In the partnership news of last week, the big was was about the establishment of a joint venture between National Retail Systems (NRS), an asset-based provider of logistics services for U.S. retailers, and Sinotrans, the largest logistics and transportation services provider in China.

The J.V. which is going to be called SinoNRS aims at offering integrated factory-to-store logistics services from inland factory locations in China to U.S. retailers.

Both sides have high hopes for the success of this joint venture. They believe the aspects which differentiate this J.V. from existing players are the followings:

- The existing players have quite seasonal operations but this J.V. will be steady in terms of the volume of its operations and so more reliable (They didn't mention how they were going to pool demand to have a steady flow).
- The quality of operations in China will be improved and will be the same as in the U.S.
- It gives the shippers the possibility to work simultaneously in several provinces.
- The technology-based systems (on hardware and software side) will be integrated in China and U.S.

If this J.V. succeeds to reach its objectives, it will provide huge benefits for shippers and retailers. On the other hand, challenges of implementation and realization of the plans remain in mind.