Alibaba Enhances Procurement with AI Sourcing Engine
The global AI in procurement market, valued at US$1.3bn in 2020, is expected to soar to US$6.6bn by 2027, a surge driven by AI's potential to automate up to 60% of procurement tasks by 2025, leading to a 15% reduction in costs and a 30% increase in efficiency.
AI-powered solutions are not only streamlining operations but also enhancing spend analysis, enabling companies to achieve up to 20% savings by identifying purchasing patterns and optimising supplier negotiations.
Predictive analytics facilitated by AI can also lead to a 10-15% reduction in inventory costs, showing AI's capability in demand forecasting and inventory management.
This transformative technology promises to enhance supplier relationships, boost efficiency and drive substantial cost savings, marking a new era in procurement which Alibaba is grabbing by both hands.
Revolutionising SME B2B e-Commerce
Alibaba has announced the launch of an AI-powered conversational sourcing engine, set to debut this September.
This innovative engine aims to transform the global sourcing process for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), enhancing intuitiveness and efficiency.
The new engine leverages cutting-edge AI technology to revolutionise B2B e-commerce. It processes vast amounts of information, understands sourcing needs via natural language processing and matches buyers with products and suppliers with unmatched precision.
The engine has been refined using over one billion product listings and industry-specific knowledge from Alibaba platforms and beyond.
Designed to overcome the complexities of traditional B2B e-commerce navigation, this solution addresses the inefficiencies of conventional search methods, which are often time-consuming and manually intensive.
"Traditional search engines evaluate web page importance through interlinking, credibility and ad spend. In this AI era, the B2B sourcing engine offers an intuitive and organic way to query, as well as rapidly and accurately match business buyers and business sellers based on their proven track record," says Kuo Zhang, President of Alibaba.com.
Unlike traditional methods where procurement professionals manually sift through webpages, this AI-powered engine uses natural language to understand and transform professional sourcing requests. It can predict sourcing needs, provide suggestions and handle complex queries or full documents.
It also reconstructs information to allow direct, customised and side-by-side comparisons of multiple suppliers.
The goal is not just to build a conversational search function but to enable business deals by mimicking the experience of having a sourcing professional. This technology aims to level the playing field and reduce costs, making SMEs integral players in the global supply chain.
More to come: Alibaba's 'Aidge'
Alibaba's continued efforts in artificial intelligence were highlighted last year with the introduction of its generative AI toolkit, 'Aidge.'
This innovative toolkit has been adopted by approximately 500,000 merchants, demonstrating its widespread acceptance and utility in the e-commerce sector.
'Aidge' has significantly enhanced content quality, resulting in more engaging and relevant product descriptions and promotional materials. This improvement has translated into higher click-through rates and conversion rates, as customers are more likely to interact with and purchase from listings that effectively capture their interest.
“Aidge is dedicated to simplifying global operations for SMEs,” adds Kaifu Zhang, Vice President of Alibaba International.
"The pilot launch of Aidge marks only the beginning. The novelty of AI technologies calls for our collaboration with SaaS partners worldwide to not only test, but also co-define its use cases."
It has also elevated customer satisfaction by personalising the shopping experience and providing more accurate product recommendations.
Across various e-commerce scenarios, from product discovery to purchase completion, it has further proven Alibaba's commitment to AI and innovation in the sector.
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