NEWARK, Calif. and HANGZHOU, China, Aug. 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Sourcing online through Alibaba.com can cut the normal sourcing cycle by 75 percent, according to a new survey released at MAGIC 2006 by the world's largest online B2B marketplace for global trade. Alibaba.com members say it takes about three weeks to find the right trading partner and negotiate a deal through the Web site, compared to the average sourcing cycle of 3.3 to 4.2 months(1).

(1) According to the Aberdeen Group

The survey found that 56 percent of Alibaba.com members take two to four weeks to negotiate the terms of a purchase or sale from first contact to finalized contract agreement, while 17 percent say it takes them no more than a week. The survey was conducted from June 19 to July 9, 2006, and included responses from more than 1,100 Alibaba.com members.

''Online sourcing has finally come of age. Alibaba.com has become the number one destination for sourcing professionals and entrepreneurs because it is the simplest and most efficient way to find quality suppliers and products,'' said Porter Erisman, Alibaba.com's Vice President for International Marketing and Business Development. ''We reduce the sourcing time by bridging geographies and time zones and putting thousands of products and suppliers in one easy-to-use location.''

''Many companies are also leveraging the convenience of the Internet to set up physical meetings at tradeshows with buyers or suppliers they have met on our site,'' added Mr. Erisman. ''This is a powerful example of how trade show organizers and online marketplaces can work together to serve buyers and suppliers, and grow both their respective businesses.''

Research shows that the discovery phase -- when buyers search for sellers -- is the most time consuming and costly phase of the sourcing cycle. Online marketplaces like Alibaba.com can reduce the time required for the discovery phase significantly by providing information on products and suppliers from around the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In 2001, the Aberdeen Group predicted that on a global basis businesses could save approximately $1.7 trillion by deploying effective e-sourcing strategies. Five years later, with the emergence of Alibaba.com, these savings are becoming a reality.

''In the world of fashion sourcing, I think of Alibaba.com as a much, much better version of the Yellow Pages -- one where you let your fingers do the walking and talking,'' said Richard Price, President of SMU, a Los Angeles, CA-based import and export company for the apparel industry. "What used to take weeks and months to source, literally now takes minutes and hours through Alibaba.com.''

About Alibaba.com Corporation

Alibaba.com is a global e-commerce powerhouse, and the largest e-commerce company in China. The company operates several e-commerce platforms that connect individuals and businesses from China, and around the world. Alibaba.com makes doing business easy, and even fun, enabling an interactive community of millions to meet, chat, search for products and trade online.

The company's five businesses include: Alibaba International (alibaba.com), the world's largest online B2B marketplace for global trade; Alibaba China (alibaba.com.cn), the largest online small- and medium-sized enterprise community in China; Taobao (taobao.com), Asia's largest consumer e-commerce website; AliPay, China's leading online payment service; and Yahoo! China (yahoo.com.cn), a leading search engine and portal, acquired from Yahoo! Inc. in October 2005. For more information, please visit http://www.alibaba.com .

For more information, please contact:

Bruce Shu
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Tel:    +852-2533-4607
Mobile: +852-9132-2906
Email:  bruce.shu@citigatedr-hk.com

Sandy George
Citigate Cunningham
Tel:    +1-617-374-4210
Mobile: +1-617-413-6126
Email:  sgeorge@citigatecunningham.com