Category Archives: Technology

First successful public flight of Volocopter’s VoloDrone takes off

Volocopter’s electric heavy-lift drone VoloDrone conducted its first public flight at ITS World Congress 2021. Together with the international logistics leader DB Schenker, Volocopter, the pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM), demonstrated VoloDrone’s seamless integration into the logistics supply chain with an end-to-end cargo transport demonstration. The partners showed their significant progress together since DB Schenker became a strategic investor of Volocopter in early 2020. The 3-minute test flight took off at 3:02 p.m. at homePORT Hamburg and reached a maximum altitude of 22 meters. For this delivery simulation, the electric heavy-lift utility drone was equipped with a load-box in between its landing gear. First, the demonstration teams secured a Euro-pallet sized load to the box under the VoloDrone, followed by a smooth take-off. After this, the aircraft brought the payload to a DB Schenker Cargo Bike and landed safely. Once the payload was transferred successfully, the Cargo Bike delivered its cargo to the final destination under the area’s park deck, marking the completion of the entirely electric, multimodal last-mile delivery. “This first public VoloDrone flight is a strong sign for Volocopter´s leading position in the UAM industry. We are the only UAM company offering solutions for passengers and goods that are flying fully scaled and publicly around the world,” says Florian Reuter, Volocopter CEO. “Our VoloDrone will make existing logistics processes more robust, efficient, and sustainable. DB Schenker is an invaluable partner in our endeavor to untap the massive potential of our VoloDrone’s logistics use cases.”

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Etihad Cargo strengthens its digital footprint with a revamped website

Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of the Etihad Aviation Group, has revamped the etihadcargo.com portal to provide customers with a heightened and intuitive online experience. The new-look website includes the introduction of quicker booking processes and streamlined flows, a personalised dashboard, recommendations, and dynamic pricing. Following customer feedback, the site also now incorporates a new dynamic map of the carrier’s global network which provides detailed information on Etihad Cargo teams and its global network outstation capabilities. Migrating to a customer-centric platform has cut the time customers take to complete a booking from more than two minutes previously to less than 45 seconds, equating to only 12 clicks, compared 23 needed before. New features such as requesting shipping quotes, booking ad-hoc prices which have been negotiated offline and booking shipments based on arrival timelines have been introduced to streamline the user experience. Customers will also have the ability to create and manage booking templates based on previous purchases. “With a fresh look and feel incorporating key features requested by customers, the site’s entire user experience has been enriched to provide improved response time and functionality across customers’ booking journeys,” explained Martin Drew, SVP Sales and Cargo at Etihad Aviation Group.

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Dnata partners with Gather AI for drone technology

dnata,has partnered with Gather AI, a US-based technology start-up, and launched autonomous drones in its warehouses at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in the USA. The aim is to digitize acceptance and warehouse inventory processes by monitoring shipments with 99.8 percent accuracy. Gather AI’s software enables the drones to map the environment, collect inventory data, count cases, measure temperature, and read barcodes using only their cameras, without the need for any additional active infrastructure. The drones are paired to a tablet device providing live inventory data. The collected data can be viewed directly on the tablet or the web, via a user-friendly application.

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Jeena & Co., partners with TechEagle innovations for efficient drone deliveries

Jeena & Co., a legacy logistics brand has been at the forefront of digital adoption and tech enabled innovation in end to end logistics solutions, has once again, taken a lead in embracing the latest in supply chain technology innovations. As part of this strategic partnership, Jeena has provided on ground logistics support to TechEagle in successful completion of Asia’s First Drone based vaccine delivery project in complete cold chain environment for the Telangana government. During the project, TechEagle’s Drone delivered vaccines in a temperature controlled box weighing 2.5kg for an aerial distance of 11.5km Drone maintained 2.4 degree Celsius through out the flight. For the project Jeena Criticare managed the on-ground logistics & transportation while TechEagel was the Drone OEM & Operator, for the specialised drone enabled medical supply chain.

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DP World unveils solar power plant at its port terminal Cochin

Global logistics company DP World operated International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam Cochin unveiled a solar power plant with production capacity of 1122 MW (megawatts)/per annum. The plant was inaugurated by P. Rajeeve, Honourable Minister for Industries, Law and Coir, Government of Kerala, and Hibi Eden, Member of Parliament (Ernakulam), Kerala. The plant is set up across 3.4 acres of land with an investment of over INR 3.7 crore. It has a peak production capacity of 830 kilowatt-hours. The solar plant will help reduce 905 tonnes/per annum of CO2 emissions which is equivalent to CO2 absorbed by approximately 41,580 trees in a year. The plant will produce over 12% of the terminal’s total annual power consumption. DP World is committed to sustainable practices across all its facilities and is undertaking several measures to achieve Carbon footprint reduction targets in a time-bound manner. This solar plant is part of the many planned milestones towards DP World achieving Carbon Neutrality across all facilities in India by 2030.

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Piyush Goyal inaugurates NITIE Centre of Excellence

In keeping with his commitment to nation-building and fostering a conducive atmosphere for the fruitful public, private and academic partnerships, Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, inaugurated the Centre of Excellence in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) on Thursday, 23rd September 2021. While congratulating NITIE for this initiative and reminiscing about his past association with the institute when his father was a visiting faculty there, Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, highlighted the tremendous scope of global business supply chains in driving the nation’s economy. He urged all the students and faculty members to take into consideration the importance of efficiency and the geographic spread of industries and factories today, while committing to drive India’s progress – not just for themselves but also for the marginalised and underprivileged sections of society.

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CargoBooking provides booking with API integration and instant air cargo quote

CargoBooking, also known as CargoBooking.aero is a global digital air cargo booking platform providing real time capacities and rates for airlines. Launched in August 2020, it also looks after the airlines’ General Sales Agents (GSAs) to deliver instant air cargo quoting and booking with Application Programming Interface (API) integration to freight forwarders. The solution, powered by global IT service provider and software development company Awery Aviation Software, gives a consolidated view of all connected airlines and GSA prices on possible flight and truck routing options. “The digital transformation of the air cargo industry is gaining momentum, enhancing efficiency and cost effectiveness across the supply chain,” said Tristan Koch, Awery’s new Chief Commercial Officer. Our in-house team has been working together for over 12 years to develop aviation software solutions to support the digitisation of the industry, and with CargoBooking, we are delivering a streamlined user experience connecting capacity and demand.”

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CMA CGM introduces NETWORKING services

The CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, announced today the launch of NETWORKING services, the first business matchmaking marketplace in the shipping and logistics industry. Based on the similarly named service launched in 2020 as part of the CMA CGM+ range, this unique and unrivalled digital platform puts the Group’s customers directly in touch with their business partner in a seamless and secure mann The new NETWORKING services marketplace enables the Group’s customers to expand their business worldwide, to create new business opportunities and to find the suppliers or customers that best fit their needs, all while saving on cost and time and reducing the hassle and risks associated with business development.

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Budapest Airport to initiate sustainability for STARGATE project

Budapest Airport is a member of the consortium which won nearly 25 million euros of support from the European Commission, as part of a sustainability project called STARGATE. The airport operator’s task will be to develop and put in place a cloud-based, paper-free air cargo handling system, together with other sustainable projects concerning mainly the terminal, energy efficiency and traffic developments. As part of the project, Budapest Airport can implement developments to a value of 1.53 million euros, 70 percent of which (1.07 million euros) is provided by the European Union, with the rest funded by Budapest Airport. Reducing carbon emissions is a key pillar of Budapest Airport’s sustainability efforts. In recognition of this, it has been awarded ACI’s carbon neutral certification for the fourth year running. In line with its objectives, the operator of Budapest Airport thus joined a consortium consisting of Brussels Airport, Athens Airport and Toulouse Airport, along with 18 other non-airport members, which submitted a successful EU funding application dedicated to tackling sustainability in the aviation sector. Following several months of preparatory work, the contract between the consortium and the European Commission was signed on 6 September 2021.

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Mammoth Freighters support 777P2F conversion programme with MRO facility

Mammoth Freighters LLC (“Mammoth”) is embarking on a long-term partnership with GDC Technics (“GDC”), a global aerospace company with extensive expertise in Engineering and Technical services, Modifications, Electronic Systems, R&D, and MRO services. The aim is to invest in a widebody maintenance and modification facility to support its Boeing 777-200LR and 777-300ER passenger-to-freighter conversion programs. Located at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas, GDC has a state-of-the-art facility with 840,000 sq feet and six widebody hangar bays for modification and maintenance work on 777 aircraft. Mammoth Co-CEO Bill Tarpley said, “By partnering with GDC, our Mammoth 777 -200LR and – 300ER freighter conversions and support initiative will be centrally located in the US in a facility designed specifically for 777-200/300 aircraft and with a skilled labor force in place.”

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