US artificial intelligence software and consultancy firm Blue Yonder is teaming up with China's JD Logistics to help Chinese merchants improve their supply chain and logistics processes. The partnership is aimed at aiding Chinese merchants and manufacturers in increasing efficiency to support their quick recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
JD's logistics arm stated on Wednesday that the cooperative effort should result in the development of new supply chain transformation solutions to solve immediate challenges facing Chinese manufacturers. The jointly developed solutions tailor-made for each business is aimed at improving end-to-end supply chain management and enhancing the efficiencies of existing business processes.
The Chinese e-commerce giant plans to capitalize on Blue Yonder's expertise in AI software and combine it with its own real experience and insights in front-line execution. Blue Yonder is one of only a handful of companies globally that can create realistic simulations based on generated data from AI and machine learning systems, which it also develops in-house.
JD mentioned in a statement that the integration of Blue Yonder's technologies with its own systems should help merchants more quickly adapt and respond to changing customer needs. The technology can also help predict potential supply chain disruptions as well as pinpoint otherwise undetectable opportunities for improvement and profit.
Apart from providing AI-based solutions in supply chain management, retail planning, store operations, category management solution, and manufacturing planning, the partnership between JD and Blue Yonder will also expand into greener initiatives. This will include providing businesses and merchants with resource wastage and environmental pollution solutions.
The partnership is part of the JD's effort to answer China's call of having companies digitize their operations. Since the start of the pandemic in China earlier in the year, the government has been urging companies to utilize available resources and technologies to help them recover from the disruptions caused by the nationwide travel restrictions, shelter-in-place orders, and lockdowns.
China is continually pushing for the development of its digital infrastructure, providing support for companies that which to upgrade and digitalize. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had stated that the country does have a huge demand for its digital infrastructure and all players are welcome to assist in its economic retooling. The initiative will include the development and integration of advanced technologies such as 5G networking, data center development, industrial internet of things (IoT) integration, and artificial intelligence.
Major Chinese tech firms such as Alibaba, JD, and Pinduoduo are already launching different measures to support the enhancement of small to medium businesses, which make up the majority of the merchants on their respective platforms and over 90 percent of the enterprises in China.
