Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao launches 500m yuan global tender

THE logistics arm of Alibaba Group Holdings, Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, has launched its 2021 open tender for logistics services to strengthen its global logistics network.

In a press statement on Thursday, Cainiao said the global tender is valued at 500 million yuan (S$102.2 million), and encompasses all key markets, including North Asia, South-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and the US.

"As a digital logistics platform, Cainiao adopts a collaborative approach by integrating existing industry logistics resources and empowers connected partners with an innovative and open data platform which improves efficiency along the entire value chain," Cainiao said.

The company has over 3,000 logistics partners and three million courier personnel on its platform.

The open tender for 2021 is segmented into business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) logistics services, and will also be used to expand the network of certified third-party logistics partners.

In the B2C segment, Cainiao said it will be curating a list of Cainiao-certified third-party logistics partners to provide a full suite of end-to-end logistics services for merchants. This includes overseas parcel collection, international line-haul, import customs clearance and last-mile delivery.

Cainiao is also looking to select partners for its global fulfilment and consolidation warehouse networks to support matters such as storage and inventory management, quality inspection, and consolidation of B2C parcels.

"The goal is to reinforce resources across the entire value chain to deliver greater stability and efficiency to support cross-border e-commerce businesses for both Alibaba (Taobao, Tmall and Kaola) and non-Alibaba merchants," Cainiao said.

For the B2B segment, Cainiao will be looking to strengthen its warehouse and trucking network to support businesses' import and export needs.

It requires overseas warehouses that are located near to ports to facilitate efficient transportation. They must also be able to provide services for pre-stocking, storage and can serve as a container freight station.

Cainiao added that partners supporting the trucking network will also have to be well-equipped with resources such as lorries and container trucks to handle transportation of goods between warehouses and to ports.

The deadline for tender submissions is Dec 15.