Benzinga | Sep 23, 2020 05:51AM EDT

BEST Announced Launch of China-Malaysia Cross-Border E-Commerce Logistics Service in Partnership with Cainiao Ahead of Double 11 Shopping Festival

BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST) together with Cainiao Smart Logistics Network ("Cainiao Network"), announced the launch ofan end-to-end logistics service between China and Malaysiatoday, facilitating the growth of cross-border e-commerce and expanding BEST's footprint in the Southeast Asia region.

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The partnered logistics service will cover customs clearance, sea freight forwarding, overseas warehousing and last-mile delivery, meaning BEST will send e-commerce parcels from cross-border warehouses in China to Malaysia via international shippingand deliver those parcels to consumers directly through its local express network. BEST's integrated solution will streamline cross-border e-commerce and shorten shipping durations, allowing Malaysian consumers to receive parcels as soon as the next day upon clearing customs in Malaysia.

"The China-Malaysia e-commerce logistics service is a great example of how BEST leverages technology and innovation in order to empower our business partners and enrich the lives of consumers, with efficient delivery services. Southeast Asia has been a key focus area of BEST's global strategy. Through investment in automation, information technology and logistics networks, we have developed express delivery networks in five markets in the region, providing customers with speedy, reliable, and cost-efficient services, while facilitating the growth of local SMEs and cross-border e-commerce," said Johnny Chou, Chairman and CEO, BEST Inc.

"The establishment of a direct Malaysia-China e-commerce logistics service is continued affirmation of our investment into the region. Following the launch of Alibaba's first overseas electronic World Trade Program (eWTP) hub[1]in Kuala Lumpur in 2017, this initiative will go towards supporting SMEs that are looking to engage in cross-border trade. With a direct logistics service, Malaysian SMEs can look forward to selling goods to China via the Malaysian Pavilion[2]on Alibaba.com, while consumers in Malaysia will benefit from better customer experience when buying from Chinese merchants," said James Zhao, General Manager, Cainiao Network.

The new service follows BEST's launch of express delivery services in Malaysia, Cambodia and Singapore in July and demonstrates how BEST can leverage technology and extensive last-mile networks to support the massive growth in cross-border e-commerce deliveries. Since 2019, BEST has built efficient express networks in five countries in Southeast Asia including Thailand and Vietnam, opening up cross-border services between China and these markets. For Malaysia and Singapore in particular, air freight forwarding is also available which further reduces cross-border delivery duration to as short as four days after parcels depart from China. In the first half of 2020, the Company delivered 25 million parcels in the Southeast Asia region.

With increased technology adoption and internet penetration, the Malaysian e-commerce sector is expected to grow about 30% in 2020[3]. This growth has been accelerated by the pandemic and subsequent enforcement of Movement Control Order (MCO) in March, which increased consumers' adoption of online shopping and the growth of e-commerce logistics services.

BEST's current express network in Malaysia is comprised of over 100 last-mile service stations, with future plans to operate 270 stations and seven sortation centers in the next three years. These plans also include the establishment of a flagship smart sortation hub in Kuala Lumpur that will be equipped with cutting-edge technology such as high-speed automatic sorting and scanning. During the region's recent 9.9 sales event, BEST's parcel deliveries tripled in East Malaysia and this is expected to increase significantly during the upcoming Double 11 shopping festival.