(Yicai Global) Jan. 11 -- Chinese e-tail giant Alibaba Group Holding has unveiled a new strategic partnership program, the A100, to help its merchants become more sustainable in the era of digital commerce.

The A100 involves multiple business departments offering digital power to Alibaba's partners, and helping brand owners and retailers discover new growth points, Chief Executive Daniel Zhang said at the Alibaba One Business Conference in its hometown Hangzhou today, with over 2,000 companies present. He hopes the program will inspire businesses involved in the digital economy.

Zhang also unveiled the Alibaba Operating System, which members of the program will gain access to. The cloud-based infrastructure covers sales, logistics, supply chain optimization, payments, marketing and a wide range of supporting services, he said.

"The key to a commercial operating system is not a single module but a system capability based on modules combined," Zhang said. "Such capability allows a better integration of software and hardware to give users better experience and make new business opportunities."

Alibaba has formed a unique commercial operating system over the past two decades, based on diversified business scenarios like shopping, entertainment and local lifestyle services, he added, saying the firm has been providing user management, online and offline marketing and other services over the past few years.

Editor: James Boynton