China’s Best Inc. to tap into last-mile logistics

The Alibaba-backed logistics provider plans to use its $450 million initial public offering funds to expand its convenience stores and warehouses to enable last-mile services, according to a report from Reuters news service.    Alibaba-backed third-party logistics provider Best Inc. plans to use its newfound $450 million from a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) to enhance its last-mile logistics in China, according to a report from Reuters news service.
   The Chinese transportation and B2B delivery company filed a U.S. IPO in June, raising hundreds of millions for its 315,000 convenience stores in China, Reuters reports.
   The company’s e-commerce backer, Alibaba, has enabled the Best to experience “a surge in demand for logistics services fueled by an e-commerce boom, particularly in China but also in the populous and fast-growing region of Southeast Asia,” that has forced the company to look at expanding, said Reuters.
   “Last-mile services are an essential and firm part of our strategy due to the fact that most logistics companies stop delivery at the distribution center instead of going on the final destination – the address,” Johnny Chou, CEO of Best, told Reuters.
   According to the report, Best also has warehouses in California and Delaware, as well as in Canada, Australia, Germany and Japan. The company plans to convert its experience in the small business logistics industry to new markets in Southeast Asia.
   “It’s a market with great potential, with a large population, and e-commerce growth is very high; and with very fragmented supply chain and logistics services,” Chou said of Southeast Asia. “We will get into this market.”