JD.com: Four Robotic Shops “ochama” Have Been Launched in the Netherlands

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

by Yuchuan Wang

During the 2022 World Retail Congress held in Italy from April 5th to 7th, Pass Lei, general manager of ochama at JD.com, announced that since January of this year the company has launched four robotic shops in the Netherlands, located in Leiden, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht.

As the pandemic is reshaping consumers’ shopping behaviors, digitalization has been put in the spotlight for global retailers. “We hope to help customers explore an extraordinary shopping experience through technology and service innovation, and create a sustainable future,” said Lei.

It is not only the chain’s in-store robots that enable such efficiency. JD’s warehouse in Rotterdam spans an area of nearly 20,000 square meters. Equipped with automated systems, it can process 15,000 parcels a day.

Thanks to the application of supply chain technologies, ochama brings down the product price by an extra 10% to benefit the chain’s member customers.

Ochama is JD’s first physical retail store launched in Europe. The omni-channel model allows shoppers to purchase a full range of products including fresh produce online through ochama’s App, and pick it up offline with the help of various robots such as robotic arms and automated ground vehicles. Customers can also choose to have their orders delivered the next day to their doorsteps by paying a small fee.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

JD.com to Provide 16 Million+ Items of Daily Necessities to Shanghai Residents

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

by Yuchuan Wang

“JD.com will provide over 16 million items of daily necessities to Shanghai residents, including rice, flour and cooking oil that can secure one-month supply for local customers,” said Wenbo Wang, vice president of JD.com, during a press conference on measures and control of COVID-19 in Shanghai held on April 10.

JD.com has participated in Shanghai’s supply guarantee system. Since late March, the company has allocated sufficient goods from brand owners, fresh produce bases and its more than 1,300 warehouses nationwide, with a focus on categories including food, baby and maternal and medicine. For example, JD will increase its inventory for rice, flour, meat and seafood by two to three times more than usual.

The first batch of goods including over 80,000 pieces of baby and maternal products such as milk powder and diapers, over 100,000 items of medicine and PPEs have arrived in Shanghai. In addition to delivering to consumers, part of the milk powder shipment was delivered to the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center to ensure the demands of the mobile cabin hospitals in Shanghai for children and parents.

JD Health launched free online health consultation services for residents in lockdown areas. JD Pharmacy has prepared sufficient stock of medicines, disinfection products and other healthcare supplies and ensure their delivery in a timely manner.

Regarding the breakpoints on the supply chain, JD is in close communication with local governments to try every means to restore smooth operations.

Wang said that more than 2,000 couriers have joined the front-line to ensure the delivery for customers. Earlier, JD also launched autonomous delivery robots in the city’s Pudong New Area to provide contactless last mile delivery for certain locked down neighborhoods.

 

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

Posted in ESG

JD Fresh Launches Premium Australian Beef Products

Posted on by Mengyang He

by Mengyang He

JD Fresh, JD.com’s fresh food business, recently launched full blood Wagyu M9+ beef products in collaboration with Rangers Valley, one of the world’s most respected premium marbled beef producers. All the beef products will be imported from Australia and selected by experienced JD Fresh buyers.

Full blood Wagyu M9+ beef from Rangers Valley

“The transaction volume of Australian steak products account for 53 percent of that of imported steak products on JD.com in 2022,” Xiaozhou Zhou, general manager of JD Fresh, added. “JD Fresh is committed to providing top-notch fresh food to our consumers. The collaboration with Rangers Valley will meet more potential needs for meat-lovers through JD.com. In the future, we will also explore the U.S. market to bring more premium meat products to our consumers.”

According to the statistics of the General Administration of Customs of China, China has replaced the United States as the world’s largest beef importer since 2018. China’s beef import volume has been mounting each year, reaching 10 billion US dollars in 2020. However, beef products from Australia accounted for approximately 12 percent. In order to further expand the Chinese market, Rangers Valley has focused on China’s high-end retail market.

“JD.com will be featuring infinite ribeye and striploin cuts in its online offering. Rangers Valley is excited to see this new opportunity for Infinite Wagyu to reach the kitchens of discerning JD customers,” noted Andrew Moore, Manager of Beef Division of Rangers Valley.

Cattle from Rangers Valley

Originated in 1838 in Australia, Rangers Valley is committed to providing Australian beef with premium quality to consumers. As the representative of Wagyu beef brand, Rangers Valley’s products enjoy a global reputation, and they used to be exclusively served in MICHELIN-starred restaurants and high-end hotels.

 

(hemengyang5@jd.com)

JD Logistics Europe Spotlights Integrated Supply Chain Solutions for Global Brands

Posted on by Xiaoqian Han

by Xiaoqian Han

The “Leaders in Logistics 2022” summit was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 22-23, where more than 60 logistics industry leaders around the world gathered to deliver key speeches on cutting-edge technology in the logistics industry. At the summit, Kannon Qian, GM of JD International Logistics Europe, shared his insights on how the world’s leading logistics companies, operators, retailers, and logistics professionals are working in today’s market.

“The current global economic and trade situation is tumultuous, with challenges such as unbalanced supply and demand and a tense business environment,” Qian said. “Even in these conditions, JD International Logistics is actively building global self-owned warehouse network infrastructure capacity, upgrading cross-border end-to-end solutions, improving automation equipment and fulfillment systems, and adhering to the action of sustainable development to bring integrated supply chain solutions for global brands.”

Kannon Qian, GM of JD International Logistics Europe

In 2021, JD Logistics opened automated warehouses in six countries including the UK, the US, Australia, and the Netherlands, with a total number of bonded and overseas warehouses reaching nearly 80. “JD Logistics’ overseas business aims to help merchants bring down operating costs and improve efficiency for more partners outside China both on their local market and cross-border operations,” Qian said.

The warehouse in the Netherlands served Hunkemöller, the eminent European ready-to-wear brand, covering the full range of B2B and B2C scenarios and fulfilling orders in the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Luxemburg via automated goods-to-person AGV（Automated Ground Vehicle）robots.

It also launched cargo flights from China to the UK to provide as fast as 48-hour door-to-door transportation service. Recently, JD.com has launched two charter cargo flights from China to Brazil and Germany. Since 2021, the company has consecutively launched cargo flights from China to Thailand, the US, the UK, Brazil, and Germany, connecting sellers and buyers from the continents of Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America.

 

(hanxiaoqian3@jd.com)

JD Worldwide Welcomes Cuban National Pavilion

Posted on by Doris Liu

by Doris Liu

The Cuban National Pavilion opened on JD Worldwide on April 8 as the launch ceremony was hosted in the Embassy of Cuba in China in the capital city of Beijing.

The pavilion will focus on providing authentic and the most iconic products from the country with Cuban Arecha rum, Conchita jam and Apisun honey already selling in the store. More products of interest to Chinese consumers, such as coffee, lobster, health food, dietary supplements and crafts, will be introduced in the next stage.

“The launch of Cuban National Pavilion will lead Cuba to enter the cross-border e-commerce. In the context of the rapid transformation of our economy, this is a new channel to achieve prosperity and sustainable development,” said Cuban Ambassador to China Carlos Miguel Pereira at the ceremony.

“The Internet has turned all distances to zero”, said Luke Liu, Deputy General Manager of JD Worldwide. “Our customers will be able to make consumption of Cuban products at anytime and anywhere, and Cuban products are right in front of our eyes.”

National Pavilion is an important project for JD Worldwide, JD’s cross-border platform. It was launched in 2018 and has welcomed countries from Asia, Europe, Americas and more to join the project. In total 42 national pavilions have joined the project including Peru, Malaysia, Germany, Indonesia, Thailand and so on.

JD Worldwide will continue to be the bridge of trust between brands and customers to introduce more overseas products and culture to Chinese consumers meanwhile help brands expand further in the Chinese market.

Any international brand interested in building their business with JD in China can apply via https://www.jd.hk/cooperation_en or by emailing worldwide@jd.com.

 

(liujun215@jd.com)

JD Auto Partners with 3M in the Automotive Aftermarket

Posted on by Mengyang He

by Mengyang He

JD Auto, JD.com’s omni-channel automotive business, has partnered with 3M, the leading U.S. manufacturing company, introducing 3M’s brand-new five-in-one fuel additive on JD.com. The new product has enhanced performance by nearly 55 percent compared with its previous version, capable of effectively cleaning the carbon deposits in the engine.

3M’s brand-new five-in-one fuel additive

“Rooted in China for over 30 years, 3M has been serving the Chinese market and enriching local partnerships. We are honored and excited to partner with JD Auto in building new experience and ecosystem for Chinese consumers in the automotive aftermarket,” noted John Barto, general manager of the automotive aftersales division at 3M Greater China.

Songfeng Chen, general manager of maintenance omni-channel of JD Auto, added, “JD Auto is committed to providing consumers with the one-stop automotive consumption model, namely ‘product with service.’ The partnership with 3M will allow the two parties to better serve the car owners in China.”

As the world’s fastest growing automotive consumption market, China is in the forefront in car ownership, and its sizable scale also brings plenty of opportunities to the booming automotive aftermarket. With its large user base and online and offline marketing skillset, JD Auto will effectively elevate the penetration rate of 3M’s automotive aftermarket products in China, and stimulate C2M (customer-to-manufacturer) products in the making.

 

(hemengyang5@jd.com)

JD Health Supports UNAIDS China on HIV and HPV Prevention Work

Posted on by Vivian Yang

by Vivian Yang

JD Health joined hands with the UNAIDS China Office to donate RMB 100,000 yuan worth of condoms to 17 community-based organizations in different regions across China to support their work on HIV and HPV prevention.

The collaboration was kicked off on March 8, the International Women’s Day, and throughout the month JD Health coordinated with several manufacturers on the product distribution to recipients designated by UNAIDS, with most of them being community service centers, care groups, mutual aid centers in Henan, Hebei, Hunan, Guizhou and other provinces.

“Women living with HIV are four to five times more likely to develop cervical cancer than women who are HIV-negative,” wrote UNAIDS China on its Twitter and acknowledged JD Health’s collaboration on April 1st. The post was retweeted by Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, bringing this action to a much broader audience’s awareness.

While the donations were given to targeted users, the two sides simultaneously carried out an awareness-raising campaign in China on healthcare knowledge related to HIV and HPV to the general public via both online and offline channels.

As a first-time collaboration, the small step marks the beginning of the two sides’ joint commitment to advocate for stronger community engagement and partnership on expanding HPV vaccination, cervical cancer screening, treatment and other support services in China.

In early March, with the same goal to promote female health among rural women, multiple functions under JD.com, including health, logistics, insurance, finance, charity foundation and other resources, initiated a collective program for women in rural Sichuan, including donation of HPV self-test kits, hygiene goods, health insurance, healthcare lecture and more.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

Posted in ESG

JD’s Sales of VR/AR Gear Surge as the Retail Metaverse is Heating Up

Posted on by Doris Liu

by Doris Liu

Sales of AR and VR hardware devices on JD.com surged more than six times year-on-year (YOY) in the first two months of the year, with a high level of user attention. A recent report predicts 15.73 million VR headsets will be shipped worldwide in 2022, up 43.6 percent YOY.

The global market for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets rose 92.1 percent YOY in 2021 with shipments of 11.23 million units, according to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC). IDC believes the holiday season was a major driver as about half the annual volume were shipped during the fourth quarter.

IDC said there has been a substantial improvement in terms of hardware devices, technology level and content ecology when compared to five years ago. Moreover, driven by the metaverse concept, the pace of new AR/VR product launches has accelerated in recent years, and hardware manufacturers have further increased their investment in content ecology construction.

JD.com offers many exclusive services for new AR and VR products including a worry-free 30-day trial, which meet the diversified needs of users. During a promotion event held for special purchases of computer and digital products for the 2022 Spring Festival, the sales volume of Chinese VR headsets maker Pico were up 7 times YOY.

The market for AR and VR technology and related smart hardware is promising, with applications not only in video watching, gaming and social networking, but also in real estate, education and healthcare, etc. JD sees the opportunity and will continue to work with brands for better sales with its quality service capabilities and omni-channel advantages.

 

(liujun215@jd.com)