JD.com Delivers Fruit to Hospitals During Coronavirus Epidemic

The current coronavirus outbreak emerged in China’s Wuhan province in December of 2019, according to the World Health Organization. Since the initial reports of the outbreak, medical facilities, hospitals, and staff have been working to treat patients who have contracted the disease. Medical staff have also been working tirelessly to try to contain the outbreak and not become infected themselves. JD.com, China’s largest online retailer led by Richard Liu, has partnered with several fruit suppliers and other organizations to donate fruit to over 10 hospitals in Wuhan.

Who is JD.com Partnering With?

China’s largest retailer in terms of sales revenue has partnered with the country’s apple supplier, TianshuiHuaniu Apples Group, Driscoll’s berries, and the SOHO China Foundation. As a result of the partnership, the organizations have donated 1,500 cases of berries and 1,320 cases of apples to medical staff in Wuhan. The Leishen Mountain and Huoshen Mountain hospitals in Wuhan have been included as recipients of the donations. Both hospitals were recently constructed and have been at the center of fighting the coronavirus crisis.

Why is JD.Com Participating in the Partnership?

Xiaozhou Zhou, Head of Fruit and Vegetable Procurement at the company, was quoted as saying, “front-line medical staff work overtime every day, and they are often too busy to eat well. We joined our brand partners to deliver easy-to-eat and nutritious fruit to those in Wuhan, leveraging JD’s fresh food supply chain and logistics capability.” Since the initial outbreak of the virus in Wuhan, an exact cause and method of transmission have not been pinpointed, as hospitals in China continue to be overwhelmed by the disease. The World Health Organization has warned that the virus is near pandemic status as the disease has spread outside of China to South Korea, Iran, Singapore, Lebanon, and Canada. In addition, those who have traveled to China or been exposed to others who contracted the virus have been quarantined and at risk.

Richard Liu’s company, in an act of goodwill and social responsibility, is doing everything it can to help alleviate the economic and social burdens the coronavirus has created. Driscoll China’s General Manager, Renjie Tian, expressed appreciation for the partnership, stating “thanks to JD.com, we were able to donate our fresh berries to the front-line workers in Wuhan to honor them for taking care of the patients regardless of their personal safety and fatigue.”

JD.com brings in $67.2 billion U.S. dollars in revenue to the Chinese economy, serves over 330 million customers, and maintains an extensive supplier network that includes over 650 warehouses. In addition to working with other organizations to donate fruit to Wuhan’s hospital staff, Richard Liu’s company has provided 2,000 sets of feminine care products and 630,000 adult diapers. The company decided to donate these items due to a large amount of female medical staff working on the frontlines of the fight against the coronavirus epidemic. The adult diapers have also helped medical staff cut down on having to switch out of protective suits, which can only be worn once. By providing the adult diapers, JD.com has helped alleviate concerns over protective suit shortages.

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