China’s TikTok Follows the Bezos Blueprint with Plans to Establish Fulfillment Centers Across America

Chinese-owned social media giant TikTok is planning to mimic Amazon by establishing its own product fulfillment centers in the United States, signifying the company’s dedication to e-commerce as its next major revenue stream.

TikTok wants to create its own e-commerce supply chain system that could directly compete with Amazon, according to a report by Axios, which noted that more than a dozen new job openings have been posted to LinkedIn in the past few weeks.

The job postings reveal that TikTok is planning to build an “international e-commerce fulfillment system,” which will involve international warehousing, customs clearings, and supply chain systems that will eventually operate similarly to Amazon.

Unlike Amazon, however, TikTok does not appear to be looking into creating its own delivery and transportation unit, as job postings suggest the company is planning to work with vendors to handle shipping.

“By providing warehousing, delivery, and customer service returns, our mission is to help sellers improve their operational capability and efficiency, provide buyers a satisfying shopping experience and ensure fast and sustainable growth of TikTok Shop,” the company wrote in one job listing.

“Building out its own e-commerce supply chain could give TikTok more control and boost profits in the U.S. and around the world,” Axios notes.

A TikTok spokesperson confirmed to Axios that it plans to provide “a selection of merchants which offer a range of product options as well as delivery options” in areas like the UK and Southeast Asia — where it currently offers e-commerce programs.

Mimicking Amazon’s e-commerce is not the only area where TikTok stands to boost its revenue.

The Chinese company is also profiting from videos of displaced families in Syrian refugee camps begging for donations. TikTok reportedly takes up to 70 percent of the proceeds from such livestreams.

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