Alibaba taps Jerusalem start-up to launch freight platform
"Doing business online is the bridge for American small businesses through this crisis and into the next decade," said John Caplan, Alibaba.com president of North America and Europe.
By EYTAN HALONFreight containers are seen on a freight container ship as a worker looks on at DP World, Southampton Docks, in Southampton, Britain, March 27, 2017.(photo credit: REUTERS/EDDIE KEOGH)
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has partnered with Jerusalem-based freight technology start-up Freightos to launch what it calls the “world’s largest digital freight platform.”Alibaba.com, a unit of Alibaba Group, made the announcement as it rolled out three new products and services to assist American small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) cope with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.The “Alibaba.com Freight” platform, powered by technology developed at Freightos, aims to enable American SMBs to secure ocean and air shipping for their order by enabling sellers to “instantly compare, book, manage and track ocean and air freight in real time online.”Founded in November 2011 by British-Israeli CEO Zvi Schreiber, Freightos is behind an advanced online freight marketplace, enabling international importers and exporters to instantly compare international shipping costs.The marketplace, used by many of the world’s leading freight giants, has since evolved to also enable instant booking, online shipment management, tracking and communication with a network of more than 1,200 logistics providers across the world.“Doing business online is the bridge for American small businesses through this crisis and into the next decade,” said John Caplan, Alibaba.com president of North America and Europe.“We are accelerating our transformation to get both sellers and buyers quickly set up for success and provide the critical tools and services that are required for growth - access to supply and demand, shipping and logistics, and working capital. Ultimately, our goal is to give SMBs even greater access to the $23.9 trillion global B2B e-commerce opportunity – which is six times the size of the B2C e-commerce market.”Alongside the launch of Alibaba.com Freight, the company also launched Alibaba.com Payment Terms, a digitized trade finance solution for cross border e-commerce payments; and Alibaba.com Online Trade Shows USA, which offers live-streamed digital events to convene buyers and sellers.
