To increase its revenue contribution to 20-25%, from single digits, in addition to synergising passenger routes with airlines in its group to improve efficiency as airfares rise, AirAsia X plans to ramp up its cargo service. Air Asia X is the long-haul affiliate of AirAsia and Unilode Aviation Solutions. Tony Fernandes, acting group chief executive of AirAsia X, said cargo services will make up a bigger proportion of total revenue over the next few years. In addition to its current wide-body Airbus A330 fleet, AirAsia X might also use the narrow-body Airbus A321 for cargo flights. The company is planning to add 362 A321 jets from the second quarter of next year until 2035, and the plane could be more efficient for shorter routes than the A330.

WIZ Tracks flagged off its fleet of trucks for temperature-controlled shipments at the recently concluded Cold Chain Unbroken 2022 event in Hyderabad. Guhan murty, Director, Land transportation Solution Wiz Truck said, “We operate a fleet of over 1600 trucks. We currently operate around 25 reefer trucks and we have plans to scale it up to 50 trucks by December. We see a lot of growth opportunities in this segment because it’s highly fragmented and there are very few big players who are supplying cold chain products pan-India. We have plans to cover all the pin coded in India.”

GMR Airport’s cargo division is creating infrastructure and ground facilities at the upcoming airport at Mopa that will encourage cargo operations. GMR is working on plans to shift the cargo that is currently being transported by road to Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai onto air freighters from the first quarter of 2023. GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Airports Infrastructure, plans to set up a logistics park on the 232 acres of commercial land available at Mopa. According to the reports, a world-class integrated air cargo terminal is being developed which is capable of handling wide body Boeing 747s, Boeing 777s and all of kinds of major bulk cargo for which the only option today is Mumbai, Hyderabad, or Chennai. So rather than cargo going out of Goa to Mumbai, cargo will start coming to Goa for shipment abroad.

The National Logistics policy introduces an Integrated Digital System (IDS) which will bring together different ministries like road transport, railways, customs, aviation, foreign trade, and commerce on one platform. All the departments will have their own digital data which will be integrated under IDS to help facilitate smooth cargo movement. The policy will also facilitate unified policy and regulatory environment for end-to-end logistics services and an overarching institutional framework that will govern the logistics sector and enhance its competitiveness. The government, PM Narendra Modi said, is using technology to strengthen logistics sector. “Faceless assessment has started in customs and e-way bills and FASTag are bringing efficiency in the logistics sector.” The Prime Minister called the policy a solution for many problems and said that it would lead to improvements of ‘all our systems.’ “There has been a constant effort to find solutions for fast last-mile delivery, resolution of transportation-related challenges, for saving time and money of our manufacturers and industries, all these subjects. The national logistics policy is a form of its solution. I believe that for the improvement of all our systems, there will be coordination between various units of the government working in these fields with a holistic approach. It will result in the delivery of the speed that we want to achieve,” he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India should work towards reducing logistics as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “Logistics cost needs to be reduced to single digit at the earliest from 13-14 percent,” said PM in his speech. “The National Logistics Policy is the first step in reducing logistics costs in India. Performance of all ministries involved in the National Logistics Policy will be key in reducing logistics costs in India. National Logistics Policy, a comprehensive effort to address issues of high cost and inefficiency by laying down an overarching interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and multi-jurisdictional framework for the development of the entire logistics ecosystem, is yet another step in this direction,” he added. This new policy aims to expedite last-mile delivery and address challenges facing the transport sector. Modi also said that the new policy together with the infrastructure augmentation plan ‘PM GatiShakti’ will address gaps. He called the policy a solution for many problems and said that it would lead to improvements in ‘all our systems.’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the much-awaited National Logistics Policy (NLP) in the national capital on September 17 which, he said, was an important step towards the ‘making of a developed India,’ while adding that the policy has come with a ‘new energy for every sector.’ In his address, PM Modi said, “In the Amrit Kaal, the country has taken an important step towards the making of a developed India. The echo of ‘Make in India’ and ‘India becoming self-reliant’ is everywhere. India is setting big export targets and is also fulfilling them. India is emerging as a manufacturing hub. In such a situation, the National Logistics Policy has brought new energy for all sectors.” The NLP also aims at enhancing competitiveness and seamless movement of goods. At the grand event, Modi also focused on setting up Multimodal Logistics Parks (MMLPs), developing infrastructure and enhancing multimodal connectivity. “The government, both at centre and state, would prepare a master plan for logistics that will cover projects planned by different ministries to ensure multi-modality, optimal modal mix and addressing first and last mile connectivity. The policy also makes way for a framework to set up Multi-modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs), which will be adopted by states and central ministries. This aims at seamless integration of various modes of transport. A framework will also be put in place for accelerated development of warehousing, which will address key aspects, such as standards, benchmarking and rating, and adoption of technology enabled solutions.”

Warehousing Association of India (WAI) is privileged to be entrusted by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to update and publish the E-Handbook on Warehousing Standards. The E-handbook was officially released at the launch of the National Logistics Policy by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 72nd Birthday. The E-handbook defines the best practices in Warehouse construction & maintenance, Palletisation & Racking Standards, Standards for material Handling, transportation, Product Specific standards as well as trends in Warehouse Automation and Artificial intelligence. This is indeed an excellent e- handbook which will benefit all the stake holders of the industry and go a long way toward standardisation and facilitate the development of world class warehousing infrastructure in India. Modern Warehouses that deploy automation and mechanisation will achieve improved productivity and throughput thereby helping reduce the warehousing and logistics costs. We will continue to update this document annually and it will be our endeavour to include the latest developments, practices and technologies in the Warehousing Industry from time to time.

Ecom Express Limited announced that it has expanded its footprint to over 4 Million sq. ft. across its network to manage the high demands of e-commerce shipping during the festive season. Additionally, the Company has added automation to the majority of its sort center facilities thus increasing its parcel processing capacity to over 6 Million per day. A significant portion of expansion and investments into automation, including enhancement, has been activated in 14 cities, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Surat, Jaipur, Indore and Bhubaneshwar. This massive capacity augmentation has been done to bring greater supply chain efficiencies to Ecom Express’ already existing pan-India network that serves over 27000 PIN codes using approximately 3000 last mile delivery centers. T.A. Krishnan, Founder & CEO, Ecom Express said, “We are seeing tremendous growth in tier III and beyond markets and these have been at the forefront of e-commerce growth. In the past two years, we have witnessed the demand almost double with 80 per cent of our deliveries happening in tier III and beyond. With rising disposable incomes, growing internet penetration, and emerging D2C brands, there is a huge amount of growth yet to be realized here. We continue to build robust networks and infrastructure that offer smart supply chain solutions, as well as efficient delivery services, to help small businesses unlock new opportunities as the frontiers of e-commerce advance.”

Dronamics has partnered with composite manufacturer Cotesa to manufacture long-range cargo drones in Europe. The partnership with Cotesa, a European manufacturer of high-quality composite fibre components for aerospace and automotive companies, supports the demand for Dronamics’ commercial routes to be launched in Europe in 2023. Dronamics recently became the first drone cargo company to obtain a European drone airline license. Its Black Swan drone is the only cargo UAV that can carry 350 kg (770lb) up to 2,500 km (1,550mi) and will be manufactured at Cotesa’s facilities in Germany. “We are delighted to sign an MoU with Cotesa. This agreement is signed to produce the Black Swan in their German facility supports our promise to enable same day delivery for everyone, everywhere, and the start of DRONAMICS’ commercial operations as the first drone cargo airline on the continent next year,” said Svilen Rangelov, Co-Founder and Chief Executive, Dronamics.

UPS is delivering for Boeing, boosting Boeing’s August sales with an order for eight freighters. The aircraft maker said UPS’s order for eight cargo planes was the biggest order out of a total order of 26 cargo planes. It may be noted Boeing also took orders for 13 more orders from 737 Max planes, including two from American Airlines. A Boeing official said, two 787s released to American Airlines were not included in the sales bucket as the planes were undergoing some repairs.