Global e-commerce platform Cafe24 has set up a cooperation framework to target Japan's e-commerce market. Cafe24 said on Tuesday it signed a business partnership agreement with Japanese e-commerce solution company NE Co. Ltd. NE is a Japanese company that operates an integrated e-commerce management solution.

The companies will link Cafe24's premium service Cafe24 PRO with NE's software-as-a-service e-commerce backend system NEXT ENGINE and launch the service in August. Once the integrated service is released, Japanese e-commerce operators will be able to handle everything from building global brand sites to order and inventory management in one environment.

Japan's e-commerce market is the world's fourth-largest and is growing every year. Demand is also rising among Japanese businesses seeking to expand into global markets, including South Korea. Cafe24 PRO supports e-commerce work needed for overseas expansion, including building multilingual shopping malls, product registration, linking sales channels, search engine optimisation and marketing operations. It is characterised by enabling operators to run a brand site at a localisation level without separate staffing.

NEXT ENGINE, operated by NE, is an integrated e-commerce management solution used by more than 6,700 companies in Japan. It automates sellers' operations from order processing to inventory management and shipping. NE is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Cafe24 has been expanding infrastructure to target the Japanese market, including adding support for Japan's simple payment service PayPay after signing a business agreement with SoftBank Group payment unit SBPS earlier this year. NE plans to introduce Cafe24 PRO directly to its local customers and to expand cooperation by building joint marketing and customer support systems after the integration service launches.

Noriyoshi Higo (히고 노리요시), CEO of NE, said, "We will put in place an environment where NEXT ENGINE customers can more easily take on overseas sales." He said, "Using this cooperation as a stepping stone, we will actively support Japanese EC operators' global expansion, and together the two companies will open up new possibilities in Asia's e-commerce market."

Jae-seok Lee (이재석), CEO of Cafe24, said, "With this integration, Japanese EC operators will be able to handle overseas shopping mall set-up, product registration, marketing, and inventory and order management in a single flow." He said, "We hope this partnership becomes a new starting point for a cross-border e-commerce ecosystem linking South Korea and Japan, and further, the Asian market."