Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group Holding, has partnered with Brazilian social commerce platform Facily to offer smart lockers in São Paulo in Brazil.
Facily customers in Brazil will be able to access Cainiao’s network of 1,000 lockers for parcel pickup for the next two years. Operating as a public facility, the lockers will be placed near shopping malls, local businesses, bank agencies, subway stations and other high-traffic locations. São Paulo, where the Cainiao and Facily headquarters are located, will be the pilot city. In the future, the companies intend for the network to cover other cities, such as Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasilia.
Most Cainiao lockers operate 24/7. After placing an order, Facily users can opt for pickup at the most convenient locker nearby. An in-app message will be sent automatically to the customer when their parcel is available for collection. Consumers can open the locker in a few seconds by inputting a code on the touchscreen. Cainiao estimates that smart lockers can trim the pickup time by 40% compared with normal pickup options.
Diego Dzodan, CEO of Facily, commented, “We have set up thousands of pickup 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 at any time of the day. Thus, Brazilian consumers can enjoy a convenient digitalized lifestyle thanks to e-commerce and smart logistics synergies. We hope to deepen the partnership with Cainiao on other aspects of last-mile delivery in the near future.”
Albert Yan, country manager of Cainiao Brazil, said, “We really value our partnership with Facily and the shared commitment to serving Brazilian consumers with smart and user-friendly pickup services. The lockers will help alleviate Brazil’s growing traffic congestion through the 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.”