Course : Diploma in Global Supply Chain Management

Name : Agung Mangapul Beston Siagian

Title : Alibaba Group Project
Lecturer : Mr. Christopher Chiew
Submission Date : 15 December 2020 (Final Report)

1
Contents
A. Introduction.........................................................................................................................................4
B. The brief History of Alibaba.................................................................................................................5
C. How Alibaba Works.............................................................................................................................6
D. Alibaba Group subsidiary and how to make money............................................................................6
E. The core value of Alibaba group........................................................................................................14
F. Economic Impact of Covid – 19..........................................................................................................16
G. Online business platform innovation.................................................................................................17
H. Tips for preparing an e-commerce business in the face of Covid-19.................................................18
I. Alibaba's Digital Strategy for Effective Marketing During the Covid-19 (Corona) Pandemic “Part 1” 20
J. Alibaba's Strategy for Marketing during the Covid-19 Pandemic......................................................21
K. Alibaba's Digital Strategy for Effective Marketing During the Covid-19 (Corona) Pandemic “Part 2” 24
L. Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................27
M. Suggestion.....................................................................................................................................27
N. Reference..........................................................................................................................................27

2
 Content
A. Introduction……………………………………………………… …………3
B. The Brief history about Alibaba……………………………………………..4
C. How Alibaba works………………………………………………………….5
D. Alibaba Group subsidiary and how to make money………………………...5
E. The core value of Alibaba Group…………………………………………..13
F. Economic impact of Covid – 19……………………………………………15
G. Online business platform innovation……………………………………….16
H. Tips for preparing an e-commerce business in the face of Covid-19………16
I. Alibaba's Digital Strategy for Effective Marketing During the Covid-19
(Corona) Pandemic “Part 1” ……………………………………………….19
J. Alibaba's Strategy for Marketing during the Covid-19 Pandemic…………20
K. Alibaba's Digital Strategy for Effective Marketing During the Covid-19
(Corona) Pandemic “Part 2”………………………………………………..22
L. Conclusion………………………………………………………………….25
M. Suggestion………………………………………………………………….26
N. References

3
 Abstract

The e-commerce company that Jack Ma and his partners founded was the Alibaba Group in
1999. It was the male marketplace's first business born in 1964. Alibaba has become one of the
e-commerce giants in the world. There have been 190 buyers on the Alibaba.com site. Its users
are not only individuals, but also maker, distributors, retailers, small and medium enterprises
engaged in trade and export and import agents. In connection with the strategy of building an
electric trade and developing it, the wheel of life continues to rotate, it is true. Just as happened
to Jack Ma, a billionaire from China who is the founder of global e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Indeed it is not strange anymore he was not someone who was wallowing in wealth. Jack Ma's
success with his e-commerce business was started from the ground up, aka from scratch. In the
past, you could say he was a person without one. But his life changed drastically when he
successfully launched Alibaba. The wealth possessed by Jack Ma made him the 7th richest
person in the world. Although he is no longer in that rank, Jack Ma's wealth has now increased
from year to year.

This can happen because this is what is certain in Jack Ma to respond to the ideals and desire to
create his online trading business. For that he was known as a persistent person. So, Jack Ma is
not a slack. Every second of the time he has is always used for useful things. This is evidenced
by the business they do. The time he had was used to build Alibaba into a global business. Ian
also presents many innovations related to the business being run. The Jack Ma principle,
everything requires sacrifice. And this is Jack Ma now. He managed to become one of the richest
people in China.

A. Introduction
Electrical trading is the distribution, purchase, seller, marketing of goods and services that use
electronic systems such as TV, Internet, or networks and is one of the most often engaged
business because it provides promising benefits by involving electronic data exchange and
transfer, management system and data collection by automatic. However, e-commerce
transactions have the potential to carry a high enough risk. Therefore, the key in e-commerce is
customer trust in vendors.

Electronic products are the needs of every consumer that are classified as different shopping
products with the convenience of electronic products customers who prioritize the selection of
4
products that are in accordance with their lifestyle, qualifications and prices, not a shopping
experience like they buy products that have convenience

 Alibaba Group

The Alibaba group is the parent company of the phenomenal e-commerce marketplace
Alibaba.com. The world of internet technology, which is usually dominated by the
United States, now has new challengers from China, one of which is Alibaba. Alibaba's
success in the global e-commerce scene cannot be separated from the role of the Chinese
government which forces its people to use domestic information technology (IT) products
to use popular IT products such as “Youtube”, “Google”, “Facebook”, “Whatsapp”, etc.
Fortunately the iron fist's move did not have a bad impact, instead it spurred startups to
make products that are in the same class as popular IT products from abroad.

Another factor that contributed to the success of Alibaba was that they started with the
first international e-commerce marketplace product. As we know, the Chinese
government is much sought after by traders from other countries, especially traders in the
Asian region because of their cheap prices. Initially Chinese products were in demand
because they were cheap, but now China is like a supermarket that has everything, from
cheap products whose quality is comparable to the price to expensive products which of
course have good quality too. Alibaba is here as if to be a bridge for those interested in
Chinese products from abroad. Alibaba cuts down on everything from costs to language
problems.

B. The brief History of Alibaba

Alibaba was founded in a small apartment by Jack Ma and his team in Hangzhou. With a capital
of USD 60,000, Jack Ma created this B2B (business-to-business) marketplace to facilitate
Chinese traders selling goods overseas via the online world.

Jack Ma was born to a poor family in Hangzhou. With the ability to speak English, at the age of
12 Jack Ma has become a tour guide in a hotel near the Lake Hangzhou. Then Jack Ma attended
the teacher training and education campus of Hangzhou Normal University, majoring in English
literature. After graduating Jack Ma became a teacher and tried various other jobs, such as being
an employee at a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet.

Jack Ma is not very good at computers but he became very interested in computers when he
found it difficult to find information about China on internet search engines. Finally he got the

5
idea to facilitate Chinese merchants selling goods abroad via the internet. On April 4, 1999,
Jack Ma and his team of 17 friends and students founded Alibaba.com.

In 2000, Alibaba Group raised USD 20 million from an investor led by Japan's SoftBank Group
Corp. Alibaba Group created “Taobao” in 2003, created “Alipay” in 2004, took over the
"Yahoo!" operation. China in 2005, created “Taobao” Mall (now known as “Tmall”) in 2008. In
2013 Jack Ma stepped down as CEO of Alibaba to become the executive chairman of Alibaba.
In 2014 Alibaba conducted an Initial Public Offering (IPO) spread throughout the world and
was able to raise USD 25 billion when listing on the United States stock exchange.

C. How Alibaba Works

Alibaba's business model is different from other players such as eBay from Amazon. Alibaba is
more focused on trade between businesses.

Unlike the usual business-to-consumer approach, Alibaba focuses on being a platform for
suppliers to sell products in bulk at wholesale prices to small or medium-sized businesses
around the world, who then resell them for a profit in their domestic market.

Although he focuses on other trades through various e-commerce web portals he makes. For
example, “Taobao” is intended for SMEs to sell their products, while “Tmall” is a shopping
portal for the middle class to buy branded products.

D. Alibaba Group subsidiary and how to make money

Alibaba's business model consists of three main web portals: “Alibaba.com”, “Taobao”, and
“Tmall”. All of them serve to connect different types of buyers and sellers.

Apart from that, Alibaba Group also has 6 other subsidiaries which include “Aliexpress”,
“1688”, “Alimama”, “Alibaba Cloud”, “Ant Financial”, and “Cainiao Network”. All of these
subsidiaries are so well integrated that it makes the Alibaba Group a large ecosystem.

1. “Alibaba.com”

Alibaba.com is the world's largest online wholesale marketplace for global trade. Alibaba is
an international wholesale e-commerce marketplace website, launched in 1999. Alibaba
Group's first service is intended for wholesalers, manufacturers and large suppliers who are

6
engaged in import and export business from various countries (currently there are suppliers
from 17 countries) and buyers around the world (more than 190 countries).

As an international wholesale marketplace, Alibaba's e-commerce website uses English and

uses the United States dollar currency.
Alibaba.com is the world's largest online wholesale marketplace for global trade.

This website allows exporters in China as well as in other countries to connect with buyers
in more than 200 countries.

Buyers are typically trade agents, wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers and SMEs engaged
in import and export business.

The company also offers other import / export supply chain services which include:
- Custom clearance,
- Tax refund,
- Trade financing,
- Logistic service.

Sellers can list their products on the website for free.

By paying a certain amount, merchants can have privileges such as greater exposure on the
site and uploading unlimited product lists.

 The way “Alibaba.com” makes money.

Alibaba.com acts as an intermediary who charges commission on sellers in
mainland China, Hong Kong & Taiwan.

However, income is not earned solely from commissions. Alibaba offers two types
of supplier membership:
 FREE SUPPLIER MEMBERSHIP

Suppliers on Alibaba don't have to pay anything to upload their products

and are free to display up to 50 products online.

Alibaba only makes money in commission if the money is paid through

“Alipay” and the sellers are from mainland China, Hong Kong & Taiwan.

 PREMIUM GOLD SUPPLIER MEMBERSHIP

7
 Free membership has a limit of only being able to display 50 products on
Alibaba.

Premium membership allows suppliers to display a large number of

products for a fee (several thousand dollars).

All premium members have to meet various requirements and are

required to undergo strict authentication and verification procedures.

Premium members are also charged a commission fee from the

transaction value of the goods sold.

2. “TaoBao”

“Taobao” means "looking for treasure" in Chinese

“Taobao” is a 'local retail e-commerce marketplace' website, launched in 2003 and

aimed at individual traders or small businesses in China.

As a local retail marketplace website, “Taobao” also uses Mandarin and uses Chinese
Yuan so it is almost the same as 1668.

Although at first glance it is similar to “Taobao”, but both have their differences, namely
1668 for wholesalers, while “Taobao” is for retail traders.

“Taobao” is intended to facilitate (small) business-to-consumer and consumer-to-

consumer trade.

“Taobao” grew so large and popular that it forced the online market leader - eBay - to
close its business in China in 2006.

“Taobao” hosts hundreds of millions of products and services from millions of sellers
(400 million active users).

 The way “Taobao” makes money.

Taobao does not charge a transaction fee and merchants can join the site for
free.

8
 This website functions like Google listing the results of specific keywords. The
seller can then pay to appear in the top search results so that his product can be
seen by more people.

Taobao has a special ranking system that reflects the number of successful
transactions completed by each seller.

Buyers can ask the seller questions directly through the Alibaba Group instant
messenger.

3. “Tmall”

“Tmall” is a “local scale retail e-commerce shopping mall” website, launched in 2008.

“Tmall” is specifically aimed at international and Chinese merchants who sell high
quality products and buyers with premium shopping experience in China.

“Tmall” uses Mandarin, uses and Chinese Yuan currency.

“Taobao”, in April 2008, introduced a new B2C platform called Taobao Mall to
complement its C2C market.

This platform got a new identity when Tmall.com was launched in November 2010 and
became an independent business in June 2011.

“Tmall”(Taobao Mall) offers Chinese consumers a variety of branded products,

especially for the middle class.

“Taobao” focuses more on small sellers and individual entrepreneurs, while “Tmall”
works on large companies such as Nike, Apple, etc.

“Tmall” hosts more than 3700 product categories which are sold to more than 500
million active users.

The operating model of this company is similar to other well-known e-commerce

websites such as Amazon and eBay.

“Tmall” gives merchants access to analytical tools that show visitor count, page views
and customer ratings.

9
  The way “Tmall” makes money.

“Tmall”, just like any other e-commerce player, makes money from the
following ways:
- Commission on the price of goods sold (varies for various categories)
- Service fee
- Marketing services provided to suppliers

4. “Alimama”

“Alimama” is the largest open advertising platform in China, which works like Google's
adsense.

“Alimama” is a “local and international digital marketing service provider” to help

merchants or brands expand their marketing and promotional reach through advertising
and affiliate programs on third-party websites and applications, launched in 2007.

This platform allows advertisers to post PPC ads or banners or text links and is charged
a fee per impression or a fee per time.

Simultaneously, “Alimama” gives publishers the opportunity to make money by placing

advertisements on their content.

 The way “Alimama” makes money.

Just like other advertising platforms, “Alimama” makes money through
advertisers and shares it with publisher partners.

5. “Aliexpress”

“Aliexpress” is an 'international or local-scale e-commerce retail marketplace per

country', launched in 2010 and aimed at retailers and buyers from all over the world.
Most buyers on “Aliexpress” come from Russia, the United States, Brazil, Spain and
France.

As an international retail marketplace, “Aliexpress” uses English and uses the United
States Dollar currency. To reach consumers in each country, “Aliexpress” is available in
17 languages, including Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and French.

“Aliexpress” is almost the same as Alibaba, the difference is Alibaba for wholesalers,
“Aliexpress” for retail traders.
10
 The difference between “Taobao” and “AliExpress” is that “Taobao” focuses on selling
to Chinese consumers, whereas “AliExpress” allows consumers from all over the world
to shop directly from Chinese businesses.
 The way “Aliexpress” makes money.
“Aliexpress” makes its money by charging a certain commission from the
transaction value of the goods sold.

Commissions range from 5% to 8% of the transaction value. However,

“Aliexpress” also charges a flat fee of $ 1500 + shop fee to start or change
stores.

6. “Alipay”

“Alipay” is a third-party online payment platform to help buyers pay for their
transactions.

It is an e-Wallet platform that helps buyers deposit funds and use saved funds to transact
online and offline.

There are two ways for buyers to make payments using “Alipay”:

- The default option is for shoppers to use their mobile device

(cellphone, tablet, etc.) to scan the QR code that appears on the
“Alipay” payment page.

- Another way is to go to the “Alipay” payment page to make a

transaction payment.

 The way “Alipay” makes money.

“Alipay” does not charge any fees and works through the principle of an escrow
service.

That is, “Alipay” invests money saved in partner banks to earn interest at a
predetermined rate.

7. “1688”

11
 1668 is a 'local scale wholesale e-commerce marketplace' website, aimed at wholesalers
and buyers in China.

1688.com was launched by Alibaba in 2010 to target the wholesale business segment in
China.

The company is reported to have more than 500,000 quality suppliers offering more than
150 million different types of products.

1688.com caters to individuals and businesses from all over the world and is currently
the number one website when looking for wholesalers and suppliers in China.

In fact, many Taobao shops get their supplies from 1688.

As a local scale wholesale marketplace website, 1668 uses Chinese and uses Chinese
Yuan. But even though it is on a local scale, not a few consumers from other countries
shop in 1668 because it is cheaper (one of which is due to the influence of the Yuan
exchange rate), but please remember, users must be able to master the Chinese language
and consequently the user may meet unprofessional wholesalers and less quality goods.

 The way 1688 makes money.

Entering a list of items on 1688.com is free of charge. However, 1688 made
money from:

- TrustPass membership package fee. This service allows merchants to host

premium storefronts with access to data analytics applications.
- Premium services, such as premium data analytics and online marketing
services.

8. “Alibaba Cloud”

Alibaba Cloud began as a private cloud to serve the internal needs of Alibaba's e-
commerce business which was launched in 2009.

Alibaba Cloud is a global cloud computing company and a local and international cloud
service provider that provides various services such as elastic computing, object storage,
relational databases, big data analysis, and artificial intelligence.

12
9. “Ant Financial”

Ant Financial is a 'local and international scale fintech', Ant Financial has various types
of financial services, and the first one launched was Alipay in 2004. These services are:
- “Alipay”
Fintech e-wallet and online payment services,

- “Ant Credit Pay”

Fintech virtual credit card that facilitates credit payments,

- “Ant Cash”
Fintech consumer loan service,

- “Ant Fortune”
Financial management fintech,

- “Ant Insurance”
Fintech insurance services,

- “My Bank”
Private online bank fintech using the cloud,

- “Zhima Credit”
Fintech loan application assessment.

10. “Cainiao Network”

“Cainiao Network” is a logistics operator to meet the logistics needs of China's local and
international scale online trade sector, launched in 2013.

One of the company's missions is to deliver anywhere within China within 24 hours, and
worldwide within 72 hours.

Alibaba Group plays a role in logistics services because there are logistical barriers in
China. Chinese products are known to be cheap so that traders from other countries are
interested but without qualified logistical support, the expensive shipping costs and long
delivery times will certainly make it difficult for Alibaba, which wants to bridge Chinese
products to other countries. For this reason, Alibaba made Cainiao to solve logistical
problems.

13
E. The core value of Alibaba group

Starting as a small team of 18 people in a small apartment in Hangzhou, Alibaba has

steadily grown to become one of the largest technology companies in the world. So far,
Alibaba has employed more than 100,000 employees in various parts of the world, runs
more than 30 business lines, and created 40 million jobs, directly or indirectly, through the
e-commerce ecosystem in China.

On its 20th anniversary last year, Alibaba Group opened a new era by reforming corporate
values to keep pace with business evolution and changing world. This renewal of corporate
values also aims to guide all Alibaba employees (known as Aliren) to be able to work and
collaborate better.

Here are 6 new values of Alibaba Group companies:

1. Customers are the first priority, employees second, and shareholders third.

For Alibaba, consumers will always come first. Only by providing the best service for
consumers can the company continue to grow, maintaining the welfare of employees
and shareholders. That's the meaning behind the first values of Alibaba's Six New
Values.

One clear example of this value is Alibaba's initiative to cut corporate profits to save
consumers. Chief Financial Officer (Maggie Zhou) explained: “In the years of
economic downturn, around 2007-2008, many export MSMEs were significantly
affected. After a long discussion, we decided to reduce product prices by up to 60% to
help these exporters. At that time, investors were surprised by our decision, especially
because these products contributed up to 60-70% of the company's total revenue”.
However, this decision is an accurate reflection of the value of "customer first". Our
rationale at that time was very simple, namely wanting to help MSMEs survive. Without
them, we would lose our business. That's the reason why Alibaba always puts consumers
first.

Apart from maintaining customer satisfaction, Alibaba also pays attention to Aliren's
welfare. Employees work hard to maintain the good name of the company. If employees
are prosperous, they will also provide good service for consumers, so that consumers are
also satisfied. This is why employees should be the second priority.

2. Trust will make things easier.

14
 Trust is a valuable thing. For this reason, companies must always cultivate and maintain
trust, both from consumers and from employees. Ant Financial Executive Chairman
(Eric Jing) said that Alibaba always builds trust and transparency among employees, so
that every team can work well. "Everything must start from yourself. We must dare to
delegate work to the team and show trust in our colleagues and colleagues. We also have
to respect and understand other people, and try to see things from their point of view,
"he said.

3. Change is the only thing that never changes.

The world is constantly changing, likewise with the business world. For this reason,
employees must have the courage to make changes along with the times and challenges
in the field. “At Alibaba, we all work with fast working phases and changing
circumstances. Therefore, every stream must understand that change is the only thing
that will never change, "said (Joe Tsai) explaining the meaning of the third value of
Alibaba's Six New Values.

4. Today's best performance becomes a reference for tomorrow.

Still related to the third value, (Joe Tsai) said that everyone around us continues to
improve. Likewise with competing companies, they keep trying to be better. Consumers
also expect better services or products every year.

Therefore, one of Alibaba's Six New Values is an invitation not to become complacent.
"We always remind Alirens not to be easily satisfied with themselves. Keep looking for
opportunities to grow. We have to keep going, never look back and think that all we did
was enough, "said (Joe Tsai).

5. If not now, when? If not me, who?

This sentence is the slogan on Alibaba's first job advertisement. This slogan encouraged
the Alirens to keep going. (Jane Jiang), Alibaba's 13th employee who serves as the
Deputy Chief People Officer, loves the 5th of Alibaba's Six New Values. "There are two
important messages in this sentence. First, we must believe in ourselves. We have the
ability to contribute to teams, companies, customers and even communities. And second,
we must be ready to help ease the responsibilities of others”.

6. Live seriously, work happily.

15
 Alibaba wants Aliren to take their life seriously and enjoy their work. A balance
between work and personal life is an important thing to maintain. "So far we always
thought that we have to work seriously and live happily, but that is the opposite. Alibaba
employees must enjoy work as much as they enjoy life, and live life as seriously
(seriously) as they do their jobs, "said (Joe Tsai).

Through Alibaba's Six New Values, it is hoped that Aliren can find a unity and common
ground with one another. These values then become a guide for attitudes and work
ethics that are upheld while working at Alibaba.

"We cannot immediately implement all of these values on the first day, because it takes
a years of process to live up to these values. That's why we often say that it takes at least
three years to become a true Streamer, during which we can truly appreciate the wisdom
behind Alibaba's Six New Values”, said (Joe Tsai).

“We now have Aliren from all over the world. We are on the same platform and share
the same vision. This is the right time for us to work together and implement Alibaba's
Six New Values”, concluded (Daniel Zhang), Executive Chairman and CEO of Alibaba
Group.

F. Economic Impact of Covid – 19

(Naushad Khan and Shah Faisal) (2020) who examined the impact of Covid-19 on the
Chinese economy through a study of 15 articles in various journals and reports that discuss
studies on related themes. The findings in this determination were that the result of Covid-
19 which was followed by the lockdown policy of Wuhan City and followed by the
quarantine of other cities and provinces, had reduced and even stopped various activities of
the community, students, students, workers in public areas, cessation of manufacturing, land
transportation, flight routes and the postponement of a lot of development and the delay in
investment, as well as the activities of the financial sector, banking and export-import
caused a decline in the growth rate of 2% from the 6% position before the Covid-19
pandemic.

(Baldwin and Tomiura) (2020) found a tendency that the Covid-19 pandemic At the
beginning of the Wuhan city lock down incident with various reported events, had a
negative impact on news and business interactions for residents and networks of the city of
Wuhan, Hubei Province, China and also when the virus spread throughout mainland China.

16
Furthermore, (Baldwin and Mauro) (2020) stated that in the subsequent developments of
Covid-19, it would not only have a negative effect on areas and countries affected by Covid-
19, but had a further impact on other countries because it was related to the economic value
chain. When the virus spreads beyond mainland China (Mainland China), the effect is even
wider, especially when the number of countries that become victims continues to increase,
especially countries that have economic power such as China, USA, Germany, Italy, Japan
and South Korea.

(Himanshu Koshle), et al (2020) who examined the impact of the Corona virus on
businesses in India, found that the trade sector caused losses of not less than USD 348
million due to the economic slowdown and the consequences of policies.

G. Online business platform innovation

The contraction and slowdown in the economy were part of the decline in the volume of
transactions for various businesses. There are several types of businesses that are relatively
sustainable and able to grow in the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic, such as MSMEs
which shift production to health products such as masks and hand sanitizers, this is
considered in line with efforts to gain competitive advantage through product innovation
and orientation to the dynamics of market needs and desires (Taufik Alwi, Esti Handayani,
2018). Various innovations can be applied to various forms of business interaction.
Interactions in the business world can be in the form of a B2B (“Business to Business”)
model where business transactions occur between business people and other business actors,
B2C (“Business to Consumer”) business that is carried out by producers to consumers
directly, C2C (“Consumer to Consumer”) business interactions are carried out. By
individuals (consumers) to other individuals (consumers), C2B (“Consumer to Business”) is
a business model where consumers (individuals) create and shape value for business
processes, B2G (“Business to Government”) this process occurs between business people
and government agencies, G2C (“Government to Consumer”) is an interaction between the
government and the public as consumers (Richard Sandhusen, 2008).

H. Tips for preparing an e-commerce business in the face of

Covid-19.

Covid-19 has changed all of our lives and will continue for many years to come. The
increase in shopping through online sites is very significant during this pandemic. Online

17
shopping sites are a very logical choice at a time like this. No wonder now all brands
promote online with platforms such as “Tokopedia”, “Lazada”, etc.

The supply chain is currently under pressure because many brands are selling their products
online (high demand and low supply). How do you manage and maximize every opportunity
to sell your product to your target audience? With consumers now relying more on digital,
how can you be sure that you are getting the right portion in today's online world?

Here we provide some tips to answer the questions above, hopefully this can be useful
information for your business in dealing with post-pandemic situations.

1. Pay close attention to changing users' search habits

Searching the website / online shop on e-commerce can be likened to a goldfield,

especially in this situation. Regularly checking this will help you better understand how
and what potential customers are looking for, as well as help you get a wider range of
opportunities from your business. A pandemic situation that affects everyone's life,
consumers certainly have a different context of thinking when looking for products
online.

An example is the search for gloves this month which, when compared to last January,
has very different results. It is also important that we ensure that we provide the items
needed at that time to increase the conversion of your business.

When we search for "corona virus", the most search results we will get are masks, hand
sanitizers, and disinfectant sprays. This is because every person who sells these products
supports the prevention of the spread of this virus.

The point that can be taken from the description above is, you need to make sure that
your brand and business understands the needs of your customers even in this situation.
What they need and what our business can do to meet their needs.

2. If the product is out of stock, offer another similar product (if possible).

As previously discussed, supply chain management can certainly be a challenge in itself,

especially in areas where customer demand is increasing rapidly even though there are
still many online businesses that often forget this. For some products, no matter how
hard you try, of course there will be a few times when you run out of stock.

This can actually be anticipated by offering similar alternative products according to

consumer interests. This can be done by optimizing customer services to take the
18
 initiative to offer other similar products so that consumers don't go to other stores / other
brands.

3. Add the "Available in stock only" filter.

This filter allows potential customers to find products that they can get their hands on
quickly and can increase conversions from your website.

Another benefit is the ability to pay more attention to products that are less popular than
those that are more popular (but currently out of stock). If you take this a little further, it
can enhance your consumer experience with filters for products that are expected to
arrive within a certain time, or filters for products that can be re-ordered.

4. Don't be afraid to raise prices if necessary

Do not forget the basic principle that "a high demand compared to a low supply will
increase the price". You shouldn't hesitate, but there is a difference between a reasonable
increase in price and an unreasonable one.

For example, the current example is medical masks due to the pandemic and limited
stock, many sellers have increased their prices up to 4x and even 5x the original price.
That is an unnatural example.

Just think for a moment, you and your staff may work in an environment that has a high
risk of exposure to disease. Also, there are additional costs for packaging to ensure your
product is in good condition and free from disease. Cleaning products such as
disinfectants, cloth masks, etc. can certainly increase your production costs.

High sales can come at any time, whether it's due to changes in demand, decreased
stock, or the fact that businesses cannot fulfill orders due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Increasing prices appropriately to guard your business from unknown factors is not a
bad thing. As long as you raise your prices properly and think about your customers.

5. Find creative ways to connect with your audience / customers.

Finding ways to be creative and connect with your audience is an important thing to do
in running an e-commerce business. Especially if your consumers are having a bad
income during this pandemic, much of their income is allocated for other needs.
However, keep in mind that no matter how creative you are, it must be relevant to the
product / business you are running.
19
 Here is one creative example that is simple but very effective to do in a time like now.
Many people reduce their spending, especially on luxury goods. If your business is in
the fashion sector, maybe you can try building a dream virtual wardrobe for your
audience on your website / online shop. A wardrobe that can be filled with what they
want to use when traveling out, clothes they put in their suitcase when they want to go
on vacation, and so on. This is just a small idea, but its use will have a positive impact
on your business & brand in the future.

By utilizing simple technology, you can provide a memorable customer experience on

the minds of the audience, because at this time of course everyone misses their activities
outside the home. Longs to go shopping, hang out with relatives, get together with
family at restaurants, celebrate birthdays, go sightseeing and even return to the office.
Some people even associate the purchase of clothing products for the office as one part
of the memory.

Build positive things that can deepen your relationship with your audience, so that they
will remain loyal to the brand during and into the post-pandemic.

If you have an e-commerce business today, of course you need to prepare your business
to welcome new things in the future, especially to deal with post-pandemic situations.
However, doing this alone is not easy. If you need help growing your business, maybe
Jet Commerce services can be the right solution.

I. Alibaba's Digital Strategy for Effective Marketing During

the Covid-19 (Corona) Pandemic “Part 1”

 Learn about the Alibaba ecosystem

Alibaba has transformed from an e-commerce company to a business that builds

retail and store infrastructure. The Alibaba ecosystem now features stores,
financial services, smart logistics and cloud computing. Each of these
components plays an important role in the technology infrastructure and
complements the value chain that is the resource of the digital economy, an
economic condition that is influenced by the strength of the network or network,
and mutual values.

20
 Alibaba believes that the digital economy has the potential to survive in any
condition, and can be run with a very transparent system. Meanwhile, an
important aspect in the digital economy is data.

Data plays an important role and functions to help manage your e-commerce
business. The data itself can change at any time and you need to adapt it to your
business system. Through data about consumers and competitors, you can find
out the right strategy for developing an e-commerce business.

J. Alibaba's Strategy for Marketing during the Covid-19

Pandemic

Jack Ma has a vision for Alibaba, which is for his company to be a good company, not just
big. Not necessarily a big company is good. To be a good company, Alibaba has the
principle that they must be able to overcome social problems. This is their business
guideline.

The Covid-19 crisis cannot be avoided. This condition also greatly affects business and
consumer spending behavior. As a result of the quarantine, new problems emerged, such as
business difficulties in selling their products and services, because contact between humans
was prohibited and people just staying at home.

Ultimately, the important thing any business should take is to meet the needs of society,
even though people cannot leave their homes. Alibaba's business strategy is to run an
ecosystem that can handle the Covid-19 crisis.

Alibaba focuses on helping medical services, providing assistance for people's daily needs,
supporting all small and medium-sized businesses to face crises, and creating positive
energy in society.

To make this happen, Alibaba devised a “3C strategy”. If described, the 3C strategy can be
described as follows:

1. “Communication” - Always know the latest news and conditions by sharing real-time
status.

2. “Connection” - Finding ways to keep people connected to each other to fight Covid-19.

21
3. “Commitment” - Inspire people to continue to be positive in difficult situations.

Now we will delve a little deeper into the 3C Strategy:

 “Communication”

What's going on out there? Alibaba created a regular video program called
"Daily News in the Battle against Covid-19." The program shares important
news every day from the Alibaba ecosystem, showing what the struggles of
those on the front lines have been like against Covid-19.

In addition, each Alibaba business unit also produces its own video or report
about the actions and actions taken in handling Covid-19.

 “Connection”:

- Employees to employees

Alibaba has hundreds of employees working in Hubei province, the

area first hit by the pandemic. To support them, the “human
resource” division created two projects.

First namely videos and notes from Alibaba employees around the
world in which they send support to colleagues in Hubei.

Second, there is an online karaoke session at “DingTalk”, Alibaba's

official communicator managed by HR. Through this application,
thousands of people join the group and participate. Its performers
also include Ant Financial's Executive Chairman, (Eric Jing), and
Ant Financial's CEO, (Simon Hu).

- Company to employees

During the pandemic, the company provides comprehensive

medical assistance such as masks, hand sanitizers, and others for
employees' families. In addition, they also track employees' health
status. This is done daily, while continuing to update information
about environmental conditions around the employee's residence,
whether there may be a history of contact with those who are
positive for Covid-19.

22
 - Business leader to employees

To maintain important connections during Covid-19, business

leaders always communicate and ask employees about important
things related to the spread of the pandemic.

 “Commitment”
They want to keep inspiring people to always be positive in the midst of
difficult situations like these. Jack Ma once gave a message to his HR team
during a teleconference held on February 8, 2020, he said, "Only those who can
face these challenges and circumstances, and can overcome the difficulties that
occur, will have a bright future."

In addition, the HR team also invited employees on the front lines to make
videos about their daily lives. The video was then shared on Alibaba's internal
employee portal.

Then, to address the conditions during the work from home period, Alibaba
created posters and videos containing tips on how to effectively work from
home. It is more interesting and inspiring.

This is Alibaba's strategy for managing human resources in their business

during the Covid-19 pandemic. If you try this strategy and succeed, then your
business will be able to survive and even keep growing, with resources that
remain productive.

K. Alibaba's Digital Strategy for Effective Marketing During

the Covid-19 (Corona) Pandemic “Part 2”

Previously, we discussed how Alibaba implemented their marketing strategy during the
COVID-19 pandemic. You also know that Alibaba is doing very well in managing their
human resources. Because, that's the first step needed to keep your business relevant and
efficient, especially in the pandemic we are experiencing.

23
Alibaba applies it in all lines of business. So, with different industrial fields, the strategies
also vary. Below is a summary of the strategies Alibaba.com implemented during the
COVID-19 pandemic.

 Strategy of Alibaba Cloud

This time, Alibaba designed a program that serves to identify the symptoms of
COVID-19 in a number of regions. In addition, Alibaba also makes AI
algorithms from the Alibaba DAMO Academy that can run on Alibaba Cloud.
This program can evaluate samples from patients quickly.

Then, there is another one, namely a CT image analysis service that can
diagnose COVID-19 through x-rays of the lungs. All of Alibaba's programs help
medical personnel. The program is able to make the analysis five times faster
because it can instantly diagnose 20 people while also providing accurate
results.

 Strategy of Alibaba Health

Alibaba Health is a large healthcare platform. The goal is to provide

comprehensive and affordable health services. To deal with COVID-19, since
early January 2020, Alibaba Health is working with local pharmacies to provide
free masks to those in Wuhan.

Then, Alibaba Health also provides services for people with chronic conditions
to buy drugs online. They can also consult online with a doctor.

Alibaba Health also collaborates with more than 50 domestic and overseas
pharmaceutical companies. This collaboration is to release the Chronic Disease
Support Service Page on the Tmall platform. This collaboration ensures online
delivery of drug supplies for patients with chronic pain conditions.

 Strategy of Cainiao

Founded in 2013, Cainiao Network aims to meet consumer logistics needs

within 24 hours in China, and 72 hours worldwide. In the COVID-19 pandemic,
Cainiao has provided medical supplies for a number of hospitals in Wuhan since
January 2020.

24
 This strategy made Cainiao's shipment quantity increase dramatically. One
example is that at the end of March 2020, Cainiao has sent medical aid from
China to more than 70 countries around the world. On the other hand, they are
also the parties to receive goods sent from abroad.

 Strategy of Ant Financial

Ant Financial Services Group was founded in October 2014. It is an innovative

technology provider that aims to provide financial services worldwide. Ant
Financial operates Alipay, which was released in 2004 as an online financial
service for e-commerce in China.

In January 2020, Alipay released an in-app feature that provides up-to-date

information about the coronavirus pandemic and medical services, including
hospital registration and health consultations. In addition, the Ant Insurance
Alipay platform also raises funds to help medical personnel fight COVID-19.
This is only part of Ant Financial's overall marketing strategy.

The results obtained from this strategy are that the wheels of the economy keep
rolling for small and medium enterprises. The latest news from the Ant
Financial application keeps consumers up to date with the latest news on
COVID-19. This helps them to carry out their buying and selling activities but
with more caution. This also helps SMEs to survive more easily and then return
to normal activities after the pandemic ends.

 Strategy of Lazada

Lazada is one of the leading ecommerce platforms in Southeast Asia.

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lazada together with partners and the
local government made donations to help the community amid these difficult
conditions.

The steps taken by Lazada include:

1. Work with local governments to identify areas that require assistance with
daily necessities.

2. Lazada partners support their local community through Lazada's digital

donation platform, LazadaForGood, and collect medical equipment
donations for healthcare workers.

25
 3. Invite the best local doctors to share knowledge on how to survive the
COVID-19 pandemic, through educational livestreaming sessions on the
Lazada app.

4. Helping retail SMEs and traditional entrepreneurs to shift their businesses

to online businesses, so they can survive and thrive. For example, Lazada
helps farmers to solve technical and logistical problems that occur in the
sale of their agricultural products. So, they can make good use of the Lazada
platform during the pandemic.

 Result from Strategy of Lazada

The result of this strategy, if you apply it to your business, is one of which is the
increase in the number of your followers on social media, or the drastic increase
in visitors to your online store, which of course boosts your sales.

For example, farmers from Cameron Highlands in Malaysia have an online shop
in Lazada. The Cameron Highlands shop managed to save 1.5 tons of
vegetables from being wasted because they were not sold. The vegetables were
delivered to 200 homes in Malaysia in just one day, namely Lazada's birthday,
March 27, 2020.

Then, on April 6, 2020, the store's followers experienced a significant increase.

Cameron Highlands stores received 24,134 new followers, and received 894
reviews, each of which reviewed satisfaction in receiving their order.

With the various strategies that Alibaba implemented, the conclusion is to be

careful to turn this difficult condition into an opportunity. You can run Alibaba's
digital strategy as exemplified above, according to your field of business. The
key is armed with humanity to help each other. With a strong desire to maintain
your business, you can carry out a digital marketing strategy that is based on
social understanding and is integrated with technology.

L. Conclusion

26
The Covid-19 pandemic, which is a non-natural disaster, is one of the factors in the external
environment which has an impact on decreasing conventional business activities (offline),
but can leverage innovative business activities based on online platforms.

Business fields that were hampered by development and even experienced a decline during
the Covid-19 pandemic were public transportation, tourism, hotels, shopping centers, and
offline trading that only focused on direct consumer visits.

Business activities that can still survive and serve consumers (through adjusting service
interaction models using online application platforms) are education, retail for basic
necessities, online goods delivery business, especially for delivering food / beverages and
basic necessities.

Business activities that develop during the pandemic are telecommunications, online
platform providers / vendors, pharmaceuticals, health products through customizing online-
based business platforms.

M. Suggestion

MSME entrepreneurs, especially micro and small businesses, need to take advantage of the
momentum of Covid-19 as a step to quickly adjust themselves by developing product
innovations in accordance with market demand trends accompanied by adjustments to e-
commerce and online applications.

The limitation of this study which only uses secondary data needs to be further investigated
with a more complete research design and research scope.

N. Reference

27