Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has opened a new Centralized Parking Plaza (CPP) for container tractor trailers with Customs facilitation, as part of its efforts to promote ease of doing business. The parking plaza spread across 45 hectares has a capacity to park 1,538 tractor trailers at a time. The plaza has been built exclusively to integrate the parking of tractor trailers carrying factory stuffed export containers at one location instead of multiple locations earlier. This will help integrate document processing by Customs with state-of-the art facilities and service provision. The plaza will be managed using Real Time Parking Management system and has a Wi Fi provision within the premises. It has a dormitory for truck drivers to stay, canteen for providing food to truck drivers, well-maintained toilets, area for vehicle repair and maintenance and commercial building. “JNPT is the only port in India which has planned for a facility of this scale and CPP is a key initiative to streamline the traffic movement and improve the port efficiencies using IT services, at the same time provide convenience facilities and amenities at very nominal rates to truck drivers who travel long distances to reach the Port. The Centralized Parking Plaza is an important part of our constant endeavour to provide the ease of doing business within the Port,’’ Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT said during a visit to the plaza today along with senior officials to oversee the functioning of the new facility.

Ministry of Shipping has issued the draft of Coastal Shipping Bill, 2020 for suggestions from the stakeholders and general public. As the shipping sector grows and evolves in the country, a need was felt to have a separate legislation on coastal shipping, which considers it an integral part of the transport chain and recognises the policy priorities of the sector to meet the demands of the Indian shipping industry. While drafting this Bill, the global best practices have also been considered. The Ministry of Shipping has drafted a Coastal Shipping Bill, 2020 in lieu of part XIV of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. Some of the highlights of the Bill are as under: The definition of coastal shipping and coastal waters has been expanded; It is proposed to do away with the requirement of trading licence for Indian flag vessels for coastal trade; The Bill seeks to create a competitive environment and reduce transportation costs, while encouraging Indian vessels to increase their share in coastal shipping; The Bill also proposes integration of coastal maritime transport with inland waterways; and there is a provision for a National Coastal and Inland Shipping Strategic Plan.

Rajesh Menon, Regional Head Cargo – South Asia, Middle East and Africa at Cathay Pacific Airways, says, “Digitalisation is an ongoing process for the cargo industry as a whole. At Cathay Pacific, we continue to develop and enhance our digitalisation initiatives that strengthen the overall productivity and efficiency for us and our trade partners. Over the last few years, we have introduced a number of digital enhancements including 100 per cent E-Airway bill, a digital payment platform that accepts a range of payment options like net wallets, NEFT, RTGS, RuPay debit cards and more. In the current circumstances of COVID-19, the digital payment options have been vital to eliminate the possibility of any human and surface virus transmissions. This option has been well received and supported by our trade community.” He adds, “Our freight forwarding partners have always played a crucial role in supporting our business with their expertise in handling shipments, managing logistics, custom clearances, etc. and we believe these initiatives will further help us work more efficiently together. In fact, we have also developed digital platforms for our forwarders that make their booking and allotment process a lot faster and convenient. The advent of technology and digitalisation is to not eliminate any roles, but to further simplify and improve our daily business operations.

Fraport AG is developing an innovative digital data exchange platform for freight handling at Frankfurt Airport. The project is carried out in cooperation with the Freight Unit of the German Customs Office, the Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association of Hesse/Rhineland-Palatinate (SLV), the Association of Air Cargo Handlers in Germany (VACAD), as well as DAKOSY AG and other partners from the cargo community at Frankfurt Airport. The new platform, ‘FRA-OS’, will serve as a digital marketplace providing numerous applications for process optimisation. Following a year of preparation headed by Fraport, SLV and VACAD as well as initial investments by these parties, a first element of the project is now being implemented. Together with the German software company DAKOSY, Fraport AG is investing in the development of the digital import platform “FRA-OS Import”. This platform will help standardise, simplify and speed up customs and import processes at Frankfurt Airport. ‘FRA-OS Import’ automates the data exchange between all parties involved in the import processes. This will facilitate even complex customs procedures, including those which in the near future will be required for the presentation of goods for customs clearance. For example, the system will be able to support the risk assessment of goods to be imported. Moreover, the platform can provide shipment-related information on every single step along the import process at the airport. This will allow customs applications to be submitted earlier and with greater precision than is currently the case, hence speeding up the entire import process. “We expect the new import platform to result in even smoother and more reliable processes. Our aim is to make work easier for our on-site partners. In particular, we expect the import platform to …

Delta Cargo has approved the use of the DoKaSchOpticooler RAP container as part of its cold chain pharma service. The approval comes as the air cargo industry prepares for the widespread transportation and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. Key features of the DoKaSchOpticooler RAP container include: temperature ranges of 2-8°C and 15-25°C, which enable it to be used for the transportation of Pharma 1 goods without dry ice; a large loading compartment that accommodates five standard Euro pallets or four CP-1 pallets; a battery that requires two to four hours of charging time, operational times of up to 120 hours; and a large control panel plus quadruple redundancy for all critical parts, which help to ensure “backups for each feature in case of failure”. Shawn Cole, Delta’s vice president of cargo, commented, “The introduction of the Opticooler provides our customers with more choice when looking for reliable container options to support the growing global demand for pharma and vaccine shipments.” “Alongside our joint venture partners, Air France-KLM Cargo, we can now offer our customers a seamless experience across the trans-Atlantic, helping to keep supply chains moving and ensuring the safe delivery of temperature sensitive shipments during the current pandemic.” Andreas Seitz, managing director at DoKaSch Temperature Solutions, added: “This agreement with Delta provides more transport options for shippers of sensitive pharmaceutical goods, which is especially important for the upcoming transport of vaccines against Covid-19. Many of these will require a temperature range between 2°C and 8°C during transport, which is exactly what our Opticooler is made for. Delta further expands our extensive global network which allows us to offer our temperature-controlled packaging solutions at even more locations.”

COVAXX has announced a global logistics partnership with Maersk. The agreement lays out a framework for all transportation and supply chain services that will be needed to deliver COVAXX’s vaccine candidate UB-612 around the world, once approved by regulatory authorities. Financial terms of the agreement are not disclosed. COVAXX is developing UB-612 using a high precision, synthetic peptide platform to activate both B-cell and T-cell arms. The investigational vaccine is designed to mimic natural biology and preclinical studies have shown high immunogenicity and levels of neutralising titers against SARS-CoV-2. The technology platform has been successful in commercialising blood diagnostics as well as safe and effective vaccines for infectious disease in animal health and has been tested in numerous clinical trials for other indications to date. “The COVAXX vaccine is unique in that it can be stored in the fridge you have at home, moved in the same trucks that deliver groceries and administered anywhere you can get a flu shot.” – Lou Reese, Co-Chief Executive Officer of COVAXX. “Our team, which now proudly includes Maersk, is committed to addressing the needs of countries where the greatest unmet needs exist today,” said Mei Mei Hu, co-Chief Executive Officer of COVAXX. “To do what is in the best interests of society at this time of the global health crisis, we are aligning with the strongest leaders in their respective industries to meet the large-scale demand and compliance requirements that we expect. It is not enough to focus on vaccine development and approvals. We must work in parallel to establish the infrastructure and partners with the strongest capabilities, like Maersk, to safely deliver our vaccine around the world.” “Efficient and safe delivery of …

In reaction to the growing demand from various customers, the logistics provider has now extended its scheduled weekly charter services until the end of the year. The airfreight peak season is in full swing and industrial production is picking up again, especially in the automotive, high tech and retail industries. To help maintain customers’ supply chains, cargo-partner has been offering multiple weekly air charters from China and Hong Kong to Europe since March 2020. Stefan Krauter, CEO, cargo-partner, anticipates that the demand for charter services will remain high. He says, “Since the beginning of the year, we have received numerous requests for full- and part-charter transports of urgently needed goods, the majority of which came from the pharmaceutical, healthcare and PPE sectors. In recent months, we have also noticed a growing demand from the high tech and automotive industries. In view of the expected peaks in the coming months, we advise our customers to start planning early to secure their supply chains.”

Aramex has officially gone live with their rollout of WiseTech Global’s integrated logistics execution platform, CargoWise, across its global network. The CargoWise rollout represents an integral milestone in Aramex’s digital transformation journey that strategically leverages innovative solutions to satisfy evolving customer needs and allows the company to swiftly adapt to changing market conditions. The scope of the implementation will cover the freight forwarding product across Aramex’s global network. Aramex’s unique approach sees CargoWise implemented simultaneously across its worldwide network of 1,200 freight forwarding specialists, spanning Asia, Europe and the Middle East. CargoWise will support Aramex’s freight forwarding and customs operations and enhance the overall user experience for their employees and customers. “Through a single platform, CargoWise provides configurability, automation and real-time visibility across our global freight operations. The results will be a high ramp up of business benefits that will be felt across all the freight community of Aramex,” noted Mohammed Sleeq, Chief Digital Officer, Aramex. “The CargoWise rollout marks an exciting period of digital transformation for Aramex, and it supports their commitment to technological innovation enabling more efficient movement of goods globally,” observed Richard White, Founder & CEO, WiseTech Global.

Bolloré Logistics and Transport Intelligence has recently joined forces to jointly administer a global survey with 422 professionals (shippers, service providers and financial institutions) shedding light on the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on the supply chain and future structural changes in the medium term. Administered in July and August 2020, the survey confirms that for 72% of respondents the Covid-19 crisis will shape the global supply chain on a lasting basis. Thirty-one per cent said that the remoteness of supply areas and their concentration in a limited number of countries could be reconsidered. However, 61% of respondents believe that the crisis will not call into question globalisation as a business model. The survey also reveals that the pandemic has heightened trends having emerged in recent years. These include the importance of real-time visibility of goods flows for increased responsiveness to unforeseen incidents (76%), the introduction of greater supply and flow-planning flexibility (64%), and sustainable development as a key performance criterion in logistics solutions (67%). “To control risks as part of the new situation created by the global pandemic, we are harnessing our capacity for resilience to foster the competitiveness of our customers internationally and to ensure supply-chain continuity. We are supporting our import and export customers in the recovery of their businesses by focusing on three objectives: the robustness of our transport plans, secured by alternative solutions; agility, with strong local expertise and empowered teams; and sustainability, by proposing eco-responsible solutions,” said Thierry Ehrenbogen, CEO, Bolloré Logistics. The survey results also highlight the positioning of Bolloré Logistics, which more than ever is asserting its ‘People Powered Innovation’ brand positioning by investing over the long-term in the company’s digital transformation …

ShipRocket has announced that the company is aiming to develop its income 2.5 times to Rs 420 crore within the on-going fiscal on growing adoption of on-line gross sales channels by sellers. With small companies transferring online to numerous gross sales channels, together with online shops, social media, and marketplaces, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Shiprocket noticed a 511% development in first-time sellers on its platform between March-September 2020, shares, Saahil Goel, CEO and Co-founder, ShipRocket. “The income of the corporate was Rs 165 crore for monetary 12 months (FY) 2020. It is estimated to achieve Rs 420 crore in FY21,” he informs. The company’s branches are available throughout 26,000 pin codes in India and 220 countries across the world. Goel mentioned Shiprocket additionally registered a 182 per cent increase in number of sellers between March and September 2020. From 11,521 month-to-month energetic sellers in September 2019, Shiprocket’s month-to-month energetic sellers rose to 41,212 in September 2020. The company plans to start out worldwide growth in 2021 with a close to time period give attention to regional growth.