(Yicai Global) June 23 -- Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, Alibaba’s fast-delivery affiliate, plans to cut in half the time it takes to deliver packages overseas by boosting efficiency over the coming three years, according to its president.

The move is aimed at making the Hangzhou-based company the main logistics channel handling the cross-border trade of small and medium-sized businesses, Wan Lin said today at an online forum organized by Alibaba.

More than 200 million users have turned to its express delivery platform Cainiao Guoguo to send packages, and the firm will continue to expand new scenarios like international delivery and smart delivery, he said.

Cainiao is building the world’s largest parcel delivery network by adding logistics hubs in countries such as Thailand, Russia, Spain and the US, Wan said. It also plans 1,000 charter export flights over the next nine months and almost 2 million square meters of overseas warehousing serving SMEs in the next three years.

The company is one of the few global logistics networks that has maintained normal operations as the Covid-19 pandemic paralyzes cross-border logistics lines, Bu Hua, its chief European regional business chief, said in April.

Cainiao delivers hundreds of thousands of packages sent by sellers on Taobao and AliExpress to Europe, North America and other key regions every day. It handles over 75 percent of AliExpress orders and over 90 percent of Tmall Global orders.

In the next step, the firm will upgrade tens of thousands of Cainiao delivery points across China into digital service stations for community life, bringing them closer to consumers by adding services like group buying, laundry and recycling, Wan said.

Editor: Peter Thomas