Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates airline, and Emirates Post Group (EPG), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Dubai Airshow. The MoU was signed by Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo, and by Abdulla M. Alashram, Group CEO, Emirates Post Group.

Under the terms of the MoU, the two entities will work together to develop an e-commerce end-to-end global logistics platform, with a key focus on serving markets in the Middle East, Africa and West Asia. This will be a first of its kind partnership between an airline cargo carrier and a national postal operator combining the global network and capacity strengths of Emirates SkyCargo with the last-mile delivery expertise and partnerships of EPG’s ‘Emirates Post’ business.

The partnership will pivot on the strength of Dubai as a global hub for logistics and will encourage e-commerce businesses to set up operations in the city, ideally positioned as a gateway to major consumer markets. Nearly two thirds of the total global population can be reached within an eight hour flight from Dubai and this forms an attractive proposition for e-commerce players aiming to deliver goods to customers within the shortest possible time. With its sophisticated transport links, transit hubs and supply chain infrastructure, Dubai is also well positioned to handle global flows and volumes of e-commerce cargo.

Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo, said: “We are very excited to be embarking on this pioneering partnership with Emirates Post Group to create a comprehensive global platform for e-commerce, a vertical which has been steadily increasing in importance over the years including most recently during the pandemic when more and more consumers shopped online from around the world. This partnership is part of our broader e-commerce strategy to provide support as a distribution partner to small and medium sized e-commerce players and other businesses, based both within and outside the UAE, who may not have the required infrastructure required to scale their business and reach a global audience. “With our global network spanning six continents and our state of the art hub in Dubai capable of handling large volumes of e-commerce cargo, our wide body capacity and our frequency of flights, Emirates SkyCargo is well placed to move e-commerce goods rapidly across the world. Through this partnership, we will now also be able to draw upon the logistical and last-mile delivery expertise of EPG’s Emirates Post to create a global platform for e-commerce centred out of Dubai.”

Abdulla Mohammed Alashram, Group CEO of Emirates Post Group, remarked: “With the fastest growing segment of postal and express distribution being in ecommerce, Emirates Post Group continues to keep up with the global trends in e-commerce and is keen to explore innovative solutions through this strategic partnership. We are delighted of the possibilities and opportunities that Emirates Post Group and Emirates SkyCargo can create together as global e-commerce continues to evolve as an industry. Our collaboration with Emirates airline reflects our commitment to continuously expand and enhance Emirates Post’s reach in postal and express services.”

Emirates SkyCargo is no stranger to developing new and innovative e-commerce solutions. In October 2019, the air cargo carrier launched Emirates Delivers – a fast, reliable and cost-effective international e-commerce shipping solution targeted at end consumers in the UAE shopping from the US. The product has met with considerable success with more than 30,000 subscribed members and several hundred thousand packages delivered in the UAE since its launch.