On January 17, a group of students from Duke Kunshan University went to the headquarters and exhibition hall of Meituan Dianping in Changning District, Shanghai, as a career field trip. Xueting Zhu, the interpreter from Meituan, introduced the development process, current business model and big data visualization model to the students and presented to students the large scale of Meituan’s business. Students discovered that Meituan Dianping app is what connected the producers and consumers of daily life services together. It has gradually formed a closed-loop system around the catering industry in the field of life services and supporting Meituan’s vision of “helping everyone eat better and live better.” Following the merger of Meituan and Dazhong Dianping, Meituan continues to expand, involving transportation, restaurant selection, raw material supply and takeaway services into its business. Xueting Zhu also introduced the environmental protection project ‘Green Mountain Plan’ of which Meituan is an active participant, reflecting the social responsibility and humanity care of the company.
The intimate communication between students and industry practitioners is a valuable part of career field trips. During the Q&A session, students actively asked their questions about the business model, data collection effectiveness, profitability and employee benefits. Jun Zhang, Director of Meituan Shanghai Integrated Command Center, answered these questions and let students know more about the profitability and operation model of current large internet-based companies in the field of life service.
Students received a new impression of Meituan after this field trip to their headquarters. This field trip in reminded students of the importance of developing new formats and models based on the internet, offering students a deeper understanding of internet companies on the cutting edge and providing inspiration for their future career plans.
