most complex Vitess deployments. The company is actively collaborating with the CNCF community to add new features such as subquery support and global transactions, setting industry benchmarks.

“JD spearheads the use of cloud native technologies at scale within the APAC market, and is responsible for one of the largest Kubernetes deployments in the world,” said Chris Aniszczyk, COO of Cloud Native Computing Foundation. “The company also makes significant contributions to CNCF projects and its involvement in the community made JD a natural fit for this award.”

JD will continue to work on contributions to cloud native technologies as well as release its own internal and homegrown open source projects to empower others in the community.