Uber Goes Logistics, Alibaba Clouds $28B, As Experiments Begin
The new age is here and new ordinances in business are already evolving. Alibaba is pushing $28 billion into cloud business. Why not? If you agree that the future is remote everything, the cloud will emerge as the central nervous of modern commerce. So, spending half of your 2019 revenue on that business line is not out of phase.
That huge outlay -- equivalent to about half the revenue the entire company generated in fiscal 2019 -- underscores the importance of a division Alibaba relies on to spearhead its international expansion. The Chinese e-commerce giant now plans to build more datacenters to complement an existing network covering 21 regions globally and support the development of technologies in areas such as AI-inference chips, it said in a statement.
As Alibaba does that, Uber is updating its business. As the drivers stay trapped at home due to a dangerous virus, the company is opening the playbook. Of course the original Uber playbook was unveiled during an old recession when hailing a ride time, as needed, fully on-demand, became far better than owning a car. That model has some cracks with the lockdowns. So, Uber is off with a new upgrade: move into logistics since it is largely an essential business.
"Uber is making a fresh push into logistics as a way of utilizing the drivers and couriers who are sitting idle due to the coronavirus lockdowns. Uber Direct will start testing its on-demand delivery booking platform with partners such as New York drug provider Cabinet, Australian pet food supplier Pet Barn, and Portuguese postal service CTT", notes Fortune newsletter.
These are new experiments which can be perfected in a post-covid-19 world.
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Just like Trump said the other day, 'this country is not meant to be shutdown'; the same applies to businesses. A business is not meant to be shutdown, irrespective of what is happening, so you must find ways to remain open and keep kicking forward, you can even attempt to capture some market share...
If you are selling air conditioners, and the weather continues to record sub zero temperature, you don't need to be told that pivoting to selling heaters could be a great call.
Nothing is set in stone, just look around and quietly adjust your seat.
