Cainiao Network will spend 1 billion yuan ($154 million) in subsidies to support partners of its network and other courier firms to upgrade services to meet the needs of the booming e-commerce industry.
Cainiao, Alibaba's logistics affiliate, said yesterday that it aims to handle as many as 100 billion parcels annually in five to eight years by working with members of the network to offer personalized courier services to lift the efficiency of the industry.
China's courier service providers handled 20.6 billion parcels last year, up 48 percent from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The partners of the Cainiao Network are already providing same-day delivery for Tmall vendors in 12 cities and next-day delivery service in 90 cities. By the end of this year, the services are set to expand to 20 cities for same-day delivery and 1,000 counties for next-day delivery.
Overnight delivery, designated delivery hours and tailor-made delivery services are options the Cainiao Network is considering.