Cainiao to utilise 3,000 flights for festival

Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of e-commerce firm Alibaba, will utilise 3,000 flights as one of a number of measures to ensure it can meet demand generated by the Double 11 shopping festival.

The logistics firm said that ahead of the festival, it has secured various freight routes spanning air, sea, rail and land to safeguard cross-border shipping stability.

This encompasses over 3,000 flights and an expansion of its domestic warehouse network.

The flights also include the launch of a dedicated airfreight service between Singapore and Malaysia to support the export of Tmall fashion products manufactured in China’s industrial belt, improving delivery timeliness by 40%.

“Consumers in Singapore and Malaysia will benefit from up to 50% savings in shipping fees, with deliveries in as fast as five working days,” the company said.

In the broader Southeast Asian region, Cainiao has also partnered with Lazada – Alibaba’s Southeast Asia e-commerce business – to provide direct freight routes connecting eight key ports in China to Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.

Cainiao has also launched its Huanan warehouse to leverage automation processes for parcel handling, sorting, as well as smart allocation of air shipping slot.

Additionally, the company has also ramped up its priority export warehouses, first-mile pick up and smart consolidation, expedited digital customs clearance, overseas distribution centres and last mile delivery.