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DHL Group, along with Alibaba.com has signed a Memorandum of Understanding – MOU to explore the use of AI-driven logistics to SMEs – small and medium enterprises that are involved in global trade.
The parties aim to explore how AI-enabled tools can assist customers across all aspects of their international trade journey, including tasks like sourcing and supplier discovery, logistics quotation, booking, and shipment execution, along with the goal of making cross-border trade easier, faster, and more convenient. Notably, the deal was announced at Alibaba.com’s CoCreate 2026 Conference in Los Angeles.
According to the Chief Commercial Officer of DHL and Head of DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation, Katja Busch, “SMEs are the backbone of the global economy, but many still face challenges navigating the complex rules, regulations, and trade requirements that come with international expansion. By bringing together Alibaba.com’s digital commerce expertise and DHL’s logistics capabilities, we want to explore how technology can help businesses spend less time managing complexity and more time focusing on growth.”
Finding AI-enabled logistics experiences for small and medium-sized enterprises
DHL and Alibaba.com are going to explore how DHL Global Forwarding’s logistics services can be integrated into Alibaba.com’s agentic AI platform Accio. Accio is Alibaba.com’s plug-and-play enterprise AI agent and agentic business team which offers businesses an instant no-code task force in order to help meet the wide range of operational needs of SMEs globally.
With a broad spectrum of bringing AI-driven logistics to SMEs and adopting an agentic strategy, Accio will be able to link to DHL Global Forwarding’s Quotation & Booking capabilities, allowing businesses to get instantaneous freight forwarding quotes, compare options for shipping, and schedule shipments with greater ease. Interestingly, the new capability is indeed the first in a series of planned DHL logistics features to help streamline important business tasks, enhance operational effectiveness, and allow SMEs to grow more effectively.
According to the President of Alibaba.com, Kuo Zhang, “AI is fundamentally changing how businesses participate in global trade, making capabilities that once required significant time, expertise, and resources more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises. At Alibaba.com, our vision for Accio is to help businesses move from opportunity to execution across the trade journey. By exploring ways to connect Accio with DHL’s global logistics capabilities, we hope to lower the barriers to cross-border commerce and help SMEs move faster and with greater confidence as they grow internationally.”
Opines Executive Vice President Accelerated Digitalization, DHL Global Forwarding, Tim Robertson, “Global trade is becoming increasingly digital, and customers expect logistics to be as seamless as the rest of their business activities. Through this collaboration, we will explore how advanced AI capabilities can support customers with faster access to information, greater transparency, and more efficient logistics processes. We see significant potential in combining intelligent digital platforms with DHL’s logistics network and expertise.”
