DHL Group and Alibaba.com inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to use AI as a way to improve the end-to-end logistics experience for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) who are engaged in international trade.
The companies said they intend to evaluate “how AI-powered tools can support customers throughout their international trade journey, from sourcing and supplier discovery to logistics quotation, booking and shipment execution, to make cross-border trade simpler, faster and more accessible.”
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The agreement was announced at Alibaba.com’s CoCreate 2026 Conference in Los Angeles.
Katja Busch, chief commercial officer at DHL and head of DHL customer solutions and innovation, said small- to medium-size businesses “are the backbone of the global economy, but many still face challenges navigating the complex rules, regulations and trade requirements that come with international expansion.”
“By bringing together Alibaba.com’s digital commerce expertise and DHL’s logistics capabilities, we want to explore how technology can help businesses spend less time managing complexity and more time focusing on growth,” Busch said.
The MoU allows the companies to explore the integration of DHL Global Forwarding’s logistics services into Accio, Alibaba.com’s agentic AI platform. Accio is Alibaba.com’s “plug-and-play enterprise AI agent and agentic business team,” which equips businesses with an immediate “no-code task force” that is designed to support the diverse operational needs of global small businesses.
“Through an agentic approach, Accio will be able to connect to DHL Global Forwarding’s Quotation & Booking capabilities, enabling businesses to obtain real-time freight forwarding quotes, evaluate shipping options and book shipments more seamlessly,” the company said in a statement, noting that the new capability “is the first in a planned suite of DHL logistics capabilities designed to automate key business tasks, improve operational efficiency and enable [SMBs] to scale more effectively.”
The teaming up of Alibaba.com and DHL is the latest example of how AI is transforming businesses, both large and small.
Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba.com, said AI is fundamentally changing “how businesses participate in global trade, making capabilities that once required significant time, expertise and resources more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises.”
“At Alibaba.com, our vision for Accio is to help businesses move from opportunity to execution across the trade journey,” Zhang said. “By exploring ways to connect Accio with DHL’s global logistics capabilities, we hope to lower the barriers to cross-border commerce and help [SMBs] move faster and with greater confidence as they grow internationally.”
Tim Robertson, executive vice president, accelerated digitalization at DHL Global Forwarding, said global trade is becoming increasingly digital “and customers expect logistics to be as seamless as the rest of their business activities.”
“Through this collaboration, we will explore how advanced AI capabilities can support customers with faster access to information, greater transparency and more efficient logistics processes,” Robertson said. “We see significant potential in combining intelligent digital platforms with DHL’s logistics network and expertise.”
