CHINESE enterprises’ spending on digitalization services and products is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan (US$142.9 billion) for the first time this year, as companies accelerate digital transformation while battling COVID-19, a new report said.

The figure will mark a significant jump from the data in 2019, said a joint report from two government think tanks the China Center for Information Industry Development and the China International Electronic Commerce Center.

Last year, the market size of enterprises’ digital procurement was 590 billion yuan, up 64 percent on a yearly basis, the report said.

With the rapid development of new technologies such as big data, cloud computing, the internet of things, blockchain and artificial intelligence, the digital economy era is accelerating and enterprise procurement is shifting from pure online purchases to systematic, full-chain procurement management and services, the report said.

Li Mingtao, head of the research institute at the China International Electronic Commerce Center, said: “The epidemic will trigger the reflection and adjustment of the supply chain system’s anti-risk capabilities in various industries around the world.”

(China Daily)