AliExpress bolsters logistics ecosystem

AliExpress, part of Alibaba Group and one of the world’s largest online retail marketplaces, has introduced innovative logistics solutions in partnership with Cainiao, Alibaba’s logistics arm. Ahead of the world renowned 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, this enables the Company to offer X-day delivery guarantee and an enhanced service to millions of customers.

The upgrades, consisting of China domestic selection warehouses, automated sorting centres, overseas warehouses, increased weekly chartered flights, as well as last-mile self-pickup network, help create one of the world’s most robust cross-border e-commerce ecosystems. These new additions significantly speed up the dispatch time needed for shipments from China to overseas customers.

Riding on this momentum and the triple-digit growth in AliExpress’s key markets, Brazil, Spain and France in 2020, the company plans to further increase its investment in innovative technology to support its global and local logistics.

“Shoppers worldwide have come to expect efficient delivery,” said Wang Mingqiang, general manager of AliExpress. “Through our ongoing innovations and strategic partnership with Cainiao, we have enhanced our cross-border e-commerce ecosystem. We can now help our sellers deliver popular products within an incredibly efficient delivery time to Europe and Latin America. As we implement this enhanced supply chain network ahead of the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, we are thrilled to be delivering goods faster and more reliably with no additional cost for our valued customers.”

In the past year, the number of packages received and delivered by AliExpress’ ecosystem logistics partners has increased by 100%. In response to the rising needs through partnership with Cainiao, five selection warehouses have been established in China for sellers to pre-stock their AliExpress products, thus significantly reducing the dispatch time, along with nine domestic automated sorting centres and 80 chartered flights in average every week, AliExpress now offers 10 working days delivery for selected cross border orders made in Spain and France, 12 working days for Brazil and five working days for South Korea.

There are plans to roll-out the initiatives in more European markets. Between 11th and 30th November, AliExpress will have more than 300 chartered flights in total to ensure customers receive their package on time.

Since 2020, AliExpress and Cainiao have also actively developed overseas warehouses to enhance the capacity and efficiency of cross-border logistics networks. By utilising these warehouses, local delivery in Spain and France can be achieved in three days and seven days for the rest of Europe. Over the next year overseas warehouses will largely be upgraded with a strong emphasis on local logistics.

On last-mile delivery, a network of over 20,000 self-pickup service points has been launched in Spain, France, Poland and Russia, combining AliExpress-branded lockers powered and operated by Cainiao, as well as collection points powered by local partners. These lockers offer a fluid shopping experience for consumers, who can freely and quickly pick up their AliExpress orders in automatic lockers. This is a practical solution that offers greater flexibility and security.

Additionally, AliExpress will introduce an ‘on-time guarantee’ in Spain and France ahead of the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. This service will be applicable for any orders shipping from China domestic selection warehouses, as well as Cainiao overseas warehouses, and AliExpress will automatically reimburse US$1 coupon per order in case of late arrival of the packages.

AliExpress has continued to improve its delivery service with a logistics strategy that grows stronger every year. The latest upgrades came just in time for the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival to bring customers around the world a delivery guarantee with a much shorter timeline. AliExpress will be allocating more resources to support its business roadmap, a key element of the roadmap is recruiting more local merchants onto the platform.

Enhancing the network of overseas warehouses and self-pickup lockers for a better customer experience are one of the key business objectives for AliExpress in the coming years.