(PRESS RELEASE) – JD.com and Shopify announced that they have come together to create a strategic partnership to give independent brands in the US a simple, trusted way to access consumers in China, while simultaneously enabling Shopify merchants worldwide to access JD’s quality supplier network.
The partnership will link Shopify’s millions of merchants worldwide with JD.com’s 550 million active customers in China who use the platform to find authentic, high-quality products.
With this collaboration, JD.com will open an accelerated channel for brands on Shopify to list products through JD Worldwide, the company’s cross-border e-commerce marketplace. Compared to the 12 months typically required for international brands to begin selling in China, JD’s streamlined channel allows Shopify brands to get started in 3-4 weeks.
Intelligent translation and smart price conversion services will be provided. In addition, JD.com’s global-reach supply chain network also provides end-to-end fulfillment service from the US to China, leveraging JD.com’s China-US cargo flights, US warehouses and 1,300+ warehouses and 200,000+ delivery personnel in China.
Additionally, JD.com and Shopify will collaborate to simplify access and compliance for Chinese brands and merchants looking to reach consumers in Western markets. JD will support quality Chinese brands to set up their DTC channels through Shopify, and enable Shopify merchants worldwide to access JD’s supplier network through the JD Sourcing platform.
“Bringing together two world-class commerce platforms—Shopify and JD.com—is a major step in solving cross-border commerce for merchants,” said Aaron Brown, vice president of Shopify. “The future of commerce is commerce everywhere—and that starts by removing barriers to entry to one of the most important e-commerce markets in the world.”
“JD.com is thrilled to partner with Shopify,” said Daniel Tan, president of JD Worldwide. “We believe that the partnership will unlock the huge potential of the Chinese market for brands outside of China. At the same time, it will increase cross-border commerce by leveraging our global supply chain ability, simplifying what has traditionally been a very complicated process.”
The announcement is part of a larger strategic partnership between Shopify and JD.com that aims to help solve cross-border commerce challenges across product sourcing, selling, and logistics for merchants in the US and China. The JD.com channel will be available starting January 18.