China's Tibet autonomous region had previously been a challenging area for companies and businesses given it's geographic location and obvious logistics hurdles. However, recent efforts by the government to expand the region's logistics industry have resulted in a the boom in trade, with e-commerce companies now taking notice.
Online shopping platform operators had previously steered clear from the area given the difficulties involved in getting products to customers living in the region. With the rapid improvement in logistics and the continued infrastructure expansion penetrated further into remote regions, online shopping has become increasingly popular amongst residents.
Since 2016, the Chinese government along with local politicians has passed preferential policies aimed at boosting e-commerce in the region. This had resulted in the rapid development of the region's e-commerce and logistics businesses, greatly improving delivery times and distribution quality.
The improvement in the region's logistics had caught the eye of major e-commerce players across China. Now, e-commerce giants such as JD.com, Suning and Vipship all have branches set up in Tibet to better serve residents living in the region.
With the help of the preferential policies by all levels of government, Tibet now has a comprehensive logistics network comprised of eight freight stations, three 10,000-ton refrigeration warehouses, 16 cold chain warehouses, 230 commerce and trading companies, and 422 logistics firms.
With the infrastructure in place, residents in Tibet are now quickly shifting to online shopping for their needs. Even those living in remote areas such as Qomolangma, often referred to as the Mount Everest in the West, now have access to online shopping with couriers able to deliver items in reasonable timeframes.
Last week, over 50 commerce and trading companies based in Tibet attended a comprehensive e-commerce training program to help them take advantage of the growing internet and logistics infrastructure in the region.
The three-day training program included guides on using e-commerce platforms and popular social media platforms for marketing purposes. This included tutorials on posting live streaming videos on Taobao and even the posting of short videos on TikTok.
Tibet does offer a myriad of unique products and businesses can stand to benefit from the adoption of e-commerce technologies to reach more customers. Business owners had stated after the training program that the techniques they had learned should come in handy in modernizing their operations and increasing their sales online.
The comprehensive training program for Tibet-based businesses was launched by Alibaba's cross-border e-commerce talent incubation center and region's Ningbo Public Vocational Training Platform for Modern Service Industry.
