Kaola's Transformation and Development in the Purchasing Business After Being Acquired

2025-02-22

Kaola, a well-known cross-border e-commerce platform, was acquired by Alibaba in 2019. Following the acquisition, Kaola underwent a series of transformations in its purchasing business. The platform has been continuously innovating and developing new strategies to maintain its competitive edge in the market.

1. Diversification of Product Categories

Before the acquisition, Kaola was predominantly focused on high-quality, imported products. After being acquired, Kaola expanded its product categories to include a wider range of domestic products. This diversification has allowed Kaola to cater to a broader audience, ensuring that it can meet the needs of its diverse user base.

Moreover, Kaola increased collaboration with domestic brands to manufacture exclusive products, offering consumers more options at different price points. This move not only meets the needs of local production but also enhances the platform's competitiveness.

2. Enhancements in User Experience

Another significant change in Kaola's strategy post-acquisition has been its focus on enhancing the user experience. The platform has made significant enhancements to its mobile app, introducing new features that make it more user-friendly and intuitive. These include a personalized recommendation system, a simplified checkout process, and a more comprehensive product search functionality.

Moreover, Kaola has made improvements in the omnichannel operation of the business. One notable example of this is the implementation of Kaola's "One Hour Delivery Service," which leverages local warehouses and a dedicated distribution network to ensure lightning-fast delivery. This model eliminates the need for consumers to plan timings for deliveries and opt to have products delivered at their convenience.

3. Strengthening Partnerships with Suppliers

Post-acquisition, Kaola has strengthened its partnerships with suppliers, ensuring that the platform maintains a steady supply of high-quality products. Kaola has initiated collaborations with global and domestic distributors to offer consumers exclusive and competitive deals on popular brands. As a result, this has allowed the platform to earn trust from international and domestic founding partners.

Additionally, Kaola has entered into joint ventures with third-party logistics primarily specializing in international deliveries. These collaborations aim at improving the coverage of Kaola's logistics capabilities, ensuring that it can deliver across national borders in short periods.

4. Expansion into Global Markets

Following Alibaba's acquisition, Kaola has set its sights on expanding into global markets, particularly regions such as Europe and Australia. By enabling local and new market users to access the online platform at any time of the day, Kaola pursues business opportunities through a creative approach. Always innovating to continually explore new strategies, widespread channels, and revenue streams, Kaola rapidly expanded into international markets. With numerous features and partnerships, Kaola seeks to embed itself into cross-border selling effectively.

5. Adoptions of Technology Such as AI and O2O Models

One significant development in Kaola's procurement operations post-acquisition has been the increase in the usage of advanced technologies. Integrating and employing technologies such as Artificial Intelligence(AI), ensures one quicker, more accurate and easy to access underlying supplier and delivery data. Additionally, the app encompasses O2O models by providing both in-location procurement accommodations and exclusively online e-commerce channels.

Conclusion

With a continuous focus on innovation and customer service, Kaola has proven its resilience and creativity in expanding and enhancing its procurement operations in the ever-evolving e-commerce world. The future continuously brings vast challenges and areas for significant development, but Kaola remains indigenous and persistent to keep advancing. And finally, an integration of positive affluent bright returns shall be expected.

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