Alibaba's Logistics Services (Photo : http://www.gettyimages.com/)
French shipping line CMA CGM has signed a deal with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on Tuesday, Feb. 14, joining Maersk line to help to provide online booking for shipment through Alibaba's One Touch platform, according to an article by seatrade-maritime.com.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the two companies in Hangzhou, the report said.
Under the agreement, CMA CGM will allow Chinese customers to book their shipments directly online, from China on the CMA CGM MEX 1 service to the Mediterranean and the BEX service to the Adriatic.
Customers on the MEX 1 service can book direct using the One Touch platform for shipments from Shanghai, Qingdao, Ningbo and Yantian to be delivered at West Mediterranean base ports such as Barcelona and Valencia.
On the other hand, for the BEX, customer can use the ports of Ningbo, Shanghai and Chiwan to load shipments to be discharged in the Adriatic ports at Trieste, Venice, Rijeka, and Koper.
The direct online booking service bypasses the need for freight forwarders, the report said.
In December, Maersk started offering its online booking services through Alibaba's One Touch platform.
Israeli shipping line Zim has also started allowing customers to book through the platform for routes that include Shanghai to India and Pakistan, or from Xiamen to South America, Alibaba said in its website.
"Alibaba.com is open to collaborating with logistics firms who want to join our platform which aims to streamline the logistics process for small and medium-sized enterprises and empower them to seize cross-border trade opportunities," an Alibaba spokeswoman said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters on Thursday, Feb. 16.
Alibaba acquired One Touch in 2010, to help small and medium-sized Chinese exporters with online services such as customs clearance and logistics, especially in cross-border deliveries. It also allows them to book air freight and parcel delivery services while providing support to Alibaba's business-to-business (B2B) marketplace.
