Alibaba’s Cainiao Smart Logistics Network is further expanding its operations in Europe with the launch of parcel sorting centres in Italy, Germany, Spain and France. The move is to boost e-commerce delivery efficiency across the EU.

Cainiao currently has warehouses close to Rome, Paris, Madrid and Bremen. The logistics giant has equipped three (excepting Rome) with automated sorting machines, and between the four can sort around half a million parcels between them – this is set to double by the end of March 2022.

Parcels will come by road from its European hub in Liege, Belgium as well as nearby airports. The hubs are to sort for onward transport to their final destinations. They are initially to support the AliExpress marketplace but will expand to include other Chinese inbound parcels.

The new hubs are the latest in the expansion of European operations by Cainiao which has been announcing a steady stream of upgrades to its network here in the last few weeks.

“Localised logistics infrastructure and processing capacity are key to Cainiao’s continued development in Europe. Together with our local partners and suppliers, we strive to deliver superior service and operations, and will continue to contribute to the growth of Europe’s logistics ecosystem,” says David Bu, General Manager of Cainiao Network Europe.