The discussion commenced with a speech by Dr SK Ahirwar, Joint Secretary, Logistics & Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. He threw light on the current scenario of the Indian warehousing sector, while highlighting the ongoing developments and investments, NLP – its potential benefits, and other government initiatives in pipeline. The panel discussion on ‘Equipment standards – Storage systems and Material Handling Equipment’ focused on the standardization of the various pieces of Infra required for smooth running of a warehouse. It was moderated by the President who has over 25 years of experience across Supply Chain, Logistics, Freight forwarding, NVOCC operations, Technology, KPO, and Engineering industries. The panelists included Joint Secretary, Logistics & Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, GoI, Chetan Kumria – Managing Director, Xcell Supply Chain, Vikas Choudaha – Sr. Vice President & Business Head, Godrej Storage Solutions, Mohan – Director, Armes Maini Storage Systems Pvt. Ltd., and Founder Member WAI, Umesh Madhyan – Vice President Supply Chain, Hindustan Coca-Cola, Narendra Patidar, VE Commercial Vehicles, including a presentation by Vikas Choudaha – Sr. Vice President & Business Head at Godrej Storage Solutions

The first panel discussion saw the warehousing experts from across the country discussing extensively on NLP which is expected to bring global standards to the warehousing infrastructure and operations. The panelists included Er. S. Bhardwaj – Dy. Director-General, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, Bipin Sapra – Senior Partner, Ernst & Young, Pawan Kumar, DGM (Buss.), Central Warehousing Corporation, Prasanta Biswal – Advisor on Public Policy, Regulatory & Government Affairs, Horizon Industrial Parks, Devan Mitra Chenoy – Public Policy Manager, Amazon and Pritam Banerjee – Logistics Specialist, Asian Development Bank while the session was moderated by Rajesh Lal – CA, Hon. Treasurer, WAI. The panelists discussed on the potential benefits of NLP which is a comprehensive long-term plan designed to achieve international standard efficiency in services and bring down the high logistic costs to single digit before 2030, thus enabling a rank among the top 25 nations in Logistic Performance Index (LPI). The experts also discussed on how relevant it is for the industry to collaborate and work towards developing an interconnected and tech-driven framework to drive an integrated, cost-efficient, resilient, and sustainable logistics ecosystem. This panel members discussed the key targets, their strategic plans, and the potential for attracting investments.

Focusing on the National Logistics Policy, which is aimed at promoting seamless movement of goods and enhancing the competitiveness of the industry, the Warehousing Association of India (WAI) organized its first ever conference in New Delhi on Friday, November 11, 2022, with the theme, ‘National Logistics Policy – The Road Ahead for Integrated, Best-in-Class Infrastructure Development.’ The event began with a welcome note by Manu Bhalla, President, WAI followed by the lamp lighting ceremony by the Chief Guest Som Parkash, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Government of India, and other Dignitaries namely, Suresh Kakani IAS, Managing Director of Maharashtra Industrial Township Ltd, Er. S. Bhardwaj, Dy. Director-General, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, Amit Kumar Singh, Managing Director (M&CP) Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), Bipin Sapra, Partner, Ernst n young, and Arif A. Siddiqui – Vice President WAI. The e-handbook on ‘Warehousing Standards’ by WAI was also released at the event. Devan Mitra Chenoy, on behalf of Chairperson – Policy Committee of WAI concluded the opening ceremony by presenting a report on the Ease of Doing Business in India.

DB Schenker is all set to launch the next chapter of greener transport in air freight, further extending its portfolio of climate-friendlier logistics solutions. “With immediate effect, customers can choose Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for their air transport to anywhere in the world and independent of the type of aircraft or airline used. Via virtual allocation of the biofuel, it is possible to avoid up to 100 percent of CO2 emissions,” said an official release. Jochen Thewes, CEO, DB Schenker said, “We are very proud of the game-changing pioneer project we started with our trusted partner Lufthansa Cargo. Today, we take the next step by starting a global green air cargo network. We have purchased massive volumes of biofuel to push the decarbonisation of our industry. Customers of DB Schenker can now virtually book SAF on all trade lanes to thousands of airports. This new flexibility is a success factor and good for the climate. Every ton of biofuel counts.”

ESR India has inked a memorandum of understanding with the Karnataka government to invest ₹2,500 crore in the state. As a part of the MoU, the company will build industrial and logistics parks, urban distribution centres, and data centres in the state. Abhijit Malkani, CEO ESR India said, “Karnataka is a significant market for us due to its mature industrial ecosystem. We aim to bring world-class development expertise in industrial and logistics parks, urban distribution centres and data centres to enrich the state’s industrial, logistics and data infrastructure.” “The MoU will accelerate development and attract more investments from multinational and national companies. ESR has committed to a significant investment of Rs 2500 crores over a period of 3 years. Our vision is aligned with the government of Karnataka to champion industrial progress and socio-economic growth in the region,” Malkani added.

FedEx Express has opened new cargo facility for seamless cross-border trade, e-commerce growth and pharma logistics at Incheon International Airport in South Korea. The FedEx Gateway spans 23,395 sq. mt, more than double the size of the previous facility, and is equipped with 78 conveyor belts and an advanced automated sortation system that can sort up to 12,000 packages per hour, doubling the previous sorting capacity. It also includes a 15,207 sq m warehouse that can store up to 40,000 packages, said release. With 31 weekly flights, the new cold store facility connects Korea to over 220 countries and territories through the FedEx global network. Kawal Preet, president of the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA) region at FedEx Express said, “With South Korea tracking as the fourth biggest exporter in Asia last year and the world’s fifth-largest e-commerce market, the new Incheon Gateway will further boost our already extensive network to create possibilities for customers across the region. As trade lanes continue to diversify, businesses particularly across the North Pacific region will benefit from this newly opened facility as they continue to harness the full potential of global trade opportunities.” The new gateway’s cold storage area is now five times larger, to facilitate the transport of cold-chain shipments, including samples for clinical trials and healthcare products such as vaccines as well as perishable or temperature-sensitive items.

V-Xpress, a division of V-Trans (India) Ltd launched its new state-of-art hub in Ahmedabad. Built over one lakh sq. ft. area, the new hub will be creating about 80-100 direct employment and around 400-500 indirect employment. The facility is strategically located right on the National Highway-08 which is also known as Sarkhej-Bavla Highway, well connected to nearby cities. With this new hub, V Xpress now has over 65 branches and 4 Hub centers across the state of Gujarat, said an official release. Being in the industry for the past 20 years, today V-Xpress is one of the fastest-growing express cargo companies in India and currently growing at a pace of over 40% YoY. The company is catering to one of the largest gamut of industry segments with a strong and agile management team. The facility carries safety compliances in construction and fire. The warehouse is completely secured with CCTV monitoring covering all parts of the facility, both inside and outside. The facility includes multiple bays to load and unload shipments for easier and faster turnarounds. Commenting on this, Aditya Shah, Executive Director, V-Trans (India) Ltd & CEO, V-Xpress, said, “We are delighted to announce another state-of-art hub facility in Gujarat. Ahmedabad is considered as one of the key market areas in our growth journey. We are expanding our network and infrastructure across India, and the western region plays a significant part in our overall strategy. We further plan to strengthen our air business with focused strategic efforts enabling fast-paced growth. And our growth plans are well supported by a best-in-class network, advanced technology, and a committed team to serve the express logistics needs of the clients.” Mahendra Shah, Group Chairman, …

CargoAi and Finland-based oil refining company Neste have entered into a partnership to offer freight forwarders options to reduce their carbon emissions from air cargo transportation. As of November, CargoAi is offering freight forwarders the option to purchase Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) when booking cargo transport, the companies said. This can be done either after a booking is confirmed or when the cargo is being tracked, they said. The offering will “further encourage forwarders to enter into discussions with their own clients about what is needed for the industry to move forward towards reaching the industry’s net zero targets together”, said Matthieu Petot, chief executive of CargoAi. “We are also enabling access for smaller freight forwarding companies in 110 countries to purchase SAF in smaller quantities,” he added. SAF is a key element in helping to reach aviation industry’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. While air cargo has historically been considered less environmentally friendly than other transport methods, it is taking steps to develop more sustainable solutions by investing in fleet modernisation, fuel efficiency, SAF and carbon compensation initiatives. The partnership between Neste and CargoAi will allow the companies “to accelerate and broaden the utilisation of sustainable aviation fuel into new markets”, said Neste’s Jason Reichow.

A.P. Moller – Maersk is all set to expand its warehousing footprint in Bangladesh with a brand new 100,000 sq. ft. facility being built in Chattogram. The upcoming facility is strategically located close to the Chattogram Port and easily connected to the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway through the Outer Ring Road and Karnaphuly Tunnel, giving easy access to Bangladesh’s garment exporters based out of the nearby manufacturing hubs. Bangladesh is witnessing impressive growth in garments exports. However, the warehousing footprint in Chattogram has not increased proportionally. “The pandemic presented us with the opportunity to have meaningful dialogues with our customers and look into the future. We realised that the demand for warehousing space was rising and decided to undertake measures that could address this requirement proactively,” said an official statement. Maersk Bangladesh has partnered with Vertex Off-Dock Logistics Services Limited to commission the new three-storied facility. The lift, conveyor belt and slider-operated warehouse will ensure higher productivity. Internal and external parking facilities will allow for a higher number of trucks and vans to be accommodated within the warehouse. While the current facility will be 1000,000 sq. ft., Maersk has access to more space in case of expansion in the future.

Airbus freighter conversions unit EFW and Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Corp (Ameco) have announced a new collaboration on Airbus passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions. Under the collaboration, Ameco will carry out P2F conversions as a third-party service provider for EFW’s A330P2F programme. Conversions will be carried out at Ameco’s facilities in Chengdu, China, with the first induction of an A330 aircraft scheduled in 2023. Ameco, the largest provider of MRO services for aircraft in China, and EFW announced the partnership at Airshow China 2022. Jordi Boto, CEO of EFW said, “We are very pleased to gain a renowned partner in China through our latest collaboration with Ameco, which is well experienced in freighter conversions. The partnership will support the strategy in positioning our freighter conversion programmes as a solution of choice as well as cementing our strong presence in China, which is one of the largest and fastest growing aviation markets in the world.” Said Lun Chen, CEO of Ameco: “We look forward to cooperating with EFW to support the market demand and to promote the air cargo industry development. Conversions have always been a strategic product of Ameco. This cooperation will expand the P2F market and provide better service to our customers.” EFW’s family of Airbus P2F programmes: A320P2F, A321P2F and A330P2F, is developed in collaboration with ST Engineering and Airbus, with EFW holding the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) and leading in the overall programmes as well as the marketing and sales efforts.