JD’s Popular Free-Range Chicken Program Helps Farmers, Delights Customers

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

Back in 2016, JD.com turned its hand to revolutionizing a whole new industry: raising chickens.

With the launch of its “Running Chicken” initiative, JD established a free-range chicken farm in China’s economically disadvantaged Wuyi County, in Hebei province. The program has gone on to reduce poverty in one of the country’s historically poorest regions while providing top-quality chicken meat to discerning shoppers on the JD platform. It has been a resounding success, with sales of the free-range chicken products doubling on JD in its first two years.

The 27-hectare “Running Chicken” farm exemplifies JD’s commitment to both giving back to society and providing goods of unmatched quality. By offering interest-free loans to farmers, the program has helped nearly 500 families in the area earn thousands of RMB per year, improving their quality of life and helping to remove Wuyi County from China’s national poverty list. Professional breeders hired by JD take the lead in tending to the chickens, while local farmers are offered part-time jobs maintaining farms and growing vegetables, fruit and grain for chicken feed.

Chickens raised on the JD farm also provide a more ethical and healthier choice for consumers in an industry dominated by “battery farms,” where animals spend their lives caged in windowless sheds. Free-roaming chickens spend at least 50 percent of their time outdoors, so they can exercise in fresh air and sunshine and interact with other chickens. Studies have shown that free-range chicken meat can have lower levels of harmful cholesterol and saturated fat and higher levels of beneficial omega -3 acids, beta-carotene and vitamins A, B and E.

JD fits each chicken with a specially designed pedometer, with the aim of having each bird take one million steps during the rearing process. The company uses blockchain technology for maximum quality assurance and full traceability. Since early 2018, JD customers have been able to review details about the rearing process for every chicken they buy. A scan of the QR code on the poultry’s packaging allows buyers to view detailed information on sourcing, feeding intervals and more. The chickens are delivered via JD’s self-operated logistics network, which covers 99% of China’s population and offers same and next-day delivery to most customers.

“We are thrilled to see the ‘Running Chicken’ initiative find so much success with consumers just two years after its launch,” said Xiaowen Liu, key projects lead, fresh food sourcing, JD.com. “The project showcases how e-commerce can benefit society as a whole by alleviating poverty while bringing high-quality, safer, and better tasting produce to consumers.”

Following the chicken project’s initial success, JD has expanded its philanthropic reach and range of premium produce by launching two similar farm-to-table initiatives: “Swimming Duck” in Jiangsu Province and “Flying Pigeon” in Hebei Province. Since 2012 JD has also opened more than 200 Poverty Alleviation Local Specialty Malls on JD.com covering 25 provinces. The malls help promote and market local agricultural products on a national scale, both benefitting disadvantaged farmers and providing access to more locally-sourced products for consumers.

Learn more about JD’s running chicken initiative by watching the below video:

Source: CIPG

JD.com Self-developed Blockchain Framework Now Open to Businesses

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

JD.com has announced the opening of JD Chain to businesses, providing them with access to a state-of-the-art underlying blockchain framework. This follows JD’s earlier launch of a new blockchain technology open platform, the JD Blockchain Open Platform, which enables businesses to leverage pre-built APIs in their own businesses. Through JD Chain, companies can now build their own solutions from the ground up, starting from the underlying architecture, specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of their individual businesses, without relying on pre-built APIs.

The opening of JD Chain will be further complemented by the launch of the JD Chain Open Source Community. This new platform aims to promote greater discussions and pooling of resources among blockchain developers and enterprise users regarding the application of cutting-edge blockchain technologies.

Leveraging JD Chain to build individualized, state-of-the-art blockchain solutions will empower businesses to become far more efficient, flexible and secure. JD Chain helps improve the performance of five key technologies of blockchain including data ledger, consensus protocols, cryptographic algorithms, data storage and APIs. JD Chain can reach more than 10,000 transactions per second (TPS), and reduce the time required for the research and development of blockchain solutions and lower the threshold costs for using these technologies.

To meet the performance requirements of a range of different business applications, JD Chain has designed a technical architecture that spans three layers, including gateway service, consensus service and data ledger. Companies are able to access these functionalities through a simple, easy-to-use toolkit.

JD Chain has designed a technical architecture that spans three layers, including gateway service, consensus service and data ledger. Companies are able to access these functionalities through a simple, easy-to-use toolkit.

“JD has long been a trailblazer in pushing the bounds of blockchain’s potential to transform global commerce,” said Xinlei Zhai, head of blockchain at JD.com. “Through JD Chain and the JD Chain Open Source Community, we are empowering enterprises to leverage the vast technological resources at our disposal to develop their own blockchain solutions, creating greater security, efficiency and transparency across all of their operations.”

As a pioneer in the utilization of blockchain technologies, JD continues to invest in the growth of its expanding blockchain ecosystem. The company recognizes the huge potential of these technologies to introduce heightened transparency to the supply chain and enhance the consumer experience, providing JD’s customers with peace of mind about the quality and authenticity of their purchases. To date, JD has already implemented blockchain tracing for more than 700 brands and 50,000 SKUs on its platform.

JD previously launched a blockchain technology-based JD Medicine Opening Tracing Solution to provide more visibility into China’s pharmaceutical supply chains. The new offering builds upon JD’s strong track record in supply chain transparency, giving consumers unprecedented access to reliable tracing information and assuring them that the medicines they buy are genuine.

JD.com and ARCore by Google Launch Augmented Reality Contest

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

JD.com, China’s largest retailer, is hosting the JD-AR & ARCore by Google Innovative Consumer Application Competition in China. The competition will invite AR software developers from around the world to compete to create innovative augmented reality (AR) applications for the retail industry. ARCore by Google is the exclusive technology partner for the competition.

Developers will solve real-life problems put forth by the competition’s partner brands, including Walmart, Mead Johnson, and JD.com’s retail experience shops, among others. The goal is to explore how AR can be used to attract and retain both online and offline customers, and to optimize omnichannel targeted marketing in different retail scenarios.

Top teams are eligible for investments in their projects by VCs, as well as membership in the JD-AR Alliance, which provides unified resources and standards to advance the development of AR technology for the retail sector, official certification from ARCore by Google, exposure to investors and brands, and the opportunity to have their solutions implemented into JD’s primary apps.

“JD is pleased to partner with ARCore by Google to connect the world’s most talented AR developers with leading retail brands to develop new innovative solutions,” said Tony Tan, head of AR/VR at JD.com. “We look forward to seeing how the solutions resulting from this contest will be rolled out in actual retail scenarios to further enhance the customer experience.”

“Partnering with JD.com is an exciting opportunity for ARCore to expand our presence in this dynamic market,” said Carrie Shiung, Google AR/VR China Country Lead. “China is increasingly becoming a world leader in advanced fields such as AR, and this competition will allow us to discover new talent in the growing AR industry. This will add to the diverse offerings available on ARCore and help revolutionize the businesses of our partner brands.”

JD.com has led the way in China by deploying AR in both offline and online retail environments, through services including JD’s AR Shopping and AR Marketing, which leverage ARCore by Google, as well as JD’s AR Fitting Room, AR Styling Station. AR is key to JD’s Boundaryless Retail strategy – enabling consumers to buy whatever they want, wherever and whenever they want it. Through AR, customers are able to better understand how products will look before having purchased them. For example, using JD’s AR Styling Station function, customers can virtually test makeup and other beauty-related items. 70% of people who purchased colored contact lenses on JD during the company’s June 18 anniversary sales period last year used the AR Styling Station function prior to making their purchases.

JD also works with its partner brands to offer unique AR games and other experiences, which help increase engagement and improve understanding of the brands’ stories, thus helping brands reach more customers. For example, Chinese spirit brand, Jiangxiaobai, partnered with JD to create an AR marketing campaign where consumers scan specially labeled bottles of Jiangxiaobai on the JD app in order access a game where they test their bartending skills and have a chance to win coupons. JD’s AR products have already been utilized in sales and marketing campaigns by more than 200 brands on the JD platform, helping drive customer traffic, with conversion rates increasing 9.6% and product return rates decreasing 7.5% on average.

Applications for the AR contest will be accepted from April 2 to May 25, 2019. Contestants can apply via http://ar.jd.com/arpages/competition.html or contact arcorecontest@gmail.com for more information.

JD.com Launches New Sustainability Initiatives to Mark WWF Earth Hour 2019

Posted on by Hui Zhang

JD.com is partnering with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) again this year in support of the Earth Hour global environmental movement. Under the partnership, JD has launched a range of sustainability initiatives in recycling and green packaging across its business this week.

Leveraging its nationwide in-house logistics network, the only one that covers 99% of China’s population, JD.com has launched a new round of clothing recycling, where clothing picked up from its customers is sent either to recycling facilities or distributed to the needy. As part of the effort, a dozen universities and companies have set up physical booths where people can donate clothes. A similar drive last year collected more than 200,000 items from 47 cities across China, and a total of more than 1 million items of clothing have been collected so far under JD’s program.

JD.com has launched a new round of clothing recycling, where clothing picked up from its customers is sent either to recycling facilities or distributed to the needy.

A new addition to the campaign this year is JD’s partnerships with infant formula brands Mead Johnson Nutrition and Wyeth Nutrition to reduce waste by collecting and recycling empty infant formula cans. Some of the cans will be transformed into colorful pencil cases that will be distributed to disadvantaged schoolchildren.

As China’s largest retailer, JD.com is focused on making its supply chain increasingly sustainable. Key to these efforts is the Green Stream Initiative, JD’s largest environmental project, through which the company promotes the use of sustainable packaging materials, reducing the environmental impact of the entire supply chain. As part of its support of Earth Hour 2019, JD is giving its customers in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou the option to select reusable packaging for an expanded range of products. Customers shopping on the JD.com mobile app can change its interface to display an Earth Hour themed skin, encouraging them to engage in sustainable consumption.

“With its comprehensive in-house logistics network and vast consumer base of more than 300 million customers, JD.com is the priority partner in our efforts to promote sustainability in China,” said Lunyan Lu, Chief Operating Officer of WWF China. “Considering JD’s influence as the industry leader, its commitments and actions help to promote sustainable consumption in China and set a good example for practicing social responsibility in all sectors of society.”

“We are always looking for ways to make our business more responsible and sustainable,” said Christine Wong, head of JD International Affairs. “We have taken this year’s Earth Hour as a call to once more step up our efforts in eco-friendliness and sustainable consumption. We will continue working with partners to create new models for running sustainable, environmentally responsible businesses.”

Earth Hour began in 2007 as a WWF initiative in Australia, with individuals, communities and businesses voluntarily switching off unnecessary lights for one synchronized hour. Since then it has spread across 187 countries and territories to raise awareness of energy consumption and its environmental impact.

JD.com’s contributions to Earth Hour this year are only the latest addition to its impressive track record of corporate social responsibility. The company is converting its entire vehicle fleet to new energy vehicles, among other efforts to reduce emissions, and it is developing biodegradable packaging to further reduce waste in the supply chain. JD’s recently issued corporate social responsibility report highlights its ongoing commitment to global sustainability and dedication to giving back to the community.

Posted in ESG

JD.com’s AI Accelerator Demonstrates New Real-World Applications of AI Technology

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

JD.com, China’s largest retailer, is enabling new AI startups to push the bounds of real world applications of AI technology. Launched last August, JD’s AI accelerator serves as a major incubator for AI startups and early stage companies looking to make their mark in the space. JD’s first demo day, held in March, gave the accelerator’s inaugural group of startups a chance to showcase their projects.

The first batch of startups covers a range of industries, including retail, legal, healthcare, and education, among others. Some of these projects have already been implemented for day-to-day use at JD.com. For instance, FaGouGou (法狗狗), a provider of AI-powered legal consultancy services, worked closely with JD’s legal team to develop an innovative chatbot for merchants requiring legal advice and services. Based on JD’s speech recognition technology, AI algorithms, and legal databases, the Q&A platform has already benefited many of JD’s suppliers, merchants, partners and other entrepreneurs and SMEs, providing them with quick answers to their queries about investment and financing, corporate management, certifications, labor issues, and more. FaGouGou’s new legal technology product is now playing a critical role in fulfilling the needs arising from a current shortage of experienced lawyers in China.

“We’re thrilled to work with JD.com to use AI to advance legal services,” said Alex Liu, CEO of FaGouGou. “JD.com is leading the pack when it comes to real world application of technology, especially in AI. Leveraging JD’s immense resources made it possible for us to turn our idea of AI-driven legal consultancy services into a reality.”

Another startup is using AI to solve common pain points plaguing wine shoppers. Gone are the days of trying to remember the name of that great bottle of wine from last night’s dinner thanks to Chinese wine app 9KaCha. The app equips JD.com’s existing SnapShop technology – a 24/7 shopping consultant which allows users to upload photos and uses AI to analyze them and provide recommendations – with the ability to recognize hundreds of thousands of wines based on an extensive database, and to access detailed information about each one, such as its type, origin, color and taste, with a simple click of a button. Users can upload a photo of a wine label to directly purchase that particular wine, or to receive recommendations about other wines to help them expand their portfolios.

“JD’s AI accelerator program has empowered us to take our business to new heights,” said Zhifeng Dong, Co-founder of 9KaCha. “Working with JD has enabled us to tap into the rapidly growing demand for fine wines among JD’s more than 300 million customers.”

Through the AI Accelerator program, JD has now opened up its vast resources to China’s next-generation of AI startups, providing a wide range of support services to help them get off the ground successfully. These include training and mentoring in research and development, product, management, financing, legal, marketing, and other areas as well as technical support such as APIs, algorithms, and databases to facilitate improvements in their technologies. The startups also enjoy access to JD’s rich application scenarios across different parts of its business, including retail, logistics, legal and HR, among many others, allowing them to quickly put their offerings out into the real world and increase scale. With an initial roster of 16 startups, the program has already seen more than 80% of its participants succeed in debuting their new AI technologies through JD’s businesses.

“The accelerator program is immensely valuable in providing us a new perspective on how to leverage our technology resources,” said Bowen Zhou, Head of JD AI Platform & Research and Vice President of JD.com.

“We have already implemented several of the projects from the first batch of startups across the JD ecosystem. In the future, we will continue supporting these companies, as well as the ones in the second round, and future rounds, as they move into the next stages of their development.”

JD.com has already announced the second batch of promising startups in the AI Accelerator program. It includes 17 new startups, such as 3D vision technology provider Huajie IMI and leading online video platform, Zen Video. In the months ahead, JD will be working closely with them to help them scale their technologies and take their innovations to the next level.

JD.com and Michelin China Expand Partnership

Posted on by Hui Zhang

Michelin China is expanding its partnership with China’s largest retailer JD.com through the launch of a first-party flagship store on the JD platform. The new partnership will also see the global tire manufacturer and e-commerce giant integrate their offline auto service networks. Consumers who buy Michelin tires on JD.com will be given priority to choose high-end service networks such as TYREPLUS to enjoy premium installation service.

Part of JD.com’s online retail strategy, this is the latest milestone in the Michelin China and JD.com partnership, which dates back to 2016. The launch of its first-party flagship store on the platform marks the first time Michelin China has authorized an online platform in the Chinese market to sell its premium tires directly to consumers. In 2018, overall tire sales on JD.com had triple-digit growth. This new partnership will result in stronger sales performance and easier access to over 300 million customers for Michelin China.

Michelin China is expanding its partnership with China’s largest retailer JD.com

The seamless integration of the TYREPLUS offline service network, an automotive aftermarket services provider launched by Michelin Group, with JD.com’s offline automotive initiative “JD Auto Service,” will set new standards of convenience. This initiative is part of JD’s “Boundaryless Retail” strategy – the belief that consumers should be able to buy whatever they want, wherever and whenever they want it – online or offline.

A highly convenient consumer service, when users make purchases on the platform’s auto part stores, they will be given priority to choose high-end service networks such as TYREPLUS to enjoy premium installation service, thus enhancing the overall tire purchasing experience.

The new flagship store guarantees customers buy authentic products and JD.com’s unparalleled nationwide logistics and warehousing network ensures that purchased tires are delivered to offline service centers for installation with the speed and efficiency that JD.com is known for.

“JD.com understands that car owners require seamless integration of online purchasing and offline installation when they are choosing new tires,” said Roc Liu, Vice President of Michelin China Investment Co., LTD.

“With this e-commerce giant as our partner, we’re confident that this partnership will improve the entire tire purchasing experience.”

“Michelin has established a global reputation for producing high quality tires which we know will be embraced by JD.com users,” said Lijun Xin, President of JD Life and Services.

“With the backing of our premium e-commerce platform and capabilities in boundaryless retail, including our offline auto parts franchise, the expansion of this partnership will help consumers across China better connect with this outstanding tire brand, and significantly improve the process of buying and installing tires.”

In recent years JD.com has become a major player in China’s auto parts and services industry, expanding its network of online and offline options for Chinese car owners and launching its own franchise of “JD Auto Service” branded auto service stores throughout the country.

JD’s Data Insights Help Top Consumer Goods Brands Boost Sales

Posted on by Rachel Liu

JD is teaming up with several of the world’s top fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands to provide data-driven insights about how best to cater to Chinese consumers. Launched several years ago, JD’s Consumer-to-Manufacturer (C2M) model leverages JD’s big data and customer analysis capabilities to optimize a brand’s products specifically to meet unique demands of the Chinese market.

Two household favorites, Huggies diapers and Head & Shoulders shampoo, are the latest brands to benefit from JD’s C2M initiative, resulting in significant sales increases. These successes were announced at JD’s recent annual FMCG conference, where the company gathered more than 900 representatives from top brand partners to share its business strategy for the coming year, including its continued focus on C2M projects.

As China’s largest retailer with more than 300 million customers, JD has access to a vast database of customer feedback. JD’s specialized data analytics tools, which can perform sophisticated key word searches and trend analyses, helped Huggies understand how to maximize performance and comfort of their diapers in the Chinese market and boost customer satisfaction. Last year, after leveraging JD’s extensive consumer insights to better understand the reasons for the rising popularity of domestic Chinese diaper brands, which mostly use composite material rather than wood pulp, Huggies released a new composite material version of its diapers in China. This material doesn’t become rough when soiled, making it more comfortable for longer term wear. Since the new product’s launch last year on JD’s “Super New Product Day” — a sales event that helps brands drive more traffic and market new products to the e-commerce giant’s consumer base — sales of the new collection accounted for more than 62% of Huggies’ sales on JD. Further, analyzing the frequency of customer diaper shopping trips and babies’ average daily diaper needs led JD and Huggies to introduce a new 104-diaper package that has proved wildly successful for the brand on JD.

Anti-dandruff and scalp-care expert Head & Shoulders also benefitted from JD’s C2M initiative. After analyzing data and customer feedback, JD helped Head & Shoulders see how Chinese consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental friendliness and chemical composition of the products they use. After observing and analyzing the rising popularity of natural hair care products across its platform, JD supported Head & Shoulders launch an exclusive collection of natural shampoo free of silicone. In its first four months, sales of this collection exceeded 10 million RMB.

“JD is unrivaled in its understanding of how China’s consumers shop online, and the insights they provided were invaluable to us in designing this new line of shampoo,” said Janet Cai, e-commerce director of Head & Shoulders, P&G. “P&G looks forward to deepening our partnership with JD to ensure our products fulfil the needs of China’s discerning consumers.”

“As the first-choice online shopping platform for millions of customers in the world’s largest retail market, JD is uniquely placed to advise established consumer brands on how best to tailor their products through a demand-driven production model,” said Carol Fung, president of JD FMCG. “Our deep understanding of customers is based on extensive consumer insights and user feedback, allowing JD to provide valuable advice to our partners in the design of both their products and marketing campaigns.”

JD has also leveraged its C2M capabilities to assist brands in other categories such as consumer electronics. In 2015, JD and HP jointly launched the OMEN Gaming PC built exclusively for gamers. Through deep learning and semantic analysis of millions of customer reviews and searches, combined with market trend analysis and market research, JD and HP customized many aspects of the PC to best suit gamer needs. HP has since launched a series of OMEN gaming products with JD.

In December 2018, Logitech launched the Pebble wireless mouse featuring a modern design with a slim appearance and noise reduction. This particular model was recommended by JD as a result of the platform’s big data analysis identifying “silent” and “slim” as two of the most common search keywords. Logitech began working with JD to identify products that meet changing needs and expectations of consumers in 2015. Since then, sales of Logitech’s “silent” mouse have tripled in China and continue to grow.

‘JD Plus’ Premium Program Now Includes Zhihu Membership

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

JD.com’s pioneering premium membership program, JD Plus, which already includes a rich range of exclusive promotions and benefits that go beyond shopping, now includes more reasons to join. Starting March 8, JD Plus members will also receive premium subscriptions to Zhihu, China’s leading Q+A platform, as well as free access to thousands of online books via Zhihu membership.

Often cited as China’s equivalent to Quora, Zhihu ( “do you know?” in Chinese) has more than 220 million mostly young and well-educated users. Chinese internet users increasingly turn to Zhihu for insight and expert knowledge on various topics.

As part of this new tie-in, Zhihu members will also gain access to the full range of JD Plus benefits, joining more than 10 million JD Plus members who get premium services such as faster accumulation of “JingDou” loyalty points for product purchases on JD, exclusive discounts on purchases and shipping, 24-hour premium customer service, and other premium features they can use both online and offline.

Chinese consumers increasingly value the advantages of premium paid membership programs. JD.com was the first Chinese e-commerce company to introduce an exclusive paid membership service three years ago. Since then, the company has continued adding new features for its JD Plus members, including benefits beyond its own platform.

The partnership with Zhihu gives new JD Plus members free access to over 10,000 e-books, 600 audiobooks and Zhihu “Live” – real-time interactive Q+A sessions. Existing JD Plus members also have the opportunity to receive Zhihu benefits immediately via an in-app game. Others will begin receiving the new benefits without extra charge once their memberships renew.

“Over the past three years, millions of Chinese consumers have joined JD Plus to enjoy special discounts, exclusive members-only prices and coupons, among many other benefits,” said Chunhui Meng, head of JD Plus at JD.com. “By teaming up with industry leaders such as Zhihu, JD Plus is making strong progress in building the best cross-industry premium benefits program available to Chinese users. JD Plus’ emphasis on high quality benefits and services makes it a natural fit for Zhihu Reading Club’s members.”

“Since Zhihu launched its membership program last year, we have continued enhancing our premium offering through innovative partnerships,” said Rongle Zhang, Vice President of Zhihu. “As China’s largest retailer, renowned for its commitment to premium goods and quality customer service, JD is an ideal partner for Zhihu. The exclusive member privileges provided by JD Plus will be much appreciated by our insightful Zhihu members.”

The Zhihu partnership is the latest example of how JD partners with others to enhance the JD Plus program. JD Plus members already get benefits including complimentary VIP membership on China’s leading online streaming video platform iQIYI, bundled memberships with Walmart’s Sam’s Club, complimentary use of airport VIP lounges, as well as restaurant and food coupons, entertainment services, travel booking, wealth management products and more.