{"id":21507,"date":"2017-11-12T18:32:22","date_gmt":"2017-11-12T23:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/same-day-delivery-for-all-products-mission-impossible-for-jd-in-china\/"},"modified":"2017-11-12T18:32:22","modified_gmt":"2017-11-12T23:32:22","slug":"mission-impossible-jds-same-day-delivery-promise-in-china","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/mission-impossible-jds-same-day-delivery-promise-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission Impossible: JD\u2019s Same-Day Delivery Promise in China"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Double 11 Festival (Nov.11, 2017), JD-Chinese largest B2C E-commerce store-achieved $18.7billion sales within one day, 1.5 times of US Black Friday\u2019s one week sales1<\/sup>(from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday) in 2016. With such tremendous sales, how did JD realize its promise: same-day delivery for 85%2<\/sup> of the products sold in JD store?<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast delivery, credible products, satisfying consumer service are major considerations for on-line shoppers. To compete with Alibaba, JD is differentiating itself in the first dimension. When the founder Qiangdong Liu made his determination to build own delivery system instead of outsourcing delivery to express companies, everyone said he was insane. While by digitalizing the whole logistic system, JD built the incomparable competitive edge, and revolutionized Chinese consumers\u2019 E-commerce experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fighting Its Way Out \u2013 the Importance of Digitalizing Logistic System<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

With fast growing economy, Chinese perceive efficiency as important consideration when making decisions. E-commerce business thus thrived. People can purchase products whenever and wherever possible. But Chinese consumers want more \u2013 \u201cI made orders today and want to get them no later than overnight.\u201d More than one-week delay of package delivery in 2013 Double 11 led to the public relationship crisis for Alibaba. Realizing the challenge as well as opportunity, JD chose to make a difference. The difficulty is self-explanatory: China has vast territory and large population, people\u2019s demand on package delivery is tremendous, and the traffic jam is unavoidable. However, digitalization made JD\u2019s same-day delivery possible. In 2017 Double 11, JD\u2019s packages arrived within 2 hours after consumers placed orders in 312 cities, within 1 hour in 60 cities, and 0.5 hour in 18 cities3<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Mission Impossible \u2013 Digital Innovation Revolutionized the Supply Chain<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Digital Forecasting<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to forecast the demand of 2 Million SKUs? JD initiated the theory of \u201c2.7 days of decision making\u201d4<\/sup>. Analyzing data from the digital tracking system, JD concluded among every 100 consumers who click the link of certain SKU, 10% make the purchase; the lead-time from clicking the link to placing the order is 2.7 days as consumers need to compare products in different stores. Accordingly, JD send products to sub-warehouses 2.7 days in advance whenever certain clicks happen. Thus, JD has adequate inventory while minimizing inventory days. Its average inventory turnover is 20days, comparing with Amazon\u2019s 44 days5<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

The Power of Automation<\/strong><\/p>\n

JD realized unmanned management of supply chain from sorting, transportation to delivery. In warehouse, robots sort, inspect and transport packages, minimizing the variability brought by uncertainty of human behavior. The automated warehouses were expanding from 9 to 13 in 2017, ready for crazy orders in double 11. JD\u2019s unmanned ground vehicles were launched in 2016 to cover package delivery in campus in major cities. Unmanned aerial\u00a0vehicles were launched in 2017 to deliver packages to remote areas in China3<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Real-time Optimization of Last-mile Delivery<\/strong><\/p>\n

When package is transported from warehouse to the target city, another challenge emerges: in serious traffic jam, for instance, citizens in Beijing take 2 hours traveling from the south to the north, how to deliver products on time? Big data makes this happen. Analyzing the data from Baidu map, JD App guides couriers to take quickest paths. The analysis system tells how to avoid the path with more red traffic lights, traffic jam and pedestrian streets. The system even minimizes the number of left turns because left turns can only be done when green traffic light is on5<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Future of JD logistic<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The economic development difference in east and west China is a big issue. JD\u2019s ambition is apparently not just to excel in east regions, but to provide \u201cjust-in-time\u201d service to all people in China. More than open new delivery centers in these areas, JD can do more. Introducing a variety of products beyond the limited choices citizens have in local stores, bringing mobile and internet to people there, educating them about on-line shopping, are my expectation on this visionary company. Its progress in unmanned aerial\u00a0vehicle development is ready to equip the company with the delivery capability in rural areas; at the same time, cooperating with local government to build internet infrastructure is critical.<\/p>\n

What Will the Future Look Like When All Operation is Automatic?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Consumers love JD because of its fast delivery thanks to highly digitalized operation. They also value the personalized interaction with consumer hotline and humor and smile from JD courier men. If one day all steps are conducted by robots, will the extreme efficiency improve people\u2019s satisfaction and happiness, or result in the dehumanization that alienates consumers? How further does JD need to go in digitalization?<\/p>\n

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image source: gettyimages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Word count: 764<\/p>\n

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References<\/p>\n

1.The Verge. “Alibaba’s Single Day Sale”\u00a0https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2017\/11\/11\/16637362\/alibaba-singles-day-2017-sales-record-online-shopping-black-friday-cyber-monday<\/a><\/p>\n

2.Sohu Finance. “JD realized 85% same-day delivery” \u00a0http:\/\/business.sohu.com\/20160509\/n448365600.shtml<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Sohu Technology. “How does JD prepare for Double 11”\u00a0https:\/\/www.sohu.com\/a\/198972234_649545<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Changfeng Website. “How does JD realize same-day delivery” \u00a0http:\/\/cfnet.org.cn\/ask\/view-36890.html<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Zhihu. “How does JD realize same-day delivery” \u00a0https:\/\/www.zhihu.com\/question\/29577694<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How does Chinese biggest B2C E-commerce company realize same-day delivery for 85% of all products in a country with vast territory, millions of product orders per day and serious traffic jam?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10156,"featured_media":21508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[471,298,2191,2123,49,2167,21,17,3325],"class_list":["post-21507","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-automation","category-big-data","category-chinatech","category-digitalization","category-e-commerce","category-e-retail","category-logistics","category-supply-chain","category-unmanned-operation","hck-taxonomy-organization-jdcom","hck-taxonomy-industry-retail","hck-taxonomy-country-china"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/rc-tom-challenge-2017\/","yoast_head":"\nMission Impossible: JD\u2019s Same-Day Delivery Promise in China - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/mission-impossible-jds-same-day-delivery-promise-in-china\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mission Impossible: JD\u2019s Same-Day Delivery Promise in China - 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