The world’s largest cross-border ecommerce logistics company, Cainiao, has announced that its latest quarterly revenues increased year-on-year by almost a quarter.  

Cainiao is the Chinese logistics company founded in 2013 by the Alibaba Group, the China-based multinational technology company specialising in e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology. 

Cainiao’s Q3 FY2024 year-on-year revenue growth saw a 24% increase, rising to US$4bn, with the increase primarily driven by revenue from cross-border fulfilment solutions, the company says.

Here, we profile Cainiao, and its plans for the future.

Cainiao: An ecommerce logistics colossus

Company: Cainiao
Country: China
Industry: Global ecommerce logistics
CEO: Lin Wan
Employees: 20,000
Revenue: US$18bn (2023) 
Cainiao is the world’s largest cross-border e-commerce logistics company, with solutions covering express delivery and global supply chain services. Its solutions include warehousing, transportation, and delivery services. It  partners with logistics providers – including express delivery companies, freight carriers, and postal services – to underpin its services. 

In 2022, its daily average cross-border and international package volume exceeded 4.5 million. The company’s technology-driven platform offers tailored logistics services for e-commerce businesses, and connects merchants, logistics companies and consumers, “streamlining the flow of goods from warehouses to end customers”, the company says. 

Its self-proclaimed aim is to “meet Alibaba Group’s logistics vision of fulfilling customer orders within 24 hours in China and within 72 hours anywhere else in the world”. 

In China, Cainiao is a top e-commerce supply chain solution provider, helping brands and merchants tackle complex omnichannel supply chain challenges. It is also the largest reverse logistics solution provider in China.

The company runs logistics facilities in strategic locations worldwide, serving 200 countries. It operates nine overseas sorting centres and partners with 500 logistics partners to provide fulfilment services globally. 

In July 2023 it announced a new warehouse in Jakarta, Indonesia, as part of its regional expansion plan. The Cainiao Cikarang Logistics Park is part of a regional warehouse network of Cainiao Hubs in Southeast Asia, and is the third warehouse in the network.

The vision is for Cainiao Cikarang Logistics Park to support manufacturers in their logistics and trading needs, including fulfilment, last mile, import and export for B2B and B2C businesses, smart supply chain management, and logistics technology including IoT, automation and warehouse management systems.

In October 2023 Cainiao Group it announced a new cross-border logistics service known as Taobao PLUS, which provides free shipping, free returns, and tax-free services to consumers in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

Cainiao: Expansion in North America & Europe

Other details released by Cainiao as part of its 2023 Q4 earnings announcement include:

• The company has upgraded its logistics solutions for countries and markets across North America and Latin America.
• It launched parcel-forwarding services in the US, offering five-day delivery via air freight and 15-day delivery via sea freight. The service supports one-click consolidation of parcels across its entire network.
• Cainiao launched the first China-Mexico express cargo flight route, allowing consumers in Mexico to receive packages from China in as fast as 10 days.
• The company is rapidly expanding its local logistics infrastructure in Spain, Cainiao’s self-operated local express network now covers 47 regions, providing a wide range of logistics services, including cross-border small-parcels delivery, local warehouse dispatch, last-mile delivery, and intra-city delivery, for local Spanish and cross-border Chinese merchants.
• The company has announced partnerships with leading brands across various industries, including McDonald’s China, Maotai Distillery Logistics, Dongfeng Honda Automobile, Tongwei and LINSY.