Category Archives: International

Logistics providers are challenged to rapidly establish medical supply chains to deliver serums of unparalleled amounts of more than 10 billion doses worldwide with first emergency use authorisations for COVID-19 vaccines expected to be effective in the last quarter of 2020. Currently, more than 250 vaccines across seven platforms are being developed and trialled. As COVID-19 vaccines have leapfrogged development phases, stringent temperature requirements (up to -80°C) are likely to be imposed for certain vaccines to ensure that their efficacy is maintained during transportation and warehousing. This poses novel logistics challenges to the existing medical supply chain that conventionally distributes vaccines at ~2–8°C. In the paper, DHL evaluates how the transport of vaccines as highly temperature-sensitive product can be managed effectively to combat the further spread of the virus

DHL Global Forwarding has announced the transportation of five containers and two bespoke gas cooler assemblies from Germany to India for DHL Industrial Projects Japan. “The majority of the operation had to be undertaken during hours of darkness. Our team provided an excellent system of lighting on the quayside and the ship’s gears necessary for safe loading operations ensuring successful delivery and zero accidents,” the company informed in its recent Linkedin post. The company has recently published a white paper on delivering stable logistics for vaccines and medical goods during COVID-19, and future health crises suggesting the need for public-private partnership for successful delivery of COVID-19 vaccine.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has partnered with Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) in South Africa, a state-owned freight transport and handling company, to develop an integrated online marketplace platform by bringing together cargo owners, shipping lines, clearing and forwarding agents, and road/rail haulers. Both the companies aim to create a platform named Cargo Connect, which will function as an online logistics marketplace where customers can submit logistics related requests and allow service providers to bid online. Customers will be able to select the preferred proposal and award the cargo contract to that bidder. Expected to be ready in 12 months, the Cargo Connect marketplace will reshape the industry and drive TPT’s growth. Sharla Chetty, Chief Information Officer, TPT, says, “A major feature of this solution is a logistics marketplace which will function in the same manner as existing market platforms in the transportation and hospitality industry. Customers could tender logistics requests on the platform and allow logistics service providers to bid and potentially be selected to undertake a logistics service.” Siyabulela Mhlaluka, General Manager, Sales and New Business Development, TPT, said, “The new solution will help us bring all logistics players under one platform, create transparency in the industry, as well us power the next leg of our growth journey.” “TCS has been partnering with progressive organizations across the world to develop new technology-enabled business models that power their growth and transformation journeys,” said Sumanta Roy, Head, TCS Middle East, Africa, and Mediterranean.

CEVA Logistics has commenced the rollout of CargoWise, the integrated logistics execution platform, in order to simplify and standardise all 4PL operational processes across its global network. CargoWise will be implemented over the course of the next five years, as part of a planned process, replacing multiple legacy systems and delivering greater efficiency within the business. The switch to CargoWise will enable the company to have real-time visibility of freight forwarding and Customs actions on a single platform. As a purpose-built solution, Cargowise gives employees access to the same information in a single database across all functions, offices, countries and languages, furthering the CEVA Logistics digital transformation. By the end of 2022, 50 per cent of all CEVA Logistics locations will be fully operational on the CargoWise platform with the whole project completed and deployed by 2025. “By implementing CargoWise, CEVA Logistics will further improve productivity and efficiency as we strive to lead the way in multi-modal forwarding and contract logistics operations. CargoWise is the right choice to provide this new digital platform. CEVA Logistics recently invested to improve the customer journey and this implementation allows us to develop a high-level employee journey as well,” says Mathieu Friedberg, CEO, CEVA Logistics. Richard White, Global Founder and CEO, WiseTech, said, “The world of logistics has experienced significant upheaval over the past six months with the digitisation and automation of processes critical for future success. CargoWise will empower and enable CEVA Logistics to significantly improve efficiencies across its logistics and supply chain operations and continue to build its presence and strength globally.” Licensed across 160 countries, CargoWise enables logistics service providers to execute highly complex transactions in areas such as freight forwarding, …

DB Schenker has successfully delivered almost 200 components for the world’s largest rail mounted vehicles with a total weight of 90,000 freight tons to BHP’s US$ 3.6 billion South Flank project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Once assembled by the engineers of thyssenkrupp Mining Technologies, the fully autonomous stackers and reclaimer will each transport 20,000 tons of iron ore per hour in one of the world’s most extensive mining projects. Zoran Matijevic, Project Director – South Flank, thyssenkrupp Mining Technologies, says “South Flank is a flagship project in every aspect. Size of the machines required thyssenkrupp overcoming cutting-edge engineering, logistics, and construction challenges. We have successfully reached the 90 per cent project progress mark ahead of schedule and are looking forward to the equally successful completion and handover to our client.” 25 experts of DB Schenker’s Global Projects & Industry Solutions business unit in Perth planned and executed the engineered shipping and road transport solutions for more than two years. The parts were transported on three vessels 1,770 kilometers from the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, Western Australia, to Port Hedland. From there, they were carried by specialized hydraulic heavy transport trailers and trucks on a 350-kilometer road trip to the mine site in the Pilbara desert. The convoy with the largest trailer combination at 120 meters passed 27 bridges and five rail crossings.

Continuing its efforts towards greater environmental sustainability, Bolloré Logistics Taiwan has launched a first hybrid truck for local deliveries in collaboration with Chieh Yu. The Hino 300 HV was selected to meet growing demand for greener logistics solutions on the domestic market and comes equipped with a nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery which has the advantage of proven reliability, safety and durability even in high current applications, as well as resilience to overcharging. It is a 6.5 tonnes truck with a payload capacity of three tonnes per trip. The new Hino Hybrid can also accelerate gently without increasing diesel engine revs, using the electric motor for propulsion instead. Additionally, the vehicle will cover nearly 20,000 km per year, plying from clients’ warehouses up to their boutiques anywhere within Taiwan Island. “Powering sustainable logistics is not just a tagline to us, we actively practise this philosophy to deliver greener, smarter, and cost-effective solutions across the domestic market. We truly believe that the use of cleaner trucking technologies will help to shape the future of the logistics industry in a responsible manner and are thankful to the stakeholders who have stood beside us in pioneering such initiatives and innovating towards a greener, better future”, said Helen Hung, Managing Director, Bolloré Logistics Taiwan.

With an aim to improve customer experience and accelerate growth, Maersk announced its plan to integrate the Safmarine brand and continue Safmarine’s renowned customer centricity under the Maersk brand. From January 1, 2021, the Safmarine brand will be fully transitioned into the Maersk brand. “For more than 20 years, Safmarine has helped fuel customer centricity and by combining its capabilities and expertise with the offerings and global reach of Maersk, we will offer our customers more relevant products and services, and better experiences no matter where they are in the world,” says Vincent Clerc, CEO of Ocean and Logistics, A.P. Moller – Maersk. “Together with Maersk, we will define what moving cargo means as the global integrator of container logistics by delivering the best possible customer experience and take our customers places they have not been before, while at the same time delivering on our growth ambitions,” adds David Williams, Regional Managing Director for Maersk in Africa and Head of Safmarine. By doing this, Maersk will build closer relationships with customers who will get access to the full ocean and supply chain offering and its global reach. Customers will experience a more seamless interaction with one sales force, one customer experience team and one platform regardless of where in the world they require ocean and logistics services. The Safmarine brand will no longer be marketed by the end of 2020.

Using its wide-body Airbus A340 aircraft, SpiceJet operated its first-ever long-haul cargo flight from Delhi to Frankfurt. The airlines’ A340 aircraft carried 45 tonnes of cargo supplies from New Delhi to Germany. Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “SpiceJet has operated its maiden non-stop cargo flight to Europe; a first by an Indian airline. Our first wide-body flight to Frankfurt, the busiest airport in Germany, carried a massive 45 tonnes of cargo. SpiceJet is now regularly operating non-stop cargo flights to Europe, Africa and CIS countries providing the fastest connectivity to Indian businesses, farmers, pharma companies to the rest of the world.” SpiceJet’s international cargo network now spans over 43 international destinations that include Amsterdam, Rome, Almaty, Abu Dhabi, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangkok, Bishkek, Cambodia, Cairo, Cebu, Chad, Colombo, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Huangzhou, Incheon, Jakarta, Kabul, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Kyrgyzstan, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Male, Myanmar, Shanghai, Singapore, Sharjah, Sulaymaniyah, Tashkent, Ukraine, among others. The airline has also been actively using Ras Al-Khaimah airport as a hub for its cargo operations.

To make up the shortfall and maintain global supply chains during the pandemic, Scoot has operated hundreds of cargo flights using passenger aircraft, including many where cargo was placed on passenger seats. Now, to better serve cities with smaller airports, Scoot has modified one of its A320ceo aircraft (9V-TAZ) to carry cargo in the cabin by removing all seats, doubling its cargo-carrying capacity to nearly 20 tonnes. Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, Scoot, said, “With many passenger aircraft sitting idle due to the pandemic, Scoot started operating cargo charters to carry essential supplies as an alternative revenue stream. Since then, we have been growing our cargo capacity and capabilities to remain competitive while providing more value for our customers. The modification works carried out on 9V-TAZ are our biggest undertaking to date, and we thank the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) for their support in this endeavour with their certification of the modification works.”

In order to enable customers with supply chain solutions on Google Cloud, o9 Solutions has announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud. The new partnership extends the reach of o9 to companies looking to transform their capabilities around demand sensing and forecasting, supply chain planning, assortment planning, integrated business planning and more with the global infrastructure and deployment options that Google Cloud enables. The wide-ranging partnership will specifically target leading retail, consumer product manufacturer and telecom companies with unique capabilities to scale with o9 and Google Cloud. “The COVID-19 crisis has exposed significant weaknesses in how organisations run their value chains today,” said Igor Rikalo, President & COO, o9 Solutions. Data remains critical for effective planning, and Google Cloud’s data sources and scalability are key to deal with this new level of complexity. In addition, o9’s Enterprise Knowledge Graph (ie Digital Brain) is able to convert data (structured and unstructured, external and internal) to actionable insights to drive improved decision making.