(Yicai) Sept. 8 -- Alibaba.com, the global business-to-business platform of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, has unveiled a suite of new products and enhancements to existing sourcing tools designed to boost the efficiency of procurement and transform the sourcing experience.

The upgrades include a tab to clearly distinguish product searches from those for manufacturers, virtual showrooms, real-time translation in 17 languages for live video chats with suppliers, a smarter quotation request system to summarize all responses from suppliers in a template, and logistic services with 24-hour customer support, Rah Mahtani, head of the platform’s US arm, told Yicai on Sept. 6.

“The vitality of our small and medium-sized enterprises has largely recovered,” Mahtani noted. “Online and digitalization have become almost irreversible trends.”

The number of active buyers on Alibaba.com jumped 33 percent in the first half from a year ago, with 91 percent of countries and regions worldwide, including the United States, botching up higher online traffic, Mahtani pointed out.

Sellers have also benefited from the digitalization trend. Ikoo Glass, a supplier of borosilicate high heat-resistant glass, had its turnover soar to USD45 million last year from USD30,000 in 2014 with more than half of its orders came from Alibaba.com, said Jessica Li, the platform's business development manager.

Alibaba.com continued to bring new customers, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, and many have ongoing collaboration with the platform, Li noted.

An increasing number of customers prefer online sourcing because they can directly see factories and products, she pointed out, adding that this is much more efficient than going to trade fairs or exhibitions.

IKOO Glass is cooperating with several retail customers, including BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Costco Wholesale, and Walmart, which are mostly located in North America.

The platform also revealed the results of a survey of over 300 small and mid-sized businesses at its first Co-Create conference held in Las Vegas yesterday through today. Ninety percent of the participants are optimistic about their businesses next year, and 80 percent think introducing a new product will significantly enhance their success and profit.

Regarding the challenges, 31 percent struggle with finding the right supplier, 28 percent encounter difficulties with research, development, and design, and 27 percent face financial hurdles when placing orders.

Revenue at International Digital Commerce Group, one of the six business groups Hangzhou-based Alibaba split itself into in March, surged 41 percent to CNY22.1 billion (USD3 billion) last quarter from a year earlier, Alibaba said in its latest earnings report. Income from the international commerce wholesale business was a steady CNY5 billion.

Editor: Martin Kadiev