JD.com is Runner-Up Chinese Company on Forbes’ 2022 World’s Best Employers

Posted on by Vivian Yang

by Vivian Yang

JD.com jumped 52 positions to No. 30 on Forbes’ list of 2022 World’s Best Employers, released on Oct. 12. It is the fifth year in a row that the company has been listed on the ranking, and this year JD.com came in second place among Chinese companies.

The ranking is compiled through surveys of 150,000 full-time and part-time workers from 57 countries working for multinational companies and institutions, regarding aspects of their corporate impact and image, talent development, gender equality, and social responsibility.

Providing quality work and boosting staff well-being have been essential pursuits for JD.com in the company’s long-term development. By the end of 2021, the number of JD employees (including those from non-listed affiliates) surpassed 420, 000. They consist of a huge talent pool in a variety of businesses in which JD engages, ranging from retail, logistics, technologies, healthcare, finance, industrial development and more.

According to the characteristics of different positions, the company offers a whole set of customized HR solutions, including clear career prospects, diversified training, competitive compensations, and thoughtful employee benefits.

As of today, JD has allocated over RMB 1.4 billion yuan in its staff housing plan, and nearly RMB 100 million yuan for its employee relief foundation, among an array of other measures that aim to enhance employees’ sense of belonging and happiness.

JD.com also provides a minimum of 128 days of maternity leave for its employees (with most regions offering 158 days, and some regions offering up to 190 days). In certain regions, employees are entitled to an additional 30 days of maternity leave as a welfare benefit. Depending on the regulations in different regions nationwide, JD.com provides a minimum of five days of parental leave for employees, and expecting fathers are entitled to a minimum of 10 days of paternity leave, allowing both fathers and mothers to be with their children. The company also offers paid leave for employees to attend parent-teacher conferences, enabling them to better accompany their children’s growth. In addition, depending on the nature of the job, JD.com provides flexible working hour policies for certain positions as well as work-from-home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

JD.com creates many fast-growth opportunities for the younger generation. In the past four years, JD has continuously opened a significant number of positions for fresh graduates, which has opened 358 types of positions and accumulatively offered nearly 60,000 job opportunities.

JD’s staff promotion statistics in early 2022 showed that nearly 50 percent of employees from campus recruitment gained promotions and nearly 70 percent of newly graduated technical staff in their late twenties have become core members of the teams, with many starting to shoulder important management responsibilities.

Read more about JD’s employee support efforts in our 2022 ESG Report.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

Posted in ESG

JD.com Named on Fortune’s 2022 Change the World List

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

by Yuchuan Wang

JD.com has ranked No.2 on Fortune’s 2022 Change the World List for its efforts in delivering essential supplies in the second quarter of 2022 during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai. Fortune released the list on October 10.

The list honors about 50 companies globally each year that use the creative tools —including the profit motive—to address society’s unmet needs. It assesses nominees by factors including measurable social impact, business results and degree of innovation.

Fortune highlighted that JD.com sent over 5,000 workers to Shanghai from other cities during that period to meet demand that peaked at 1.5 million orders fulfilled per day.

During the fight against COVID resurgences in China this spring, JD Logistics delivered more than 150,000 tons of essential goods to affected people. JD couriers went up and beyond to ensure local people’s livelihoods, such as setting up more than 1,600 contactless delivery stations in various neighborhoods. Incomplete statistics showed that the company has put in a total of RMB 2 billion yuan in supporting the fight against the pandemic in Shanghai, Beijing and other regions with outbreaks this year so far.

JD.com has attached great importance to its social responsibilities since day one, and has been building a “responsible supply chain” to create value for businesses, industries and society. In 2012, JD.com’s founder Richard Liu authorized that if a disaster happens anywhere in the country, the nearest JD warehouse should immediately donate and transport its goods to meet the emergency demands, and the management of any such warehouse would not need to obtain prior approval.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

 

Posted in ESG

JD.com and Tyson Build Automated Cold Chain Warehouse in China

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

by Yuchuan Wang

JD Logistics (JDL) and Tyson China unveiled a jointly-established automated cold chain warehouse in Rizhao, Shandong province on October 8. The project enables maximized storage and highly efficient operations powered by software and hardware systems, at the temperature of -18℃.

Such automated cold chain warehouses will also be put into use in Tyson China’s smart factories in Xiaogan, Hubei province and Nantong, Jiangsu province.

The Rizhao warehouse leverages a 17.8-meter high AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval system), with double extensor stacker, pallet-type conveyor, AGVs and four-way shuttles. Using RFID information labeling system, it can greatly improve operations efficiency while lowering costs.

JDL and Tyson also designed shelves with different heights to store various products to fully utilize the warehouse space. JDL provides the warehouse management system (WMS) and warehouse control system (WCS) to Tyson, which manages inventory delicately and accurately.

The digital warehousing planning and distributed inventory system enables Tyson to place its products in the nearest warehouses to its clients and consumers, in order to flexibly match their needs. At the same time, the application of the big data-enabled replenishment model can reduce logistics costs while improving the inventory turnover.

In the future, the two parties will carry out in-depth cooperation in supply chain planning, cold chain logistics, retail and more, and facilitate Tyson China to lower the end-to-end supply chain costs, better understand consumers’ needs and contribute to an optimized upgrade of the food supply chain industry.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

Six Ways JD.com Supports Its Elderly Shoppers

Posted on by Vivian Yang

by Vivian Yang

As of the end of 2021, the aging population in China over 60 had exceeded 267 million. Their growing consumption demands and a shift to e-commerce have presented both opportunities and challenges for retailers. Here are six ways that JD.com has helped elderly customers explore digital technology and embrace their role in the “silver economy”.

1. Customized Call Service

JD’s customer service department established a dedicated team to serve elderly customers during phone calls. Team members maintain a slower and more placid speaking manner, articulating around 100 words per minute (comparing with 200 words/minute of normal pace) while talking to elderly customers on the phone. Meanwhile, for easier understanding, they communicate in various local dialects and also refrain from using technical terms or jargon. Moreover, for elderly people who cannot use the internet, JD’s team sometimes helps these customers make online purchases on their behalf, especially for housebound customers.

Mr. Fang, an over-70-year-old man living alone in Zhaoqing of Guangdong province, made more than one hundred orders in the past three years through JD’s customer service, over the course of more than 100 accumulative hours.

2. Doorstep Delivery by Thoughtful Couriers

Delivering products to customers’ doorsteps, instead of a pick-up station, has been a long-held practice by JD Logistics. This service is beneficial for elderly customers because it not only brings them convenience but also creates a special bond between them and their community couriers. These couriers are always willing to help, such as teaching them how to use new home appliances sent by their children, reading them about medicine usage, and more.

Today, JD’s same-or next-day delivery service covers 94 percent of counties and 84 percent of townships in China. Additionally, by connecting with more than 200,000 physical stores in over 1,800 counties, its online-to-offline delivery service supports one-hour delivery that can meet more elderly people’s urgent demands.

3. A Digitalized System of Elderly Care Service

One morning last winter, Madam Weng, a resident of Tianjin city, was home alone when she suddenly began to feel dizzy. She immediately pressed a button that had previously been installed by her local community. It only took five minutes for community staff to reach her home, and they sent her to the hospital immediately. After being discharged from the hospital, she has continued to receive follow-up calls and services as the local community monitors her recovery status with technology supported by JD.com.

“The call button was a huge help for me,” said Madam Weng. The call button is part of the digitalized system for elderly care service co-developed by JD Cloud with the local government of Hexi District of Tianjin. The system is composed of an elderly population database, a website for elderly care services and a dedicated service platform that helps to upgrade the local government’s management capability in serving elderly people.

4. Offering Elderly-Friendly Products and On-site Services

Mr. Chen and his wife, both 80 years old, are living by themselves in their old flat in Beijing. Their children had wanted to revamp their small bathroom to avoid the slippery accidents, but considering the long renovation time that would be involved, the couple had been putting off the renovation plan. Then their daughter showed them a VR solution for elderly-friendly space transformation on JD.com. The solution package, which includes a flush toilet, handles, and more, was shipped to Mr. Chen’s home within 24 hours; and JD’s renovation team completed the work within 72 hours.

Mr. Chen’s experience is only one example of how JD has been leveraging its matrix of more than 100,000 types of elderly-friendly products of all categories and offering design and space transformation services that can quickly create safer and cozier homes for elderly people.

5. Trading in Old Electronic Products

This year, JD’s electronic products department upgraded its trade-in services, allowing customers to trade in cross-category products and multiple pieces for new ones. For example, customers can exchange five-year-old cell phones or a mix of old computers, air conditioners, cameras, and more for new electronic products. The service is welcomed by many elderly people for providing a good way to dispose of their old stuff, by contributing to e-waste recycling. As of now, the transaction value of the trade-in program has grown 146 percent year on year.

6. Personal Health Services

One customer, Mr. Li, cares for his 85-year-old father, who has lived with disabilities for many years. Bathing him has always been challenging for Mr. Li until he learned about the professional bathing assistance service that can be ordered via JD Health’s dedicated portal for elderly care. Through this service, the caregiver Mr. Wu will bring his health kit to check Mr. Li’s father’s temperature, blood pressure, and oxygen level, making sure of the client’s health condition before he starts bathing and massaging him, and then trims his nails after the bath.

Besides comprehensive caregiving services that users can order via JD Health, Mr. Li was also pleased to learn that he can conveniently order a wide range of medicines and health equipment on JD Health, as well as telemedicine services through the internet or hotlines where he can receive timely advice from doctors.

JD’s consumption data shows that from 2018 to 2022, the number of total orders made by elderly customers tripled, with their transaction volume increasing 2.1 times and the number of users up 1.8 times. The company is continuing to explore ways to support elderly shoppers, helping them bridge the digital gap and enabling them to live more happily, conveniently, and meaningfully with more dignity.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

Outdoor Gear Sales Soar on JDDJ over the China National Day Holiday

Posted on by Yiming Yan

by Yiming Yan

According to data from the on-demand retail platforms of JD Daojia (JDDJ) and Shop Now, travel equipment and household goods ushered in a  remarkable increase in sales during China’s National Day holiday (October 1 to October 7).

Also known as Golden Week, the National Day holiday generates significant revenue for most tourism-related businesses. According to reports, long-distance travel may be impossible for many people due to COVID-19 cases, resulting in the popularity of more relatively nearby destinations over the holiday. The newest travel trends contributed significantly to the increase in sales of camping gear and travel necessities.

JDDJ

JD’s data show that the sales of camping equipment such as fishing chairs, sleeping bags and hammocks increased by more than 10 times compared with the same period last year. Sales of sportswear climbed by more than 8 times year over year (YOY), and sales of tents increased by more than 6 times YOY. Travel accessories, outdoor shoes and clothes, binoculars, cameras, and other travel-related products also saw increases of more than 10 times YOY. Additionally, sales of tripods and portable power stations grew by 200% YoY.

Pets also accompanied their owners in traveling. Data uncovered that travel gear for cats and dogs such as leashes increased by more than 10 times YOY, while pet clothing and pet medical supplies increased by more than 5 times YOY.

This year’s National Day holiday also coincided with the Double-Ninth Festival(Chinese lunar calendar September 9, which falls on October 4 this year), which increased the need for gifts. Compared to the same period last year, gift box sales jumped more than ten times.

In response to the government advocacy, walk-and-go camping has become the first choice of many people during this holiday this year. Shop Now’s service of accepting online orders and delivering merchandise within an hour is very popular due to its convenience when shopping for travel-related necessities.

 

(yanyiming1@jd.com)

JD Foundation Facilitates Donations for Left-Behind Children

Posted on by Vivian Yang

by Vivian Yang

China Charities Aid Foundation for Children（CCAFC）announced on its official Wechat on Oct 9 that in the past six months, its “Children Home” project for left-behind children has received over 4 million donated goods from internet users through JD Foundation’s online charity donation program.

Equipped with donated tables and chairs, bookshelves, toys, computers, and other study tools, the Children Home project aims to create activity spaces for children from underdeveloped regions in rural China. CCAFC staff and volunteers use the space to carry out a series of educational activities for the children, such as reading, arts, sports, and safety knowledge classes, as well as training for their parents and other guardians.

JD Foundation introduced this project on its donation platform this April, and it caught many users’ attention. People can easily pay for designated goods at a favorable price, to be donated to the Children’s Home project. Many users left touching comments, including children whose parents supported them in making donations to those in need.

One note left on August 14 says: “I’m a first-grader. I got 36 yuan from helping with housework at home. I wish to use the money to buy a globe for these children. They can use the globe to know about the world, and through studying, I hope one day they can go out and see the bigger world.”

Throughout the year, by browsing JD Foundation’s charity donation platform, JD users can learn more and contribute to a selection of charity campaigns managed by different organizations. Donations will then be delivered free of charge by JD Logistics to responsible persons who are entrusted to dispatch the goods to the beneficiaries. Donors can track the whole delivery process of their orders through JD’s App.

In 2017, JD Foundation and CCAFC co-organized a campaign that called for unused toys in idle to be donated to children in need, and JD couriers in 8 big cities nationwide were tasked to go to donors’ homes to collect these toys.

In early 2019, JD Foundation joined hands with a number of brand partners to send gift boxes through CCAFC for needy children and their families to celebrate Chinese New Year.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

Posted in ESG

JD.com Helps Boost Sales of Rice Named after Agronomist Yuan Longping

Posted on by Doris Liu

by Doris Liu

JD.com recently deepened collaboration with the farm that produces Yuan Longping Rice, which is named after China’s father of hybrid rice, in terms of quality control, digitally intelligent supply chain and branding as the Chinese Farmers’ Harvest Festival fell on September 23 this year.

In the first eight months of 2022, the sales of Yuan Longping Rice have grown up over threefold compared with the same period last year, according to JD’s data. To stimulate a positive cycle of high-quality agricultural products and rural consumption upgrading, JD.com maintains a strict control process to ensure that all such rice products sold in JD Super, JD’s omni-channel supermarket business, are of first-grade quality.

From the paddy field to household table, rice needs to go through planting, storage, processing, packaging, delivery and other procedures, showing obvious characteristics of the long industrial chain.

“Although vacuum packaging and low-temperature storage can largely reduce the smell and taste differences of rice caused by water evaporation and oil oxidation, there is still a certain impact,” said Jason Cao, director of the rice, noodles and food grains business of JD Super. “Therefore, JD continues to refine each node in the rice industrial chain to ensure perfect-tasting rice for every family.”

Many local agricultural products, despite being of high quality, lack brand awareness and a solid quality control system, and have no opportunity to develop its supply chain infrastructure. To tackle these issues, JD.com is supporting Yuan Longping Rice with resources including its platform channels, marketing advantages, various promotions and live streaming—reaching a win-win in both sales and popularity.

Yuan Longping (1930-2021), a Chinese agronomist renowned for developing the first hybrid-rice strain in the 1970s, devoted his life to the research of high-yielding hybrid rice that is strategically important for China, the most populous country of the world.

JD launched the “March to Rich Plan” (MRP) in 2020 with a goal to drive an output value of RMB 1 trillion yuan in China’s rural areas over the following three years and facilitate rural revitalization. After 22 months, JD had driven the rural output value to exceed RMB 620 billion yuan by the end of this August, helping millions of farmers increase their income.

As of now, JD Logistics has realized same- and next-day delivery in 94 percent of counties and districts across China and 84 percent of villages and towns nationwide, upgrading the logistics system for rural areas to a great extent.

 

(liujun215@jd.com)

JD Launches New Products in National Pavilion of Sri Lanka

Posted on by Mengyang He

by Mengyang He

In concert with the 70th anniversary of the signing of the “Rubber-Rice Pact” between China and Sri Lanka, JD.com has launched an array of new products in the national pavilion of Sri Lanka, including tea, biscuits, coconut oil, etc.

Since opening, the JD National Pavilion of Sri Lanka has offered over 50 products, including popular Ceylon black tea brands, including Lions, Impra, and Sinolan. The snacks from Maliban offer biscuits with ginger and coconut flavors and more, allowing consumers to enjoy a taste of South Asia in China, according to Wei Ye, Vice President of JD.com and President of JD Foods.

In recent years, with the consumption upgrade, Chinese consumers have an increasingly strong demand for international high-quality products. In order to provide Chinese consumers with efficient access and excellent experience in purchasing products from all over the world.

H.E. Dr. Palitha Kohona, ambassador of Sri Lanka to China

Chiranjaya Udumullage, President of China Sri Lanka Association for Trade and Economic Cooperation said, “We are delighted to see Sri Lankan products are well received by Chinese consumers, and partnering with JD.com allows our local specialties to reach nearly 600 million active users.”

“We believe JD.com will be an ideal tool to connect Sri Lankan exporters and industries with its target market in China,” noted Suresh D de Mel, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board. “Ceylon tea and Ceylon cinnamon are key national agricultural brands of Sri Lanka in the international market. Black tea is the main export item to China, with a worth of USD 50.6 million exports to China in 2021.”

Ravi Jayawardena, CEO of Maliban Group added, “We recognize the JD National Pavilion of Sri Lanka as a pioneering feat to encourage existing and new businesses to enter the Chinese market.”

For the following year, JD Retail plans to open more than 100 national pavilions, and JD will continue to enrich supply chain, optimize quality control, after-sales service and logistics services, providing consumers with a smooth shopping experience.

 

(hemengyang5@jd.com)