DHL and Alibaba are working together to bring AI-powered logistics capabilities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) worldwide.

The agreement was announced during this month’s Alibaba.com’s CoCreate Conference in Los Angeles, where the companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to combine Alibaba.com’s AI-driven commerce capabilities with DHL’s global logistics expertise, helping SMEs accelerate cross-border trade.

The MoU will pursue the use of AI to improve the end-to-end logistics experience for SMEs engaged in international trade. The parties 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.

“SMEs 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,” said Katja Busch, chief commercial officer at DHL. “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.”

The two companies will explore the integration of DHL Global Forwarding’s logistics services into Alibaba.com’s agentic AI platform Accio. Accio is a plug-and-play enterprise AI agent and agentic business team that equips businesses with an immediate, no-code taskforce to support the diverse operational needs of SMEs worldwide.

Through an agentic approach, Accio will be able to connect to DHL Global Forwarding’s quotation and booking capabilities, enabling businesses to obtain real-time freight forwarding quotes, evaluate shipping options and book shipments more seamlessly. The capability is the first in a planned suite of DHL logistics capabilities designed to automate key business tasks, improve operational efficiency and enable SMEs to scale more effectively.

“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,” said Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba.com. “At Alibaba.com, our vision for Accio is to help businesses move from opportunity to execution across the trade journey. By exploring ways to connect Accio with DHL’s global logistics capabilities, we hope to lower the barriers to cross-border commerce and help SMEs move faster and with greater confidence as they grow internationally.”

Tim Robertson, executive vice president at DHL (group.dhl.com), added: “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. We see significant potential in combining intelligent digital platforms with DHL’s logistics network and expertise.”