While on a call about the company’s earnings over the past year, founder and CEO Richard Liu Qiangdong talked about the many steps JD.com, the biggest retailer in China, has taken during this pandemic. Of all major companies in the country, they’ve led the charge to provide relief from the economic and logistical disruption caused by COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.
Richard Liu Qiangdong is familiar with what it takes to run a business during a pandemic. During the SARS outbreak in 2003, JD.com took certain steps to remain operational and they’ve informed the decisions his company is making right now.
Richard Liu is considered as among the top entrepreneurs in the e-commerce industry. After launching his first online retail website sometime in 2004, he founded JD.com only a year later.
As travel restrictions limited travel to and from the Hubei province, businesses and people found it difficult to get their hands-on things they need and want. Through their logistical infrastructure, JD managed to get those products, materials, and more into Hubei with little disruption.
Thanks to the company’s years-long commitment to building the best logistics network in China, JD was able to get millions of supplies to Wuhan hospitals with little disruption. This is how many healthcare workers have been able to provide care for those who are struggling with COVID-19.
Their ability to reach into Hubei also brought relief to those not receiving medical care. By investing $118 million, JD improved shipping and advertisement costs, and provided much needed support for their delivery staff in the form of personal protective equipment, allowing them to get goods to people and continue to enforce physical distancing practices. Read This Article for additional information.
Another way the company has tried to help people deal with the limits imposed on their movement was the launch of JD Health. This allowed people who are spending more time at home to get medical consultations and guidance via the internet. This leaves hospitals freer to deal with COVID-19 patients and limit potential transmission of the virus.
At the end of the call, Liu Qiangdong said the steps taken so far aren’t just good for business but it reaffirms JD’s responsibility to be good stewards of the communities they call home.
More about Liu Qiangdong on https://www.jd.id/campaign/liu-qiangdong-jd-ceo-about.html
