Alibaba.com's Direct Procurement and Supply Program Scores Initial Success in Delivering PPE

HANGZHOU,China,May 8,2020 -- As the Covid-19 pandemic continues,Alibaba.com-- a leading cross-border B2B e-commerce platform-- with the help of the Alibaba Group ecosystem-- has pioneered a direct procurement and supply solution that has successfully enabled the sourcing and distribution of nearly 26 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare systems and related government authorities outside China.

In a Tmall Supermarket warehouse in Zhejiang Province,Alibaba.com representatives inspect goods ordered by overseas buyers

Alibaba.com is stepping in to provide hands-on customer service to help large-scale commercial buyers-- such as health systems or related government authorities-- who may not be experienced in global trade to successfully identify and make bulk purchases of high quality PPE. On the supply and logistics side,the Alibaba.com pilot solution involves Tmall Supermarket-- an online grocer and member of the Alibaba ecosystem,to source and verify genuine,high-quality PPE from manufacturers in China who are not equipped to deal with international buyers and Alibaba Group's smart logistics network Cainiao,to streamline the delivery process of urgently needed orders of PPE.

The direct supply and procurement pilot conducted by Alibaba.com combines online tools and customer service provided by Alibaba.com employees to ensure the products transacted meet buyers' requirements in an efficient manner. Alibaba.com representatives work side by side with buyers in areas including pre-order negotiations,transaction finalization,pre-shipment product inspection,customs clearance and other unexpected hurdles. Cainiao plays an important role in the cross-border shipping logistics,some of which are rapidly changing as a result of government policies in flux due to Covid-19.

The pilot Alibaba.com service also allows the PPE manufacturers in China to focus on producing the highest quality goods,quickly and the largest scale possible,without being discouraged by the complexities of global trade or distracted in dealing with buyers half a world away,who speak different languages and have payment processes that may be unfamiliar to Chinese PPE manufacturers. The model can potentially be expanded to efficiently match demand for more categories of products with validated global suppliers in the future.

"Alibaba.com has been helping to match supply and demand for critical PPE products via our online PPE Pavilion very early on in the Covid-19 pandemic. We soon realized many of our buyers,especially governments and healthcare systems,needed more specialized support. With this global direct procurement and supply pilot,we are leveraging Alibaba.com's own expertise and resources,as well as the power of the Alibaba Group ecosystem partners,to ensure international buyers can secure urgently needed PPE in a timely and transparent manner at fair market prices," said Zhang Kuo,General Manager of Alibaba.com. "We understand global trade and the supplier base in China better than anyone,and we have a responsibility to apply that knowledge to the benefit of our global community during this challenging time."

Editor's Note:The program described above is separate from the philanthropic efforts being undertaken by the Jack Ma and Alibaba Foundations. For more detail on those efforts,please see here: https://www.alizila.com/factsheet-jack-ma-foundation-alibaba-foundations-coronavirus-donations-and-efforts/

This pilot is also separate from Alibaba.com's PPE pavilion (https://www.alibaba.com/protective-equipment) which is geared to enable commercial healthcare organizations more familiar with international trade.

About Alibaba.com

The first business unit of Alibaba Group,Alibaba.com is a leading platform for global B2B e-commerce that aims to make it easy to do business anywhere. Launched in 1999,Alibaba.com is engaged in services covering all aspects of commerce,including providing businesses with tools that help reach a global audience for their products and helping buyers discover products,find suppliers,and place orders online fast and efficiently. It serves millions of buyers and suppliers from over 200 countries and regions around the world.

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