It is PDF on analysis of busines model based on Alibaba.com

1. Business Model
[Document subtitle]
Paul Antony 11/13/22 E-Commerce Business Model

2. CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
ALIBABA’S KEY ACTIVITIES
ALIBABA IN CHINA
ALIBABA’S BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
ALIBABA’S COMPETITORS
COMPARISION BETWEEN ALIBABA AND AMAZON
ALIBABA’S CHANNELS
UNDERSTANDING ALIBABA’S BUSINESS MODEL
SWOT ANALYSIS
CONCLUSION

3. ALIBABA
Alibaba is a Chinese multinational technology company that operates in the e-
commerce market. The company provides retail, internet, and technology
services. The company first started in 1999 in Zhejiang, China. Its founders
include Jack Ma and his team of 17 friends and students. Over the years, it has
become China’s largest online retail store and expanded its business to several
other countries.
The company has several ventures such as Alibaba.com, Taobao, and TMALL, all
of which raise substantial revenues.
including Amazon and eBay. However, none of them has been able to beat
Alibaba’s businesses and market portion. It shows the strong market share that
Alibaba has in China.
Alibaba is both B2B and B2C model. For an instance, it has TMALL for direct
communication and trade with customer and Alibaba group for B2C services.
Above image shows Alibaba group’s various companies that are created to
provide services in both B2B and B2C

4. Alibaba mission statement
“Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere”
ALIBABA’S KEY ACTIVITIES:
• Business to business services (B2B)
• Consumer to consumer services (C2C)
• Business to consumer services (B2C)
• Retail
• E-commerce
• Supermarkets
• Payment services
• Cloud computing
• Search engine
Alibaba majorly involved in the Business to Business, Customer to
Customer and Business to services – business models.
Customer to customer (C2C or consumer to consumer) markets
provide a way to allow customers to interact with each other. Traditional
markets require business to customer relationships, in which a customer
goes to the business in order to purchase a product or service. In
customer-to-customer markets, the business facilitates an environment
where customers can sell goods or services to each other.
Alibaba makes customer involvement in the purchase of raw materials or
finished goods from the online shop. And also making the products
available offline in their retail outlets. Here's why Alibaba is expanding its offline footprint (techinasia.com)

5. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) or business-to-consumer (B2C) is the
business model of selling products directly to customers and thereby
bypassing any third-party retailers, wholesalers, or any other middlemen.
Direct-to-consumer sales are usually transacted online, but direct-to-
consumer brands may also operate physical retail spaces as a
complement to their main e-commerce platform in a clicks-and-
mortar business model.
Business-to-business (B2B or, in some countries, BtoB) is a situation
where one business makes a commercial transaction with another. This
typically occurs when:
• A business is sourcing materials for their production process for
output (e.g., a food manufacturer purchasing salt), i.e. providing
raw material to the other company that will produce output.
• A business needs the services of another for operational
reasons (e.g., a food manufacturer employing
an accountancy firm to audit their finances).
• A business re-sells goods and services produced by others
(e.g., a retailer buying the end product from the food
manufacturer).
ALIBABA IN CHINA
The above picture tell about the Alibaba’s customer
enlargement in the developed and less developed areas.

6. ALIBABA BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
The idea behind the creation of the Alibaba business model was to
rewrite the way e-commerce was made. They created a platform
where small and medium-sized Chinese companies could sell their
products and services globally in a simplified model. Throughout the
years, the company grew to become the world’s sixth-largest brand in
value, with businesses that engulf payments services, e-commerce,
retail shopping, and supermarkets.
ALIBABA COMPETITORS
• Amazon: One of the five greatest technology companies in
the U.S., and one of the largest retailers companies in the
world. Its aggressive competition culture, combined with
massive financial and influential power, gives Amazon an edge
when it goes toe to toe against its primary competitors;

7. • eBay: Pioneer in creating the actual model of an online
marketplace for C2C. Has an efficient delivery system and
intuitive web design, that facilitates users’ experience when
dealing with it.
• Walmart: The second-largest retail company in the US (only
behind Amazon), has an attractive membership program and
a loyal set of consumers;
• Tencent: One of Asia’s most valuable companies and the first
to surpass the mark of US$ 500 billion in market value. Its solid
position in the IT and tech spheres always posed a great threat
to Alibaba Group’s business, since it has not only traditional
and mass approval in China, but also because of the economic
and political power that it possesses in that country.
COMPARISION BETWEEN ALIBABA AND AMAZON
Business type
When you look at Alibaba compared to Amazon, you’ll find that the customers
they service differ significantly.
Alibaba’s business type
Alibaba is mainly a B2B ecommerce platform. While they offer other sites that
are B2C, their predominant focus is on their main website, Alibaba.com, which
offers supplies to businesses. While the B2C side of their business is growing,
they still play the biggest role in the B2B market.
Amazon’s business type

8. Amazon, on the other hand, is focused on the B2C market.
They enable businesses to sell their products to consumers that shop through
their site. While companies can use Amazon to buy products for their company,
there isn’t a specific focus on the B2B market.
Which is better: Amazon or Alibaba?
When looking at these two platforms, which is best depends upon who your
business services. If you sell primarily to businesses, Alibaba may be the best
option for your business.
On the other hand, if you’re targeting mainly consumers, Amazon is the better
option.
Fees
When looking at Amazon vs. Alibaba, the next item to consider is fees. When
you try to sell your products on different marketplaces, there are typically fees
associated with using those platforms.
Alibaba’s fees
With Alibaba, there are fees to have a business account. They offer two plans:
• Basic Plan ($2399 per year)
• Premium Plan ($4199 per year)
These plans come with features like posting products, receiving, and
responding to inquiries, data reporting, and more.
Amazon fees
If you want to sell on Amazon, there are numerous fees you must consider
when you want to sell.
Amazon offers two selling plans:

9. • Individual ($0.99 per item sold): This plan is intended for businesses that
sell fewer than 40 units a month.
• Professional ($39.99 per month): This plan is intended for businesses
that sell more than 40 units a month.
By providing the above information I leave the decision to the readers - for which
company to choose.
Alibaba’s Channels
Alibaba’s channels consist of:
• Websites
• Through apps for Android and iOS platforms
Alibaba’s Customer Relationships
Alibaba’s customer relationships consist of:
• Social media
• Users’ channels
• Q&A
• E-mail
• Telephones
Alibaba’s Revenue Streams
Alibaba’s revenue streams consist of:
• Fees
• Membership programs

10. • Advertising
• Commissions
• Sales
Alibaba’s Key Resources
Alibaba’s key resources consist of:
• Network of shoppers and merchants
• Brand
• Technology platform
Alibaba’s Key Partners
Alibaba’s key partners consist of:
• Small businesses of all kinds
• Medium-large manufacturers
• Tech companies
• Banks
• IT services
• Software companies
• Shoppers
Alibaba’s Cost Structure
Alibaba’s cost structure consists of:
• Salaries
• Bonus payments
• Marketing
• Taxes
• Legal fees

11. • General maintenance
• Development programs
• Training
• Structures
• Investments
• Administrative and legal departments
UNDERSTANDING OF ALIBABA BUSINESS MODEL
Understanding the Alibaba’s Business Model by the above picturization. The
ecommerce company uses cloud intelligence and data technology to gather
and store the customers data. The Alibaba has various kind of business forms
to meet the customers needs. Alibaba group uses better logistics and supply
chain to attain customers needs and wants of the end users. Moreover, it gains
the customer attention with daily based updates in the software with the
innovative ideas including sales offer and discounts.

12. ALIBABA SWOT ALAYSIS
Alibaba’s Strength:
• Income diversity: The extension of the company, which runs through a
large range of different products and services, grants a large fountain
of income to subsidize the company’s expenditure;
• Homeland honey: In its country of origin, China, the company enjoys a
good reputation among users and shoppers, maintaining a large
contingent of loyal consumers;
• Respectable brand: Worldwide, the company has been seen as a
corporation that applies transparency in its operation, with an efficient
compliance program to avoid corruption in its administration.
Alibaba’s Weakness:
• Government connection: Since China is an authoritarian regime, with
a moderate, but ever-going control of its economy, Alibaba depends on
its good relations with the Communist Party in order to operate
without legal problems.
The slightest opposition or consideration towards the Chinese regime may result
in complications for their operations. Such actions happened in early 2020,

13. when the judiciary launched an obscure operation against the company, after
some derogatory comments of its founder against the communist party.
• Weak presence: Although the company has a strong presence in
emerging countries, it lacks representation in top world economies
such as Europe and the United States.
Alibaba’s Opportunity:
• Focus in the front yard: The Asian market presents an amazing
opportunity for Alibaba to grow its businesses without too much
expenditure. The amount of money and population that runs in its
markets might be lucrative if explored the right way;
• Eastern opportunities: Alibaba could also focus on the population of
the eastern European countries that have a sleeping potential,
considering the combined population and its economies.
•
Alibaba’s Threats:
• Toxic relationship: The unstable relationship with the Chinese
government may cause disruption in the company proceedings, and
generate legal complications for them;
• Strong competition: Alibaba’s main competitors, notably Amazon and
Tencent, have an aggressive mindset about business. Their relentless
attitude does not allow a simple mistake by Alibaba, that needs to
adopt a constant innovative instance to counter them.
Upgrades: Alibaba must keep its momentum when the meter is about
technology. The company needs to maintain overflow money for creative e tech
departments, in order to have an edge against its competitor, since this sector
is key to the development of a modern business.
CONCLUSION
Alibaba’s business model has enough strength to build a solid apex for the
company’s future, since it has a diverse operation, with many ways to generate
income, and a brand that enjoys large appreciation from the public. This kind of

14. model is very suggestive for other companies that apply in their line of business,
but its flaw is concentrated in the importance that it gives to the company’s
respective national market, and forces their owners to overlook potential
investments abroad, so, in the long run, it may affect your plan, if you desire to
expand your business beyond your country’s border. Yes, Alibaba has to also
focus on the foreign markets to have good expansion and also in the favour of
meeting the customer needs globally.