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JD Logistics CEO takes an unlikely path into China’s Big Tech sector
- Yu Rui, 38, started his career in China’s vast logistics industry as a management trainee at e-commerce giant JD.com
- He now heads a business with a quarter of a million employees and more than 800 warehouses spread across the country
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As chief executive of JD Logistics, 38-year-old Yu Rui is poised to emerge as one of the most influential figures in China’s vast logistics services industry, as the company moves forward with the second multibillion-dollar initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong bourse this year.
JD Logistics, which was formed in April 2017 as a separate business unit under Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, started marketing its public float on Monday, which could see the firm raise as much as HK$26.4 billion (US$3.4 billion) in the city where Yu is a resident.
On the back of a nationwide network of fulfilment centres, JD Logistics provides its parent firm and third-party companies with integrated supply chain and logistics services, including warehousing, transport, delivery and after-sales services. The Beijing-based firm, which has a quarter of a million employees and more than 800 warehouses spread across the country, also provides cloud-based logistics technology services and data analytics to third-party clients.
With Yu at its helm, JD Logistics is differentiating itself from other prominent players in China, the world’s biggest logistics market in terms of spending, by touting its tech-driven operations, including the use of autonomous mobile and sorting robots as well as self-driving vehicles to enhance efficiency and delivery speeds.
The company’s Hong Kong IPO would mark another milestone in what has been an unlikely career path for Yu in China’s hi-tech industry. Yu and JD.com declined interview requests for this article.
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