JD News Roundup: Vol. 1

By Ella Kidron

COVID-19 Response

Robots to the rescue: JD and GREE, a Chinese state-owned major manufacturing enterprise announced a partnership to develop disinfection and inspection robots to aid the fight against COVID-19. The indoor inspection robot can discern people's temperature in highly mobile and dense areas, while disinfection robots (both indoor and outdoor types), can automatically spray disinfectant gas and liquid 24/7, increasing the efficiency of the process and protecting staff who conduct disinfection.

JD Health consultation platform goes global: Following the release of the platform in China at the start of COVID-19, JD went global with a bilingual version aimed at supporting over 60 million Chinese overseas who might be unable to return to China during COVID-19. Over 20 doctors can support requests in English and Chinese. There is also a bilingual psychological consultation service which can be accessed by dialing: 400-622-6108 via Skype or another similar software. Get the full story

Things are looking up in Hubei province: JD Logistics data shows that delivery orders in the epidemic epicenter of Hubei province during the month of March increased three times vs. this February. Recently, as COVID-19 has progressed, there has been a shift from buying daily necessities and indoor fitness equipment to buying clothing, cosmetics and travel accessories. JD expects that by the beginning of April, all Hubei employees will resume work. Furthermore, to support industry in Hubei that was dormant at the peak of COVID-19, JD is using its platform and tech to support impacted industries. The company has launched 10 initiatives, from merchant enrollment, to traffic, operations and logistics support, to aid the recovery of Hubei's agriculture industry. In addition, as Hubei produces half of China's crawfish, JD has announced a plan to sell a whopping 100,000 tons of crawfish from Hubei, worth RMB 6 billion.

JD Logistics employees in Hubei province

Emergency relief supplies donated to the UK: Richard Liu, Chairman and CEO of JD.com, and his wife, Nancy Zhang announced the donation of 50 invasive ventilators, 5 million medical masks, and 600,000 other items, including surgical gloves, medical safety goggles and protective gowns. Get the full story

Biz Highlights

Ongoing commitment to Responsible Consumption: On March 28^thJD joined in the global Earth Hour celebration. JD supported Earth Hour by launching a new round of its clothing recycling program in 94 cities across China, as well as continuing to recycle logistics packaging as usual. Pre-loved clothes and packaging can be handed back to couriers whenever they make a delivery, making it hassle free to treat the environment well and live with less. Get the full stor y

Joy turns 7: In light news, JD's Joy, a loveable, happy image of a dog created by the company, celebrated his 7^th birthday. Joy represents integrity, and is an embodiment of JD's commitment to providing authentic products and fast delivery to consumers in China. Joy has been featured in many brand and artist collaborations for products for sale on JD.com. Get the full story

JD's Joy made from LEGO (right) and roses (left)

New product debuts: On March 29^th, Costa Coffee chose JD as the first online platform in China to sell its new ready-to-drink coffee. The product has been tailored specifically for the Chinese market, and is designed to make coffee, which has become increasingly popular in recent years, more convenient to drink. According to statistics, the coffee industry in China has grown substantially over the past 30 years, with a 15% YOY growth rate in 2019, compared to a rate of 5% in the U.S. JD is also the first e-commerce platform in China to offer pre-orders of Finnish fitness company Suunto's latest wearable tech, the Suunto 7. Since joining JD in 2015, Suunto's sales on the platform have increased four-fold, making JD one of the most important retail channels for the brand.

Looking for more? Check out our recent long reads and data analysis:

• In-Depth Report: The New Experience of Retail under COVID-19: With the rapid rise of the epidemic outside of China, there have been several discussions about what China can share based on experience earlier in the year. While having none of the answers, this piece provides a bit of insight into what JD has learned in the last few months figuring out how to adapt to the new normal under COVID-19. Get the full story
• The Big Data: Employees embrace back to work, but proceed with caution: Looking at trends across 40 cities, JD's Big Data Research Institute finds that products like electric lunch boxes reach an all-time high, as people head back to work still maintaining reduced human-to-human contact. At the same time, growth in purchases of products like cash registers indicate that more brick-and-mortar retail establishments are gradually returning to work. Get the full story.
• In-Depth Report: How JD Tackles Counterfeits (Part 3): This final piece of a three-part series, this in-depth shines a light on the technology behind JD's approach towards counterfeits and ensuring authenticity. From buzzword technology like blockchain to self-developed mechanisms like Eagle Eye, these tools help JD's team qualify intuition and tips through data. Did you know? JD's Quality Inspection team clocked over one million air miles and conducted traceability checks on over 1,200 factories in 2019. Get the full story

In photos, recent moves by JD: https://jdcorporateblog.com/photo-gallery-this-week-at-jd-march-30-april-3/

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