Companies

Distribution sector: healthy and growing but needs more e-commerce

By Zhao Lei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-13 13:50

Continuing efforts

Chairman Yan further suggested that the central government promote an integrated farm produce market by abolishing the unreasonable taxes and charges that have been levied on farmers and sellers.

Prioritizing the development of distribution as part of the national economic strategy would be helpful in cutting distribution costs, he added.

In fact, the central government has made a great effort to help China's distribution business evolve, said President Yang.

What he means is that the Ministry of Commerce, in November 2009, urged local commerce authorities to accelerate the development of the e-commerce part of distribution.

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The ministry also said it will help China's e-commerce companies push their business and encouraged the development of e-commerce applications within large distribution companies.

"In addition to the favorable government policies, distribution companies themselves need to keep up with the times by being more competitive," Yang said.

He noted that eFuture has an innovation center and a distribution research institute to help the company achieve its technological ambition.

"If we go back to the time when I was working at IBM, a lot of people, including me, wouldn't have thought much of local distribution companies, since they were too small and too short of funds and technology," Yang said with a self-deprecating grin.

"Now, here I am working for a Chinese distribution company that is traded on Nasdaq and has the potential to be as valuable as IBM. I think that's progress for both the country's distribution business - and me."