Global aviation services group, Air Partner, has joined forces with Worldwide GSA, a sister company of the Air Logistics Group, to enhance and expand its cargo offering in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, said release. The partnership will allow Air Partner to extend its cargo footprint in key APAC countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and Thailand. By collaborating with Worldwide GSA, Air Partner aims to leverage the regional expertise and established network of the Air Logistics Group, enabling seamless coordination and operational support for cargo charters throughout the APAC region. Worldwide GSA will act as Air Partner’s first representatives in the region, facilitating increased access to Air Partner’s comprehensive range of solutions. As the charter-desk for the Worldwide GSA group in APAC, Air Partner will leverage its expertise and industry-leading capabilities to deliver efficient and tailored cargo charter services to customers across various industries. The partnership aligns with Air Partner’s strategy to continue to grow its presence in the region, having recently expanded its office in Dubai as part of its plans to double its workforce in the Middle East. Commenting on the partnership, Pierre Van Der Stichele, Vice President of Air Partner’s Global Cargo division at Air Partner, said: “Our collaboration with Worldwide GSA will enable us to strengthen our presence in key markets and provide our customers with enhanced access to our solutions. With the support of Worldwide GSA, we are confident in delivering seamless logistics solutions to meet the growing demand for air cargo services in the region.” Maggie Goh, CEO of Worldwide GSA group, said: “At Worldwide GSA, we are committed to delivering exceptional air cargo solutions to …

Bastian Solutions is all set to open its new manufacturing facility just outside Bangalore, Karnataka. The site, expected to be fully operational by October 2023, marks Bastian’s first manufacturing facility in India. The new manufacturing facility is nearly two acres and the site’s initial hiring efforts will focus on mechanical and electrical engineers to support manufacturing, further expanding their workforce in the country. The site will be located just outside Bangalore in the Indospace area, providing optimal location for distribution throughout the country. As a global integrator, Bastian Solutions is a well-known provider for distribution and manufacturing customers in North & South America, Middle East and Southeast Asia regions. Bastian is launching several conveyor offerings: the Roller Zero Pressure DC Conveyor (RZPDC) ideal for heavier container loads and the Belted Zero Pressure DC Conveyor (BZPDC) suited for conveying smaller loads. These models will be available along with other gravity and curve roller conveyors with plans to launch more equipment in subsequent years.

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has strengthening economic ties with Republic of India to investment opportunities between the two trade nations. The trade’s first leg commenced with UAE-India Business Forum held in Mumbai which highlighted investment advantages of Sharjah and Mumbai while highlighting the vast array of promising opportunities available across various economic sectors. The UAE-India Business Forum, organised by the SCCI, brought together key business leaders, government officials, and industry experts from both Sharjah and Mumbai. Sharjah and Mumbai, recognised as leading industrial and commercial centers in their respective regions, were praised for their significant contributions to the economic growth of the UAE and India. Led by Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), the mission, organised by the Sharjah Export Development Centre, aimed to build on the successes being achieved by the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which came into force in May 2022. The agreement represents a new era of economic cooperation, based on mutual interests between the two friendly nations. The forum featured bilateral meetings between SCCI businessmen and their counterparts in Mumbai. The discussions revolved around investment opportunities and advantages available in both countries to foster partnerships that serve the private sector, increase trade exchange, and establish projects in various sectors.

RattanIndia Enterprises Ltd (REL) announced the launch of a new cargo drone, L-40, by its company TAS (Throttle Aerospace Systems) to double its cargo capacity to 40kg. “This quantum leap in the carrying capacity of our drones demonstrates the commitment of our company to the delivery drone’s category, which is likely to reach Rs 2,50,000 crore by 2031, as per the market estimates. We expect the delivery drone market to be on an upward trajectory, and we are not only going to seize this opportunity but also set new benchmarks in this segment,” Anjali Rattan, Business Chairperson of RattanIndia Enterprises Limited, said. Within the last quarter, the company launched the L-20 and L-15 and doubled its carrying capacity from 20kg to a staggering 40kg. In February, the L-Series platform was launched with four variants covering high and medium altitudes. Defence, e-commerce, healthcare, paramilitary, and the police are the prime customers of the L-series. These drones are very easy to deploy, can be made ready in a short period of time, come with many ‘fail safe’ features and can be operated by a two-member team.

Cargo iQ has partnered with the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and the Airport Services Association (ASA) to set goals for enhanced standard practices across the air cargo supply chain. The objective of the alliance is to strengthen collaboration between forwarder, ground handler, and airline communities, working on a global basis to achieve common standards and enhanced quality. The decision was made at Cargo iQ’s most recent board meeting that FIATA’s Director General, Stéphane Graber, and ASA’s Director General, Fabio Gamba, will attend all Cargo iQ board meetings as observers and work together with the board members, with a view to intensifying the co-operation in the future. “Cargo iQ – an interest group strongly supported by IATA – shares lots of similar goals with FIATA and ASA as all three of us strive to improve standards, data use, and processes in line with shippers’ requirements for a solid and objective quality certification program, so why not work together instead of reinventing the wheel,” said Lothar Moehle, Executive Director, Cargo iQ. “We look forward to continuing the dialogue about how we can help further each other’s ambitions and progress – this is the start of a strong co-operation for the future.”

Block your dates for the fifth edition of SCM Logistics World, to be held on June 7 2023 at Radisson Blu, Mumbai. Centered around ‘Embracing agility to future proof supply chain ecosystems,’ the show will focus on supply chain and logistics sector integrating technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to upscale manufacturing and distribution operations. The show will deliver the must-have insights, strategies and frameworks of chief supply chain officers and their leadership to bring continued agility, resilience and adaptability to their organizations. The forum will gather relevant stakeholders from across sectors to explore latest trends and new age strategies to ensure optimal utilization of the entire function. With over 150 Supply Chain Management leaders attendees in person, the summit provides a great opportunity to learn and network with influential CSCOs, Supply Chain Directors, and industry experts in the supply chain and logistics domain.

Cyrus Katgara, Partner, Jeena & Company notes, “Logistics cost for goods carried by air is already at eight per cent of Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value. It reaches 14 per cent only when all modes of transportation such as road, rail, sea and air are combined together. This also includes inventory holding cost. World bank formula is linked to GDP.” Logistics costs is one of the challenges which the industry is facing at present. According to reports, it accounts for 14 per cent of GDP, with 60 per cent direct costs and 40 per cent indirect costs, compared to an average of 10 per cent indirect costs in developed countries. Also, The value of the Indian logistics sector was $250 billion in 2021. Growing at an impressive CAGR of 10-12 per cent, it may reach $350 billion by 2025.

The 2nd edition of recently concluded Supply Chain and Logistics Conclave 2023 organised by Team Marksmen brought together industry leaders and senior decision makers to deliberate on factors that impact our understanding of the supply chain, right from strategy, sourcing, manufacturing, packaging, storage and transportation, innovations, and much more. The show witnessed participation from Sagar Kadu, Director Logistics, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, Sarala Menon, Executive Vice President, End-to-End Supply Chain, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd., Anil Syal, President, Safexpress, Avinash Dhagat, Vice President Supply Chain, Honasa Consumer Ltd. (Mamaearth), Kopal Agrawal, Chief Procurement Officer, Hindalco Industries, Shonik Goyal, President & Head Supply Chain, Sheela Foam Ltd., Neeraj Bansal, Co-Head & COO – India Global, KPMG India, Vaibhav Vohra, Managing Director, Continental Carriers, Sanjay Gupta, Vice President – Corporate Procurement and Packaging Development, DS Group, Rajat Dhar, Head Supply Chain and Purchase, United Colors of Benetton, Rajeev Mehta, Senior President and Chief Logistics Officer, Ultratech Cement to name a few. Offering his thoughts on the sidelines, Sharad Gupta, Co-Founder and COO, Team Marksmen Network, said, “Legacy supply chains are too long-tailed and opaque, with little resilience, leaving them vulnerable in the face of disruptions that have emerged or yet to come to the fore. The global supply chain order is now increasingly inundated with these fractures, making it vital to embed a greater degree of resilience, sustainability, and value across the spectrum. The Supply Chain and Logistics Conclave 2023 brought together leading minds from across industries to paint a picture of the way forward for all, highlighting best practices and new ways to create value for all stakeholders while managing the multiple pressures besetting industries.” Supply chain leaders must …

Gati, an Allcargo Group company has entered into partnership with Schneider Electric to design greener logistics solutions for the company. In the initial phase of the collaboration, Gati has exclusively deployed alternative fuel vehicles for pick-up of consignments from Schneider Electric’s key distribution centres at Kundli in Haryana, Bhiwandi in Maharashtra and Chennai in Tamil Nadu. Subsequently, deliveries in Gurugram is also being carried out with alternative fuel vehicles. Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO, Gati Ltd. and Vikrant Tyagi – Director – Logistics and Supply Chain Schneider Electric along with Schneider Electric’s logistics team have flagged off the alternative fuel vehicles at the Farukh Nagar STC on May 24, 2023. Apart from offering low-emission long haul transportations, under the greener logistics collaboration, Gati will also manage local deliveries in Gurugram for Schneider Electric with a fleet of alternative fuel vehicles. Commenting on the association, Pirojshaw Sarkari, CEO, Gati Ltd. said, “The deployment of alternative fuel vehicles is a part of our mission to boost environmental sustainability in express distribution and support the government in reducing carbon footprint. We are delighted to partner with Schneider Electric to develop greener logistics solutions which are in line with our vision to adopt green mobility. We have an ongoing express distribution partnership with Schneider Electric for pan India transportation and delivery. The latest green logistics collaboration will further enhance our synergy with them. We look forward to supporting Schneider Electric in its sustainability goals. We hope that the partnership will serve the foundation for a broader collaboration, focussing on creating an environmentally sustainable and efficient express distribution services.”

RITES Ltd, a transport infrastructure consultancy and engineering firm, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to explore avenues of mutual collaboration for consultancy works in sectors such as Transport & Logistics, Energy, Water & Sanitation, Communication, Social and Commercial Infrastructure. As part of the MoU, RITES will provide expertise for Pre-Feasibility Reports, Detailed Project Reports, Transaction Advisory, Project Management services, Audits, and Inspection, where PFC and its subsidiaries propose to provide financial assistance for infrastructure projects in India and abroad. The MoU will establish a working relationship between the parties targeting specific requirements and will facilitate the development of proposals, including exploring opportunities at various Government/Semi-Government/autonomous bodies or authorities/private entities and multilateral funding agencies such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank and JICA. Manobendra Ghoshal, Chief Strategy Officer, RITES, said, “The partnership with PFC will not only provide a platform to explore business opportunities in the Consultancy domain but also facilitate knowledge sharing in developing Infra4Future.”