JD News Roundup Vol. 21: Telemedicine for Pets, Blockchain and More

Posted on by Kelly Dawson

JD News Roundup Vol. 21

(September 13-October 9)

Welcome to volume 21 of our 2021 weekly digest. Here we consolidate a selection of JD news and give context on why it matters. If you have any questions or topics you are hoping we will explore, please email press@jd.com.

 

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

 

JD HEALTH

Telemedicine for Pets

JD Health, the healthcare arm of JD.com, is extending its telehealth services from humans to pets. On October 8th JD Health and JD Pet launched an O2O healthcare service platform called “JD Pet Hospital,” which covers the entire lifetime of pets from disease prevention and diagnosis to comprehensive health management.

To date, over 3,000 veterinarians have registered on JD Pet Hospital. They provide 24/7 online pet health consultation services through text, images and video calls.

 

JD RETAIL

JD Mall 

In the next step for JD’s omni-channel expansion, the company launched the “JD MALL” brand, an upgraded version of its E-Space omni-channel retail experience store, on September 14th. The first location is in Xi’an, with an area of 42,000 square meters and offering 200,000 items from over 150 domestic and international brands.

In addition to being able to visit the store to experience products in person, consumers can place orders and arrange swift, convenient delivery through the official WeChat Mini Program by scanning QR codes on in-store items.

JD Welcomes Niche Fashion Brands

As youngsters account for more and more luxury consumption in China, JD.com has welcomed a series of niche fashion brands targeting this demographic, including WOOYOUNGMI, both, Etudes, and Guidi to open their flagship stores on JD.com.

Ruder Finn and Consumer Search Group’s China Luxury Forecast 2021 shows that GenZers have become the backbone force for luxury consumption in China. During JD’s 618 Grand Promotion in 2021, the number of GenZers that made purchases surged 231%.

 

JD LOGISTICS

JD Opens Xinjiang Logistics Park

JD Logistics launched an Asia No. 1 smart logistics park in Urumqi, Xinjiang on Sep. 29th. With an area of nearly 100,000 square meters, it is the autonomous region’s first and largest smart logistics park. The park is estimated to process as many as 1.2 million items daily, and will enable 80% of JD’s orders in Urumqi to be fulfilled within 24 hours.

 

JD WORLDWIDE

JD’s E-space Store Opens Doors in Jakarta 

JD.ID, JD.com’s e-commerce joint venture in Indonesia, inaugurated JD.com’s first overseas E-Space store, JD.ID Electronic Store, in Jakarta on September 14th. The nearly 1,300-square-meter store offers thousands of types of products from various brands of smartphones, gadgets, laptops as well as brands of home appliances, home living and furniture.

Additionally, the store provides experiential areas such as a gaming area and smart home area for consumers to enjoy various store and brand events.

JD Central Celebrates 3rd Anniversary

JD CENTRAL (JDC), JD.com’s e-commerce joint venture in Thailand, celebrated its third anniversary on September 28th. In 2020, JD CENTRAL saw an increase of 170% in terms of GMV (gross merchandise volume) compared with 2019, and in the past year has become the highest rated e-commerce app in Thailand on Google Play.

 

JD TECHNOLOGY

JD’s Blockchain-based Digital Contracting Services 

JD Technology kicked off a new round of promotion of its digital contracting services on September 17th, aiming to bring the blockchain-based technology to more SMEs and support them to go paperless in business operation.

To date, JD’s digital contracting platform has assisted on managing over 4 billion contracts for more than 500,000 enterprise users. If a contract uses 10 sheets of A4 paper on average, the platform has accumulatively saved 40 billion pieces of paper so far, which equates to the save of 13 million trees and reducing more than 4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

 

 

(press@jd.com)

 

 

JD Launches Internet Hospital for Pets

Posted on by Vivian Yang

by Vivian Yang

JD Health, the healthcare arm of JD.com, is extending its telehealth services from human to pets. A joint announcement by JD Health and JD Pet was made in Beijing today, Oct. 8, to launch an O2O healthcare service platform called “JD Pet Hospital,” which covers the entire lifetime of pets from disease prevention and diagnosis to comprehensive health management.

To date, over 3,000 veterinarians have registered on JD Pet Hospital. They provide 24/7 online pet health consultation services through text, images and video calls. The hospital now contains 7 departments, and mainly focuses on cats, dogs and some other common pet animals.  Services include medical advice, medicine prescription and ordering, physical examination report analysis and more.

The landing page of JD Pet Hospital in JD Health App

The landing page of JD Pet Hospital in JD Health App

“JD Health is committed to improving the quality of telemedicine so as to provide better and more convenient and affordable healthcare services, “said Enlin Jin,  CEO of JD Health. “The wellbeing of pets is closely related to the health of many Chinese families. Thus it is necessary and natural for JD Health to create high-quality healthcare services for this new group of family members.”

“We aim to bring a worry-free experience to help customers attend to their pets. By integrating support from both online and offline, JD Pet Hospital can provide a better and easier pet health service, which will be a valuable upgrade and extension to JD Pet’s one-stop service for pet owners,” said Simon Han, vice president of JD.com and who is in charge of JD Pet.

According to JD Pet Hospital’s plan, the platform will continue to grow and connect with more premier pet hospitals, doctors and other service providers, and will explore diversified services in the areas of health support for exotic pets, pet behavior training, pet diet, traditional Chinese veterinary medicine and more.

Xuepeng Cai, head of the China Veterinary Drug Association, said that JD Pet Hospital can play a positive role in offering more convenient and affordable pet health services on the market, and promotes standardized management and transparency of the industry. The association will also carry out cooperation with the hospital in multiple areas in the near future.

Wenbo Tong, Head of JD Health’s Medical Service Department for Pets, pointed out that JD Pet Hospital will leverage the strength of JD’s smart and connected supply chain and omni-channel resources to support practitioners in the pet health industry to better grow their business and serve pet owners.

“Pet owners tend to buy pet food based on their own preferences without means to communicate with their pets,” said Tong, “but if they can easily consult reliable pet dietitians before they make purchases, they will get better support to find the right food for their pets.”

Tong also mentioned that even in the early morning between 2 to 5 A.M., JD Pet Hospital can respond to online medical consultations within minutes, providing timely attention to the animals and peace of mind for their owners.

It is estimated that the population of pet cats and dogs in Chinese cities has exceeded 100 million by 2020, and their annual medical expenses have reached RMB 1,500 yuan per animal, making the industry a hundred-billion RMB market. But the industry is facing a handful of problems at the same time, given the lack of industry standards, price transparency and timely services, which are the pain points that internet hospitals including JD Pet Hospital are attempting to solve.

JD Pet has introduced a series of prime pet services including a quality certification program for pet food, a “taste first and free return” service, pet insurance and more.   Lu Liu, general manager of JD Pet, said that in the upcoming Singles Day Grand Promotion, the company will focus on promoting 200 novel and trendy pet products to customers in China.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

JD Brings Smart Logistics Park to Xinjiang

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

by Yuchuan Wang

JD Logistics launched a smart logistics park, JD Urumqi Asia No.1, in Urumqi, Xinjiang on Sep. 29. With an area of nearly 100,000 square meters, it is the autonomous region’s first and largest smart logistics park. The park is estimated to process as many as 1.2 million items daily. This is the 39th smart logistics park run by JD nationwide.

This is the 39th smart logistics park run by JD nationwide.

Adopting automation and robotics, the logistics park will enable 80% of JD’s orders in Urumqi to be fulfilled within 24 hours, and overall orders in Xinjiang to be fulfilled within two days. That is a huge improvement for local consumers, who used to waiting up to a week for online orders to arrive. The logistics park stocks products including food, electronics, home appliances, apparel and more.

Adopting automation and robotics, the logistics park will enable 80% of JD’s orders in Urumqi to be fulfilled within 24 hours

Urumqi Asia No.1 is powered by the most advanced smart sorting system technology in China, in which a single sorting line can sort thousands of parcels in an hour with an accuracy rate of nearly 100%. “By using ‘ant colony optimization’ algorithm, the system will run like ants moving food, and there won’t be any collisions,” said, Chao Su, head of the logistics park.

In addition, the logistics park applies AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval system), shuttle system, automated ground vehicles, sorting robots and more, enabling the full intelligent process from goods receiving, stocking, packaging to sorting.

The second phase of the Urumqi Asia No.1 is currently under construction. Aiming to be put into operation in 2023, it will be equipped with 5G, IoT, AI and big data technologies.

As of now, JD Logistics operates a network of over 1200 warehouses and among which, 39 are mega Asia No.1 logistics parks.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

JD CENTRAL Celebrates Third Anniversary

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

by Yuchuan Wang

JD CENTRAL (JDC), JD.com’s e-commerce joint venture in Thailand, celebrated its third anniversary on September 28th. In 2020, JD CENTRAL saw an increase of 170% in terms of GMV (gross merchandise volume) compared with 2019, and in the past year has become the highest rated e-commerce app in Thailand on Google Play.

To celebrate its birthday, JDC has doubled the marketing budget on giveaway activities alongside fun games through campaigns and promotions in September. In recognizing the challenging circumstances, a budget of over 100 million baht (about US$ 3 million) was earmarked for several campaigns to assist buyers and sellers.

JD CENTRAL (JDC), JD.com’s e-commerce joint venture in Thailand, celebrated its third anniversary on September 28th.

JDC began operating in Thailand in 2018. It differentiated itself from other platforms by emphasizing brand reliability and genuine products through the ‘Shop for Good Quality Products with 100% Authenticity Guaranteed’ strategy.

Cell phones, tablets, home appliances, computers and other high value products are the best-selling items on JDC. At the same time, since June this year, the number of new users of consuming products including fashion has increased by 130%, and the number of new users of health and beauty products has increased by more than 300%.

The fast growth is inseparable from JDC’s quality supply chain services

The fast growth is inseparable from JDC’s quality supply chain services. In the past three years, JDC had built eight warehouses for small and middle size items, bulky items and more. Today in Bangkok, more than 95% of orders can be delivered on the same day and more than 85% of its orders nationwide can be delivered within two days. JDC also provides a series of services in addition to warehousing and delivery, such as after-sales and 24/7 customer service.

In terms of strategic planning, JDC will focus on adding new services, stores, and features to meet the needs of both buyers and sellers, including assistance with the official opening of a world-class electronics brand store, the launch of the new “Instant JOY” service to meet the growing need for on-demand delivery that demonstrates continued growth momentum, a guaranteed one-hour delivery service, e-vouchers for hospitals, restaurants, spas and life insurance companies, and the addition of internationally-recognized brand stores on the platform for customers hoping for more choice.

“JD CENTRAL continues to deliver joy to all our partners. We believe in prioritizing everyone in all sectors through our comprehensive plans to ensure that we can steadily grow together side by side. Although we only entered this market three years ago, what we have achieved and shown through these incredible figures proves to everyone that JD CENTRAL is the real deal – generating feelings of joy to everyone involved,” said Korlarp Suwacharangkul, Chief Marketing Officer of JD CENTRAL.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

JD’s Digital Contracting Platform Save Resources Tremendously

Posted on by Vivian Yang

by Vivian Yang

JD Technology kicked off a new round of promotion of its digital contracting services on September 17th, aiming to bring the blockchain-based technology to more SMEs and support them to go paperless in business operation.

To date, JD’s digital contracting platform has assisted on managing over 4 billion contracts for more than 500,000 enterprise users. If a contract uses 10 pieces of A4 paper on average, the platform has accumulatively saved 40 billion pieces of paper so far, which equates to the save of 13 million trees and reducing more than 4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

A number of China’s well-known enterprises such as Xiamen ITG Group Corp. adopted the platform recently, and estimates show that the service will help them save 80% time in the work of contract processing, and lower costs of contract signing by 60%.

Enabled by digital certificates and blockchain, the service makes sure that all parties in a transaction can share the same view of a live contract, and every step and revision of the contract is recorded, creating a tamper-proof audit trail. The blockchain system can also enable hashlock on confidential contracts to ensure the safety of the original document and data privacy.

As a one-stop solution, the platform offers contract templates, digital stamps,  e-signing, archiving services and more. All data is strictly scrutinized before being connected to the platform, and will continue to go through rigid reviews in every step of data generation, transfer, storage and other actions to secure data authenticity. More importantly, the complete evidence chain is synchronized with courts, notary offices and other judicial bodies, ensuring contacts’ judicial validity and management efficiency.

Heavy technology aside, the platform is easy to use, as it supports multi-interfaces on computers, app, Wechat mini program and more, as well as simultaneous actions by different people.

New users of the platform will not only enjoy discounts and a service package for free, but also become a certified member of JD’s “zero-carbon enterprise” program.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

Posted in ESG

JD.com Opens First E-space Store in Indonesia

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

by Yuchuan Wang

JD.ID, JD.com’s e-commerce joint venture in Indonesia, inaugurated JD.com’s first overseas E-Space store, JD.ID Electronic Store, in Indonesia on September 14. E-space is the mega retail “experience store” chain first launched by JD.com in 2019 in Chongqing, China, before spreading to other cities.

JD.ID, JD.com’s e-commerce joint venture in Indonesia, inaugurated JD.com’s first overseas E-Space store

Located in AEON Mall Sentul City, one of the largest shopping malls in West Java province, the nearly 1,300-square-meter store offers thousands of types of products from various brands of smartphones, gadgets, laptops as well as brands of home appliances, home living and furniture.

Additionally, the store provides experiential areas such as a gaming area and smart home area for consumers to enjoy various store and brand events.

Additionally, the store provides experiential areas such as a gaming area and smart home area for consumers to enjoy various store and brand events.

The store adopts an omni-channel model to provide customers with a seamless online-to-offline shopping experience, where they can place orders online and experience and pick up the products on site, or have products delivered on the same day by JD.ID’s logistics network.

“The launch of the E-Space store in Indonesia proves our commitment to excellent service, by offering various shopping platform options to our customers. We hope that through the inauguration of this newest offline outlet, JD.ID can more closely connect with consumers, especially providing them with convenience, comfort, and freedom in choosing the shopping platform that best suits their needs,” said Zhang Li, Chief Executive Officer of JD.ID.

Since 2018, JD.ID has consistently innovated to be able to provide an omni-channel shopping experience for consumers in Indonesia, by combining the online and offline channels to complement each other and leverage the company’s rich product offering and strong logistics infrastructure. After opening its first omni-channel outlet in 2018, the company has opened five physical stores offering omni-channel services.

“As the first e-commerce platform in Indonesia to provide omni-channel sales, JD.ID firmly believes that being able to provide consumers with the experience of shopping for whatever, whenever and wherever is the best customer experience,” said Zhang.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

JD.com to Launch New 40,000 Sq.m. Physical Store “JD MALL”

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

by Yuchuan Wang and Ling Cao

JD.com launched the “JD MALL” brand, the upgraded version of its E-Space omni-channel retail experience store on September 14, via an online press conference. The new shopping destination will first debut in Xi’an, China, on September 30.

With an area of 42,000 square meters across five floors, JD MALL in Xi’an offers an immersive omni-channel shopping experience to consumers through 200,000 items from over 150 domestic and international brands.

JD MALL in Xi’an offers an immersive omni-channel shopping experience to consumers

Consumers are able to place orders through the official WeChat Mini Program by scanning QR codes on each of the items, and JD will handle the last-mile delivery to their doorsteps through the company’s strong logistics infrastructure.

In addition to traditional categories such as electronics, home appliances, and digital accessories offered in E-Space, JD MALL also provides a wide range of items in home , furniture, kid, smart healthcare products and auto accessories.

At the same time, JD MALL offers one-stop home design services and home appliance package purchases, enabling customers to enjoy a seamless shopping experience from designing, product selection to installation and aftersales. A selection of products also supports 2-hour delivery and 24-hour installation services.

JD MALL combines fashion and technology elements from design to experience. Customers can enjoy tech devices and experiences including holographic projection, VR equipment, intelligent robot, a virtual livestream room and transparent computer room.

JD MALL combines fashion and technology elements from design to experience

As JD’s integrated consumption shopping center, one of JD MALL’s differentiations is the immersive experience. The Mall will have 11 themed experience zones and 29 product interaction zones, such as a beauty salon, audio experience area, drone testing, massage, etc, making it a multi-scenario and fun space for customers.

JD is continuing to provide different kinds of physical stores amid the growing trend in which customers pursue a high-quality and multi store ecosystem, including JD E-Space, JD home appliance flagship stores, JD computer and digital stores and JD retail experience shops. This is also part of JD’s plan to promote its omni-channel operation and accelerate the industrial structure upgrading.

In the first half of this year, transaction volume of JD’s E-Space in Chongqing increased 105% YOY, while the transaction volume of the opening day of the same type of store in Hefei, Anhui province reached RMB 166 million yuan, and the traffic for both online and offline was over 1.2 million.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com; ling.cao@jd.com)

JD Catering to Partner with Mei-Xin (China) in Offering One-Stop Solution Services

Posted on by Mengyang He

by Mengyang He

On September 14, JD Catering and Mei-Xin (China) reached a cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, JD Catering will provide Mei-Xin with one-stop catering supply chain solutions, and offer comprehensive support in upstream supply, finance, logistics, systems, etc., to promote product and restaurant standardization, catering retail, and online marketing.

Ma Jun (top left), General Manager of the catering business of JD Retail, and Chen Jianping (top right), Director of Headquarters, Mei-Xin (China) witness the signature by Wang Bing (bottom left), Sales Director of catering business of JD Retail, and Zhang Haizhen (bottom right), Supply Chain Director, Mainland China
Ma Jun (top left), General Manager of the catering business of JD Retail, and Chen Jianping (top right), Director of Headquarters, Mei-Xin (China) witness the signature by Wang Bing (bottom left), Sales Director of catering business of JD Retail, and Zhang Haizhen (bottom right), Supply Chain Director, Mainland China

JD Catering, as an advanced intelligent catering supply chain provider, aims to build an efficient and transparent supply chain system for restaurants across China, and to create comprehensive solutions in food supply, blockchain-based tracing system, culinary research and development, and store services.

Founded in 1956, Mei-Xin is now a leading food and beverage company. It has nearly 80 brands, operating nearly 1,800 outlets.

The cooperation between the two parties has also played a positive role in promoting the development of the catering industry.

Conversation between Ma Jun (right), General Manager of the catering business of JD Retail, and Chen Jianping (left), Director of Headquarters, Mei-Xin (China)
Conversation between Ma Jun (right), General Manager of the catering business of JD Retail, and Chen Jianping (left), Director of Headquarters, Mei-Xin (China)

As food supply chain is very important for catering companies, Chen Jianping, Director of Headquarters, Mei-Xin (China) said, “Cooperation with JD Catering can effectively ensure the stability of supply chain and reduce operating costs. This is of indispensable value for a chain restaurant group, such as Mei-Xin.” In recent years, Mei-Xin has been continuously exploring its pathway to digital transformation of the catering supply chain, and JD Catering’s digital solutions in this area will be a powerful support in the development of Mei-Xin.

According to Ma Jun, General Manager of the catering business of JD Retail, JD Catering and Mei-Xin will pilot in Shanghai Disneyland first, ranging from different types of restaurants including Ippudo, Dondonya, The Cheesecake Factory, and Disney Canteen. JD Catering will provide one-stop supply chain solutions for more than 250 domestic restaurants of Mei-Xin in the future.

At the same time, in terms of catering retailization and online marketing, Mei-Xin will also directly reach 500 million consumers through the JD main website, gain more traffic and sales conversion in the JD catering sector.

“Mei-Xin has more than 250 outlets in Mainland China comprised of Chinese, Western restaurants, bakery shops, Japanese chain restaurants and institutional catering service. Being able to serve Mei-Xin has laid a milestone in the growth of JD Catering,” said Ma Jun.

Group photo of JD Catering and Mei-Xin
Group photo of JD Catering and Mei-Xin

JD’s continuous efforts in the catering industry will have a far-reaching impact on the development of the catering industry. Mei-Xin is the third popular chain-brand for JD to work with, following Juqi (局气) and Xihe (羲和). In addition to empowering catering companies to further develop, JD Catering’s core capabilities such as supply chain, technology, finance, and marketing will help promote digital transformation of the industry.

 

(hemengyang5@jd.com)