Category Archives: Rail/Road

Ford Fleet Management (FFM) has signed a multi-year contract with DHL Inside Track to manage the preparation and transport of leased vehicles in the United Kingdom. DHL Inside Track, representing DHL’s automotive sales business arm, will be responsible for bookings and delivery of Ford vehicles to customers, as well as collection and “in-life” refurbishment. The FFM, a joint venture between Ford and ALD Automotive, provides short and long-term flexible leasing for light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and passenger cars. The logistics process will be established online as a part of Ford’s strategy to increase efficiency. The fleet management facility in Cambridgeshire will run the operation which has the required infra to offer Ford a tailored solution. Ford says partnering with DHL Inside Track is the right decision to meet the growth plans with Inside Track’s experience in the finished vehicle, fleet automotive and direct-to-customer.

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will construct a transport corridor of the northern Ring Road project. It will be jointly constructed with the state government. As per the deliberations, out of 360-metre-wide Ring Road, NHAI will construct 70-metre corridor, while Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) will construct 135-metre development corridor on either side of the Ring Road. A senior JDA official said, “The NHAI will bear the acquisition and construction cost of the land for building transport corridor. The chief secretary has also mentioned the same in the recent letter.” The cost of 45-km (Bagrana to Achrol) project is pegged at Rs 2,887 crore. The Ring Road project will comprise a six-lane access-controlled expressway and a three-lane service road on both sides. The northern corridor will also be developed on the lines of the 47km southern corridor (Agra Road to Ajmer Road) and the agencies will acquire 360-metre wide strip of land.

Vahak has launched an in-app payment feature, ‘Vahak Payments,’ to secure and simplify payments made by shippers to lorry drivers/owners. Karan Shaha, Co-Founder and CEO, Vahak, said, “Vahak is constantly addressing the challenges faced by transporters caused due to the lack of standardization in the transport sector. The truckers and shippers operating on our platform have been wary of the risks associated with their day-to-day financial transactions. Vahak Payments aims to simplify the ecosystem with its transparency and accuracy. Users can easily bid on loads and lorries of their choice and pay right away on the app. This saves them the hassle of making or requesting payments through cash or other means and ensures that the entire transaction is safe.”

Shreeji Translogistics Limited received ‘Premier Bonded Trucking Operator Award’ at the recently held India Cargo Awards 2022. India’s topmost supply chain awards which helps create a platform to recognise those behind the success of the cargo and logistics industry. Dileepa B M, CEO – Bonded Trucking said, “In these challenging times, Shreeji has grown its Bonded Trucking Division to another level. Shreeji has been providing Custom Bonded Trucking services for almost two decades and its services have been greatly appreciated by the Airline Industry. India Cargo Awards is an all-India platform with a vision to recognize those behind the success of the Cargo & Logistics Industry. I would say, the reward for work well done, is an opportunity to do more better.”

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved the highest-ever outlay of Rs 12,123 crore to Andhra Pradesh for improvement of national highways, M T Krishna Babu, Principal Secretary, State Roads and Buildings Department informed. This allocation is a jump of Rs 4,258 crore over last year’s sanction of Rs 7,865 crore. In Andhra Pradesh, the national highways are spread over a length of 7,303.34 km of which 4,007.95 km are maintained by the state Roads and Buildings Department. “We will take up improvement of the NHs with the funds allotted this year. These projects will improve road connectivity from industrial nodes, economic zones and tourist spots. This will also improve logistic efficiency and create job opportunities, besides generating more tax revenue to the state government,” added Krishna.

According to the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index, India’s logistics sector is valued at $160 billion and employs over 22 million people directly. It is expected to grow at a 10% CAGR to $215 billion by 2022.Rudimentary methods of fleet management in today’s scenario are heavily impacting business efficiency as well as the safety of vehicles and drivers. Adoption of technology, especially AI and IoT, will have a transformative impact on the Indian logistics industry. The shift has already begun, with many companies introducing smart solutions to help fleet owners and operators manage their business efficiently. LocoNav offers a bespoke and comprehensive full-stack SaaS-based fleet technology solution that benefits several fleet owners and drivers across India and the world. Here is a detailed look into its Fleet Management Solution. LocoNav’s Fleet Management Solutions help fleet owners and operators run and manage their fleet in a safe and efficient manner. It can be used for all kinds of on-road vehicles such as cars, taxis, bikes, buses, trucks, ambulances, police vans, and even construction vehicles, helping fleet owners from different industries to keep track of their vehicles and stay on top of their business. It integrates over 2200 devices around the world and shares real-time alerts, rich analytics, customised reports, and more in a super easy-to-use interface which is available in over 14 languages such as English, Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic, Spanish, etc. Here are the top 12 key features of the Fleet Management Solution offering: Vehicle tracking: With the help of a simple GPS tracker attached to the vehicle, fleet owners and operators can easily track the vehicle’s live location, speed, and distance covered on each and every trip. Fleet managers can …

The India Cargo Awards commenced with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, recognising true leaders and their hard work, passion, and commitment to the industry. This year’s awards were all the more meaningful since they were a homage to all those who overcame unprecedented challenges during the pandemic. The event was attended by Chief Guest Amrit Lal Meena, Special Secretary (Logistics), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Department of Commerce, Government of India, and Guest of Honour Piyush Shrivastava, IES, Sr. Economic Advisor for the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India.

Keku Bomi Gazder, CEO of AAI Cargo Logistics & Allied Services Co. Ltd., has almost three decades of experience in the Middle East and India in the aviation sector, holding key roles in firms such as Air France-KLM Cargo, Martinair Cargo, and Saudi Arabian Airlines, among others. He has been with AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Limited since June 2017, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Airports Authority of India, which is part of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. He oversees cargo and logistics operations at over 90 AAI airports, identifying business opportunities across the company’s many verticals for future growth and developing business strategies to stay ahead of the competition in the cargo market. AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Limited has begun managing the In-line Hold Baggage Screening System at AAI-managed airports. He works closely with the Ministry of Civil Aviation on a variety of initiatives. Gazder is a part of the following initiatives and committees: the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Krishi Udaan initiative; the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Defence Convergence Committee; the Governing Council of the Logistics Skill Council (LSC), established under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Investment Clearance Cell; the Air Cargo Forum of India (ACFI); and the Confederation of Indian Industries’ National Committee on Civil Aviation.

Shailender Anand, Managing Director (India) & Director (Dubai) of Pronk Multiservice India Pvt. Ltd., began his career in sales after graduating with honours from Punjab University, Chandigarh. Anand’s career in the forwarding sector began with Airfreight Ltd, and he then relocated to Dubai to work in the same industry. After 10 amazing years in Dubai, visiting about 60 countries and learning about the global industry, he chose to return to India to pursue better future opportunities. After nearly two decades in the forwarding industry, Anand joined Logistics & Supply Chain in 2011 to work in value-added services, specifically industrial packaging. In 2011, he joined Pronk as a partner and launched Pronk in India. Anand’s adventure at Pronk has spanned over 11 years, and it continues in the industrial packaging and solutions market. Pronk India was approached by Bharat Electronics Ltd., Bengaluru, to develop a solution and boxes to pack 30,000 ventilators for COVID-19 patients in 2020. When India was trying to deal with the pandemic, the Pronk India team, led by Shailender Anand, was working full-time at all of Pronk’s plants across the country, with special clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs to operate from all of their locations in India.

Softlink Global was founded by Amit Maheshwari, who also serves as its CEO. Having begun his career as a freight forwarder and customs broker, the logistics technology guru, Maheshwari, founded Softlink Global with the objective of providing a single platform software to integrate and automate the entire logistics operation of the company. An engineer by education, he is a technology evangelist well-known in the logistics business for his thought leadership and game-changing ideas. His attention to detail, technical and creative skills and commercial awareness enabled Softlink to achieve success with each software product created. Maheshwari’s knowledge and experience include strategic planning, information management, financial resource management, product development, and marketing. He is in charge of Softlink’s worldwide operations, which comprise all regional business operations as well as corporate activities including marketing, product development, quality, and technology.