Warehouses Will Help Alibaba’s E-commerce Push In China

E-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group is planning to push its resources offline in a move to enhance its logistics abilities.

The company will build a network of warehouses across China and hopes to mobilize other partners to join in this effort to create an integrated logistics platform that will help elevate the quality of service to Chinese consumers and allow merchants to meet rapidly growing domestic consumption needs. Over the medium term, Alibaba Group and its financing partners will commit between CNY20 billion and CNY30 billion, and Alibaba Group hopes to spark a total investment of more than CNY100 billion in logistics development in China by others partners in the e-commerce ecosystem.

Alibaba Group’s strategy towards logistics is composed of four key parts. Initially, Taobao.com, the company’s online subsidiary, will continue to deepen its pursuit of the previously announced Taobao logistics initiative to enhance quality control of delivery service. The Taobao logistics initiative consists of the Taobao supply chain management platform to help merchants handle inventory; logistics partnership network; and industry code of standards guiding logistics service providers. At the same time, Taobao will focus on providing relevant value-added services in accordance to product vertical-specific needs. Alibaba Group will also mobilize efforts to establish an integrated logistics platform that aims to bring together all players in the industry from warehousing to delivery. Third, Alibaba Group will invest in the establishment of a nationwide warehouse network across China in the goal of redressing the key bottleneck facing the logistics industry. Finally, Alibaba.com will offer warehousing facility support to small Chinese exporters.

Alibaba Group will coordinate closely with working partners in all sectors of the logistics industry to establish a national network of warehouse facilities to service the B2C industry across China. Usage of the Alibaba Group-owned warehouse facilities will be a service available to all, including partners in the logistics industry, Taobao sellers as well as independent B2C websites.