CHINA - Alibaba is once again proving why it remains one of Walmart’s biggest global competitors. The retail giant unveiled a new operating system and platform designed to optimize brick and mortar. This move continues the trend of major online grocers streamlining their operations in order to be as efficient as possible in both the online and traditional supermarket arenas. The new platform also launched the same week as the end of Alibaba’s June quarter, in which the retailer revealed that it has continued to expand its active user base by over 20 million.

“Alibaba had a great quarter, expanding our user base to 674 million annual active consumers, demonstrating our superior user experience,” said Daniel Zhang, Chief Executive Officer, in a press release. “We will continue to expand our customer base, increase operating efficiency, and deliver robust growth. With strong cash flow from our core commerce business, we will continue to invest in technology and bring digital transformation to millions of businesses globally.”

The new operating platform was rolled out via Alibaba’s consumer service units, Ele.me and Koubei, and is already in use by more than 10,000 supermarkets and 200,000 retail chain outlets across 676 cities. According to news source technode, the platform will allow Alibaba’s retailers to integrate their online membership engagement, payments, marketing, and on-demand deliveries with their management of supply chains and stock levels, and even leverage Alibaba’s network of services and technology capabilities, including its Taobao, Tmall, Ant Financial, Fengniao, and Alimama platforms.

“We are pleased to see sustained user engagement and consumer spending across our platforms. We continue to invest for long-term growth while at the same time gaining cost efficiencies in our investment area,” added Maggie Wu, Chief Financial Officer, in a press release.

Alibaba also slayed its financial results, reporting a 42 percent increase in revenue year-over-year, which puts pressure on rival Walmart and other global retailers not affiliated with Alibaba’s grocery network.

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