One of the ways businesses in the world today can adapt to the changing world is to have a robust online presence and a strong ability to digitalize operations. Increased instability in today’s trading environment has created greater creativity and innovativeness in business operations. The COVID-19 pandemic is a solid example of factors that can shake the business world in unprecedented proportions. Navigating through business in an ever-changing environment requires visionary leaders. Business operations need timely configuration to seamlessly transition to a new normal in unforeseen circumstances like pandemics. Liu Qiangdong, the founder of JD.com Inc, is such a leader. With an active income of $83.5 million in 2019, JD is a winner.
Recent Achievements of JD
Richard Liu combines his convictions, an astute business mind, and a futuristic approach to innovatively provide practical solutions to businesses in the face of uncertainty. One of JD’s brilliant projects is the Omni channel Fulfillment Program, launched in 2019. The program won the prestigious National award for 2020 Best Practice of Retail Digitalization. The conferment of the award happened during the China International Retail Innovation held in Shanghai International Convention Center on 12th August 2020.
Innovativeness in Customer Delivery Efficiency
The Omni channel Fulfillment Program seeks to affiliate with retail stores that do not have an online presence. The stores associated with the program facilitate the delivery of orders made through JD. Examples of retail shops that have recorded increased sales from the association with JD include Walmart chain of supermarkets. Increased efficiency in the supply of orders by significantly reducing the delivery time is a significant benefit gained by the retail stores. The delivery time now can be as fast as just 15 minutes.
More Retail Stores by Dada Group
Another ingenious innovation is the launch of 100,000 retail stores by the Dada Group, in April 2020. The stores aim at boosting retail sales and the timely delivery of goods to customers. A key focus of the launch was to do timely deliveries of products needed by local customers. The attractiveness of the program has made various retail stores like Walmart, Yonghui, and Better Life to join. Shops selling groceries, kids, and mother’s items and pet products have also advised. The program has also partnered with renowned names like Nongfu Spring, Unilever, P and G, and coca-cola.
Best Business Practice Insights
During the one-year operation of the Omni channel Fulfillment Program, the lessons learned have been the basis of the generation of best business operations strategies. The program has analyzed the customer’s habits of the digitally compliant and non-compliant stores. The analysis has led to the customization of new digital products to intensify targeting marketing strategies of products from the stores. In Huaguan Supermarket in Beijing, sales skyrocketed after efforts to reach potential customers using texts and coupons. The exponential increase in sales placed the supermarket in the top ten when ranked with other stores in the program. Additionally, the increase in sales in the stores affiliated with the Omni channel Fulfillment Program has led to the creation of intelligent inventory tools to replace sold goods.
All in all, JD’s novel approach to a reinvention of business operations, in tandem with the rapidly changing business environment, has offered timely lessons to the global business community. JD, under the leadership of Richard Liu, has made the consumer’s shopping experience in the new pandemic easier and convenient. Furthermore, the timely charitable donations of millions of masks and medical supply to organizations like the Hubei Charity Foundation have given JD the human face so needed in the face of the global pandemic.JD is the ultimate study in the best innovative business practice.
