Cainiao Network Partners with Emirates SkyCargo to Use Dubai as Hub

The MoU was signed by Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo and Xiaodong Guan, General Manager of Cainiao Global Business at Cainiao’s global headquarters in Hangzhou.

Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, to jointly facilitate the delivery of cross-border parcels. The MoU comes as Cainiao, the logistics arm of the Alibaba Group, looks to expand its global logistics infrastructure with Dubai as a hub.

According to an announcement by Emirates, the MoU is a landmark agreement for both Emirates SkyCargo and Cainiao to leverage each other’s strengths in cross-border e-commerce trade and airline cargo operation. It will also support Cainiao’s broader efforts to offer enhanced customer experience. Cainiao recently unveiled plans to develop six global hubs in six cities around the globe. Dubai is one of them.

“As a key gateway that links Asia and Europe, Dubai is well positioned to help us achieve our goal of 72-hour global delivery,” said Xiaodong Guan, General Manager of Cainiao Global Business.

Under the terms of the MoU, Emirates SkyCargo and Cainiao will work closely to manage e-Commerce shipments in the Middle East and other neighbouring regions through Dubai. Further details of the tie-up will be announced progressively as they are developed by the two parties.

E-commerce is one of the strongest growth areas for the air cargo industry globally. Emirates SkyCargo has been exploring opportunities to collaborate with players in order to offer value-added services over and above cargo capacity between airports, using the strategic advantages of Dubai as a hub.

“With Emirates SkyCargo’s network spread, frequency of flights including close to 50 weekly flights from China, our state-of-the-art hub facilities and the strategic location of Dubai which allows it to serve as an effective logistics hub for the region,” Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo, said.

Emirates SkyCargo offers cargo capacity to over 155 global destinations on a modern all-widebody fleet of 267 aircraft including 14 freighters- 13 Boeing 777-Fs and one B747 F. Emirates operates two state of the art Emirates SkyCentral cargo terminals in Dubai to manage cargo from passenger as well as freighter aircraft. Emirates SkyCargo has developed a number of transportation solutions targeted at specific industry verticals.

As a technology company, Cainiao leverages cutting edge big-data technology and open collaboration to build a global infrastructure that links all the logistics elements to improve delivery efficiency and customer experience for all players along the supply chain. Cainiao’s vision is to deliver anywhere in China within 24 hours, and across the globe within 72 hours.