[School Post] - Alibaba

This is a Business tpo Business (B2B) electroninc Market place site www.alibaba.com. Jack Ma started this company in 1999. They actually just celebrated their 5th anniversary the week before we vistited (They were actually founded in October).

We had a high level presenation and then a tour. Not much to take note of except that there are a lot of young people that work there and the company definitely still has a startup feel to it. One thing that I noticed is that since the Harvard Buisness School case that we read was published in 2001, Alibaba has yet to implement a transcation fee strategy. That is, when its members conduct online transactions, Alibaba would get a cut. Right now, they are simply linking SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) and charging optional premiums on services such as electronic storefronts or window displays for members in order for them to have buyers come and interact with their products. They are also recieving revenue from advertising. Other than that, Aliba has gone into "lean mode" and is looking to hold on and remain profitable until they can figure out how to execute the next phase of their revenue generating strategy.