India a Priority Market for Alibaba!

Alibaba.com, claimed to be the number one online marketplace for China and international trade, last month held its first 'Open Sesame' event in the country along the sidelines of the fifth 'China Products Exhibition' in Mumbai.

With the objective of helping small and medium suppliers/exporters from India promote their products to the world and expand internationally, the event witnessed participation from over 100 small exporters from India. It was an occasion for Indian members of Alibaba to converge, and share their experiences in international trade and e-commerce.

During the event, Brian Wong, senior director (International Business Development and Marketing) of Alibaba.com, said, "India is a priority market for Alibaba.com in 2008 and beyond. We want to become the number one online marketplace for international trade to- and from- India."

"We plan to double our Indian membership base in 2008, and are actively looking for local partners in India to help us reach more local small and medium enterprises."

With a membership base of nearly 300,000 registered users, India figures in the higher-ups on Alibaba's list of priority markets worldwide. The way they look at it, local partners would only help them expand their membership (the current target being 3 million small and medium businesses in the country), and better serve local customers.

Almost a month down the line, have they managed to rope-in local partner/s? Wong declined to comment except that in future, they intend to set-up sales and customer service capabilities in India, either directly or through local partners.

What's Alibaba's India plan, considering they've also launched their first country-specific (India) channel at www.alibaba.com/countrysearch/IN/India.html?

Alibaba has different types of passes on offer for suppliers and exporters, but they claim their suppliers are a class apart because they have to undergo authentication and verification by independent third party agencies. In the event suppliers fail the test, Alibaba retains the option to reject their membership application/s.

Currently, Alibaba offers two types of passes to its suppliers; one, the Gold Supplier membership package meant for suppliers based in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, and the other, the International TrustPass membership package meant for suppliers based outside of China.

The Gold Supplier membership is available for a one- to two- year term and comes for RMB 50,000 annually, whereas the International TrustPass membership is available for a one- to three- year term and costs $589 annually.

The benefits arising out of these memberships are many: for instance, member suppliers can have their own Web site or 'premium storefront' on Alibaba.com, where they can display their company profile and product information; Gold Supplier members can get 'priority placement' in buyers' search results vis-a-vis International TrustPass members; all members can get high quality customer service and support; and they can purchase other value-added services like premium placements, and so on.

However in Alibaba's experience, more than 85 percent buyers prefer to do business with International TrustPass members.

Says Sanjay Ranawat of Krish Exports (an Indian manufacturer and exporter of stainless steel untensils and kitchenware, and an International TrustPass member since 2006), "I believe Alibaba.com is the number one B2B portal. It is more reliable than any other trade Web site, magazine, newsletter, or promotion company, and is more effective in targeting the right customers than trade shows."

What about existing competition in the B2B space? Back in 2000, there were many competitors but after the Internet bubble went bust, Wong believes Alibaba is now truly the leading B2B marketplace both in China and globally.

He has statistics to prove his point. In 2006, they were the largest online B2B company in China, basis the number of registered users, according to iResearch. And their combined international and China marketplaces are the most-visited Web sites in the world in two business categories; namely, e-commerce, and international business and trade, as per Alexa rankings.

Wong believes they have several pluses. For starters, the ability to provide suppliers and buyers with a one-stop shop for establishing online presence, identifying and interacting with potential trade partners, and conducting business on the Internet.

Also, their ability to transcend geographical and time barriers, making global sourcing available 24x7, their market leadership which creates a strong network effect, and most importantly, their positioning as a global trade model with local features and services, which helps them in being really close to their customers and members, to know exactly what it is that they want.