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by Ling Cao

JD Business has signed a cooperation agreement to deepen its partnership in supply chain with Shiyue Daotian(October Rice Field), a domestic agriculture brand famous for its rice, providing enterprise clients with tailored and diverse procurement services.

The cooperation agreement, which the two companies signed on Dec. 8^th, specified that JD will leverage its capabilities in the digital procurement solutions to help Shiyue Daotian connect with more enterprise clients on JD’s platform, and help collect clients’ different purchasing demands efficiently and communicate that information to Shiyue Daotian’s factories in China, such as special requirements on logo design and package size, and more. Shiyue Daotian will then produce and distribute the products based on the requirements. Additionally, the model can help factories to optimize the inventory.

Bing Wang, Chairman of Shiyue Daotian said, “Based on the order production model from demand, design, production to fulfillment, we have already seen sales surge for the past few months.”

Chunzheng Song, president of JD Business said, “With the fast development for the enterprise business market, the standard products model cannot satisfy all kinds of increasing demand. Going forward, JD will continue to invest in building B2B supply chain, and work with our partners to provide more valuable services.”

 

(ling.cao@jd.com)

by Martin Li

Indonesian ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun expressed hope that JD.com could bring more local products from Indonesia to China via its e-commerce platform during his first visit to JD’s headquarters in Beijing on December 9.

Oratmangun shared his top 5 product recommendations from Indonesia: bird’s nest, coffee, food and beverage, furniture, and artworks like batik.

“I hope there will be more Indonesian products sold on JD’s platform,” Oratmangun said to Yan Xiaobing, senior VP of JD and president of JD International Business.

Indonesian ambassador Djauhari Oratmangun (L) shakes hand with Yan Xiaobing (R) , senior VP of JD and president of JD International Business

JD now operates an e-commerce joint venture JD.ID in Indonesia, which is committed to “DijaminOri,” which means “authentic products” in Indonesian.

In response, Yan said JD.ID would enhance cooperation with local government and enterprises in Indonesia to introduce more quality Indonesian products to China.

Oratmangun also expressed his optimism about the development of JD.ID, saying its commitment is very ‘local’ in Indonesia.

“Each time I went back to Jakarta I could see JD.ID’s advertisements on the street,” he said.

JD.ID’s CSR efforts are also a reason to believe in the company’s growth potential, Oratmangun said.

During the pandemic, JD.ID has been involved in diversified programs to help fight against COVID-19, including ensuring supply of daily necessity without hiking up prices, helping the government purchase medical supplies from China and joining donations to hospitals.

“Since the first day we established JD.ID, we wanted to make it a local company,” said Yan.

“We hope to bring JD’s experience and technologies to Indonesia, helping foster local e-commerce talents,” Yan added.

Yan also mentioned that what differentiates JD.ID from other e-commerce players in Indonesia is its focus on building infrastructure, rather than pursuing short-term interests.

“We are pursuing a stable and healthy development in Indonesia,” said Yan.

The e-commerce industry in Indonesia is still at a beginning stage, where there is a very strong offline retail industry. JD hopes to create a new model integrating online and offline business, according to Yan.

 

(bjlihao3@jd.com)

 

by Ella Kidron

The newly released McKinsey China Consumer Special Issue 2020 further confirmed Gen Z’s (defined as post-1995 for the purpose of this piece) pursuit of “unique” products and services.

According to the findings, 51% of Gen Z consumers prefer brands that provide personalized products and 53% choose brands that provide customized services. This is good news for JD.com’s Consumer-to-Manufacturer (C2M) initiative, which helps brands and manufacturers bring customized products to market based on real consumer feedback and demand. Consumer preferences are becoming increasingly fragmented and specific, and having the capability to precisely understand and target consumers with the right products and services is key to winning their loyalty. This is especially true as consumers have more and more choices of platforms to shop on.

One area of custom products that draws attention from Gen Z is gaming phones. According to the China Industrial Research Institute, the number of mobile game players in China has reached 630 million. Screen size, battery capacity, heat dissipation capacity and more all affect the experience of mobile gamers. JD has worked with major brand manufacturers to create gaming phones through C2M. Red Magic, Nubia’s gaming phone brand and Black Shark’s 5G gaming phone are just a few examples of some of the products which have sold well on JD. In 2018, Black Shark launched the first gaming phone in China based on JD’s big data analysis. That same year, the first Red Magic gaming phone was also launched, with sales surpassing 10,000 in just 37 seconds.

The C2M model for product development not only improves customers’ experience, but also helps brands gain a deeper understanding of consumer trends and improves sales performance. The initiative also showcases JD’s supply chain strength. Over half of C2M phones sold on JD are gaming phones.

Customized services are another draw for Gen Z, which is less price sensitive as a generation than older generations and pays more attention to the holistic shopping experience. Providing services such as flexible broken screen insurance, full price trade in and more, go a long way in gaining loyalty from younger consumers.

 

 

(ella@jd.com)

 

 

 

by Hui Zhang

Qibo Kang, a JD courier based in Kunming city of Yunnan province, was awarded by the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China on Dec. 3 for his efforts in ensuring that essential medicine reached a child with leukemia during the pandemic.

On Feb. 4 JD Logistics received a request for help: A family with a child suffering from leukemia urgently needed medicine, and hoped that a JD courier might assist.

Qibo Kang

The family lives in Gejiu city, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, and usually travel to Kunming Children’s Hospital to pick up the medicine, but as a result of the pandemic traffic was temporarily suspended at the time, which made it impossible for them to retrieve the medicine from the hospital across different cities and regions.

Upon receiving the request, Kang immediately rushed to the hospital despite others’ concerns for safety. Kang underwent multiple disinfection processes at the hospital. He was able to get the medicine, only a few hours after receiving the call for help.

As roads between areas was temporarily closed during the pandemic, Yang Zhihui, the captain of Kang’s courier station, coordinated with other courier stations to assist the medicine transportation across different regions, passing hands until the medicine finally reached the family 16 hours later— a remarkably fast delivery time, considering the dire conditions.

When asked if he was afraid to go to the hospital, Kang said, “Yes, I was afraid, but I knew I had to go no matter what, because a sick child had to take medicine.”

“I’m also a father. When I hear things like this, I felt I should offer help,” said Kang.

 

(zhanghui36@jd.com)

 

by Vivian Yang

“The pandemic has changed many factors of the medical sector, pushed online medical consultation service to a new height, and ushered in a revolution in the medical industry,” commented Lijun Xin, CEO of JD Health at a press conference in Beijing following the company’s listing on Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Dec. 8, 2020.

Xin noted that at the beginning of the COVID-19, people did not have much choice but to go online for medical help. But over time, they realized the convenience and high-quality services and medical resources they can access through online platforms, and choose to stay with them even as the virus situation is now under control in China.

Lijun Xin, CEO of JD Health at the press conference  

According to Xin, at present, daily online consultations remain at 100,000 on average on JD Health, making it the largest online medical consultation platform in China. In the meantime, JD Health’s online pharmacy platform offers over 150,000 types of pharmaceutical products to its customers, providing the most comprehensive range of medical supplies that people can  get on the Chinese market. And these medicine orders can be delivered at customers’ doorsteps within as fast as 30 minutes.

Supportive government policies, increasing cooperation with pharmaceutical enterprises, and active participation of individual doctors over the COIVD-19 period all fostered the rapid development of telemedicine, Xin said.

JD Health’s full-time doctors at work 

Xin noted that JD Health will continue to focus on building up its supply chain capabilities to make healthcare services available whenever and wherever customers need them, and on increasing the accessibility of medical resources to let more people from very grassroots levels enjoy high-quality medical support.

“As long as we do our utmost to provide truly helpful healthcare services to our customers, revenue will come naturally,” said Xin.

With the money raised during this IPO, Xin said the team will continue to invest in pharmaceutical supply chain development and high potential enterprises that can supplement JD Health’s industry ecosystem, build greater healthcare platform that integrates more hospital resources and O2O services, and also prepare capital in case of another pandemic situation in the future.

In the next five years, Xin hopes telemedicine will serve as the largest patient triage platform in China, helping to guide more and more mild and chronic diseases to be taken care through telemedicine, and severe diseases and emergencies to be treated in offline hospitals. The whole process of diagnosis and treatment will be tracked online for closed-loop health management.

The press conference was attended by over 50 reporters either in-person in Beijing or virtually online from Hong Kong right after the ceremony to sound the gong, a traditional and standard Chinese way adapted by HKEX for celebration of new listing event. Register and watch the replay of the press conference here.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

by Kelly Dawson

 

As JD Health’s listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange begins trading today, the company is continuing its efforts to serve consumers, with one month of free broadcasts by renowned doctors and medical experts.

The “JD Health Warm Winter Free Clinic Month” kicks off today, and will last until January 7^th, featuring daily hour-long livestreaming sessions with experts including cardiovascular expert Hu Dayi; TCM master Xu Runsan; director of the department of general medicine at Peking University Health Science Center, Chi Chunhua; and others. Topics will include maternal and infant care, diabetes, TCM, heart and geriatric diseases, and more.

During each session, viewers can ask questions of the experts, who will answer them directly in the livestream. Additionally, JD Health will issue free consultation coupons and exclusive free consultation service packages during the broadcasts. Following each session, viewers can book telemedicine appointments with experts through the JD app and more.

The broadcast sessions and telemedicine services address an increasing demand for online medical services, which have skyrocketed as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Even as cases have slowed in China, telemedicine has gained headway as consumers realize the value of easy-access, fast online medical consultation.

 

(kellydawson@jd.com)

by Hui Zhang & Ling Cao

JD Health will expand cooperation with offline hospitals and medical institutions, and continue increasing investment into supply chain to improve consumer services through omnichannel solutions. Lijun Xin, CEO of JD Health, elaborated on these plans during an press conference in Beijing after JD Health was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) on Dec. 8.

Lijun Xin

“We saw investors are optimistic about China’s healthcare industry,” Xin said. “The biggest challenges we face are how to let more people know and experience our service, and how to combine offline medical institutions and hospitals with online medical resources.”

JD Health oversees retail and wholesale businesses covering pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and other healthcare products, both online and offline. The omnichannel solution is aimed at fulfilling consumers’ increasing healthcare consumption needs anytime and anywhere.

In addition to bringing high-quality and convenient health services to consumers, JD Health is also committed to facilitating the digitalization of its offline partners.

“Most offline pharmacies have not realized digitalization, and JD Health can leverage its capabilities to help them go digital,” Xin said. “At the same time, JD Health can promote online and offline integration and provide a comprehensive service including retail, healthcare management and supply chain.”

Leveraging its technology for small stores and supply chain advantages, JD has already partnered with more than 40 brands of offline pharmacy across China to provide data-driven recommendations about which products to stock, and help them better understand information about customer preferences.

JD Health listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) on Dec. 8 with the ticker 6618.HK, and is set at a price of HK $70.58 per share.

 

(zhanghui36@jd.com, ling.cao@jd.com)

by Yuchuan Wang

JD Logistics (JDL), JD.com’s logistics arm, has joined hands with China Southern Airlines to launch a “Ship-to-Home” luggage express delivery service for Chinese travelers.

Starting from December 6^th, travelers to the destinations of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Beijing Daxing International Airport, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport and Wuhan Tianhe International Airport can book the service through China Southern Airlines’ app or the airline’s baggage inquiry desk, and JD Logistics will ship luggage directly to travelers’ home or designated addresses.

JD courier and China Southern Airlines’ staff packaging a traveler’s baggage

“The service allows a luggage-free travelling experience, so customers can save time instead of waiting at the baggage carousel,” said a representative from JD Express, the express delivery business of JD Logistics. “Travelers can also view the real-time location of their baggage through the China Southern Airlines’ mobile app.”

The service is priced starting from RMB 49 yuan (~US$ 7.5). Luggage will be delivered within the same day or next day, thanks to JD Logistics’ reliable express delivery network. To ensure peace of mind for travelers, the service also provides insurance for each item of luggage.

Earlier this year, JD Logistics announced its plan to speed up the efficiency of express delivery, providing 24-hour delivery service in over a thousand counties and tens of thousands of townships in China.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)