Shanxi province launched its first B2B e-commerce platform for the catering industry on Oct 27, helping bring the industry into the Internet age.

The platform mainly serves companies in the local food and catering industries, with more than 100 ingredient suppliers from all around China displaying their products through the platform and competing for trade with businesses in Shanxi.

The e-commerce platform not only reduces the costs for catering companies and increases their profits, but also reshapes the supply chain of the industry by sharing information about food supplies and facilitating communication between purchasers and suppliers on the Internet.

It is hoped that the platform will enhance the service level of the whole catering industry with a comprehensive procurement system now based on the network, according to the director of Shanxi Chamber of Commerce for the Catering Industry.

Shanxi has experienced a recession in the catering industry during recent years. In January and February 2016, the retail sales of large and medium-sized companies amounted to 950 million yuan ($140.1 million) and have seen a year-on-year increase of 4.6 percent, the first time the industry has grown since 2013. The B2B platform is expected to help foster further advances and boost growth in the catering industry.