New presence in Liège
Cooperation agreement between Saudia Cargo, Cainiao, WFS. Delivered as booked at Liège airport! Three partners presented a new e-commerce business model there for the air cargo supply chain on 1 March. The cooperation agreement was already sealed in Jeddah in November last year (see page 12 of ITJ 49-52 / 2023).
The decoration surrounding the speakers already said a lot. The representatives of Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao and its handling agent WFS were surrounded by innovative technological solutions – including automated guided vehicles, advanced PDAs, digital dashboards and live tracking systems – at the briefing to consecrate their cooperation that they invited the media to at the ‘Liège eHub’, which they now operate together.
A strategic milestone
Some of the key commitments they have made under a service level agreement for customers such as Saudia Cargo include three-hour e-commerce transit times, BUP release three hours from ATA and truck handling in less than 90 minutes.
Teddy Zebitz, CEO of Saudia Cargo, which now operates flights from Hong Kong to Riyadh and Liège specifically for Cainiao, described the collaboration as “a strategic milestone” that reflects the growing importance of e-commerce in the air cargo sector.
Far East–Middle East–Europe
“Our activities in Liège strengthen Saudi Arabia’s position as a crucial hub for efficient connections to and from Europe and as a key international market,” Zebitz added. His airline’s meticulous planning, including prefabricated ULDs in Hong Kong and the routing of shipments to Liège via Riyadh, “guarantee uninterrupted flows for e-commerce.”
Ready to transport fresh goods too
The collaboration has strengthened the logistics capacity of Cainiao’s ‘eHub’, leased by WFS. Its handling areas designed by the partners meet all the requirements for the transport of perishable and pharmaceutical shipments. They cover 200 m2 for general cargo and 140 m2 for BUP shipments (2 – 8°C) and 400 m2 for general cargo (15 – 25°C).
The BCP certification of the ‘eHub’ attests to its ability to transport fresh produce – another trump in cross-border trade.
A link in a global network
“By continuously equipping our platform with state-of-the-art technology solutions and facilities, we’ve managed to increase the efficiency of our logistics operations,” Cainiao Group vice-president Eric Xu said. The move adds further key nodes to Cainiao’s overall worldwide network of e-commerce connectivity (see also page 13 of ITJ 27-30 / 2018).