Saudi Arabian pivot
A new collaboration project between Saudia Cargo, Cainiao and WFS / Sats. At the end of November three partners, each of which covers a different segment of the air cargo supply chain, unveiled a business model in Jeddah that will create gateways for e-commerce logistics in airports. From March 2024 a start will be made in Liège.
Global e-commerce logistics activities, said by the analysts at Transport Intelligence (TI) to be set to carry goods worth EUR 451 billion this year, are expected to have grown by approximately 7.9% in 2023. The boost is down to business in the Asia-Pacific region, especially China, which will contribute 57% to market growth between 2022 and 2027.
Alibaba has been building up a powerful instrument in this field since 2013 – Cainiao. Now this logistics arm of the Chinese e-commerce giant has announced that it’s intensifying its cooperation with the Paris-based cargo-handling provider Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), itself a part of the Singapore-based Sats Group, and the airline Saudia Cargo.
Expanding the Hong Kong–Liège axis
The initiative is a direct response to increasing demand for high-quality logistics services in the cross-border e-commerce sector, especially in the Middle East and European markets.
At the beginning of this year Cainiao introduced an international express service, called ‘Global 5-Day Delivery’. It is available in the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and South Korea.
One important element of the new cooperation agreement envisages establishing a separate zone in its ‘Cainiao Liege eHub’ for the urgent processing of ULDs loaded in Hong Kong.
The Chinese firm operates its European regional hub there, together with WFS / Sats. Innovative technological solutions, such as automated guided vehicles, PDAs, digital dashboards and live tracking systems, are all in action there.
Cainiao also has a long-standing partnership with Saudia Cargo, which it is now intensifying by prioritising certain flights from Hong Kong to Riyadh and Liège.
On the western section of the new axis Cainiao wants to handle more than 50,000 t of cargo a year, as agreed with WFS / Sats. This, the corporation said, underlines its focus and “our commitment to operational excellence and reliable logistics services.”