Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba, has announced the opening of its the first warehouse of the Liege eWTP hub located at Liege Airport in Belgium. 

In a statement, it said the smart logistics hub is a key part of the agreement made in 2018 between Alibaba Group and the Belgian government to join the global Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) initiative, which aims to lower barriers to global trade for small and medium-sized businesses via e-commerce.

"Cainiao chose Liege Airport to build the hub for its central position, efficient infrastructure, unparalleled logistics expertise and the region's formidable pool of talent," the Chinese logistics company said.

The construction of this first warehouse started in late 2019 and commenced operations earlier this year after a series of successful trials.

Digitizing the flow of goods 

Cainiao said the 30,000 square meter warehouse is divided into two parts: a 12,000 sqm air cargo station for the rapid transit of goods for both export and import between the airside and the landside of the airport; and a 18,000 sqm parcel sorting center that organises parcels according to their destinations across Europe. A four-storey office building with an area 3,000 sqm is adjacent to the warehouse.

The facility is also equipped with Cainiao’s latest logistics digital technologies in order to digitize the flow of goods.

The air cargo station is also equipped with an automated material handling system that avoids heavy lifting work. It will also be equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) detectors so cargo can be identified automatically when going into the warehouse, to further digitize the flow of goods.

Cainiao noted that it is Cainiao’s regional flagship sorting center for Europe, and forms a network with the national sorting centers in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Over the past few years, along with the construction of the eWTP Liege Hub, Cainiao has been boosting its logistics infrastructure to provide a more efficient and seamless cross-border logistics experience across Europe.

"The arrival of the Cainiao eWTP Liege Hub underlines the importance of Liege Airport as a vital link in international trade and a key platform for e-commerce. Alongside general cargo and express, e-commerce represents a diversification opportunity for the airport but also the promise of job development which is one of the reasons that our company exists," said Frédéric Jacquet, CEO of Liege Airport.

For his part, Wan Lin, CEO of Cainiao Network, said together with its European partners, Cainiao will build the future of "smart logistics, of inclusive global trade, among others.