Alibaba.com Exec on Suppliers, Tariffs, IP
An episode of the Ecommerce Conversations podcast, hosted by Practical Ecommerce, titled "Alibaba.com Exec on Suppliers, Tariffs, IP" was published on October 17, 2025 and runs 34 minutes.
October 17, 2025 ·34m · Ecommerce Conversations
Summary
Few companies have done more for global prosperity than Alibaba.com. Launched famously in China by Jack Ma, a former school teacher, in 1999, the company now connects 200,000 suppliers with millions of retail merchants. Suppliers grow, retailers diversify, and consumers have more choice for less money. Yet the B2B giant is not perfect. Language differences, intellectual property theft, and quality control can upend a supplier-buyer relationship. Rah Mahtani is Alibaba.com's head of commerc...
Episode Description
Few companies have done more for global prosperity than Alibaba.com. Launched famously in China by Jack Ma, a former school teacher, in 1999, the company now connects 200,000 suppliers with millions of retail merchants. Suppliers grow, retailers diversify, and consumers have more choice for less money.
Yet the B2B giant is not perfect. Language differences, intellectual property theft, and quality control can upend a supplier-buyer relationship.
Rah Mahtani is Alibaba.com's head of commercial strategy in the U.S. In this episode, he responds to those challenges, tariffs, and more.
For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com /alibaba-exec-on-suppliers-tariffs-ip
For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts
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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webcasts. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com
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