February 16, 2024 -- On February 14, leading research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc. announced JD.com among the winners of its “Power of the Profession Supply Chain Awards for 2024”. JD.com won the Process or Technology Innovation of the Year award for its “powerful planning technology that drives an innovative approach to resilient planning.”
The awards, presented by Gartner in four categories, including customer or patient innovation, process or technology innovation, social impact, and people breakthrough, highlight continuous innovation focused on enabling customers, developing talent, and driving sustainability. JD.com was the sole Asia-based company recognized by Gartner this year.
“This year’s entries demonstrated growth in technological innovations through the use of AI,” said Maria Nieradka, VP analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain Practice. “At the same time, the number of submissions related to people-related breakthroughs more than doubled. It’s clear that people ultimately make supply chains work, while in many cases AI is helping them to work even better.”
Harnessing the power of probabilistic forecasting and explainable AI technology, JD.com’s intelligent supply chain team has engineered a robust planning solution. This innovative approach delivers reliable decision-making support amidst external uncertainties and rapid market changes. Notably, this technology significantly enhances supply chain flexibility, particularly during intricate shopping scenarios such as large-scale promotions, holiday seasons, and challenging weather conditions. In doing so, it has played an instrumental role in reducing costs and enhancing operational efficiency.
In brief
JD.com says it received Gartner’s 2024 Power of the Profession Supply Chain Award in the Process or Technology Innovation category. The recognition cited the company’s planning technology and its approach to resilient planning; JD.com was the only Asia-based company named among this year’s winners, according to the release. The company describes its solution as combining probabilistic forecasting with explainable AI to support decisions amid uncertainty and changing market conditions. It says the system helped generate more than 620,000 recommendations per day during its 2024 Chinese New Year Shopping Festival. The release also cites inventory turnover of 30.8 days, procurement automation above 85%, and average inventory availability of at least 95%, drawing on figures it attributes to JD.com’s third-quarter 2023 financial report.
Key takeaways
- JD.com received Gartner’s 2024 award for Process or Technology Innovation in supply chains.
- The company says its planning solution uses probabilistic forecasting and explainable AI.
- JD.com reports more than 620,000 daily decision recommendations during its 2024 Chinese New Year Shopping Festival.
- The release cites inventory turnover of 30.8 days, procurement automation above 85%, and inventory availability of at least 95%.
JD.com’s highly automated “Asia No.1” logistic park
Transforming rapidly from an e-commerce giant to a supply chain-focused technology and service provider, JD.com has made significant technological strides in supply chain arena. As indicated in JD’s 2023 third-quarter financial report, the company has optimized inventory turnover to just 30.8 days while maintaining a global leadership position with self-operated SKUs numbering in the tens of millions. Currently, JD.com boasts a procurement automation rate exceeding 85%, all while maintaining an average inventory availability of no less than 95%.
During the 2024 Chinese New Year Shopping Festival, spanning from January 17 to February 3, JD.com’s intelligent supply chain system generated over 620,000 decision recommendations daily. These recommendations proved instrumental in assisting brand partners and merchants with precise demand forecasting, production guidance, and inventory management, markedly boosting supply chain efficiency across the entire industrial chain.
As the exclusive interactive platform for this year’s Spring Festival Gala, hosted by China Media Group and broadcasted live on February 9, JD.com captivated users, amassing over 52 billion interactions on its app. Additionally, the platform distributed one million physical gifts through lucky draws during the 4.5-hour extravaganza.
Ms. Wang in Beijing received JD’s flower gift during the Spring Festival Gala
To ensure seamless gift distribution and order fulfillment, JD’s intelligent supply chain system integrates seamlessly with its expansive logistics network, comprising numerous “Asia No.1” intelligent industrial parks, along with hundreds of smart warehouses and sorting centers. This synchronization extended to over 1,000 air and rail cargo routes, spanning more than 100 airports, high-speed railways, and freight trains. This extensive network ensures that customers across more than 2,000 counties and cities nationwide enjoy a premium shopping and logistics experience during the festive season.
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Questions around this news
How does JD.com’s planning technology support its supply chain?
According to the release, the system combines probabilistic forecasting with explainable AI to provide decision support when conditions are uncertain or markets change quickly. It is intended to help the company respond to complex shopping periods, including major promotions, holidays, and difficult weather, while improving flexibility, reducing costs, and supporting operational efficiency.
What is probabilistic forecasting?
Probabilistic forecasting estimates a range of possible future outcomes and the likelihood associated with them, rather than giving only one projected value. In supply chain planning, it can help teams account for uncertainty in factors such as demand or delivery conditions and consider different scenarios when making decisions.
What does explainable AI mean in supply chain planning?
Explainable AI refers to artificial intelligence systems designed to make their outputs or reasoning more understandable to people. In planning, clearer explanations can help users assess recommendations, identify relevant factors, and decide whether the result fits the situation. The term does not mean that every model’s internal process is fully transparent.
How did JD.com use its supply chain system during the 2024 Chinese New Year Shopping Festival?
The release says the system produced more than 620,000 decision recommendations daily during the festival. Those recommendations supported brand partners and merchants with demand forecasts, production guidance, and inventory management. The release also describes the system coordinating with the company’s logistics network to support gift distribution and order fulfillment during the season.
Earlier from JD.com
- JD.com’s “Sending New Year’s Gifts to Villagers” Initiative Brightens Over 8,000 Areas in Rural China in One Week
- JD.com Announces Salary Increase for Over 20,000 Customer Service Employees
- JD.com Becomes the Exclusive Interactive Partner for CMG 2024 Spring Festival Gala
- JD.com Celebrates Retirement of Wuxi’s First Courier, Highlighting Commitment to Employee Welfare
- Celebrating the Year of the Dragon 2024, JD.com Kicks Off Its 12th Consecutive Chinese New Year Grand Promotion
