To bring transparency and cost efficiency to the logistics industry, LogisticsNow has launched ‘LoRRI Benchmark’ – India’s first benchmark for contracted freight for the road transport industry, which will enable democratisation of the logistics industry with a focus on full truck load (FTL) freight for medium and long haul lanes. The platform was designed after observing an industry need for freight benchmarking focused on contracted freight, which could help create win-win outcomes for manufacturers and Logistics Service Providers (LSPs)/Transporters and enable competitiveness of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. LoRRI Benchmark connects the nation with 20,000 routes, 80+ truck-types, and 650+ transporters, spanning 10,000+ crore of freight spend. It aims to provide the range of freight costs at which one can connect a district, taluka or city across India, identifying truck-types and transporters at competitive costs for 600+ districts. It also enables manufacturers and transporters to interact and close the transaction online, serving not only the large manufacturers but also the food and agri sector. Announcing the launch, Raj Saxena, Founder & CEO, LogisticsNow, says, “Transportation is gradually getting organised and LoRRI Benchmark seeks to support the next phase of organised and efficient transportation. As the government builds the hard infrastructure, the highways, national waterways etc., LoRRI Benchmark will work to create the soft infrastructure, the commercial information and intelligence layer to connect and make seamless logistics happen” Benefits to manufacturers & government: • National Reach: 600 districts of India and growing • Readily accessible information for contracted freight rates, online • Single secure and trusted platform pan India Benefits to transporters: • Neutral trusted platform • Data driven Business development channel to acquire new customers and enable efficiencies through return loads / …

SpiceJet has announced that the airline will be giving logistical support for delivery of COVID-19 vaccine. The airline’s dedicated cargo arm, SpiceXpress, will be transporting the vaccine through a specialised service called Spice Pharma Pro. The temperature sensitivity to maintain efficacy of the vaccine calls for reliable, fast and secure logistics partners who understand the importance of cold chains. Speaking about the development, Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, says, “Since the lockdown began SpiceJet and SpiceXpress have worked relentlessly to ensure the transport of vital goods and medical supplies across the country and the world. We have constantly innovated — be it converting passenger planes into freighters or carrying cargo on seat. We have been preparing for the humungous task of transporting medicines, vaccines, blood samples and temperature-sensitive cargo by developing end-to-end cold chain logistics solutions.” “We have now tied up with global leaders in cold chain solutions offering active and passive packaging with dedicated equipment to perform seamless cold chain operations and I am happy to share that today SpiceXpress has the capability to transport extremely sensitive drugs and vaccines in controlled temperatures ranging from -40°c to +25°c,” informs Singh. “SpiceXpress is ready for the enormous task of distributing sensitive goods both domestically and internationally including COVID-19 vaccines that require stringent transportation conditions,” he adds.

GEODIS has structured its internal network of women and its mission is to give GEODIS employees opportunities to express themselves, to propose, initiate or relay actions that positively contribute to gender parity and to the assumption of responsibilities of women. The network also intends to act on the reputation of the logistics and transport industry, a traditionally male sector, in order to change its image and attract more women. The company has held its annual summit of the ‘GEODIS Women Network’ (GWN). “We want to continue the action taken and give women the means to access key positions. Our goal is to increase the number of women in managerial positions”, indicates, Mario Ceccon, Human Resources Director of the GEODIS group. “13% in 2017, they are now 18% women in management positions. We have set ourselves the objective of reaching 25% by 2023.” The GWN works for inclusion, reduction of professional disparities between men and women, improved work-life balance and equal career prospects. “With a President at its head, GEODIS is already sending a strong signal showing the access by women to positions of responsibility” indicates Mario Ceccon. Over the next 3 years, the GWN will focus its actions on the following various objectives: • Study and harmonization of possible pay gaps, • The establishment of a leadership program aimed at empowering women, • The development of the recruitment and representation of women in the transport and logistics industry. Attract more women to the Logistics & Transport sector The other objective of the network is to deconstruct the image of the sector by acting in favour of actions aimed at encouraging women to join the logistics and transport professions. “We encourage …

Freight forwarder cargo-partner has commenced the rollout of the CargoWise platform, owned by WiseTech Global, across the global network in 40 countries. CargoWise will enable cargo-partner’s logistics providers to carry out transactions for freight forwarding, customs clearance, warehousing, shipping, tracking, land transport, e-commerce and cross-border compliance, using a single platform. The software is being rolled out in stages across Asia, Oceania, Europe and the US and is expected to be completed by March 2023. Stefan Krauter, CEO, cargo-partner, sees great potential in the new software solution. He says, “CargoWise will be a revolutionary step in our next stage of growth. The ability to manage our global freight forwarding operations from a single platform that provides real-time visibility across our supply chain will enable cargo-partner to increase operational efficiency and focus on driving customer experience. We also expect to significantly improve cost efficiencies and productivity across our teams. The implementation of CargoWise is perfectly in line with our high-tech approach and commitment to providing end-to-end solutions that help us stay ahead of our competitors. Complementing our own visibility and collaboration platform SPOT, CargoWise was the clear leader in being able to provide us with the extensive functionality, configurability and flexibility that will support and drive our future growth initiatives.” He adds, “We see our future role in the digitalization of the global supply chain not in developing own standard software, but in developing individual client solutions, deep integration and ultimately in building clusters of artificial intelligence together with our customers. Of course many of these clusters will be connected and communicating with each other.” Richard White, Founder and CEO, WiseTech Global, says, “This is a fantastic result for cargo-partner and WiseTech …

ECS Group has announced the launch of a unique entity, GSA Mail Solutions, for airlines and postal operators. The structure is entirely dedicated to outsourcing airlines mail and e-commerce activities, as well as offering multiple transport solutions to postal operators by bridging the gap using the world largest GSA Network and proven technical expertise. With GSA Mail Solutions, ECS Group reacts efficiently to the rise in postal flows, particularly linked to the growth of E-commerce boosted by BtoC & CtoC online platforms. ‘Helping airlines to tap into this postal traffic on their destinations and accompanying them on new routes, offers them new sources of revenue. Our expertise in managing these flows along with the digital solutions we offer (customised EDI solutions in particular) also makes it possible to maximise capacities and guarantee parcel traceability’, says Adrien Thominet, CEO, ECS Group. This high-potential market should experience very considerable growth in the coming months and years, with an increased need for air freight solutions for postal operators. ‘We speak the airlines’ and postal operators’ language, so we are the perfect intermediary. With GSA Mail Solutions, postal operators have access to our entire network of airlines without having to go through endless steps. We therefore offer them an unprecedented increase in efficiency, because via a single point of contact – GSA Mail Solutions – they have access to a multitude of air freight solutions to route their postal flows wherever they need them’, says Adrien Thominet. Regulation, technicalities, and business intelligence are key success factors within this sector. Managing postal and E-commerce flows requires cutting edge expertise. GSA Mail Solutions will pair with ECS Group network (140 airlines represented, 155 offices in 50 …

DRONAMICS, the middle-mile cargo drone developer and operator, has unveiled the first five airports in its European network of cargo droneports. The DRONAMICS European Droneport Network is the world’s first cargo droneport network and includes private airports and airport groups operating more than 35 airports in 11 European countries, connecting 300 million people with a low-cost same-day cargo service. The company will operate same-day flights within the network using its proprietary Black Swan large cargo drones, each with a capacity of 350 kilo and range of up to 2,500 km, reducing time, cost and emissions by up to 80 per cent compared to traditional air cargo. The first five airports unveiled are in Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Italy, and Sweden. They include regional leaders in air cargo such as Liège Airport (Belgium), which serves as Alibaba’s European Hub, and Brescia Airport (Italy), the national hub for the Italian postal system, as well as a select number of airports at strategic locations throughout the continent that are on a path to becoming regional air cargo logistics hubs through ambitious investment programs, like Skövde (Sweden), Seinäjoki (Finland) and Osijek (Croatia). “The power of logistics to unlock economic value and opportunity is second to none. This is why especially in a post-2020 world, it is increasingly important to ensure same-day shipping is available not just in big cities, but in every community, no matter how small or remote. Now, more than ever before, it’s vital for countries to ensure uninterrupted trade and supply lines with their neighbours no matter what, and our international droneport network will allow just that. We are starting with Europe not just because our 2,500 km range allows us to …

Infraprime Logistics Technologies, the electric truck and construction logistics start-up, is planning to catalyse investment of US$ 200 million to electrify and organise construction logistics in India. The three-year-old company has grown to over US$ 50m in terms of annualised gross logistics value of the contracts being executed. The investment by the company would go in expanding the marketplace for construction logistics all over India, in establishing a state-of-the-art platform for vehicle servicing, charging and maintenance, and towards plant automation. Fleet operators, charging network franchisee owners and banks would be playing their part via purchase and financing of various assets. The investment would add over US$ 1 billion in annual margins to stakeholders across the value chain. As per a report by KPMG, the construction sector is expected to be a US$ 1 trillion industry by 2025 and is expected to engage one million heavy duty trucks. The company plans to showcase through its investment that all these one million heavy duty trucks can be replaced with electric trucks. The country wide displacement would need a charging network spanning 2,000 sites across 500+ routes. Electric trucks can generate four times as much margins as a corresponding diesel truck. With introduction of BS VI, the prices of diesel trucks have gone up which creates a compelling case for electric trucks. The company’s electric trucks are priced at twice the price of a corresponding diesel truck. The company launched its first electric truck model “Rhino 5536″ in August 2019, which immediately garnered eyeballs. The company is planning to soon launch a 37 MT GCW model and a 28 MT GCW model.

IBS Software has partnered with CargoAi, to extend their presence in new and existing markets by leveraging on digital sales and distribution services. IBS Software is offering its iCargo customers the opportunity to increase their reach to the market and thereby scale their cargo revenues through a new partnership with CargoAi. IBS Software has been working with CargoAi since July 2020 to build a rich integration between iCargo and CargoAi using a scalable, API-based architecture. “Through this partnership, CargoAi and IBS Software have invested in creating platform-level integration to give our customers more choices on channels to digitally connect with their clients, faster time-to-market for such capabilities, and to do so with very little effort,” said Ashok Rajan, SVP & Head of Cargo & Logistics, IBS Software. “We believe that innovation can be fast-tracked by partnering with companies like CargoAi bringing in new and improved ways of doing business like in sales and distribution, which is still very antiquated and legacy-based in the air cargo industry,” he adds. Keen to offer a ‘digital ecosystem’ to its customers, IBS Software is making its motto of ‘Partnering for Innovation” a reality. With this API-based integration between platforms, airlines only have to turn on the switch for e-bookings from all over the world to reach their system. The process could not be easier for airlines – only a few days of tests are required between the platforms to get on board with CargoAi and no expensive bespoke IT development or complex system integration projects is required to deliver this capability. All the work has been done ahead of time by the two partners. “The integration currently covers real-time e-booking and e-quoting, flight availability …

TIFFA EDI Services and Kale Logistics Solutions have joined hands to promote paperless trade in the maritime sector of Thailand through their integrated and comprehensive Port Community System (PCS). The integrated platform empowers the SME players in the value chain to automate their internal business processes in an end-to-end manner. Kerry Siam Seaport, SITC Container Lines and Kline Logistics, have signed up this platform for e-DO services and many more are in the process of signing up. Talking about the development, Vineet Malhotra, Director, Kale Logistics Solutions, says, “Our relationship with Thailand and TIFFA is more than 7 years. We have empowered the air cargo sector with digitisation of air waybills and now we look at digitising the maritime sector. Our domain expertise and experience of working in 27 countries and executing global IT projects in maritime and air cargo space will add value to our PCS platform in Thailand. He further adds, “We are hopeful that this digital platform will play a key role in improving Thailand’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI) ranking with World Bank and Trade Facilitation Agreement initiatives with World Trade Organization (WTO)”. Expressing their delight over the development, Suwit Ratanachinda, Chairman, TIFFA EDI Services says, “We are offering this solution to ease all stakeholders with this challenging situation of risk from the COVID-19. The old-style Delivery Orders (DO) process which takes time and paper-intensive operations are prone to errors and increased the spread of virus through document exchange. The initiative of e-DO service is to facilitate ease of doing business to freight forwarders, shipping lines, transporters, terminal operators and Port authorities. This solution offers an open integrated platform connecting all cargo stakeholders on single platform for …

In its efforts to expand its business, SafeStorage has launched operations in Chennai & Pune. The Chennai warehouse, located in Vaanagaram and the Pune warehouse, located in Wagholi are both 10000 square feet facility. The company has over 3.2 lakhs square feet space spread across 30+ warehouses. Owing to the lockdown and ‘Work from Home’ scenario for a foreseeable future, self-storage facilities have seen a significant rise in demand; as people have moved out of their rented apartments back to their native places. The numbers enquiries have also seen a big surge. Sharing his thoughts, Ramesh Babu M, CEO & Co-Founder, SafeStorage, said, “We started in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, with IT Professionals being our main target audience. After we received great response, our research indicated that in Chennai & Pune are the other top two markets where there is demand for self-storage facilities. SafeStorage® is one of the pioneers in the storage facility sector in the country and we are committed to offer our services to our patrons through the nation. Our aim is to be present across nine cities in India by end of 2021. As a part of our growth strategy, we will also be venturing into the packers and movers business by early next year.” The company strives to provide a safe, secured and insured space, making self-storage experience easy with all the necessary care, using fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and periodical pest control. The company provides short term, long term and temporary storage space that are designed to offer economical and easily accessible.