Alibaba.com, a leading platform for global business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce, have this morning unveiled Alioth as a multi-market channel partner.
Alioth is an ecommerce consultancy that specialises in supporting companies discovering new global sales channels. They’re experts in understanding how to take a business previously undertaking lead generation at in-person trade shows, and helping them pivot to add online lead generation for their business, winning new B2B clients. This is particularly difficult for those businesses who operate as manufactures, as often they don’t have a product to sell – just a factory with capacity and expertise working with certain materials and processes. How do you sell manufacturing capacity on Alibaba.com? Alioth are here to help!
We spoke to Michiel Ebbing, Alioth Founder, to dive into how they can assist UK and Benelux businesses grow their B2B sales and you can watch the interview here.
Alibaba.com’s channel partner programme enables channel partners – such as marketing agencies and e-commerce consultancies, SAAS agents, re-sellers, and call centres – to support SMEs in their export journey and access 47 million buyers worldwide. Selected partners will be able to provide Alibaba.com as an additional cross-border sales channel for their networks of SME clients.
Founded in 2020, Alioth partners with a growing portfolio of more than 40 SMEs in the Benelux, UK, and the Nordics. Initially, most of Alioth’s clients operated within the food and beverage sector. However, because of growing interest in online B2B marketplaces amongst SMEs, Alioth now spans more than 20 sectors including agriculture, machinery, renewable energy, apparel, home and garden, packaging and beauty exhibiting a diverse client base.
According to data from Alibaba.com, just over a third (36%) of all European SMEs are fully digital. In addition, nearly a quarter (22%) of SMEs do not engage in exporting. With its unique understanding of the platform and experience working with clients across Europe, Alioth was selected by Alibaba.com to help SMEs adopt new digital technologies, drive efficiencies, and unlock export opportunities on the platform.
SMEs are the backbone of the European economy; however, I believe a lack of digitalisation could threaten their long-term success. Leveraging its expertise working with multi-sector SMEs across Europe, Alioth will play an important role in supporting SMEs in the digitalisation of their processes as a key strength for ensuring that they future-proof their business for years to come.
– Jijay Shen, General Manager Europe, Alibaba.com
At Alioth, we believe there is a massive, live opportunity to help SMEs digitalise. While B2B sellers have been slow to use technology to evolve, B2B buyers are increasingly seeking technology-driven solutions – like Alibaba.com’s online B2B marketplace – to source more efficiently. By partnering with Alibaba.com, we will help new and existing clients leverage innovative B2B tools available on Alibaba.com and drive long-term growth.
– Michiel Ebbing, Founder, Alioth
