Suning, SAP partner over smart retail

Chinese e-commerce giant Suning has signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation with German software company SAP to conduct technology cooperation in retail, logistics and sports sectors.

The two parties will conduct joint research in artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing and other frontier technologies to promote the development of the digital economy, according to a statement released by Suning.

They plan to build a smart retail service platform to empower China's retail sector as well as a logistics platform to improve operational efficiency and user experience.

The two companies also aim to establish a digitalized platform for Chinese football clubs and youth training systems to support the development of the sport in China.

The Chinese e-commerce platform saw sales of German brands reach 1.5 billion euros last year. It now has about 1,000 types of German products on its overseas shopping platform.