Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group, has partnered with Grocery Logistics of Singapore (GLS), with the aim of strengthening its logistics services in the market.
GLS is an entity of the FairPrice Group Supply Chain business unit.
The partnership will provide a two-phase roll-out, first with a full-suite local logistics service from customs clearance to last-mile delivery for orders placed on Taobao and Tmall. The partnership will also include expanding beyond the Alibaba e-commerce ecosystem to support more merchants in their cross-border logistics needs.
Through the partnership, Cainiao will be leveraging on GLS’s strong logistics capabilities and resources, including its customs fulfilment service and doorstep delivery service.
This will increase its daily parcel handling capacity in Singapore to 42 tonnes, or around 600 bulky items.
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Customers will now be able to receive their parcels within two working days after customs clearance.
“Taobao and Tmall have been growing in popularity among consumers in Singapore given the variety of products they offer. We anticipate this demand will continue to grow, especially in the lead up to Alibaba’s annual 11.11 shopping festival,” says Chris Fan, head of cross-border, Singapore at Cainiao Network.
“This partnership with GLS will allow us to expand and strengthen our logistics services in Singapore, with the enhanced ability to deliver bulky goods. There are many synergies that we can derive from this long-term partnership, and we are excited to embark on a phased roll-out of more customer-centric initiatives with GLS. This will contribute towards our goal of providing superior experience to better serve our customers,” she adds.
"GLS has in place a digitised logistics ecosystem that utilises the latest supply chain technology and data analytics to meet the demands of e-commerce. Our partnership with Cainiao will bring about better cost-efficiency, productivity, and enhanced capabilities especially for last-mile delivery of bulky items – a logistical challenge for online platforms,” says Toh Hui Leng, chief operating officer, supply chain business, at FairPrice Group.
As at 10.38am, shares in Alibaba Group are trading HK$2.40 lower or 1.45% down at HK$163.10 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Photo: Bloomberg
