Alibaba: AI is fundamentally changing how businesses participate in global trade

DHL Group and Alibaba.com have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pursue the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the end-to-end logistics experience for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in international trade. The parties intend to evaluate how AI-powered tools can support customers throughout their international trade journey, from sourcing and supplier discovery to logistics quotation, booking and shipment execution to make cross-border trade simpler, faster and more accessible. The agreement was announced during Alibaba.com’s CoCreate 2026 Conference in Los Angeles.

Katja Busch, Chief Commercial Officer DHL and Head of DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation, said: “SMEs are the backbone of the global economy, but many still face challenges navigating the complex rules, regulations, and trade requirements that come with international expansion. By bringing together Alibaba.com’s digital commerce expertise and DHL’s logistics capabilities, we want to explore how technology can help businesses spend less time managing complexity and more time focusing on growth.”

Exploring AI-driven logistics experiences for SMEs

DHL and Alibaba.com will explore the integration of DHL Global Forwarding’s logistics services into Alibaba.com’s agentic AI platform Accio. Accio is Alibaba.com’s plug-and-play enterprise AI agent and agentic business team that equips businesses with an immediate, no-code taskforce designed to support the diverse operational needs of SMEs worldwide.

Through an agentic approach, Accio will be able to connect to DHL Global Forwarding’s Quotation & Booking capabilities, enabling businesses to obtain real-time freight forwarding quotes, evaluate shipping options and book shipments more seamlessly. The new capability is the first in a planned suite of DHL logistics capabilities designed to automate key business tasks, improve operational efficiency and enable SMEs to scale more effectively.

 Kuo Zhang, President of Alibaba.com, said: “AI is fundamentally changing how businesses participate in global trade, making capabilities that once required significant time, expertise and resources more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises. At Alibaba.com, our vision for Accio is to help businesses move from opportunity to execution across the trade journey. By exploring ways to connect Accio with DHL’s global logistics capabilities, we hope to lower the barriers to cross-border commerce and help SMEs move faster and with greater confidence as they grow internationally.”

Tim Robertson, Executive Vice President Accelerated Digitalization, DHL Global Forwarding, said: “Global trade is becoming increasingly digital, and customers expect logistics to be as seamless as the rest of their business activities. Through this collaboration, we will explore how advanced AI capabilities can support customers with faster access to information, greater transparency and more efficient logistics processes. We see significant potential in combining intelligent digital platforms with DHL’s logistics network and expertise.”