Dubbed as the “Jeff Bezos of China”, JD’s CEO, Liu Qiangdong has stated that the company is fully committed to a healthy ecosystem relying on cooperation, coexistence, and co-evolution as an addendum to their business model—the “35 cents Theory”, also coined by him. By putting in 35 cents for the company’s continuous growth, the next 35 cents for employees, and the remaining 30 cents of a whole dollar delegated to business partners, this model has proven to be effective for JD and remains a steadfast guideline for the company to follow.
With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting logistics and consumer services across the globe, JD has proven its resilience and ability to grow by encompassing a far greater number of brands and merchants willing to use the platform during these times. JD’s ability in providing advanced supply chain services remains dominant, living up to its reputation in supporting its customers with the best in services and without delay.
But JD isn’t just the only one affected by the pandemic. Many numerous brands and partners of the platform, along with smaller merchants, have been negatively impacted by the worldwide crisis. JD has been actively aiding those affected, which includes initiating several supportive measures that will ease the damages caused by the pandemic.
Overall, Q3 2020 has been a successful quarter for JD. Net revenue rose nearly 30 percent, while JD plus reached more than 20 million users and the total annual active customers were now at 441.6 million. Employee gains have also been on the rise. In this quarter and along with the first two, JD has recruited an additional 60 thousand employees to bolster their roster in order to provide better services.
One notable day during Q3 is the Singles Day Grand Promotion, which took place on November 11th. During the special occasion, JD saw a doubling of third-party merchants using the company as their platform for commerce. Meanwhile, 13,532 key brands increased their sales growth by over 300% on that day too, providing a stunning confirmation of the robustness of the growth of JD.
Harkening back to when he was focusing on creating startups, Liu Qiangdong had also the foresight to develop towards e-commerce. With his first restaurant venture failing and the early brick-and-mortar incarnation of JD also having troubles during the SARS outbreak, the CEO had his eyes on changing the traditional business model and going purely online. His choices since then have paid dividends for his company, as E-commerce is on the rise, and even more so during the current pandemic as people turn to online shopping to avoid crowds.
Foresight is everything in pushing a company and customers towards a better future, and JD is committed to developing new features and services as shown in their Q3 report. For example, regarding health, a hot topic in recent times, JD Health launched its Family Doctor brand, which is a service designed around integrating Chinese families with the benefits of easily-accessible telehealth, such as dedicated family doctor teams, unlimited specialist consultations, and health packages.
JD also seeks to develop more of its live-streaming services which are utilized in the company’s platform. Focusing on rational consumption instead of impulsive needs, the CEO of JD’s retail sees live streaming as a method to get its customers educated about the products and services offers and make well-informed choices based on what they learn. In addition, JD’s Cloud & AI have also been making strides; now it is the official technology service provider for the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), one of China’s three major exhibition platforms. By using advanced AI technology in its services, JD can offer new and innovative techniques and designs in attracting customers and improving functionality.
The backbone of the company has always been logistics, and in Q3 it has also reached new growth and new partnerships, such as cooperating with Nestlé, the world’s leading food & beverage company. Together, by leveraging JD’s operational capability and technological advancements in supply chain management, they are co-launching a large-scale smart distribution center that will be using cutting-edge technology to deliver the best to Nestlé customers. Meanwhile, JD Logistics has swelled to incorporate more than 800 warehouses, aggregating around 20 million square meters.
In essence, Q3 2020 further defined JD as one of the world’s leading powers in supply chain management and logistics and further cemented its position as an invaluable business partner that offers the best to its customers and those that it cooperates with.
