# Alibaba Supplier Scraper — B2B Sourcing AI Intelligence (`webdatalabs/alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence`) Actor Turn an Alibaba.com keyword search into a ranked, risk-scored supplier shortlist — a sourcing decision, not a raw data dump. - **URL**: https://apify.com/webdatalabs/alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence.md - **Developed by:** [WebDataLabs](https://apify.com/webdatalabs) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, E-commerce, AI - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $17.00 / 1,000 ai-analyzed suppliers This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Alibaba Supplier Scraper — B2B Sourcing Intelligence with AI Risk Scoring Turn an Alibaba.com keyword search into a **ranked, risk-scored supplier shortlist** — a sourcing decision, not a raw data dump. ### What you get This **Alibaba supplier scraper** returns the firmographics buyers actually decide on (MOQ, quantity price breaks, verification, years on Alibaba, staff, factory size, transactions, response time) **plus an AI layer a plain scraper can't produce**: it ranks suppliers against each other, tells you which are real factories vs middleman trading companies, flags suspiciously cheap pricing, and lists the certifications your import market requires for the product. Built for sourcing agents, importers and procurement teams diversifying suppliers under 2026 tariffs. ### What data can it extract? | Field | What it tells you | |---|---| | `ai_risk_rank` / `ai_risk_score` | Cohort-relative ranking — 1 = the best supplier to buy from | | `ai_supplier_type` | factory / trading_company / hybrid — cut out the middleman | | `ai_price_flag` | competitive / suspiciously_cheap / premium (vs the cohort) | | `ai_required_certs` | Certs your market needs for this product (verify with the supplier) | | `ai_recommendation` | shortlist / investigate / avoid, with a one-line rationale | | `moqMin` · `priceMin/Max` · `priceCurrency` | Minimum order quantity and USD price tiers | | `isVerifiedSupplier` · `yearsOnPlatform` · `transactionsUsd` | Trust & track-record signals | | `factorySizeText` · `staffText` · `reviewCount/Score` | Firmographics & buyer feedback | | `sampleProducts[]` | Matching products with MOQ + price per unit | The full field list is rendered from the dataset schema above the README. ### Example output (one record per supplier) ```json { "supplierName": "Yongkang Hejia Industry And Trade Co., Ltd.", "supplierUrl": "https://ykhjgm.en.alibaba.com/company_profile.html", "yearsOnPlatform": 9, "isVerifiedSupplier": true, "factorySizeText": "21,000+ m²", "staffText": "150+ staff", "reviewCount": 34, "reviewScore": 4.4, "transactionsUsd": 470000, "moqMin": 20, "priceMin": 1.89, "priceMax": 3.59, "priceCurrency": "USD", "sampleProducts": [ { "title": "500ml Stainless Steel Insulated Bottle", "moq": 20, "moqUnit": "pieces", "price": "$1.89-3.59" } ], "ai_supplier_type": "factory", "ai_risk_rank": 1, "ai_risk_score": 4, "ai_risk_summary": "Verified factory, 9 yrs, solid transactions and a focused stainless-bottle catalog.", "ai_price_flag": "competitive", "ai_required_certs": ["FDA food-contact"], "ai_recommendation": "shortlist", "ai_vs_top_pick": "" } ```` ### How to use it 1. Enter one or more **search keywords** (the products you want to source). 2. Pick your **target import market** — this drives the certification requirements. 3. Run, then filter the results by the decision you care about. ```json { "searchKeywords": ["stainless steel water bottle", "insulated tumbler"], "targetMarket": "US", "maxSuppliers": 50 } ``` Keep `maxSuppliers` low for a cheap trial. The top suppliers per keyword ("AI-analyzed suppliers per keyword", under Advanced) get the comparative AI analysis; the rest come back with card-level data. ### How much does it cost to scrape Alibaba suppliers? Pay-per-result — you only pay for the suppliers you get, at the price shown above the README. A card-level supplier record is charged at the base rate; suppliers that receive the full AI risk analysis are charged at the higher analyzed rate. Start with a small `maxSuppliers` to see the cost before scaling up. ### Use cases - **Sourcing agents** — pull a ranked shortlist per client brief; act on `ai_recommendation = "shortlist"`. - **Importers cutting the middleman** — filter `ai_supplier_type = "factory"` to skip trading companies. - **Risk / QA teams** — surface `ai_price_flag = "suspiciously_cheap"` and `ai_red_flags` before sampling. - **Compliance / customs** — read `ai_required_certs` per market to know what to demand from suppliers. - **Tariff diversification** — scan a category, compare cohorts across keywords, and pick resilient suppliers. ### FAQ #### Do I need an API key? The AI layer uses OpenAI. If a key isn't configured on the Actor, the run still returns all scraped supplier data and simply skips the `ai_` fields. #### How does the AI ranking work? Each keyword's top suppliers are analyzed **together, in one comparative pass**, so the model can rank them relative to each other and spot cohort-wide pricing anomalies — reasoning a per-row scraper can't do. The buy/avoid verdict and rank are then computed deterministically for consistency. #### How does it detect a factory vs a trading company? From company-name tokens, product-catalog breadth (factories keep a narrow related range; traders list unrelated categories), staff count and factory size. #### Which certifications does it check? It maps your product category to your market's regime — EU electronics → CE + RoHS + REACH, US electronics → FCC + UL, food-contact → FDA (US) / LFGB (EU), toys → CPSIA + ASTM. `ai_required_certs` is what your product needs; confirm each supplier holds them. #### Is it legal to scrape Alibaba? The Actor collects **business firmographics** (company details, products, pricing) from public Alibaba.com listings — not personal data — so it's GDPR-clean for B2B sourcing use. #### What are the data limits? Prices are pinned to **USD** for cross-supplier comparison. Some card fields (factory size, staff) appear only for certain suppliers and are `null` otherwise. Verified certificate lists, exact business type and company address live behind Alibaba's bot-protected profile pages and are planned for a future browser-based version. ### Related actors - **AliExpress Product Intelligence** (`webdatalabs/aliexpress-product-intelligence`) — retail product, price & sales-signal research. - **eBay Deal Finder** (`webdatalabs/ebay-deal-finder`) — underpriced-listing detection across eBay. - **Reddit Scraper Pro** (`webdatalabs/reddit-scraper-pro`) — posts, comments & sentiment for demand research. ### Support Questions or a field you need added? Use the **Issues** tab on this Actor, or reach WebDataLabs through the support channel on our Store profile. ### Leave a review Is this actor saving you time? A quick review on the Store helps other people find it — and tells us which fields to add next. **[Rate this actor →](https://apify.com/webdatalabs/alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence)** # Actor input Schema ## `searchKeywords` (type: `array`): Products to source. Each keyword returns a ranked list of Alibaba.com suppliers. Example: "stainless steel water bottle". ## `targetMarket` (type: `string`): Where you will sell/import. Drives which certifications the AI checks each supplier against (e.g. CE/RoHS for EU, FCC/UL for US, FDA/LFGB for food-contact). ## `maxSuppliers` (type: `integer`): Total unique suppliers to return across all keywords. Keep low for a cheap trial run. ## `aiAnalysis` (type: `boolean`): Rank the top suppliers by risk, detect factory vs trading company, flag suspiciously cheap pricing, and list the certifications your target market requires. Requires an OpenAI API key configured on the Actor. ## `sortBy` (type: `string`): Alibaba result ordering used before shortlisting. ## `shortlistSize` (type: `integer`): How many top suppliers per keyword get the comparative AI analysis (risk rank, factory-vs-trader, price flags). The rest are returned with card-level data only. ## `useApifyProxy` (type: `boolean`): Required — Alibaba blocks datacenter and bare IPs. Leave on. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Residential proxy settings. The default is recommended. ## `maxRetries` (type: `integer`): Fresh-IP retries before giving up on a blocked request. ## `debug` (type: `boolean`): Verbose per-request logging. ## Actor input object example ```json { "searchKeywords": [ "stainless steel water bottle" ], "targetMarket": "US", "maxSuppliers": 50, "aiAnalysis": true, "sortBy": "relevance", "shortlistSize": 25, "useApifyProxy": true, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ], "apifyProxyCountry": "US" }, "maxRetries": 8, "debug": false } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `overview` (type: `string`): No description ## `requirements` (type: `string`): No description ## `full_data` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "searchKeywords": [ "stainless steel water bottle" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("webdatalabs/alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "searchKeywords": ["stainless steel water bottle"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("webdatalabs/alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "searchKeywords": [ "stainless steel water bottle" ] }' | apify call webdatalabs/alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=webdatalabs/alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Alibaba Supplier Scraper — B2B Sourcing AI Intelligence", "description": "Turn an Alibaba.com keyword search into a ranked, risk-scored supplier shortlist — a sourcing decision, not a raw data dump.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "FSL7d8k5a3hxdPZ5R" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/webdatalabs~alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-webdatalabs-alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/webdatalabs~alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-webdatalabs-alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/webdatalabs~alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-webdatalabs-alibaba-b2b-sourcing-intelligence", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "searchKeywords" ], "properties": { "searchKeywords": { "title": "Search keywords", "minItems": 1, "type": "array", "description": "Products to source. Each keyword returns a ranked list of Alibaba.com suppliers. Example: \"stainless steel water bottle\".", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "targetMarket": { "title": "Target import market", "enum": [ "US", "EU", "UK", "CA", "AU", "Global" ], "type": "string", "description": "Where you will sell/import. Drives which certifications the AI checks each supplier against (e.g. CE/RoHS for EU, FCC/UL for US, FDA/LFGB for food-contact).", "default": "US" }, "maxSuppliers": { "title": "Maximum suppliers", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 500, "type": "integer", "description": "Total unique suppliers to return across all keywords. Keep low for a cheap trial run.", "default": 50 }, "aiAnalysis": { "title": "AI supplier analysis", "type": "boolean", "description": "Rank the top suppliers by risk, detect factory vs trading company, flag suspiciously cheap pricing, and list the certifications your target market requires. Requires an OpenAI API key configured on the Actor.", "default": true }, "sortBy": { "title": "Sort suppliers by", "enum": [ "relevance", "bestMatch", "mostOrders", "newest" ], "type": "string", "description": "Alibaba result ordering used before shortlisting.", "default": "relevance" }, "shortlistSize": { "title": "AI-analyzed suppliers per keyword", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 60, "type": "integer", "description": "How many top suppliers per keyword get the comparative AI analysis (risk rank, factory-vs-trader, price flags). The rest are returned with card-level data only.", "default": 25 }, "useApifyProxy": { "title": "Use Apify residential proxy", "type": "boolean", "description": "Required — Alibaba blocks datacenter and bare IPs. Leave on.", "default": true }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Residential proxy settings. The default is recommended.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ], "apifyProxyCountry": "US" } }, "maxRetries": { "title": "Max retries", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 20, "type": "integer", "description": "Fresh-IP retries before giving up on a blocked request.", "default": 8 }, "debug": { "title": "Debug logging", "type": "boolean", "description": "Verbose per-request logging.", "default": false } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```