DHL Express has unveiled a new service center in the state of Uttarakhand. The new 3,500 sq. ft. facility will place the company at the forefront of customers across the emerging industrial regions of Roorkee and Haridwar. RS Subramanian, Country Manager, DHL Express India, said, “At DHL Express, we want to enable small and medium enterprises to participate in global trade and improve their ease of doing business by being a key trade facilitator. This strategic investment extends our support to the burgeoning trade in Uttarakhand. We believe that this new facility will give an impetus to international trade from the region and help importers and exporters to successfully grow their businesses further.” Strategically located near Dehradun Road, the service center provides connectivity to the main state highway and offers direct link from Roorkee to Haridwar, in addition to serving multiple pin codes beyond the city limits of Roorkee. It also allows easy access to DHL Express’ recently expanded Delhi Gateway, benefitting customers through extended shipment pick-up times, thereby saving almost a day on overall transit time for exporters and importers.

Kale Logistics Solutions has enabled Trade Facilitation for global logistics players through their state-of-the-art community platforms. These platforms are designed to offer several fulfilment mechanisms as per the guidelines around Trade Facilitation Agreement, outlined by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The simplification, modernisation and harmonisation of export and import processes have emerged as an important issue for the world trading system. To support and encourage ideal trade conditions around the world, World Trade Organization (WTO) proposed the landmark ‘Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) that was implemented on February 22, 2017. Amar More, CEO, Kale Logistics Solutions, said, “It has been our endeavour to serve the best in class IT solutions and community platforms. By virtue of our prolonged experience and exposure to this industry, we have developed our solutions based on ground realities. We understand trade facilitation and realise its benefits, competency and growth that it will garner for a country. With this understanding, we have designed our community platforms to encompass all the fulfilment mechanisms necessary to support this global initiative. Our consistent efforts in this regard are already being acknowledged globally and are being featured as case studies in Supply Chain Management books authored by Kellogg’s business school professors and in KPMG’s list of top 10 innovation in transport industry.” The TFA encompasses several provisions for ensuring expedited movement, release and clearance of goods and sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs, related authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliances. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) are also leveraging their strengths and services to provide a coordinated and integrated programme to support developing countries in implementation of the WTO TFA and have even proposed a pentagonal …

Celebi has recently launched CargoCEL Truck app for online booking of bonded and non-bonded trucking services. This user-friendly interface not only provides instant online booking and confirmation but also offers real-time visibility of the shipment. It is a comprehensive call free solution which manages bookings through dashboard. The app has features like track and trace, first mile and last mile services, SMS and email alerts and online transaction through payment gateway. The app can book truck for PAN India destinations with economic transit cost. Ramesh Mamidala, CEO, Çelebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India, said “Our customers can now book online the bonded and non-bonded trucks for their cargo by logging on to www.cargoceltruck.in. This app will facilitate customers to smartly organise their bookings, save cost, real-time visibility and in future pay online too.” Mamidala adds, “Currently, Celebi is operating bonded trucks from Kanpur and Ludhiana. We plan to increase it to 10 stations by end of this year.” Sanjiv Edward, CCO, DIAL, said “The initiative of Celebi to consolidate customers on a single platform for a reliable bonded / non-bonded booking for trucks is highly appreciated and DIAL will fully support to make it a success.” Akash Bansal, Executive Director, Om Logistics, said, “We are long term partners with Celebi for any trucking requirements and are willing to provide a customised solution to make it a value preposition for all  stakeholders in business.”

Agility has signed an agreement with Cold Box Express to offer innovative shipping solutions for temperature-sensitive cargo. Cold Box offers an active temperature-control pallet shipper, designed for mixed-load ground transportation. The shipper is a pallet-sized interior compartment with precise temperature control and range, extended hold times, and 24×7 near-real-time tracking and monitoring. Satish Lakkaraju, Chief Commercial Officer, Agility India, said, “We believe in offering unique, cost-effective solutions that can help customers achieve a more secure cold chain. In the Indian market, where temperatures rise to over 45°C, moving temperature-sensitive cargo can be a challenge. Cold Box’s solution is easy to handle, and perfectly suited to our customer needs.” Under the terms of the partnership, Agility will test one Cold Box as part of a pilot to move cargo for pharmaceutical customers in India. The device will be used for LCL reefer shipments, as well as to move pharmaceutical products to difficult-to-reach locations, areas prone to power cuts, and for last-mile delivery.

Forklift manufacturer and material handling solutions provider Combilift has officially opened its new global headquarters and manufacturing facility in Monaghan, Ireland. The new 46,500 sq. m purpose–built factory is set on a 100-acre site with room for future expansion when required. The facility will allow Combilift to realise its ambitious growth plans. Martin McVicar, Managing Director, Combilift, said: “We have employed an additional 230 people since we announced our plans for this factory in 2015 and the combination of this state-of-the-art production plant and the growing skilled workforce will allow us to double production within the next five years.” Speaking about how India has evolved for the group, McVicar adds, “There is massive growth in cold stores in India and here we see opportunity for us. Lot of investment is going on in the manufacturing sector. And, as the manufacturing grows, opportunity seems large for us.”

In a step towards building a ‘Digital Logistics’ marketplace, Hans Infomatic launched Cargo E-Go portal at the recently held Wings 2018. In an industry, which has multiple stakeholders, each specialising in specific services, getting an optimum quality and economical service becomes challenging. It requires multiple communication and manual co-ordination efforts before getting the best possible service. Recognising these challenges and continuing in its pioneering solution offerings to digitally integrate multi-stakeholder processes, Hans Infomatic has developed Cargo E-Go. The platform brings together all key stakeholders in the supply chain, to communicate freely and avail the best service offering from one another. Now, a customer can look forward to exchanging their service requirements to various service providers at the click of a button and get best pricing option. Being a two-way communication platform, it further simplifies the hassles of multiple to and fro manual processing.

UPS has inaugurated a larger integrated logistics facility in Ahmedabad to support businesses and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in Gujarat, looking to expand trade with the global marketplace. Located at Ahmedabad, the facility is easily accessible for walk-in retail customers. The company will provide integrated services for small packages, supply chain solutions and contract logistics for faster and more efficient access to international markets. UPS also offers SMEs in Ahmedabad same day clearance to the United States. The new facility is part of UPS’s investment strategy into its global integrated network, which moves three per cent of the world gross domestic product (GDP) across 220 countries and territories daily. Jean-Francois Condamine, President – Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Africa (ISMEA), UPS, commented, “The economic growth of around 7.1 per cent puts India at the top of the fastest growing G20 economies. Gujarat contributes to a quarter of India’s goods exports and has successfully developed a world class infrastructure network. With the Indian economy on a growth trajectory, SMEs in key states such as Gujarat, are breaking boundaries to reach their growth potential. This investment shows UPS’s commitment as a growth partner for India and its businesses to help drive the economy.”

Express Industry Council of India released a Deloitte – led independent report titled ‘Indian Express Industry-2018: A multi-modal play in building the ecosystem’. The report forecasts the growth of the express logistics industry at 17 per cent CAGR; estimated to reach Rs 48,000 crore by 2023. Mentioning express industry as a key facilitator of the Indian economy, RS Subramanian, Country Manager, DHL Express India, says, “Every new age business, say e-commerce, whether it is B2C, B2B, within the country or cross-border trade is built on the back of express delivery. Supply chains are getting faster, shorter and tighter.” The report highlighted that with the rise of new age business models and SMEs, and economy on the path of revival, there has been a considerable focus on improving India’s logistics performance. It also indicated that the industry grew at 15 per cent CAGR over the past five years and is estimated to be worth Rs 22,000 crore in FY17. Vijay Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, EICI, said, “The express logistics landscape is undergoing a huge transformation due to the need for time bound delivery services to complement the growth of trade. As a key enabler of trade, the industry will also support and benefit from the e-retail boom in India. We also anticipate the express industry to provide a significant boost to India’s employment base to increase to Rs 26 lakhs. Regulatory and policy changes, and infrastructure enhancements will also give a much-needed fillip to the industry, which will positively impact the growth of other sectors.”

Raaja Kanwar, Managing Director, Apollo Logisolutions, says, “The E-way bill will play an essential role in setting a unified benchmark for business across the country. In the logistics industry, it is imperative to have proper systems, processes and procedures for the movement of goods. Logistics business faces a lot of issues with respect to offsite cargos and return of goods. With the implementation of the E-way bill, the process will become more transparent and smooth. We sensed the importance and significance of the growing technology, including the E-way bill, and are ready to leverage the opportunity for our clients. Though the implementation will take some time, this is a much-needed initiative which aims to safeguard self-sustaining tax administration with increased dependence on self-reporting.”

Maersk Line has enabled movement of multiple consignments of complex cargo out of India successfully. Due to its global presence and network, the exporter network of India has been able to successfully reach out to newer geographies. Steve Felder, Managing Director(India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Bhutan), Maersk Line, said, ”In the past 18 months or so, we have expanded our horizon in various new commodity categories. India is at an exciting growth path and with our focus on adding value to the customer’s end to end cold chain, the commitment to support the growth of the trade is very strong and visible. Whether it’s a small local start-up planning big or a large multinational entering a new market, we enable trade and growth by being closer to your business and developing solutions to suit the specific needs of the cold segments.”