UPS signs deal with Alibaba.com subsidiary

UPS signs deal with Alibaba.com subsidiary    UPS on Tuesday said it has formed a strategic alliance with AliExpress, a new online wholesale marketplace launched by Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest small business e-commerce companies.
   AliExpress focuses on customers who need to make small-quantity orders, UPS said in a statement.
   'Through its alliance with UPS, AliExpress now offers users the key benefit of managing their shipping and tracking processes online via UPS shipping technology integrated into the AliExpress platform, including the ability to print UPS shipping labels and request pick up for their UPS packages all from within the AliExpress Web site,' the company said.
   'Our partnership with UPS is crucial to the success of AliExpress, as one of our main goals is to make international trade for our buyers and sellers, including the shipping of their products, as easy, safe and convenient as possible,' said David Wei, chief executive of Alibaba.com.
   Many of the suppliers who sell on AliExpress are long-time members of Alibaba.com and have been working with overseas buyers for years through the site. The initial supplier base includes companies from mainland China but the platform eventually will be open to international suppliers as well.