In the wake of Alibaba's groundbreaking initial public offering (IPO) last month and of its aggressive global expansion strategy, Alibaba could have faced a number of formidable challenges in bringing its logistics network into place. During the IPO process, Alibaba disclosed the launch of a rail, road and air freight network in China, a global enterprise platform and an effort to build one of the world's largest distribution networks in international freight and logistics. When Alibaba's decision to launch an international express and freight network was revealed in November 2014, much of the excitement stemmed from the swiftness with which Alibaba was able to move from inception to launch. The network launched in December 2014, completing the first phase of Alibaba's plan.