Avnet Expands E-commerce Strategy in China with Alibaba

Launches new Avnet Super Store on B2B e-commerce platform 1688.com and offers Alibaba Cloud-enabled Raspberry Pi product

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PHOENIX
and HANGZHOU, CHINA - Media OutReach - September 25, 2019 – Leading global technology solutions provider Avnet (Nasdaq: AVT) has launched an Avnet
Super Store
on Alibaba Group’s China-focused B2B purchasing and wholesale marketplace,
1688.com, through an alliance with Alibaba Group, one of
the world’s largest e-commerce companies. The companies announced the alliance,
which brings together two established sources of technology innovation, on
stage today during Alibaba’s Apsara Conference in Hangzhou’s Cloud Town. One of
the first products offered through the new Chinese Super Store will be the Alibaba
Cloud-enabled Raspberry Pi 3 Model B/B+ computer.

 

“Through
our alliance with Alibaba Cloud, developers in China can
accelerate their IoT prototyping on a familiar and versatile platform with
built-in cloud connectivity,” said Nishant Nishant, vice president of digital,
Avnet. “By giving them easy access to feature-rich products that integrate
hardware and cloud, plus experts in the Avnet ecosystem that can help them
overcome the challenges of scaling to production, Chinese developers will be
able to take their IoT solutions to market faster than before.”

 

As
China’s largest wholesale platform for industrial products, 1688.com is home to
more than 10 million enterprise storefronts, with 150 million users visiting
the site per day. The site serves as a dedicated sourcing channel for wholesale
buyers in China and has been expanding its cross-border wholesale business,
including bringing foreign suppliers onto the
platform.
In August 2017, the platform introduced IMALL, short for “Industrial
Mall,” a dedicated marketplace for major industrial brands and their official
distributors, now counting up to 3,000 international and domestic brands. By
opening a Super Store on 1688.com, Avnet enhances its global e-commerce
strategy and expands its online presence in China to serve customers
specifically in the small and medium business (SMB) market.

 

By
leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s comprehensive suite of global cloud computing
services, engineers and developers in China are able to use the most popular
single board computers, like the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B/B+, to rapidly deploy
real world applications across IoT, AI, industrial automation and predictive
maintenance. Coupled with access to Avnet’s portfolio of components and
ecosystem of experts that help bring connected devices from concept to design
to production, this Super Store demonstrates Avnet’s commitment to reducing the
complexity of IoT solutions for customers around the world.

 

“Alibaba Cloud is pleased to partner with Avnet and
bring its products and solutions to China. With Avnet’s extensive offerings,
the two companies will be able to create a lot of synergies to propel the
development of IoT solutions and build an ecosystem of experts together,” said Ken
Shen, president of global ecosystem, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

 

Attendees
at the Apsara Conference will be able to learn more about Avnet’s solutions and
services at booth # c323 with
live demos for innovators to see firsthand how they can quickly go from
prototype to production. Users can also purchase the Alibaba Cloud-enabled
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B/B+ for CNY248.41. For more information, visit https://avnet.1688.com/.

 

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in marks other than its own.

About Avnet

Avnet is a global technology solutions provider
with an extensive ecosystem delivering design, product, marketing and supply
chain expertise for customers at every stage of the product lifecycle. We
transform ideas into intelligent solutions, reducing the time, cost and
complexities of bringing products to market. For nearly a century, Avnet has
helped its customers and suppliers around the world realize the transformative
possibilities of technology. Learn more about Avnet at www.avnet.com.