On January 12, the Global B2B Ecosystem Summit hosted by Alibaba's B2B business unit kicked off at Yunqi Town, Hangzhou. Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang stated at the summit that with the full integration of the internet and commerce and the comprehensive upgrade of the supply side, the spring of B2B is coming. On January 12, Alibaba formally brought its 1688 City Partner project, which had been piloted behind the scenes, to the forefront. Of course, the description remains as rosy as before, but whether the specific details remain the same is still unclear. The Global B2B Ecosystem Summit opened today and runs until January 14, under the theme "Integration, Symbiosis, Evolution." Nearly a thousand leaders from various fields in the B2B ecosystem will discuss and share new business opportunities, new technologies, and new perspectives in B2B e-commerce with SMEs worldwide. Alibaba Launches City Partner Program On January 12, at the "Global B2B Ecosystem Summit" held in Hangzhou, Alibaba's B2B business unit announced the launch of the City Partner Program, which provides a series of services such as sourcing and delivery for urban retail stores, while also offering a platform for young urban entrepreneurs interested in both online and offline retail. Wu Minzhi, Senior Vice President of Alibaba Group and President of the B2B business unit, stated that the proper model for B2B e-commerce should be data-driven, activating traditional businesses and promoting open cooperation. Alibaba hopes that through the City Partner Program, it can build an internet service system that reaches down to urban communities, solve the pain points of traditional community retail businesses, and realize the internet's support for the real economy. It is expected that by March 2016, Alibaba will recruit 500 city partners, each covering an average population of 300,000 centered around communities, serving a total population of 150 million. Direct Supply of Quality Goods from the Source to Solve Retail Store Development Bottlenecks Retail stores rooted in urban communities, while able to attract customers due to convenient locations, are facing numerous development difficulties as consumer spending levels rise and market competition intensifies. They urgently need to improve sourcing and services. "Consumers go to community convenience stores mainly to save time, but these stores have limited sourcing channels, insufficient variety, and quality concerns, leading many to prefer going to supermarkets despite the time cost," said Xu Wei, owner of a community retail store in Zhuantang Jiayuan, Hangzhou. Since October 2015, Alibaba's B2B business unit has piloted the City Partner Program in multiple cities in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui provinces. By recruiting city partners to provide sourcing, delivery, and other services to community retail stores, Alibaba brings imported goods it has selected and rural products sourced through Rural Taobao to the shelves of community retail stores. These products are popular with consumers but difficult for community retail stores to access through traditional channels. City partners will act as spokespersons for quality goods on Alibaba's platform, helping community retail stores better serve community consumers. Alibaba revealed that from late January 2016, the City Partner Program will mark supplied goods with the "Alibaba" logo. If any issues arise with the products, Alibaba will compensate first. In the future, QR code traceability will be introduced, giving each product an "ID card" via QR codes, allowing consumers to shop with confidence. Wang Jingyuan from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, said that the reliability of sourcing was a key factor in her decision to join as a city partner. "The supply targets for city partners are community stores, and consumers are neighbors. Alibaba's certified products give me confidence when promoting them." For community retail store owners, with Alibaba's quality endorsement, high-end products such as imported snacks, red wine, and olive oil no longer risk being unsold. Building an Entrepreneurship Platform: City Partner Applications Are Enthusiastic According to reports, in addition to solving the development bottlenecks of community retail stores, Alibaba will also build an entrepreneurship platform, allowing young urban residents who are flexible, familiar with the internet, and interested in retail to participate in the City Partner Program. After systematic training, these young people can assist community retail store owners in processes such as product selection and purchasing. Guo Kunkun, head of the City Partner Program, introduced that since the pilot began in October 2015, nearly 20,000 people have applied or consulted about becoming city partners, many of whom are young people who want to start businesses but lack experience and funds. "For novice entrepreneurs, the biggest attraction of this program is that Alibaba's B2B business unit provides systematic training including operation instructions, big data-assisted product selection, and purchasing techniques, and will also help partners quickly expand markets, build trust, and provide multi-faceted support in operations and logistics." It is reported that Alibaba will leverage its big data advantages in the future to help urban retail stores achieve precision marketing, such as using big data to analyze community shoppers, understand consumer purchasing habits, and provide community retail stores with more complete and accurate product categories. Alibaba city partners are also expected to integrate with platforms such as Alibaba Travel and Alibaba Health, upgrading community retail stores into full-service centers. 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