Lu Hongxiang: Jumore Brings New Vitality to China’s Manufacturing Industry

By DONG YANGMING & ZHOU ZHOU



Lu Hongxiang: Jumore Brings New Vitality to China’s Manufacturing Industry

By DONG YANGMING & ZHOU ZHOU

Lu Hongxiang (third from right) receives the Asian Social Responsibility Contribution Award in South Korea.

H ANGZHOU, an e-commerce hub in China, boasts a good number of world famous online retailers. The State Council approved on March 12, 2015 the setting up of the nation’s first corssborder e-commerce zone in Hangzhou. A month later, the e-commerce platform Jumore started operating. Within just seven months, transactions via the platform had surpassed RMB 70 billion. Meanwhile, Lu Hongxiang, president of Jumore E-commerce Co., Ltd, has made a name for himself in this field.

Today’s Cross-border E-commerce Platform

The trading of bulk commodities worldwide has always involved huge financing volume, complex handling, long supply chains and numerous facets. Lu Hongxiang is one of the few businessmen from China involved in this field. Before Jumore was established, he already had 20 years’ experience in bulk commodities trading.

For China’s manufacturing sector, the “Made in China 2025” strategy that the government launched in 2015 boosted demand for foreign raw materials, such as non-ferrous metals and energy resources, and upgraded standards for key technologies despite requiring more capital. The manufacturing sector has faced some problems during this process of restructuring and upgrading. For instance, Chinese manufacturers, who often made overseas purchases separately in limited modes and product types, have not used their collective advantage, and so cannot bargain hard enough, even though they are big customers in international procurement. In addition, price fluctuations in the global raw materials market sometimes cause uncertainty and even financial losses to Chinese enterprises. Their lack of key technologies also leads to a price freeze in the Chinese manufac-turing industry.

Lu believes the business-to-business (B2B) segment in today’s e-commerce era, known as e-commerce 3.0, can contribute to solving these problems. Chinese online retailers, he said, acted as a medium in the 1.0 and 2.0 eras, and provided limited assistance to the real economy. But having ushered in the 3.0 era, they are expected to bring new vitality to the country’s manufacturing sector through the formula “e-commerce + finance + supply chain + industry 4.0.”This covers several key facets, including locking in prices for raw materials bought by Chinese manufacturers internationally, providing financial support to domestic manufacturing companies, introducing advanced technologies to China, analyzing big data concerning the world manufacturing industry, and selling China-made products in the global market.

Jumore takes the lead in presenting the global strategy of China’s crossborder e-commerce sector by taking advantage of the opportunities generated by “Made in China 2025,” while using its platform to integrate world resources. With its eyes on massive growth for the country’s manufacturing industry, Jumore strives to explore new models to facilitate transformation and upgrades in this sector.

“Jumore Ecosphere” Based on “Internet Plus” Strategy

“The problems of the market represent an opportunity for Jumore,” Lu said, with regard to the predicaments of Chinese manufacturers, such as the high cost of raw materials, thin profit margins and limited investments in research and development. He thus clearly defines Jumore’s role and business model. By enabling large-scale purchases on the international market, the company hopes to empower Chinese manufacturers to have their say in determining the prices of bulk commodities and minimizing their costs. At the same time, Jumore wants to prevent unhealthy competition among manufacturing companies, as well as help Chinese enterprises’ transition from the vicious cycle of low prices and low profits to one of high quality, big profits and more investments in research and development.

Through his company, Lu is creating a “Jumore ecosphere” where the world’s high-level raw materials, technologies and talents dock with Chinese companies, so giving the domestic manufacturing industry continuous momentum. China’s considerable manufacturing system and market, on the other hand, provide a wider platform for its international partners to further develop and enter into mutually beneficial deals. The cross-border e-commerce service is expected to fuel China’s manufacturing sector.

The successful model Jumore has developed showcases Lu’s insight into the country’s “Internet Plus” strategy.

Lu Hongxiang has made a name for himself in the field of e-commerce.

He perceives the strategy, which encourages the integration of Internet into traditional manufacturing rather than simply “traditional manufacturing plus Internet,” as highlighting the creative forces generated by the Internet. On this platform, e-commerce is no longer in a subordinate role. Instead, the creative thinking and economic strength of ecommerce in the 3.0 era will promote the progress of the domestic manufacturing industry. To this end, Jumore is selecting a group of notable Chinese manufacturers that the company will support in their different development stages, both financially and technologically.

International Cooperation along the Belt and Road

During his visits to Central Asia and Southeast Asia in September and October 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed that China and the countries in these regions join hands to build a Silk Road Economic Belt and a Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century, a plan that has polarized the international community’s attention.

Building the Silk Road Economic Belt calls for economic integration in Southeast and Northeast Asia, which will eventually merge with Europe to create Eurasian economic integration. The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road connects Europe, Asia and Africa via sea routes. The land-sea loop is expected to provide a new channel for countries along the routes to enhance their exchanges and development.

In the second half of 2015, Lu met with Indonesia’s former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Singaporean Ambassador to China Stanley Loh Ka Leung. During the Korea-Japan-China Business Summit and the meeting between the leaders of China and Central and Eastern European countries, Lu forged cooperative agreements with enterprises in countries such as Germany, Russia, Argentina and Kazakhstan through the platform Jumore provided.

Lu believes that countries along the Belt and Road, most of which are developing nations, play a significant role in the export and sale of products manufactured in China. Jumore is exerting considerable effort to open a new, transnational sales channel for China’s manufacturers.

The advancement of the Chinese manufacturing industry – which is now undergoing transformation and upgrades – also depends on China’s progress. In turn, the growth of China’s manufacturing sector will mean greater success for Jumore, and promote its business philosophy of harmonious coexistence.

Six Key Functional Centers

Transactions via maisulang.com, a sub-platform of Jumore for plastic products, exceeded RMB 100 million just eight days after its inauguration. Its rapid development, which has drawnthe public’s attention, can be attributed to Lu’s management philosophy. In his view, Jumore’s achievements rest on its clients. The clients gain profits through its services, and Jumore merely takes a “free ride,” he said.

Lu Hongxiang speaks at the China-ASEAN Information Harbor Forum.

“Harmonious coexistence” in Taoism holds that human beings and everything around them have the same origin, composition and end. Each life plays an important role in the healthy functioning of nature. Taoists believe, therefore, that helping others is actually helping oneself. To help solve the major problems in China’s manufacturing sector and stimulate the industry’s growth, Jumore has established six centers.

The financial center provides financial support for raw materials. The centers for manufacturing industry, big data analysis and market research provide domestic companies with intellectual support and services for industrial transformation and upgrades, which promote China-made products in the global market. The logistics center integrates resources to assist companies in optimizing efficiency and lowering logistical costs. The hedging center helps Chinese manufacturers lock in reasonable prices for raw materials in the global market to avoid uncertainties in international procurement.

The core of the six centers, Lu believes, lies in the global manufacturing industry’s integration. And Jumore, by innovatively forging a platform, brings together outstanding manufacturers worldwide to form an extensive supply network. He envisions a fusion of key technologies of Germany’s Industry 4.0, Japanese lean management, the most convenient logistics channels, and the world’s best raw materials. Lu and his team have learnt from their decades on the job that a closed-loop robust business is crucial to the steady advance of Jumore and its business model.

Pass Dow n Traditional Culture and Fulfill Social Responsibilities

Quite a few entrepreneurs from China benefit from traditional Chinese culture and carry on the mission to promote it. Xinyuanxing Academy, under the Jumore company, was established by Lu to spread traditional Chinese culture. Lu has mastered the art of applying traditional cultural factors to business to demonstrate the vitality and charisma of timehonored practices. He also donates books about traditional culture – valued at millions of yuan – to local governments and education departments in each place Jumore conducts business. Lu pays equal attention to carrying out educational projects to popularize traditional culture. On top of that, the Xinyuanxing Academy often gives aid to districts and schools that value traditional culture.

“We particularly advocate the unity of knowledge and practice, as current society is faced with the problem of ‘easy to say, hard to do,’” Lu said. As an entrepreneur who has been educated in the philosophies of traditional Chinese culture, he feels obliged to fulfill his company’s social responsibilities and bring traditional Chinese culture to a wider audience. He believes in adopting time-honored philosophies in business to better promote China’s manufacturing industry, as well as in his personal life, to maintain inner peace while facing the challenges of a turbulent global market.