On March 6th, JD.com released its unaudited financial results for the three months and the full year ended December 31, 2023 and an annual cash dividend for the year ended December 31, 2023. Below is an infographic with the key highlights. The full release can be found here.
On March 4th, JD.com announced its latest initiative to enhance its free shipping services. JD’s marketplace currently offers free shipping on 90% of its third-party products. Now, the platform has extended its free shipping benefit even further, introducing a new policy for the remaining 10% of products: a minimum order value for free shipping is set at an affordable RMB 59 yuan (approximately $8.2 US dollars). This initiative is aimed at enhancing the shopping experience for consumers on JD’s rapidly expanding marketplace.
To accommodate this change, merchants currently not offering free shipping or only offering it for orders over 59 yuan are required to update their shipping policies by the end of March. This adjustment can apply to individual items or the aggregate value of multiple products from the same store, with certain exclusions for special items and deliveries to remote areas.
Highlighting JD’s dedication to consumer convenience, thirteen product categories – including home appliances, kitchenware, and health care products – will benefit from the zero-shipping fee policy, regardless of the order value.
This move follows an announcement last August when JD introduced unlimited free shipping for its self-operated products to JD PLUS members and significantly reduced the minimum order value for free shipping for non-PLUS members from 99 yuan to 59 yuan.
In addition to shipping enhancements, JD also recently upgraded the “Free At-Home Return and Exchange” service on its first-party platform. This service enables customers to easily return and exchange items marked with the service tag, irrespective of size, weight, or quantity. JD is actively encouraging third-party merchants to adopt this service, with plans to integrate over 90% of them within the next year, further simplifying the return process for JD shoppers.
JD.com’s continuous investment in services and close collaboration with merchants are driven by a vision to offer cost-effective options without compromising on quality. By focusing on creating a more orderly, efficient, and thriving platform ecosystem, JD.com is setting new standards in e-commerce, enhancing merchant services, and fostering growth and competitiveness.
In a bid to enhance customer satisfaction and streamline the shopping experience, JD.com recently announced the launch of its latest initiative: the “Free At-Home Return” service for products sold directly by JD.com. This new offering, unveiled on February 22nd, offers customers the convenience of effortless returns and exchanges for items marked with the “Free At-Home Return” tag, regardless of their size, weight, or quantity.
With this initiative, JD.com sets a new benchmark for customer-centric practices in online shopping. The service is designed to remove the financial burden of return shipping fees, offering a straightforward and cost-effective option for customers to manage their purchases. This development is a testament to JD.com’s dedication to enhancing the shopping experience and customer satisfaction.
Expanding its vision for unparalleled service, JD.com is not just focusing on its self-operated model but is also encouraging third-party merchants to adopt the “Free At-Home Return” service, with plans to integrate over 90% of them within the next year, further streamlining the return process for a vast majority of JD.com customers.
Addressing a common pain point in the industry, JD.com has also bolstered its support for large-item returns from third-party sellers. Enhancing its “Large Item Shipping Insurance” service, JD.com now offers two complimentary pick-up services per year for large items, each with a coverage limit of 5,000 yuan (approximately 700 US dollars). This initiative not only alleviates the hassle associated with returning oversized items but also offers significant financial relief, potentially saving customers up to 10,000 yuan annually on return shipping costs.
The launch of the “Free At-Home Return” service reflects JD.com’s broader commitment to elevating the customer experience. JD.com is at the forefront of customer service innovation, offering over 200 specialized services to tackle common consumer issues. These include a 180-day replacement policy for electronics, trade-in options for appliances and furniture, a 30-day free exchange policy for apparel and shoes, authenticity checks for imported goods, and 24/7 access to online medical consultations. Through these comprehensive services, JD.com continues to redefine excellence in e-commerce customer service.
On February 14, leading research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc. announced JD.com among the winners of its “Power of the Profession Supply Chain Awards for 2024”. JD.com won the Process or Technology Innovation of the Year award for its “powerful planning technology that drives an innovative approach to resilient planning.”
The awards, presented by Gartner in four categories, including customer or patient innovation, process or technology innovation, social impact, and people breakthrough, highlight continuous innovation focused on enabling customers, developing talent, and driving sustainability. JD.com was the sole Asia-based company recognized by Gartner this year.
“This year’s entries demonstrated growth in technological innovations through the use of AI,” said Maria Nieradka, VP analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain Practice. “At the same time, the number of submissions related to people-related breakthroughs more than doubled. It’s clear that people ultimately make supply chains work, while in many cases AI is helping them to work even better.”
Harnessing the power of probabilistic forecasting and explainable AI technology, JD.com’s intelligent supply chain team has engineered a robust planning solution. This innovative approach delivers reliable decision-making support amidst external uncertainties and rapid market changes. Notably, this technology significantly enhances supply chain flexibility, particularly during intricate shopping scenarios such as large-scale promotions, holiday seasons, and challenging weather conditions. In doing so, it has played an instrumental role in reducing costs and enhancing operational efficiency.
JD.com’s highly automated “Asia No.1” logistic park
Transforming rapidly from an e-commerce giant to a supply chain-focused technology and service provider, JD.com has made significant technological strides in supply chain arena. As indicated in JD’s 2023 third-quarter financial report, the company has optimized inventory turnover to just 30.8 days while maintaining a global leadership position with self-operated SKUs numbering in the tens of millions. Currently, JD.com boasts a procurement automation rate exceeding 85%, all while maintaining an average inventory availability of no less than 95%.
During the 2024 Chinese New Year Shopping Festival, spanning from January 17 to February 3, JD.com’s intelligent supply chain system generated over 620,000 decision recommendations daily. These recommendations proved instrumental in assisting brand partners and merchants with precise demand forecasting, production guidance, and inventory management, markedly boosting supply chain efficiency across the entire industrial chain.
As the exclusive interactive platform for this year’s Spring Festival Gala, hosted by China Media Group and broadcasted live on February 9, JD.com captivated users, amassing over 52 billion interactions on its app. Additionally, the platform distributed one million physical gifts through lucky draws during the 4.5-hour extravaganza.
Ms. Wang in Beijing received JD’s flower gift during the Spring Festival Gala
To ensure seamless gift distribution and order fulfillment, JD’s intelligent supply chain system integrates seamlessly with its expansive logistics network, comprising numerous “Asia No.1” intelligent industrial parks, along with hundreds of smart warehouses and sorting centers. This synchronization extended to over 1,000 air and rail cargo routes, spanning more than 100 airports, high-speed railways, and freight trains. This extensive network ensures that customers across more than 2,000 counties and cities nationwide enjoy a premium shopping and logistics experience during the festive season.
As the Chinese New Year approaches on February 10, 2024, JD.com has launched its “Sending New Year’s Gifts to Villagers” campaign. This initiative aims to create an open platform within the JD app, enabling users to send special orders filled with New Year blessings to people in towns and villages, especially focusing on reaching underserved communities across China.
Since the campaign’s kickoff on January 29th, over one hundred brands and numerous philanthropists have actively contributed, delivering New Year’s goods to more than 8,000 towns and villages across China. JD’s app features an interactive map highlighting each benefited area, fostering a sense of community and shared joy.
The campaign also encourages JD users to share personal stories and wishes for gifts, aiming to increase awareness and support for those in need. For example, a heartfelt request from user Xiao Le for respiratory relief products for a nursing home was quickly fulfilled with the support of JD Health, demonstrating the platform’s commitment to responsive and impactful aid.
Leading by example, Richard Liu, the Founder and Chairman of JD.com, placed the first order of the campaign, sending 2,600 BOSIDENG down jackets and New Year gift boxes to his hometown in Guangming Village, Suqian, Jiangsu. This spirit of generosity has been echoed by figures such as BOSIDENG’s Gao Dekang, actor Shen Teng, and author Zhou Guoping, who have contributed significantly to their hometowns and other communities in need.
Numerous brands, including Biostime, Bear, Coca-Cola, Deli, Disney, Fotile, MICHELIN, Midea, Newman, OPPO, Swisse, Vivo, and Xiaomi, have played an active role in this campaign.
As the exclusive interactive partner for China Media Group’s Spring Festival Gala 2024 JD.com will offer viewers the chance to win a variety of gifts through mobile interactions on JD’s app. These gifts include 100 million physical items, exclusive car and house usage rights, and other exciting surprises.
This year also marks the 12th consecutive year of JD Logistics providing uninterrupted services during the Chinese New Year period. Covering over 2,000 counties and cities nationwide, JD Logistics ensures the timely receipt of New Year’s goods distributed during the campaign, as well as processing other orders seamlessly.
JD.com announced on February 5 that it will increase the annual salary for its more than 20,000 front-line customer service employees by an average of 30%.
With the largest in-house e-commerce customer service team in China, JD.com has been providing 24/7 services for individuals and businesses since 2009. This announcement follows a recent salary adjustment in late December, where JD.com nearly doubled the fixed salaries of procurement and sales staff within JD Retail for 2024.
JD.com is deeply committed to improving the quality of life, happiness, and sense of achievement among all its employees. This commitment is reflected in the comprehensive welfare policy it offers, including “five social insurances and one housing fund,” benefiting all front-line staff members, from warehouse to delivery personnel.
The company’s dedication to its workforce is further evidenced by the success stories of nearly 100 JD couriers who have earned over RMB 1 million within three years. In January, JD Logistics celebrated the retirement of Mr. Jin Yicai, its first courier in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, who served with dedication until his retirement at 60. Many couriers, customer service representatives, warehouse workers, just like Mr. Jin, have retired from JD and enjoy a secured retirement.
In late 2022, JD upgraded its “Housing Guarantee Fund” for employees with an investment of RMB 10 billion. Since 2023, 77% of the fund’s applicants have been frontline workers. Additionally, JD has provided over 25,000 employee apartments across various regions, significantly reducing their living costs and commute times.
“I firmly believe in consistently treating our employees well,” said Richard Liu, the Founder and Chairman of JD.com. “We want our employees to lead hopeful lives and have confidence in the future.”
JD Health has recently unveiled an elderly care channel on its app, aiming to establish a comprehensive platform catering to various healthcare needs for China’s aging population. This initiative is integral to JD Health’s goal of becoming the first portal for online health consumption.
The specialized channel is designed to offer a broad range of services, addressing eight critical aspects of elderly care. These include health monitoring equipment, daily living and nursing, assistance products for mobility and personal care, physiotherapy and traditional Chinese medicine treatments, smart technology products tailored for the elderly, nutritional supplements and foods, medications for chronic illnesses, and home-visiting nursing care. This comprehensive approach reflects JD Health’s commitment to meeting the multifaceted needs of the elderly community.
A cornerstone of this initiative is the integration of JD Health’s “Family Doctor” program within the elderly care channel. This innovative program offers 24/7 health consultations, year-round health monitoring, and personalized advice for managing health and wellness.
JD Health has gone a step further to ensure usability and accessibility for senior citizens by offering services such as doorstep installation of nursing beds and hearing aid fittings, ensuring that the challenges often faced by the elderly in using these products are comprehensively addressed.
The launch of the elderly care channel coincides with the approaching Chinese New Year, a time when tradition encourages showing respect and love to parents and the elderly.
In response to JD’s recent initiative promoting the distribution of essential goods to underprivileged areas, Xiao Le, a Gen Z user of JD’s app expressed a wish in JD’s app to provide respiratory relief products to a nursing home on the outskirts of Beijing, a place where she had volunteered previously. JD Health promptly teamed up with brands and charity organizations, donating over 1,000 pieces of nebulizers, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, blood pressure monitors, blood oximeters, heating patches, “JD Family Doctor” smart speakers, and other health supplies, as well as mobile phones for the elderly at the nursing home.
According to 2022 statistics from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, the country’s population aged 60 and above has reached 280 million, with 90% of the elderly preferring home care. This represents a significant opportunity within the silver economy, one that JD Health is strategically positioned to lead and serve.
JD Logistics, the logistics division of JD.com, today announced its large-scale implementation of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks, marking a first in China’s logistics sector. This initiative aligns with the company’s long-standing commitment to clean energy usage and environmental stewardship.
The new fleet consists of 9.6-meter heavy-duty logistics trucks, each with an 18-ton carrying capacity. The hydrogen vehicles are engineered for high efficiency, capable of traveling 400 kilometers on a single 10-minute refueling session. This deployment is projected to cut down carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 1,000 tons per year.
The hydrogen-powered trucks offer notable advantages over traditional gasoline and electric vehicles, including superior environmental adaptability and longer service life. They can operate in extreme temperatures ranging from -30°C to 45°C and have a service life of up to 10 years. The deployment of this fleet not only contributes to CO2 reduction but also represents a move towards cost-effectiveness in logistics operations.
JD Logistics continues to demonstrate its commitment to green transportation by diversifying its environmentally friendly vehicle fleet. Alongside hydrogen vehicles, the company has expanded its use of electric logistics vehicles, including battery swap vehicles, electric tractors, and methanol-powered small trucks. The company has also utilized LNG clean energy logistics vehicles extensively in Northwest China and was China’s first logistics enterprise to put Level 4 autonomous light vehicles and Level 3 autonomous heavy vehicles in operation.
Furthering its dedication to environmental responsibility, JD Logistics employs cutting-edge carbon reduction technology to streamline its warehouse operations and optimize its transportation network. By tailoring transportation methodologies to the specific needs of various cargo types, the company achieves heightened operational efficiency while minimizing lowering both energy use and carbon emissions. JD Logistics has also implemented green transportation solutions for renowned industry leaders, including BMW and Amway (China).
As the first logistics company in China to establish science-based targets (SBTi), JD Logistics is at the forefront of advocating a “supply chain shared carbon footprint” approach. This approach is part of the company’s broader “Go Zero” transportation initiative, which emphasizes shared responsibility and collaborative efforts in reducing carbon emissions across the supply chain. By partnering with upstream and downstream partners, JD Logistics aims to foster a more sustainable and green future.
