Our mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere.
Our founders started our company to champion small businesses, in the belief
that the Internet would level the playing field by enabling small enterprises
to leverage innovation and technology to grow and compete more effectively in
domestic and global economies. We believe that concentrating on customer needs
and solving their problems — whether those customers are consumers, merchants
or enterprises — ultimately will lead to the best outcome for our business.
We have developed a large digital economy that enables participants to create
and share value on our platforms. Our decisions are guided by how they serve
our mission over the long term, not by the pursuit of short-term gains.
Our Vision
We aim to build the future infrastructure of commerce. We envision that our
customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that we will be a company
that lasts at least 102 years.
Meet @ Alibaba. We enable commercial and social interactions among hundreds
of millions of users, between consumers and merchants, and among businesses
every day.
Work @ Alibaba. We empower our customers with the fundamental infrastructure
for commerce and new technology, so that they can build businesses and create
value that can be shared among our digital economy participants.
Live @ Alibaba. We strive to expand our products and services to become central
to the everyday lives of our customers.
As we continue to expand our businesses from commerce to cloud computing, digital
media and entertainment, among other sectors, Alibaba has evolved into a digital
economy that is unique, energetic and innovative. By the year 2036, we aim to
have served 2 billion global consumers, empowered 10 million profitable businesses
and created 100 million jobs.
102 Years. For a company that was founded in 1999, lasting at least 102 years
means we will have spanned three centuries, an achievement that few companies
can claim. Our culture, business models and systems are built to last, so that
we can achieve sustainability in the long run.
To fulfill our mission "to make it easy to do business anywhere,"
we enable businesses to transform the way they market, sell and operate and
improve their efficiencies. We provide the technology infrastructure and marketing
reach to help merchants, brands and other businesses to leverage the power of
new technology to engage with their users and customers and operate in a more
efficient way.
Our businesses are comprised of core commerce, cloud computing, digital media
and entertainment, and innovation initiatives. In addition, Ant Financial, an
unconsolidated related party, provides payment and financial services to consumers
and merchants on our platforms. A digital economy has developed around our platforms
and businesses that consists of consumers, merchants, brands, retailers, third-party
service providers, strategic alliance partners and other businesses.
Core Commerce
Retail Commerce
Retail commerce in China
We are the largest retail commerce business in the world in terms of GMV in
the twelve months ended March 31, 2019, according to Analysys. We operate Taobao
Marketplace, Chinas largest mobile commerce destination with a large and growing
social community, and Tmall, the worlds largest third-party online and mobile
commerce platform for brands and retailers, in each case in terms of GMV in
the twelve months ended March 31, 2019, according to Analysys. In fiscal year
2019, we generated approximately 66% of our revenue from our retail commerce
business in China.
We have introduced New Retail initiatives to reengineer the fundamentals of
retail operations and transform the retail landscape. New Retail represents
the convergence of online and offline retail by leveraging digitalized operating
systems, in-store technology, supply chain systems, consumer insights and mobile
ecosystem to provide a seamless shopping experience for consumers. For example,
we operate Freshippo, known as "Hema" in Chinese, our proprietary
grocery retail chain. Freshippo exemplifies the creation of a new shopping experience
through the convergence of online and offline activities by using retail stores
to warehouse and fulfill online orders in addition to offering a rich and fun
experience for customers who shop in-store.
Retail commerce — cross-border and global
We operate Lazadas leading e-commerce platform across Southeast Asia with
local language mobile apps and websites in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. AliExpress, one of our global retail marketplaces,
enables consumers from around the world to buy directly from manufacturers and
distributors in China and around the world. Tmall Global allows overseas brands
and retailers to reach Chinese consumers, and is the largest import e-commerce
platform in China based on GMV in the twelve months ended March 31, 2019, according
to Analysys.
Wholesale Commerce
Wholesale commerce in China
1688.com, Chinas leading integrated domestic wholesale marketplace in 2018
by revenue, according to Analysys, connects wholesale buyers and sellers in
a wide range of categories. Lingshoutong ( GRAPHIC ), a digital sourcing platform
for retailers, connects fast moving consumer goods, or FMCG, brand manufacturers
and their distributors directly to local mom-and-pop stores in China.
Wholesale commerce — cross-border and global
We operate Alibaba.com, Chinas largest integrated international online wholesale
marketplace in 2018 by revenue, according to Analysys. As of March 31, 2019,
buyers on Alibaba.com were located in over 190 countries.
Logistics Services
We operate Cainiao Networks logistics data platform and global fulfillment
network that primarily leverages the capacity and capabilities of logistics
partners. It offers domestic and international one-stop-shop logistics services
and supply chain management solutions, fulfilling various logistics needs of
merchants and consumers at scale, serving our digital economy and beyond. We
use Cainiao Networks data insights and technology to facilitate the digitalization
of the entire warehousing, fulfillment and delivery process, thereby improving
efficiency across the logistics value chain. For example, it provides real-time
access to data for merchants to better manage their inventory and warehousing,
for consumers to track their orders, and for express courier companies to optimize
delivery routes.
Consumer Services
We use mobile and online technology to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness
and convenience of consumer services for both service providers and their customers.
We utilize this technology in Ele.me, a leading on-demand delivery and local
services platform, to enable consumers to order food and beverages through a
mobile app anytime and anywhere. Koubei, a leading restaurant and local services
guide platform for in-store consumption, provides targeted marketing tools for
merchants and allow consumers to discover local services content. Fliggy, a
leading online travel platform, provides comprehensive services for consumers
travel needs.
Cloud Computing
Alibaba Cloud is the worlds third largest, and Asia Pacifics largest, Infrastructure-as-a-Service,
or IaaS, and Infrastructure Utility Services provider by revenue in 2018, according
to Gartners April 2019 report (Source: Gartner, Market Share: IT Services,
2018, Dean Blackmore et al., April 8, 2019) (Asia Pacific refers to Mature Asia/Pacific,
Greater China, Emerging Asia/Pacific and Japan). Alibaba Cloud is also Chinas
largest provider of public cloud services by revenue in 2018, including Platform-as-a-Service,
or PaaS, and IaaS services, according to IDC (Source: IDC Semiannual Public
Cloud Services Tracker, 2018). Alibaba Cloud offers a complete suite of cloud
services, including elastic computing, database, storage, network virtualization
services, large scale computing, security, management and application services,
big data analytics, a machine learning platform, and IoT services, serving our
digital economy and beyond.
Digital Media and Entertainment
Digital media and entertainment is a natural extension of our strategy to capture
consumption beyond our core commerce businesses. Insights we gain from our core
commerce business and our proprietary data technology enable us to deliver relevant
digital media and entertainment content to consumers. This synergy delivers
a superior entertainment experience, increases customer loyalty and return on
investment for enterprises, and improves monetization for content providers
across the digital economy.
Youku, the third largest online video platform in China in terms of monthly
active users in March 2019, according to QuestMobile, and UC Browser, one of
the top mobile browsers in the world, according to Stat Counter (http://gs/statcounter.com),
serve as our two key distribution platforms for digital media and entertainment
content. In addition, to further implement our digital media and entertainment
strategies, we increased our shareholding in Alibaba Pictures, an Internet-driven
integrated platform that covers content production, promotion and distribution,
intellectual property licensing and integrated management, cinema ticketing
management and data services for the entertainment industry, to approximately
51% in fiscal year 2019. Youku, UC Browser, Alibaba Pictures and our other content
platforms, such as news feeds, literature and music, allow users to discover
and consume content as well as interact with each other.
