China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), a State-owned chemical giant, officially launched its e-commerce platform on Sept 21 at the 15th China International Chemical Industry Fair, marking the establishment of the first chemical industrial e-commerce portal in the country.

The portal, e-chemchina.com, started its trial operation in June. By Sept 13, it had gathered nearly 20,000 registered customers and filled more than 5,000 orders. More than 30 petrochemical products are available through the portal.

Shen Xin, chief commercial officer of ChemChina, said that the launch of the portal signals the company's transformation from a manufacturer of products to a services provider. The Internet Plus strategy will integrate ChemChina's traditional business with the emerging internet industry and help the company build a highly efficient and innovative business network, Shen said.

ChemChina will build a chemical industrial ecosystem based on the portal and contribute to the upgrade and transformation of the country's chemical industry, he said.

Shen said the launch of the portal conforms to the company's development strategy in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), which is to transform from a producer of chemical products to a comprehensive service provider.

The e-commerce platform is key to the company's transformation, Shen said.

"ChemChina should build its own e-commerce platform rather than depend on a third-party e-commerce portal. The platform will build up the company's strength in various sectors and improve the company's business operations," Shen said.

The website is a customer-oriented B2B e-commerce portal that focuses on one-stop transaction services. The portal is aimed at improving customer experience by integrating online and offline resources and services, according to ChemChina.

As an important e-commerce channel of ChemChina, the portal has helped the company reduce costs and increase revenues.

The e-commerce portal will play a role of linking the upstream and downstream of the supply chain and develop into a platform that caters to the diverse demands of customers in the chemical industry, according to ChemChina.

Based on the technology of Ali Cloud, a cloud computing service provider under e-commerce giant Alibaba, the e-commerce platform of ChemChina stresses reliability, security and convenience in its transactions.

Customers can log onto the portal on their cell phones and deal with their orders in a timely manner.

The portal also offers other services including logistics and information to its customers.

The platform will eventually launch an industrial solutions feature with a professional search engine and personalized recommendations.

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(China Daily 09/23/2016 page14)