SMEs ready for global trade driven by artificial intelligence

According to a recent Alibaba.com survey conducted by Censuswide on a sample of around 1,000 Italian SME decision-makers, almost one in two companies (47%) plan to increase investment in product innovation over the next 12 months, recognising it as a key factor for growth and competitiveness. Businesses face significant obstacles, including high costs (44%) and a shortage of internal resources and skills (over 20%), while over a third (36%) struggle to keep up with the speed of change.

To overcome these difficulties, many SMEs are adopting digital tools and artificial intelligence-based solutions, with 60% expressing confidence in using them to accelerate product development.

It is precisely SMEs that Alibaba.com is channelling to its marketplace to reap the greatest benefits, as small (as well as very small) companies are unlikely to have the resources to maximise their presence in foreign markets. Using a marketplace allows them to start the process of internationalisation, significantly reducing costs and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the platform. Online trade is an opportunity for growth, and SMEs can benefit most from it, especially for those companies of which the Italian entrepreneurial fabric is rich, since exporting globally implies costs that are often not sustainable.

Making innovation more accessible to businesses, supporting them in transforming their ideas into concrete projects, is the objective of the London edition of CoCreate Europe, the first business event held on the old continent dedicated to SMEs and start-ups. It is the occasion where - bringing together manufacturing companies, start-ups and global suppliers in a full day - Alibaba.com offers a meeting point between supply and demand, combining marketplaces, digital services and tools based on artificial intelligence.

The clou moment of the summit is CoCreate Pitch, a competition in which 30 start-ups will compete to present their projects in front of an international jury. Among those selected, the most innovative proposals will win, which will then be able to access services and credits to be used on the platform.

Another highlight visitors can experience during the event is Alibaba.com's artificial intelligence-based B2B search engine Accio, which enables SMEs to quickly turn product ideas into concrete market strategies by combining predictive analysis and advanced search. Having surpassed 2 million users, Accio adds the Accio Agent mode, which is part of a broader trend of 'agent-based' artificial intelligence, allowing users to search for products via chatbots and even complete orders autonomously.

Italian companies taking part in CoCreate Europe include Laumas Elettronica (Electronics category), IRC SRL (Sports & Entertainment category) and Calcagni SRL (Beauty category).

In an economic context where innovation is the key to staying competitive, initiatives like CoCreate Europe and tools like Alibaba.com AI Mode and Accio prove that technology can become a concrete ally for SMEs. Reducing access barriers to international markets, facilitating the meeting between companies and innovators, and making decisions faster and more informed means giving new life to the Italian productive fabric. The objective is not only to digitise, but to build an ecosystem in which even the smallest companies can grow, collaborate and compete globally, with the same strength as large enterprises.