Author | Huang Yu

Editor | Liu Baodan

Over the past year, there is no doubt about Cainiao's ambition to accelerate the expansion of globalization. With the advent of Double 11 and Black 5 this year, the global express delivery network built by Cainiao has also reached the time for phased inspection results.

Recently, Wall Street News visited Cainiao's Huizhou Cross-border Logistics Warehouse, Hong Kong eHub, Hong Kong Local Express, and exchanged views with Cainiao's Spanish Express manager.

According to reports, in order to guarantee the delivery of Double 11 and Black 5 global express delivery, Cainiao's key logistics nodes have all been upgraded.

After launching the “Global 5-Day Delivery” product a year ago, Cainiao needs to accelerate progress towards the goal of “24 hour national delivery, 72 hour global delivery”.

Cross-border logistics warehouses located in mainland China, e-Hubs distributed around the world, and overseas distribution centers are all important components of Cainiao's global express delivery network. Every link works closely together to improve the timeliness of cross-border logistics.

As the country's first cross-border warehouse with a steel platform structure and automation, the Huizhou Cross-border Logistics Warehouse was officially put into operation before Double 11, covering hundreds of thousands and tens of millions of cross-border products in all categories ready to be shipped here.

Huizhou's cross-border flow to the first floor of the warehouse “changed” to three levels, using equipment such as automated spiral conveyors to run through the entire warehouse. The storage utilization rate has increased by about 200% compared to ordinary warehouses. Currently, shipments cover many countries such as the Middle East, Africa, and South America.

In addition to cross-border warehouses that prepare goods according to flow direction, the key to Cainiao's global express delivery acceleration is the eHub superhub. According to reports, Cainiao launched the first batch of eHubs in 2018, including the three eHubs in Liège, Belgium, Hong Kong, China, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Not long ago, Cainiao revealed that it will launch the second batch of eHubs worldwide.

Take Hong Kong's eHub as an example. Cainiao gathers cargo from the southern mainland to Hong Kong eHub and transports goods from Hong Kong to Cainiao's Liège eHub by air. Subsequently, goods can be transported by air from Liège eHub to various countries in Europe, ensuring 5 days of cross-border delivery.

Hong Kong eHub and the Mainland have a cargo data docking and forecasting mechanism. It can arrange work processes such as unloading, receipt and transportation, security checks, air boarding, and outbound shipping in advance based on information such as departure times and loading conditions of Chinese and Hong Kong trucks sent from South China. The entire link can be tracked in the system, which helps improve package delivery efficiency.

Furthermore, Hong Kong eHub is located at the Cainiao Smart Port at Hong Kong International Airport. It has an obvious geographical advantage, can connect all regions, and also has efficient customs clearance facilities.

Yin Daxue, Chief Operating Officer of Cainiao Hong Kong Smart Port, said, “Cainiao Hong Kong Smart Port can fully play the role of an international hub and international hub. Through the Hong Kong market, we can reach 50% of the world's population within 5 hours, which is a unique advantage of Hong Kong Airport.”

In order to meet the higher requirements of overseas users for the timeliness of cross-border logistics, Cainiao has also continued to develop overseas local express delivery networks in recent years.

Currently, Cainiao's overseas local express delivery network has started operations in 10 countries and regions, including Spain, France, Mexico, etc.

According to Wall Street News, Spain is the first overseas “international express delivery model room” built by Cainiao. In 2021, Cainiao officially entered Spain. At the beginning, its main business was the delivery of cross-border packages. In 2022, Cainiao completed the acquisition of a local courier company in Spain.

In 2023, Cainiao accelerated the network coverage in Spain and the opening and related layout of various outlets throughout the region, and became one of the first countries where AliExpress launched the “five-day delivery” service in the world.

Currently, Cainiao has its own express delivery network covering 46 provinces in Spain, and its own distribution stations have covered Spain's outer islands for delivery.

Cai Wenming, general manager of Spanish Express, revealed that compared with last year, Cainiao's order volume in Spain has increased rapidly this year. Currently, it mainly serves AliExpress merchants, and also provides local delivery services to local customers. Currently, the proportion is relatively small, but it is also gradually increasing.

In September of this year, Cainiao launched two-day and next-day delivery services for local Spanish customers in Spain.

Cai Wenming pointed out that next, it will further increase network coverage in Spain, increase the development of local customers, and hope to become a leading local express delivery company.

In a situation where the domestic logistics industry is fiercely competitive and there is limited room for growth, international logistics, which is booming along with cross-border e-commerce, is the core of Cainiao's further expansion of market space.

For Cainiao, globalization is already one of the important strategies for its future development. At the 2024 Global Smart Logistics Summit in September, Wan Lin, CEO of Cainiao Group, clearly stated, “Cainiao will continue to expand the global logistics backbone network, not only serving Alibaba's e-commerce but also serving the open market.”

This means that even if the independent listing plan is withdrawn in March of this year, Cainiao will not give up its ambition to continue expanding outward. To this end, Cainiao has a dedicated team to connect with Alibaba's internal front desk businesses, including AliExpress and Tmall Overseas, to ensure that competitive products can be created for them. At the same time, Cainiao has also set up a dedicated team to serve external customers.

At the same time, with openness and win-win becoming the main theme of the development of today's major Internet companies, Cainiao recently connected to JD's third-party platform and gained more business opportunities.

For Cainiao, to become a global logistics giant, the industry is fiercely competitive, but there are plenty of new opportunities, and the future can be expected.