Peace of Mind at the Touch of a Button

By Liu Qiangdong

Financial information is not the only thing JD’s information system connects, but also every user,employee and item. Our goods and assets are interconnected into a complex web that makes management as simple as the touch of a button.

Case in point, every bag packed must be scanned to tell the system that it was completed so that every piece of data will be collected by the system. And with this precious data every meter of tape and every carton packed in a month can be meticulously tracked. Something as basic as a carton for example—JD’s cases are divided into six different specifications ordered from one to six, and our system calculates the packaging specifications of the customer’s order in cartons in less than a nanosecond. Company resources would be wasted if the packers use cartons larger than necessary.

Using larger cartons, the packers can pack faster and thus be paid better. Yet it puts unnecessary burden on the company’s ROI, and needs more padding, which just fritters money away. If the carton is small, it needs to be arranged carefully and adjusted so that all the goods can be put in properly.

Every employee’s action is recorded faithfully into the system. The truckdriver for example, we can log which vehicle he gassed up and the amount.

Every second of the employees’time at work at JD is planned out and managed to the nth degree by the system. Each employee is equipped with a handheld wireless device to receive instructions, and when the task is completed, the system automatically sends the next instruction so that they’ll be either searching the warehouse for the next order, pulling product, or on the distribution lines—but the point is that they will be, working constantly.

The system also plays an important role in delivery efficiency. In Beijing we have hundreds of distribution stations with more than ten staff members on duty at any given moment.Ostensibly the question of which delivery person should take the goods to which location seems like a snap, but working tirelessly behind the scenes is a complex network of information systems on the job 24/7, working and collating, planning, arranging,directing and distributing. Where is your pick up location? How much does it cost? Is it right? It’s all handled by a set of instructions relayed by the information system. This is how we can ensure that each and every customer receives his/her package in the shortest time possible.

(FromLiu Qiangdong’s Autobiography:My Business Model, Citic Press. Translation:Qing Run)

信息管人管物

文/刘强东

Liu Qiangdong, founder and CEO of JD.com

京东的信息系统不仅连接着钱，也连接着每个用户、每个工作人员、每件物品，包括我们的货物，也包括我们的固定资产。

比如，我们的打包员每打完一个包都要扫描一下，告诉系统，这个包是我打的。这样一来，系统就会收集到每一个工作数据。通过这一个动作，我们就能知道，这个打包员一个月消耗了多少米胶带、多少个纸箱。以箱子为例，京东的箱子分为1号到6号六种不同的规格，我们的系统可以计算出用户这个订单该用什么规格的纸箱打包。假如本来3号纸箱能装下，你用4号纸箱，就是对公司资源的浪费。

用规格大一点的纸箱打包，对打包员是有好处的。因为大，他可以打包得更快，拿到更多的钱。可是这需要更多的填充物去填充，对公司来说就是浪费。如果箱子小，他就需要认真摆放、调整，这样才能把所有货物都好好地放进去。

京东的每一个员工、每一个动作，都在信息系统中，比如司机，他哪辆车多加了油，多加了多少，我们都能知道。

员工每一秒钟做什么，都是信息系统给他下达的指令。员工每人配一个手持的无线设备接收指令，完成一个指令，信息系统会自动传递下一个指令。这样，他们就会不断地在库房或者配送线路上走动，不断地工作。

在配送效率上，信息系统也有很大作用。以北京为例，在北京，我们有几百个配送站，每个配送站有十几个配送员，哪个配送员送哪件货，表面上看很简单，但背后是一整套复杂的信息系统在工作、在安排。你到哪里取件？取多少？取得对不对？这些都可以通过系统指令来完成。这样，我们就能保证每个顾客收到货物的时间是最短的。