JD.com says alliance can streamline imports to China

Chinese e-tailing powerhouse JD.com has formed an alliance with more than 20 logistics providers and retail brands, including retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and online auctioneer eBay Inc., in an effort to improve its practices for importing e-commerce goods to China, the company said Tuesday.

The group will develop an integrated platform, in collaboration with the country's China Inspection and Quarantine Association, through which goods can more easily be tracked once they clear Chinese commerce, JD said. With more than 236 million customers in China, JD has seen a steep rise in demand for imports of fresh foods, consumer goods, baby and maternal products, and home appliances, the firm said.

Logistics and transportation firms involved with the alliance include the Swiss freight forwarding and logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel and the Kuwait-based global freight forwarding and distribution company Agility Logistics Ltd., JD said. Kuehne + Nagel and Agility declined comment.

Besides Wal-Mart and eBay, JD will enlist such global brands as Dallas-based Kimberly-Clark Corp's Huggies diaper line, French food supplier Danone, Hong Kong-based cosmetics giant Sasa, and online marketplace Rakuten. Those partners are also seeking ways to streamline their imports to China, both for sales through their own platforms and through collaboration with JD, eBay said.

"eBay has seen increasing demand from Chinese consumers to buy from the marketplace's selection of global inventory, and has been actively working on a number of initiatives in China designed to make eBay's global inventory available to Chinese consumers," eBay Director of Corporate Communications Penny Bruce said in an email.