CMA CGM, Alibaba Ink MOU on Digital Cooperation

French container shipping major CMA CGM and Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Hangzhou, China, to seek cooperation in the digital area.

The duo intends to provide digitized services via the One Touch platform.

The two firms said they propose “an alternative for direct booking platform for customers and to have on line booking for shipments ex China to Mediterranean and Adriatic area through the CMA CGM MEX1 and CMA CGM BEX services.”

The CMA CGM MEX 1 service, connecting Asia to the Mediterrean area, will offer ports of loading including Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian and ports of discharge in the West Mediterranean base ports of Barcelona and Valencia.

The CMA CGM BEX service, connecting Asia to Adriatic ports, will have ports of loading including Shanghai, Ningbo, Chiwan and ports of discharge in the Adriatic ports of Rijeka, Koper, Trieste and Venice.

Earlier, Danish shipping giant Maersk partnered up with Alibaba to allow users to book ship places online. The shipping company launched a pilot program on Alibaba One Touch portal on December 22, 2016, moving a step forward to “providing fully digitized customer solutions.”