As the world knows, Wuhan, China is the epicenter for coronavirus, and JD.com is at the front line of relief efforts for the embattled city. When the city municipal authorities requested relief supplies of bedding for its emergency hospitals, JD.com responded extremely swiftly and decisively through its supply chain and delivered hundreds-of-thousands of sets of sheets and other bedding. Liu Quingdong recognized the threat that the virus posed to the nation and the world immediately, and he did not hesitate to use the resources of his vast and highly effective company to help.
Hotels and hospitals
Not only did Liu Quingdong come through with supplies for the temporary hospitals in Wuhan, he also delivered bedding and supplies to the hotels that are no being used to house the aid workers and medical personnel who are working with the victims of coronavirus. Richard Liu is aided in this charitable work by alumni of a Wuhan university, and he is leading the logistics side of the operation. The people operating the hotel were astonished not only by the volume of supplies delivered through JD.com but also by the speed of the delivery and the quality of the items.
The CEO
For Liu Quingdong, coming through with deliveries under pressure is nothing new. As founder of Jingdong, he saw the potential in online marketing very early in the Internet revolution and pioneered his company at a time when many others felt that the Internet would simply be a tool for academics.
Liu Quingdong comes from humble origins as the son of working-class parents. He excelled at school, and he also taught himself computer coding, which allowed him to eventually create the highly effective platform that became Jingdong.
He began his career for a company that sold medical supplements and was very good at his job. Eventually, he was promoted to head of the computer department. It was from there that he decided he had the vision for his own company and went out on his own. Jingdong originally sold just a few wares and also had bricks-and-mortar stores in addition to its online operations.
The SARS epidemic, which forced many people to shop from home, convinced him to focus exclusively on online selling, and he gradually built Jingdong into the massive company that it is today. His success is due to relentlessly focusing on improving the customer experience, and his company boasts the world’s largest fleet of drones, which allow delivery to remote areas of China that other delivery companies simply can’t reach.
When Mr. Liu took his company public in the United States, its stock soared. Today, it is the largest e-commerce company in China and one of the largest in the world. The company’s highly streamlined logistics operation is studied as the model for e-commerce going forward. Liu remains at the helm of the company he founded, and he plans on making it even more effective as it becomes a global operation in the near future.