Stellar Value Chain Solutions is planning to invest approx. INR 200 crores over the next 3–4 years to build modern, tech-enabled fulfilment centres exclusively for D2C (Direct-To-Consumer) brands. The company has plans to scale up the cumulative D2C fulfilment space to approx. 7 million sq. ft. in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata by 2026. The D2C fulfilment centres will be located at key strategic locations and will cater to all sectors, with key focus on electronics, fashion, FMCG, and home décor. Stellar Value Chain Solutions is looking at onboarding around 20 D2C brands as its initial pool of D2C clients. These centres will be equipped with advanced technologies that will empower the D2C brands with new-age supply chain solutions while building smarter 3PL strategies. The centres will also offer fast shipping and efficient return management services. Commenting on the plan, Anshuman Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, Stellar Value Chain Solutions Pvt. Ltd. said, “With the rise in the adoption of digital channels and technologies as well as the robust growth of the start-up ecosystem, India is in the middle of a D2C revolution. We intend to develop a strong supply chain backbone for emerging and growth focused D2C brands by rolling out advanced D2C fulfilment centres across key consumption centres pan India. We have always been ahead of the curve in our mission to strengthen our service offerings, and the plan to launch a D2C fulfilment centre is in line with that outlook. Our tech-enabled fulfilment centres, along with modern transportation solutions, will help D2C brands deliver a superior customer experience. Our larger goal is to support large-scale entrepreneurship across the country with our differentiated supply chain services.”

Zaiba Sarang, Co-founder, iThink Logistics shared her expectations from the upcoming budget and said, “Logistics is one of the most competent industries in the world, to the point where it is regarded as the foundation upon which all other businesses are built. As a result, when discussing budget allocation, we must recognise how critical it is to not only invest in this sector but also to ensure that our investments are directed toward areas that truly matter. Logistics is one of the unorganized industries, so we should anticipate investments in activities that will make it more organized. PM Gati Shakti, for example, has focused on seamless multimodal connectivity to enable smooth operations. We can anticipate the implementation of the National Logistics Policy, which will reduce the cost of GDP from 14% to single digits. There has also been discussion about investing in making this sector carbon-neutral by using less carbon-emitting fuels, electric scooters, and other similar technologies. On top of that, we can expect Rs 2 lakh crore in investments in port infrastructure to alleviate logistics inefficiencies. Overall, we can predict that 2023 will be the year when the logistics industry reaches its full potential.”

There are mixed signals regarding air cargo’s outlook after November saw another double-digit percentage decline in demand. The latest IATA statistics show that airfreight demand in cargo tonne km terms (CTK) declined by 13.7% year on year in November. Capacity for the month fell by 1.9% against last year and load factors were down 6.7 percentage points to 49.1%. The decline is the ninth demand decline in a row and reflects high inflation that is curtailing the spending capacity of households, the ongoing war in Ukraine disrupting trade flows, and the “unusual” strength of the US dollar making commodities traded in dollars more expensive in local currency terms. “Air cargo performance softened in November, the traditional peak season,” said IATA director general Willie Walsh. “Resilience in the face of economic uncertainties is demonstrated with demand being relatively stable on a month-to-month basis. But market signals are mixed. “November presented several indicators with upside potential: oil prices stabilised, inflation slowed and there was a slight expansion in goods traded globally. But shrinking export orders globally and China’s rising Covid cases are cause for careful monitoring.” Looking at regional performance, airlines based in the Asia Pacific region suffered the largest percentage decline as demand in CTK terms fell 18.6% year on year. “Airlines in the region continue to be impacted by lower levels of trade and manufacturing activity and disruptions in supply chains due to China’s rising Covid cases,” IATA said. North American carriers saw their cargo traffic slide by 6.6% year on year in November, which was an improvement on the 8.6% fall registered in October. European carriers noted a 16.5% decline in November. “This was an improvement in performance compared …

FedEx Express is deploying 30 TATA Ace EVs in Delhi as part of its goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations globally by 2040. Introducing electric vehicles (EV) marks a critical milestone for FedEx, as the company plans to transform its entire parcel pickup and delivery fleet to zero-emission electric vehicles by 2040. FedEx has a goal of converting 50% of its global pickup and delivery vehicle purchases to electric by 2025, with that increasing to 100% by 2030. Last year, the company conducted EV trials in India to test the vehicle technology and assess the vehicles’ operational effectiveness on a standard route fully loaded with packages. Based on these trials, each new electric vehicle added to the FedEx fleet is estimated to save up to 1.3 tons of carbon Emissions annually. “At FedEx, we have ambitious sustainability goals, and our phased approach to vehicle electrification is a crucial part of our roadmap to reduce environmental impact in pursuit of a greener world”, said Suvendu Choudhury, Managing Director of FedEx Express India Operations. “The increasing popularity of e-commerce means transforming our operations to be more sustainable is more important than ever. The electrification of our fleet will go a long way towards minimizing carbon emissions in our operations while at the same time sustainably delivering to the same service standards,” he added.

Amazon has set up a dedicated freighter service arrangement with Bangalore-based all-cargo airline Quikjet to scale-up its network reach and delivery speed in India. Quikjet secured its air operator certificate (AOC) a few months ago and has a fleet of two converted 737-800Fs, according to reports. The cargo airline will provide a dedicated 737 freighter, with a payload of 23 tons, for Amazon’s India deliveries, and industry sources said it would fly under Amazon’s Prime Air brand. Quikjet, founded in 2007 as a neutral cargo airline, is part of Irish airline and leasing group ASL Aviation and is also backed by a few strategic Indian investors, including Tata Capital.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will invest more than $1 billion in Turkey for a logistics hub at Istanbul’s airport and a data center near the Turkish capital, said president Michael Evans in a statement. “We have a serious investment plan at Istanbul Airport. From here, we can evaluate e-export plans to Europe, the Middle East and the Far East,” Evans added. Alibaba is targeting Turkey for expansion because of its strong production capacity that could back e-commerce and become part of the company’s supply chain in Europe and the Middle East, Evans said. Expanding commerce and cloud—based units are expected to lift the company’s revenue. Evans, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive, urged Turkey to improve its e-commerce regulations to address “certain shortcomings to have fair competition.” Along with a logistics hub at Istanbul’s airport, the biggest in the country, the Chinese e-commerce giant plans to build Turkey’s biggest data center in Temelli, near the capital of Ankara. The Alibaba-backed e-commerce platform Trendyol has become Turkey’s largest startup.

The Good Glamm Group has further extended its partnership with Delhivery to implement end-to-end supply chain solutions and increase its customer satisfaction. As their long-standing supply chain partner, Delhivery has customized its services to complement the brand’s rapid growth and evolving logistics requirements. Starting from express parcel services, the Good Glamm Group now leverages the full suite of supply chain solutions, including warehousing and transportation across part-truckload freight, full-truckload freight, and last-mile customer deliveries. For example, Delhivery and the Good Glamm Group collaboratively identified improvement areas in both networks to implement tailored supply chain solutions, which improved the order-to-delivery time by 24 hours across 500+ cities in India. As the D2C brand looked to accelerate sales from Tier 1 and 2 cities, it leveraged Delhivery’s pan-India network to reach Tier 3 and 4 markets, where Delhivery has a strong presence. The two companies have accelerated their partnership on technology as well. Recently, Delhivery launched a consumer communication application, which enables the Good Glamm Group customers to engage in real-time with the brand and Delhivery’s on-ground operations teams to improve delivery success.

Activair Airfreight India has proudly handled the shipment of much awaited international title – Prince Harry – the memoir of British Royal Monarch from the time it was delivered in the UK to be delivered to the customer in India. Abhiyank Govil, Business Development – Director at Activair Airfreight India said, “The international release of the same was 10th January and it had to be dispatched to every nook and corner in India for retail sale from 10th January onwards for which coordination and communication was key. Activair Airfreight India feels privileged to have been given this opportunity of being part of this international release by the customer – Penguin Random House India. The entire handling of this movement was done under top secrecy to prevent leaks. There is huge potential in the country to grow from where it stands especially due to the slowdown in China. Technology and reduction of human intervention will play an essential part in the development of Air Cargo in India along with new aircraft deliveries to airlines will help ease traffic on busy routes due to the growth in domestic sector owing to Atma Nirbhar Bharat . Freight forwarders must constantly equip themselves to meet the ever growing demand of customers and help further scale up the economy as a whole.”

Vietnamese airline Bamboo Airways has launched cargo carrier Bamboo Airways Cargo JSC (BAC). The company said in a press release, “This is the airline’s latest movement in the overall strategy to build an aviation ecosystem, develop Bamboo Airways’ member companies, and create more favorable conditions for the airline to thrive in the coming time.” However, the launch comes at a difficult time for the air cargo market, which faces reduced demand for the first time since the pandemic started, against increased capacity. The change in market conditions led Vietnam’s IPP Air Cargo to abandon its launch plans, apparently due to concerns about weakening demand for air cargo and an uncertain economic outlook. AIA Cargo is the cargo GSSA for Bamboo in the UK and Germany and plays a major role in filling its Europe-Vietnam B787 capacities. In June last year, Bamboo Airways selected GSSA ECS Group’s Globe Air Cargo to develop its air cargo operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Bamboo said it currently operates a domestic network to 21 out of 22 airports in Vietnam while it expands its international presence to continental gateways in regions including Asia, Australia and Europe. The airline said it has been focusing on growing its inter-regional and inter-continental routes network. Bamboo has appointed Doan Huu Doan, executive vice chairman and executive deputy general director of Bamboo Airways, as chairman of BAC; Nguyen Khac Hai, deputy general director of Bamboo Airways, as chief executive of BAC; and Dang Van Vien as managing director of BAC. Pham Dang Thanh has also been elected to deputy general director of Bamboo Airways.

Kuehne + Nagel (K+N) has completed its first engine shipment using its Boeing 747-8F aircraft. The team in Chicago transported a nine-tonne Rolls Royce aircraft engine onto its B747-8F aircraft – named Inspire – from Chicago to Hong Kong. According to K+N, it took four people, three pieces of machinery and one hour to load the engine into its aircraft. The aircraft has been put into operation as part of the long-term charter agreement with Atlas Air, which sees K+N chartering the entire capacity of two B747-8Fs. The two B747s are the last of the famous jumbo jets that will be built by Boeing. K+N said the aircraft would be utilised on transpacific services and also linked to its intra-Asia network to provide better connectivity in the growing Asia Pacific region. In addition to expanding its airfreight offering, 2022 was a busy year for the forwarder’s project logistics team, which was involved in delivering wind turbine components for the pilot phase of Chile’s Haru Oni project – an integrated hydrogen plant producing synthetic fuel from wind and water.