KOLs from 13 Countries Visit JD.com’s Asia No.1 Logistics Park

by Hui Zhang and Yuchuan Wang

Sixteen international Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) from 13 countries including America, Britain, France, Brazil, and Thailand visited JD.com’s Asia No.1 Logistics Park in Beijing on Jun. 9 and recorded the high advanced logistics experience through videos to share with their vast number of followers on social media platforms including Youtube, Facebook, Instagram as well as major Chinese social media platforms.

Group photo of KOLs

Group photo of KOLs

“To be honest, I got addicted to JD.com because they have fast services, and great after-sales and customer services. They have awesome products that you can order in the morning and maybe get the parcel on the [same] day,” said Jerry Goode, a Youtube Vlogger from South Africa. “It’s like a kid in a candy store. I really like seeing how these guys operate – the ideas, the initiative for the future to get packages faster and faster.”

Jerry Goode

Jerry Goode

The KOLs were invited by Beijing municipal government together with China Radio International (CRI), an international radio broadcaster of China to visit a series of companies to better understand the capital city’s strong technical capabilities and consumption power.

KOL livestreaming

KOL livestreaming

JD started building its first Asia No.1 logistics park in Shanghai in 2009. As the name indicates, the plan was to build the largest scale and most advanced network of e-commerce logistics centers.

By adopting automation technologies and robots such as shuttle system, AGVs (automated ground vehicles) and high speed sorting system, it enables the company to fulfill over 90% of JD.com’s retail orders from nearly 500 million active customers within 24 hours, a level that no other company in the world at the scale can match.

KOL taking video

KOL taking video

In JD’s Beijing Asia No.1 logistics park, 330 AGVs work collaboratively to pick up consumers’ orders, enabling individual pickers to each pick about 250 orders per hour, which is three times the efficiency of a traditional picking approach.

AGV in operation

AGV in operation

The company’s Shanghai Asia No.1 logistics park is able to handle as many as 1.3 million orders a day thanks to the application of such advanced technologies.

JD's Asia No.1 warehouse in Shanghai

JD’s Asia No.1 warehouse in Shanghai

“It’s my first time to visit such a big logistics park with front-end technology. I’m so impressed by JD’s Asia No.1 Logistics Park,” said Charunpumhiran Apinya, a Facebook influencer from Thailand.

Charunpumhiran Apinya

Charunpumhiran Apinya

“It’s amazing… It’s huge, massive and highly efficient,” said George Doupas, a photographer from Greece.

George Doupas

George Doupas

This automation is extremely helpful during peak periods such as the ongoing 618 Grand Promotion. By 5 pm on Jun. 1, the number of items which purchased on the day and had already been delivered surpassed that of the entire day of Jun 1 during last year’s promotion. As of now, the company operates a total of 32 Asia No. 1 projects, as a part of its 1,000 warehouses across China.

 

(zhanghui36@jd.com; yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

Sales of Emerging Brands Surge on JD Super’s Big Day

by Ling Cao

Sales of emerging brands surged on JD Super’s Big Day on June 7, which is part of JD’s 618 Grand Promotion from June 1 to June 18. Data showed that these brands under the liquor and fresh produce categories increased 22 times and 10 times YOY, respectively. The omni-channel business model also accelerated JD Super’s sales growth.

Emerging brands such as fast-moving consumer goods brands Yuanqisenlin, Liziqi and Saturnbird Coffee all run stores on JD Super. JD has been using marketing methods to help grow the business of over 30,000 new brands or stores, with nearly 2.44 million new products released on JD.

Additionally, JD also utilizes innovative marketing tools to promote campaigns, such as livestreaming with celebrities or brands’ executives. On June 7, sales contributed from the initiatives increased by 12 times YOY.

Other categories on JD also kept the growth momentum, with food and snacks, and baby and maternal sales increasing by 143% and 105% YOY, respectively.

JD’s Omni-channel Fulfillment program has grown sales by 17 times YOY, as well as attracted SMEs making orders, thus accelerating business-to-business sales on JD Super to increase over 300% YOY.

“We’ve seen the consumption trends of this year’s 618 from omni-channel, high-quality products to more customers with different age groups participating,” said Chenkai Ling, Vice President of JD.com and Head of Strategy, JD Retail. “The supply chain is also upgrading to intelligence and digitalization.”

 

(ling.cao@jd.com)

JD’s DC/EP Program Head Airs on National TV

by Ling Cao

“DC/EP (Digital Currency/Electronic Payment) program has accelerated the cycle for currency settlements, thus lowering a company’s operational cost,” Fei Peng, head of the DC/EP program at JD Technology told Chinese National TV, in an interview broadcasted on June 8.

“Because DC/EP is equipped with intelligent agreement for payment and settlement, the recipient can receive the currency in real-time,” added Peng.

The program reported that digital currency in China has expanded the application, such as payroll payment.

Beijing resident Mr. Liu shared with the program, “I felt very excited when I first received [the transfer], and quickly made a purchase via the digital currency.”

Besides payroll, companies are also able to make business-to-business payments via DC/EP.

Since cooperating with the Digital Currency Institute under The People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, in Sep. 2020, JD has provided technology and service support for DC/EP trial programs in Suzhou, Beijing and Chengdu.

In January, JD used the solution to pay salaries for some of its employees, further exploring the application of DC/EP. JD also made business-to-business payments via DC/EP to Unis Electronic Business and Chongqing Xin Ririshun Electric Sales under domestic home appliance giant Haier; and helped facilitate the cross-bank settlement, when JD Retail’s DC/EP account with Bank of Communications made a transaction to Unis Electronic Business’ DC/EP Bank of China account.

 

(ling.cao@jd.com)

JD and Walmart Launch Omini-channel Marketing Model

by Vivian Yang

JD.com and Walmart launched their new omni-channel marketing model “Jing-Wo New Initiative” on June 7.

“Jing” refers to JD.com’s Chinese name “Jing Dong,” “Wo” is for Walmart in Chinese, and “New” represents the newly released products that will participate in this cooperation.

Based on this new marketing collaboration model, JD will make full use of its strength in omni-channel and supply chain middle platform to help brands integrate product launching resources across all channels, expanding new products’ touch points and exposure among customers; and helping customers enjoy the latest product offerings in a more convenient manner.

Walmart will leverage its 400+ stores across the country, its online stores including several Walmart’s flagship stores in first-party and third-party modes and its official overseas stores on JD and its mini programs to support the marketing campaign.

“The new initiative is an inevitable strategy for all retailers, brands and retail distributors who take an omni-channel approach,” said Carol Fung, vice president of JD.com and president of JD FMCG Omni-channel. “It can greatly help brands to incubate new products, identify their core customers and broaden the incremental market for more sales opportunities.”

Shiyuedaotian (十月稻田), a famous domestic rice grower and seller, became the first brand to join this initiative. Through the collaboration, the brand’s new customized rice product, which is co-branded with a popular Chinese TV series Country Love, simultaneously hit the market on all platforms including JD’s main site, other JD’s online selling platforms and JD’s dedicated site for new products, all of which count over 500 million active users, as well as all of Walmart’s online and offline channels.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

JD Health Launches Online Clinical Trial Patient Recruitment Center

by Hui Zhang

JD Health announced to partner with Contract Research Organization (CRO) and other pharmaceutical companies on Wednesday (June 10) in Beijing to launch an online clinical trial patient recruitment center to further accelerate the process of new drugs approving and marketing, and make it convenient for patients to find clinical trial projects online both quickly and precisely.

CRO is an organization contracted by companies to take the lead in managing each company’s trials and complex medical testing responsibilities.

As an important part of the new drug development process, clinical trials are the most funded phase. Patient recruitment is the most critical, time-consuming and expensive step in the entire clinical trial process. Traditionally, offline recruitment organizations usually dispatch their employees to various cities, hospitals, and clinics to reach out to their target patients. The whole process is time-consuming and expensive.

The new center will be committed to providing digital solutions for CRO and pharmaceutical companies to connect doctors and patients effectively. Through the platform, Phase I, II and III clinical trials of drugs can be opened to subjects online. Specialized project management simplifies the recruitment process and can quickly improve the enrollment speed of patients. Meanwhile, through big data technology, the platform can compare clinical trial requirements with disease mapping around the world, thus improving recruitment efficiency.

In addition to simplifying the recruitment process and shortening the recruitment time, JD Health will also rely on its own “Internet + healthcare” service capabilities to support the promotion of clinical trial patient recruitment projects. JD Health will not only cooperate in the clinical trial stage, but also participate in the pre-marketing process and seek in-depth cooperation with pharmaceutical companies.

For a large number of patients in urgent need of treatment, the advantage of participating in clinical trials is not only to “cure” but also to “save money.” The information provided by the online center will help patients with drug needs to find new drugs quickly and reduce their financial pressure to a certain extent. Patients in the trial who are in the comparison group without taking the trail medicine can also receive the existing standard therapies for free.

“Together with CRO and pharmaceutical companies, JD Health will participate in the clinical trial of new drugs with the synergy of multiple parties, which will also help accelerate the launch of more innovative drugs. At the same time, JD Health’s health management services will also be effective in the clinical trial cooperation,” said a representative from JD Health’s pharmaceutical business.

 

(zhanghui36@jd.com)

JD 618 Grand Promotion: Nanjing is No.1, And Other Fun Facts

by Ella Kidron

With JD’s 618 Grand Promotion over halfway through, some trends are emerging. The JD Big Data Research Institute summarized several fun tidbits about different regions in a short report released on Jun. 11.

The report finds that shoppers in Nanjing, Jiangsu province are the most active, taking the crown for No. 1 order volume per person of any other area in the nation. Group buying, which has become popular in China in recent years, is most used in Harbin. The average amount per group buy order in the chilly capital of Heilongjiang province in Northeast China this year exceeds RMB 1,000 yuan.

The “night owl” champion of e-commerce goes to Guangzhou, where 10% of orders were placed between midnight and 5 a.m. Finally, as the service economy is sizzling across the country, Beijing residents are taking the most advantage of buying services online, with car, life and sports services topping the list.

The 618 Grand Promotion (held from Jun. 1-18) celebrates JD.com’s 18 years of providing high quality services to consumers all over China. During the pre-sales period, the e-commerce giant’s 30-day price protection, free delivery and worry-free return services made customers more confident to get a head start on the mid-year shopping extravaganza, resulting in pre-sale orders being up 640% YOY.

More details are in the infographic below:

JD 618 Grand Promotion: Nanjing is No.1, And Other Fun Facts

 

 

(ella@jd.com)

Photo Gallery: This Week at JD (June 5 – June 11)

JD launched its first cargo flight between China and the U.S. on Jun. 7. The route between Nanjing Jiangsu province and Los Angeles will facilitate the transport of quality Chinese products to the U.S. and vice versa.

Over 100 automated ground vehicles (AGVs) were put into use in JD’s 27,000 square-meter logistics center in Lhasa, Tibet on Jun. 9, making it the largest smart warehouse in this autonomous region. JD will further develop its logistics infrastructure in Tibet, building more warehouses, transfer and distribution hubs, to serve better local customers and help Tibet’s specialties reach the rest of the nation.

 

JD Logistics announced on Jun. 10 that it will upgrade the service of its autonomous delivery vehicles during this year’s 618 Grand Promotion to satisfy consumers’ demands whenever and wherever. At the same time, 30 new Level-4 autonomous vehicles are being put into use in Changshu, Jiangsu province from today. Click here to read more.

 

JD.ID appointed the star actress, Cinta Laura as its brand ambassador, on Jun. 10. Cinta Laura is an Indonesian-German actress, electropop singer and model who was appointed ambassador of anti-violence against women and children by the Indonesian Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection in 2019.

JD.ID Appoints Star Actress as Brand Ambassador

by Yuchuan Wang

JD.ID announced it has appointed the multi-talented actress, Cinta Laura as its brand ambassador, on Jun. 10. The announcement adds excitement to the celebration of the 618 Grand Promotion of the e-commerce company, offering unprecedented discounts from Jun.7 to Jun. 18 in Indonesia.

“Online shopping simplifies us getting the things that we want without having to leave the house. This is definitely safer, in the midst of the current pandemic,” said Cinta Laura.

JD.ID announced it has appointed the multi-talented actress, Cinta Laura as its brand ambassador,

Cinta Laura

The company also revealed several sales campaigns during the 618 sales such as free delivery vouchers, extra flash sales which take place six times in a day, top brand sales with an up to 80% discount for branded products and “crazy deals”, which will offer peak benefits during Jun. 16 to 18. Leveraging its nationwide in-house logistics network, JD.ID has achieved 85% orders fulfilled in 24 hours despite the fact that Indonesia has thousands of islands.

JD.ID courier

JD.ID courier

“The pandemic has caused changes in behaviors and habits in society with the development of digitalization,” said Leo Haryono, Chief Marketing Officer JD.ID. “Therefore, JD.ID continues to strive in carrying out promotional strategies, encourage regional markets, build more offline store presences to be closer to consumers, and create convenience and ‘peace of mind” for shopping.’

Cinta Laura is an Indonesian-German actress, electropop singer and model who was appointed ambassador of anti-violence against women and children by the Indonesian Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection in 2019.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)