Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group Holding Limited, has announced the partnership with Facily, a Brazilian social commerce platform on last-mile deliveries. Facily customers in Brazil will be able to access to Cainiao’s network of 1,000 lockers for parcel pickup over the span of 2 years.
Served as a public facility, the lockers will be placed near shopping malls, local neighbourhood businesses, bank agencies, subway stations and other high-traffic locations. São Paulo, where Cainiao and Facily headquarters are located, is the pilot city, and the network will soon cover other major cities like Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasilia, etc.
Unlike normal pickup points, most Cainiao lockers operate 24/7 for instant and safe pickup. After placing an order, Facily users can opt for easy pickup at the most convenient locker nearby. An in-app message will be automatically sent to the customer to notify them to pick up once the parcel is available for collection. Consumers are able to open the locker in a few seconds after inputting the code on the touch screen. Cainiao estimated that the pickup time can be trimmed down by 40% with smart lockers as compared to normal pickup options.
Read more: Cainiao enters strategic partnership with Nestlé
“We have set up thousands of pick-up points across Brazil, and Cainiao smart lockers are complementary to our current network, part of which is inaccessible to logistics services due to security reasons. With the unmanned lockers installed, Facily users are able to collect their parcels for free any time in the day. Thus, Brazilian consumers can enjoy a convenient digitized lifestyle thanks to the synergies of e-commerce and smart logistics. We hope to deepen the partnership with Cainiao on other aspects of last-mile delivery in the near future,” Diego Dzodan, CEO of Facily, said.
Read more: Cainiao partners with Atlas Air to enhance freight stability
“We really value our partnership with Facily and the shared commitment to serving the Brazilian consumers with smart and user-friendly pickup services. The lockers will help alleviate Brazil’s growing traffic congestion through reduction of delivery times by vehicles and couriers. We aim to make this novel and eco-friendly form of delivery accessible to every customer in Brazil, in close collaboration with Correios and other partners,” Albert Yan, Cainiao’s country manager of Brazil, said.
Facily is a social commerce platform, often referred to as the Brazilian version Pinduoduo. It offers quality products at low prices by sharing on social networks to promote offers and reach a much larger number of buyers.
As a Chinese smart logistics company, Cainiao operates 8 chartered flights between China and Brazil, and launched a network of smart lockers and distribution centers across Brazil. To date, Cainiao’s local express delivery network spans over 1,000 Brazilian cities. Consumers in São Paulo and other core cities are able to receive local parcels delivered by Cainiao in as fast as one day.
