Amazon’s new innovation centre to help extend reach of Chinese firms

GUANGZHOU: Amazon Global Selling’s upcoming Asia innovation centre in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, will drive innovation for both sellers in China as well as the broader Asia-Pacific region, a senior executive says.

“By supporting sellers’ communication, learning and innovative practices, we aim to enhance the competitiveness of Chinese companies on the international stage,” said Cindy Tai, vice-president of Amazon and head of AGS in Asia.

Tai made the remarks during the company’s China seller conference, which was held in Shenzhen on Tuesday. The company said it would set up its first innovation centre in Shenzhen’s Qianhai to better participate in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

“By integrating resources from Amazon, industry organisations, experts and scholars and third-party service providers, the centre is expected to accelerate innovation among sellers for new product introductions, brand building, digital operations, green development and new business models, helping to tangibly improve innovation capabilities in the cross-border eCommerce sector in Asia,” Tai said.

Citing a survey on sellers, which indicated that over 55% of the interviewed sellers ranked increasing new product development efforts as the top strategy for their business development, Tai said product innovation would be a very important means of differentiating competition and an important path for sellers to achieve long-term and sustainable development.

On Amazon, more than 35% of sales by Chinese sellers in the past 12 months came from new selections created within the past year, and over 60% from new selections created within the past 24 months.

During the conference, Amazon also announced five strategic priorities for 2024, including enabling brand owner success, simplifying global operations, optimising the global supply chain, supporting global expansion and success, and delivering local seller success programs.

Alongside a host of innovative tools and seller service upgrades centred around these five strategic priorities, Amazon Global Selling aims to promote integrated development between cross-border eCommerce and industries, and provide high-quality export solutions for eCommerce sellers. — China Daily/ANN