(Yicai Global) Feb. 22 -- Swiss foods giant Nestle has become the first company to use Cainiao Smart Logistics Network's new Supply Chain Brain, which hopes to help managers make smarter, more efficient decisions.

The brain integrates firms' data among different sales channels and can conduct real-time monitoring and analysis, TechWeb reported. Supply chain managers are able to oversee operations statuses on their smartphones and can make immediate decisions based on Cainiao's analysis, it added.

The cost of traditional supply chain management is pretty high, and it needs several departments to gather and analyze information, said Tony Domingo, senior vice president of group supply chain and procurement for Nestle on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Consolidating data through Cainiao's system could save hours every day, he added.

In the New Retail era, companies need flexible and responsive supply chains, added Wang Lei, Nestle's vice president of e-commerce for the region. The Supply Chain Brain makes operational data more transparent, and more useful for business-related decision making, he continued, saying the system will make Nestle more competitive.

Cainiao, which is owned by e-commerce giant Alibaba Holding Group, penned deals with a host of international consumer goods giants last year, including Metro Group, Shiseido and AEON Group, to offer global supply chain services during China's Double Eleven shopping festival -- which is bigger than Black Friday.

It expects to release the new system to other partners soon.

Editor: James Boynton