阿里巴巴携手 Lending Club 为美国企业推出金融服务赊销保
阿里巴巴 与 P2P 金融网站 Lending Club 签订了战略合作伙伴关系,旨在吸引更多的美国企业通过该电子商务巨头的批发市场进行采购。两家公司将推出一项名为 阿里巴巴赊销保(theAlibaba.com e-Credit Line)的服务,美国公司可以通过该网站申请 5000 至 30 万美元的信用额度,从而在阿里巴巴网站上完成采购。
该项目最终将推广到美国以外的地区。
尽管阿里巴巴统治着中国的电子商务市场——市场份额约为 45%,去年该公司的增长速度却有所放缓, 部分原因来自京东等对手更加激烈的竞争 。另外,阿里巴巴自从去年 9 月完成创记录的 IPO(首次公开募股)以来,财报表现一直让投资者忐忑不安。上周该公司披露的财报中, 截止 2014 年 12 月一个季度的收入低于预期 ,部分原因为移动业务方面的持续投资。
为了开发电子商务业务新市场,阿里巴巴采取了双管齐下的策略。在中国,该公司 发展物流系统瞄准小城市和农村市场 。同时,赊销保之类的举措可能会帮助阿里巴巴(以及 Lending Club)吸引新的国际客户。
这两家公司表示双方协议 期限长达数年,并且属于独家协议 。
除了提供资金贷款以外,赊销保还包括了交易保障的伴随服务,买家延期收到货物或者货物不符合清单描述的话可以进入纠纷处理流程,并有可能获得退款。这一点显得尤其重要,阿里巴巴一直受到批评,指责它没有尽到打击网站上假冒商品的责任。
中国国家工商行政管理总局 最近撤下了一篇白皮书,该白皮书指出阿里巴巴员工收受贿赂及以其它方式纵容无耻商家在该网站上销售假货 ,然而阿里巴巴处理假货投诉已经有好几年的时间。事实上, 淘宝被美国贸易办公室从“恶名市场”(notoriousmarkets)黑名单中移除只是两年前的事情。
阿里巴巴在 IPO 之前已经采取了一系列的打假措施,包括 从网站上撤下 9000 万件可疑商品 ,但其批发市场的开放性导致它仍无法避免假货混入的风险。
交易保障计划同样会根据产品质量和发货速度给卖家分级。投诉平台和质量保障项目的存在一定程度上会说服那些对阿里巴巴极大丰富的商品感兴趣、但忌惮其恶名的买家。
阿里巴巴还采取了其它一些措施鼓励更多的国外公司使用其旗下网站,包括在澳大利亚 推出淘宝和支付宝 ,以及 阿里系公司蚂蚁金服进军美国和俄罗斯市场 。
在赊销保之前,阿里巴巴集团为希望使用其平台的中小企业推出了多项金融服务项目。上周该公司公布了为中国女性卖家设立的贷款项目 ,昨天该公司 揭晓了一项扶持香港青年企业家的基金 。
翻译:顾秋实 来源:techcrunch
Alibaba And Lending Club Launch Financing Program For U.S. Businesses
Alibaba.com and peer-to-peer financing site Lending Club have inked a strategic partnership designed to get more U.S. businesses to buy inventory from the e-commerce giant’s wholesale marketplace. The two will offer a new financial service called the Alibaba.com e-Credit Line that will let American companies apply for credit lines of $5,000 to $300,000 through the site, which they can then use to make purchases there.
The program will eventually expand beyond the U.S.
Though Alibaba dominates China’s e-commerce market, holding about 45 percent of the market, its growth stalled last year thanks in part to increasing competition from rivals like JD.com. Furthermore, Alibaba’s earnings have worried investors since its record-setting IPO in September. Last week, the company disclosed revenue for the quarter ending in December that was below expectations, due in part to ongoing investments in its mobile business.
In order to develop new markets for its e-commerce businesses, Alibaba has taken a two-pronged approach. In China, it is targeting smaller cities and villages by developing its logistics system. Meanwhile, initiatives like Alibaba.com e-Credit Line may help Alibaba (and Lending Club) secure new international customers.
The two companies said their agreement is multi-year and exclusive.
In addition to capital, the Alibaba.com e-Credit Line also comes with a trade assurance, which allows buyers to open disputes and potentially get a refund if they receive goods that are late or don’t match listing descriptions. This is especially important because Alibaba is constantly faced with criticism that it does not do enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods on its site.
China’s State Administration For Industry And Commerce recently backed down from a report that said Alibaba employees took bribes and otherwise made it easy for shady merchants to sell fake goods on it sites, but the company has dealt with complaints for years. In fact, Taobao Marketplace, was removed from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s “notorious markets” list only two years ago.
Alibaba has responded with a series of anti-counterfeiting measures, including purging 90 million suspicious listings from its sites before its IPO, but the open nature of its wholesale marketplaces still make running into knock-offs a risk.
The trade assurance program also ranks suppliers based on the quality of their products and shipment speed. Having a platform for disputes and a quality guarantee may help persuade merchants who are interested in Alibaba.com’s vast selection of goods, but wary of its reputation.
Other initiatives Alibaba has undertaken to encourage more foreign companies to use its sites include launching Taobao and Alipay in Australia, one of China’s key trade partners, and expanding its affiliate, Ant Financial, in the U.S. and Russia.
Alibaba.com e-Credit Line also follows several other programs that Alibaba Group has launched to provide financing for SMBs who want to use its platforms. Last week it announced a loan program for female business owners in China, and yesterday it unveiled a foundation to help young Hong Kong entrepreneurs.