Category Archives: International

The Indian logistics sector emerged as one of the strongest support systems for the economy ravaged by a global pandemic. The rise can be attributed to several factors, including appropriate policy amendments and infrastructure support by the government for improving transport and storage facilities, with a focus on reducing the logistic cost. In addition to this, the sector has also be driven largely by fast paced tech adoption, the meteoric rise ecommerce led last mile deliveries, a more robust food and pharma supply chain and AI driven operations. In addition to tech adoption, global trends in adopting Greener business practices are also pushing for adoption of environmentally responsible solutions in logistics and supply chain. This would mean that the next wave of disruption for Indian logistics is set be the evolution of ‘Sustainable’ Supply Chains which are not only environmentally conscious but also efficient in terms of cost, time, fuel and productivity. Hector Patel, Executive Director, and Board Member. Jeena & Co. lists some key points of transformation that will help build sustainable supply chains for India: 1. Tech Adoption 2. Optimised storage Capacity 3. Agile solutions 4. Greener Transportation

Cainiao Network (Cainiao), the logistics arm of Alibaba Group, announced the partnership with Qatar Airways Cargo to launch a weekly charter flight from Hong Kong (HKG), China, to São Paulo (GRU), Brazil, and serve one of Cainiao’s fastest growing e-commerce destinations in Latin America. The first Cainiao chartered Boeing 777 freighter departed Hong Kong Airport (HKG) for Guarulhos Airport (GRU), São Paulo, Brazil, with a tech stop at Qatar Airways Cargo’s hub in Doha, Qatar. The cargo on board included online retail products such as beauty and fashion goods, jewellery, watches, appliances, toys, and sports equipment. Operating once a week, the Boeing 777 freighter provides 100 tonnes of cargo capacity. “Cainiao’s mission is to deliver globally within 72 hours; a goal that can be achieved with the right logistics partners. In just over a year, Cainiao has established a comprehensive operation in Latin America, and we see that e-commerce retail in Brazil, in particular, is growing at a phenomenal rate. With Qatar Airways Cargo, we are in a good position to support that growth, and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership,” says William Xiong, Cainiao’s Chief Strategist and General Manager for Export Logistics. “There is no doubt that e-commerce is not only here to stay but is also one of the fastest-growing commodities within logistics, today. It demands versatility, speed, accuracy, and a reliable, global network,” Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo of Qatar Airways Cargo, explains. “We are constantly enhancing our service offering. We launched specialised e-commerce products with charter programmes, among others, back in 2015, already – around the same time as we began operations to Guarulhos, São Paulo. We are therefore in a strong position to …

The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) welcomed it’s six new members been elected by the Trustees to serve on the Board of Directors expanding industry expertise of the Board. The new members include, Kai Domscheit, CHI Handling; Dan Sheehan, UPS; Tushar Jani, Cargo Service Center India; Kamesh Peri, Celebi Ground Handling; Roos Bakker, Schiphol Airport and Massimo Roccasecca, Verona-Brescia Airport; bringing a wealth of experience from the airport, airline and handling sectors. * Kai Domscheit, Chief Executive Officer of CHI Deutschland Cargo Handling which offers forwarding and airline handling; trucking and air cargo security in the largest air freight hub in Europe. * Dan Sheehan, Director of Industry of UPS. It’s comprehensive hub-and-spoke network provides access to key transportation centers across the U.S. and beyond. * Tushar Jani, Chairman of Cargo Service Center India, is an end-to-end cargo handling group that handles both general, sensitive, as well as perishable cargo. * Kamesh Peri, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi Airport – Celebi Ground Handling is a ground handler offering Ramp, Passenger, Cargo Handling, Warehouse Management, Bridge Operations, Trucking, General Aviation, Airport Lounge Management and Premium Services. * Roos Bakker, Director of Business Development for Airline Route and Network Development, Schiphol Airport, renowned for its collaborative model. Schiphol Cargo successfully brings together our logistics community, Dutch Customs and academia. * Massimo Roccasecca, is the Group Cargo Director for the SAVE Group. The SAVE Group is the managing company for Venice, Verona, Brescia and Treviso Airports. “With the appointment of the six latest Members, we have continued our commitment to expand the Board of Directors across the industry sectors to ensure every sector’s view is well represented within the group. We look forward to …

o9 Solutions has announced Generation Investment Management co-founder and chairman, and former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore, as a keynote speaker for aim10x global 2022. Held virtually from April 5-7, aim10x global 2022 will be o9 Solutions’ largest digital transformation event to date. Top leaders across planning, decision-making, and analytics will share their insights on leveraging the power of data and AI to help companies make better, faster decisions across industries. On April 5, Gore will present “The Case for Optimism on the Climate Crisis” and discuss the Sustainability Revolution that is beginning to reshape the world. This revolution—when coupled with technological advances—will have a deeper global impact than the industrial revolution and will unfold faster than the digital revolution. “We are extremely pleased to welcome the co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management and former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore, as a keynote speaker at aim10x global 2022,” said Chakri Gottemukkala, CEO and co-founder of o9 Solutions. “He has dedicated his career to raising awareness and inspiring action against climate change. Social impact and sustainability are core values and an important part of o9. We are eager to help large companies make better decisions for their companies and our planet and are looking forward to hearing Al Gore speak more on that topic at aim10x global 2022”. aim10x global takes place virtually from April 5 to April 7.

Amerijet International Airlines has announced the launch of its new cargo management system, SmartKargo. The new online system enables the airline’s customers greater flexibility to view prices, capacity and make real-time bookings. Digital transformation and automation have been in the forefront of Amerijet’s vision to provide its customers with digital innovation every step of the way. “The new cargo system will bring efficiencies to Amerijet and its customers, and with SmartKargo we will provide not only a streamlined user experience for our forwarders and direct cargo customers but also reliable access to our capacity, and real time data at every step of the distribution journey,” said Tim Strauss, Amerijet’s Chief Executive Officer. Using the new online system, Amerijet’s customers can access capacity throughout Amerijet’s global freight network anytime, anywhere. Customers will use the new platform by accessing their existing Amerijet MyCargo suite at www.amerijet.com. “SmartKargo is a part of a comprehensive investment strategy in new technology and processes that will benefit both our employees and customers every day. We are very pleased with our SmartKargo experience, and we hope our customers will be too,” added Eric Wilson, Chief Commercial Officer. “We will be investing in our customer experience moving forward as we continue to grow,” Wilson said.

Even as the world is fighting a battle with the pandemic, the impact of the Russian-Ukraine war has hit logistics and cargo like a Damocles sword. The conflict has made commercial shipping through sea routes in Russia and Ukraine suicidal. Most ports in the region are closed and commercial ships are not accepting orders from Russia or making port calls. As per a statement, Container xChange, premier container leasing and trading marketplace, stated, “Due to disruption to commercial shipping on the sea lanes, we expect container build-ups at ports to exacerbate at storage areas in the region. The closure of airspace across Russia and Europe has reduced air freight capacity.” It added, “Maritime trade with Russia and businesses could be difficult in the near future. On Monday, the UK has banned all Russian ships from entering its ports. What’s more, the EU intercepted and seized one ship. On the Asia-Europe trade, we see more demand for maritime shipments and equipment out of Asia due to modal shift.” “Russian and Belarussian ports in the Baltic, Black Sea and Sea of Azov may see a build-up of boxes if carriers refuse port calls due to the precarious situation and sanctions. The full implications of sanctions are not yet clear, but the closure of the SWIFT system to Russia will make payments from Russian partners difficult.” An official said, “Borders with the EU are closed. We expect the war to add to the stretched nature of global container supply chains, bringing more inflation and delays.”

American Airlines Cargo has announced a dedicated suite of products and priorities to make it easier for customers to book a variety of Life Sciences and Healthcare shipments – a segment that has seen a 17% volume increase over the last years across regions the airline serves. With advancements in individualized healthcare and medical innovations that lead to longer, healthier lives, fast and reliable transportation of these shipments has never been more crucial. This new offering leverages the network of the world’s largest airline and award-winning expertise to serve customers now and into the future. The Life Sciences suite offers cargo products designed for time-sensitive shipments. Whether under 100lbs, bulk or containerized, American’s Priority Parcel Service (PPS) or ExpediteFS services provide benefits including next-flight booking options, priority boarding and the shortest tender times. These two products are also customizable, as the airline offers an array of handling and monitoring capabilities based on the level of handling a shipment may need – from prioritized take-off and landing for life-saving medical shipments with MEDEVAC service, to enhanced monitoring and proactive updates with Critical PPS service. Also included in the Life Sciences suite is American’s cold-chain solution, ExpediteTC. This product offers both active and passive temperature capabilities for shipments and has earned the airline Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) certification. Awarded by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), CEIV Pharma certification recognizes air carriers and entire air cargo supply chains that have established the tools, procedures and staffing to ensure pharmaceuticals are properly handled and maintain product integrity. American is currently CEIV Pharma certified for its operations in and out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Philadelphia …

Taking advantage of the good momentum, Combi Lift is expanding its business into the Americas. “Houston is the perfect location in the USA. It is one of the main project capitals in the world,” explains explained Klaus Hilpert, Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Combi Lift. “Solutions are becoming more complex and project risk profiles are increasing.Clients are looking for trusted and globally connected partners who can leverage their assets and drive risk-sharing throughout project delivery. For all of these reasons, opening the Houston office was therefore the logical next step for us.” The new branch is headed by Grant Wattman, President and Managing Director of Combi Lift Americas LLC. “Grant brings life-long industry experience in leadership roles, defining and implementing strategic plans, driving growth, operational excellence and building a strong financial portfolio”, said Klaus Hilpert. “I am extremely pleased that Grant is part of our team. He is a one of the industry heavyweights. Together, we will set new standards in the project logistics industry.” Grant Wattman is looking forward to the new challenge: “I am excited to be joining Combi Lift at a unique time for the global supply chain. Combi Lift provides subject matter expertise and assets, and is a member of the Harren & Partner Group, which also owns SAL Heavy Lift and Intermarine. The market is looking to those companies that will stand up and take a fresh approach to project cost, risk and predictability. The strength of the Combi Lift portfolio positions itself strongly for this new paradigm.” The new Combi Lift office is located in the Brookhollow Central III (2900 N Loop W, Suite 1100, Houston, TX 77092) which …

As the crisis takes a turn for the worse, and the Russian military waiting at the borders threatening Ukraine finally invades, the agri supply chains get disrupted, adversely affecting many countries. Traders from the vital Black Sea region particularly Russia and Ukraine, which are also known as the crop heavyweights have denied the supply of Wheat to several countries. While Russia accounts for about 20 percent of the world’s wheat exports, Ukraine supplies 10 percent, data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations showed. Egypt, which is one of the prime importers of Wheat among the many Middle East and North African nations, has canceled a previous tender after only receiving one offer of French wheat and has now scheduled a new one. While old orders are being met, new deals are denied as traders are staying away from Russian grains and exporters are unable to agree to contracts at the moment as they fear they will not be able to fulfill them as the situation evolves. In addition to this, Ukraine and Russia are also major producers of corn, sunflower seed oil, barley, and rye, and much of Europe depends on it. The two nations jointly account for about 80 percent of the world’s sunflower oil exports and 19 percent of world corn supplies.

Air cargo shippers on Asia to Europe lanes should expect a spike in prices as a substantial amount of capacity has come out of the market. The EU and UK ban on Russian aircraft in their airspace, in the past three days has forced Volga-Dnepr Group’s AirBridgeCargo (ABC) remove all its aircraft from Europe. With the ban in place, at least four aircrafts have departed the EU. ABC in the current marketplace has a large capacity with its fleet containing 15 747Fs, and one 777F. With Asia-Europe its key operating region, the aircraft are currently either in Russia or operating to destinations in Asia. It remains to be seen what volumes it can carry in its new restricted world. Volga-Dnepr Airlines’ aircraft have also left the EU, with one AN-124 destined to arrive in Marseille yesterday, diverted to Tunis. Canada has also banned Russian airlines from its airspace, but one AN-124 appears to be in Toronto, and it is unclear whether it will be able to leave. Even the US is considering a ban on Russian airlines but has not yet implemented it. ABC had two aircraft in the US which departed over the weekend. EU airlines associated with Volga-Dnepr – Cargologicair in the UK and Cargologic Germany – continue to operate normally, and all aircraft are currently in the EU or UK. The impact is not only being felt by the Russian airlines. Finnair Cargo has also cut all its operations to east Asia, reducing capacity again. The airline will not operate to Osaka, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai or Guangzhou, with a review of the situation to take place on 6 March.