Alibaba Q3 financial report: Cainiao's quarterly revenue increased by 24% year-on-year, and cross-border express delivery "Global 5-day Delivery" has covered 10 countries

On February 7 , Alibaba Group released its third-quarter financial report for fiscal year 2024 ending December 31 , 2023. Among them, Cainiao Group's revenue this quarter was 28.476 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24%.

Cross-border logistics remains a strong growth driver for Cainiao. This quarter, Cainiao's "Global 5- Day Delivery" international express delivery capabilities expanded to cover two new countries, bringing the total to 10 countries, and orders achieved strong triple-digit month-on-month growth. Benefiting from economies of scale and cost optimization brought about by refined operations in trunk lines and last-mile delivery, this quarter, Cainiao achieved an adjusted EBITA of RMB 961 million, and profitability continued to increase.

At present, cross-border e-commerce is advancing in the global market with different models and layouts. Platforms, brands and sellers are entering an era of comprehensive competition. Logistics fulfillment is crucial for establishing differentiated competitive advantages and improving delivery and service experience. Cainiao started to build a global smart logistics network seven years ago and was the first in the industry to launch the standard cross-border express service " 5 US dollars in 10 days"; the flagship product "Global 5 -day delivery" jointly launched with AliExpress in September last year further expanded its leading advantage in the cross-border e-commerce logistics market and effectively boosted order growth.

Taking the "semi-hosting" service recently launched by Cainiao and AliExpress as an example, it can help the platform's self-operated merchants improve the cross-border small package logistics efficiency by an average of 9 days at the same cost. Soon after the service was launched, a group of merchants with monthly sales orders exceeding 10,000 have emerged.

This quarter, while strengthening its end-to-end cross-border logistics capabilities, Cainiao is also accelerating the construction of its own local logistics overseas. Taking Spain as an example, the local self-operated express delivery network has covered 47 major regions, providing local merchants and Chinese cross-border merchants with different logistics services such as cross-border small packages, local warehouse delivery, on-site delivery, and same-city delivery.

Cainiao has also upgraded its logistics solutions for key countries and markets such as North America and Latin America. For example, in North America, Cainiao's consolidated shipping has officially entered the US market, which can achieve the fastest delivery of air freight in 5 days and sea freight in 15 days, and supports one-click consolidated shipping of all packages on the Internet; in Latin America, the opening of Cainiao's first China - Mexico international express charter flight allows Mexican consumers to receive packages from China in as fast as 10 days.

Cainiao has always been ahead of the industry in its layout in Hong Kong, China. After taking the lead in launching the "next-day delivery, late delivery must be compensated" commitment, Cainiao took the lead in launching App pickup in Hong Kong this quarter. As of the end of January 2024 , more than 130 Cainiao self-pickup points in various districts of Hong Kong support this service. Relying on the digital capabilities of the CAINIAO App , Hong Kong consumers can truly realize the "on-demand pickup" of their packages. Not only that, Cainiao has also added a Cainiao self-pickup point return service on top of the original door-to-door pickup and return service, giving consumers more flexible options.

In mainland China, Cainiao continues to expand its quality logistics services. On the one hand, it fully supports the upgrade of Alibaba's ecological services. The " 1212 Half-Day Delivery" jointly launched by Cainiao Preferred Warehousing and Distribution and Tmall Supermarket has opened 5 new cities this quarter ( covering a total of 20 cities ) to create an ultimate experience; Cainiao GOGO cooperates with Taotian Group to further upgrade the 88VIP return and exchange rights; on the other hand, in serving external customers, Cainiao Express relies on its own vehicles and smart equipment combination to develop smart logistics solutions for large-scale sports events for the first time. Cainiao Supply Chain continues to deepen cooperation with external major customers, entering new vertical industries such as new energy vehicle batteries and chain food, and driving supply chain revenue growth.

This quarter, Cainiao continued to hone its core technology products, launching a new matrix of independently developed UHF RFID (ultra-high frequency radio frequency identification technology) products. Its self-developed four-way pallet has gained market recognition, and its automation business has accelerated the development of overseas markets.

Relying on the world's leading smart logistics network and digital advantages, Cainiao has recently reached in-depth cooperation with leading brands in many industries and tracks such as chain catering, liquor, new energy vehicles and parts, photovoltaics, and home improvement, including McDonald's China, Moutai Logistics , Dongfeng Honda, Tongwei, and Lin's Home Furnishing.

While improving logistics service capabilities, Cainiao actively promotes ESG practices and leverages its technological advantages to support green and emergency logistics. In December 2023 , Cainiao appeared at C OP 28 (the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference) to share its innovative experience in digital logistics and carbon reduction with the world. After the 6.2 -magnitude earthquake in Jishishan, Gansu, Cainiao quickly joined hands with the China Red Cross Foundation and other institutions to transport emergency supplies as soon as possible, and used digital systems to help One Foundation improve the efficiency of material distribution and management.