According to V Raju, Senior Vice President CL – Chemical, Pharma & Food Sector, Avvashya CCI Logistcs (All Cargo Group), “Introduction of technology means productivity and productivity coupled with efficiency is really going to pay back. Therefore, modern technology will definitely be endorsed and already 50 per cent of your customers are prepared to pay extra just to get technology in your system. However, it is only the Indian customer who is still going to bargain with you and opt for the cheaper method which is manual dependent rather than technology dependent. But over a period of time everyone will realise the kind of savings that technology gives, though the initial investments are going to high. It won’t happen in a day; it’s going to take time because the knowledge about the productivity and efficiency that will come by technology has to move into the minds of all customers.”

According to the JLL’s The road ahead – The Logistics Sector in Asia pacific’ report, investors and occupiers are reimagining India logistics real estate strategies to take advantage of ongoing structural shifts and evolving market maturity across the country. The pandemic and lockdown, as expected, has affected the India logistics sector with overall leasing or absorption in top eight cities in India standing at 11 mn sq. ft. in H1, 2020 (Jan-Jun) as against a 12-quarter average or 7.3 mn sq. ft. However, there has been additional spike in short-term demand/temporary warehouses, (lease tenure of 6 – 11 months) demonstrating the underlying strength of the sector looking for substitute locations or business continuity planning locations for occupiers to mitigate for delays in delivery of under construction projects. E-commerce continues to drive a reimagination of the Indian logistics sector. According to e-Marketer, online retail sales as a proportion of total retail sales stands at 14% globally in 2019. India has a huge growth opportunity with the e-commerce penetration rate standing at close to 5%. To fulfill potential, e-commerce and other sectors will increasingly push the sector in a three-dimensional growth path, which are length (across the length of a city including suburban and in-city warehouses), breadth (across the breadth of the county; tier 1 & tier 2) and height (early shoots of multi-storied warehousing). “The pandemic will accelerate trends already in play across the sector, such as increased internet penetration rates, expansion of online grocery, omni-channel retailing, rise of temperature-controlled storage and the integration of technology into logistics and warehousing. Led by occupier and investor commitments, the sector is well placed to respond to the post-COVID-19 recovery,” said Yogesh Shevade, Head …

Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport) processed 99,154 MT of cargo in the first five months between April and August 2020, recording a 92% growth in cargo air traffic movements. It offers the largest air cargo terminal in South India, with a handling capacity of 570,000 MT and an average travel time of nine hours from major manufacturing clusters across South India. BLR Airport is emerging as the preferred cargo gateway for industries from the region, making it the third busiest Cargo Airport in the Country and the busiest in South India. To bring further efficiencies into Cargo operations, BIAL recently announced the implementation of the Air Cargo Community System (ACS) to streamline the air logistics supply chain. This digital platform will enable seamless collaboration between all stakeholders in the supply chain to deliver superior and efficient cargo operations at BLR Airport.

In order to satisfy clients’ needs in the US market, LATAM Cargo Group has increased its frequencies from Colombia to the United States. The Group has increased its capacity by 21 per cent from Bogota, going from 14 to 17 weekly freighter frequencies to Miami. This destination is also reached through the 5 weekly frequencies originating in Medellin that the company will maintain. LATAM Cargo offers 22 frequencies in total, thus reaffirming its commitment to transporting Colombia’s flowers to the world. Once the Colombian Government gave its approval and passenger flights were reactivated, the company gradually began to restore its domestic cargo transportation capacity in 8 of the country’s cities.

Commenting on should we be investing more on technology to sustain in business, Amit Malakar, Chief Customer Officer, Welspun One, says, “Technology is going to be a very important part of our lives. Everyone needs to be digitally savvy and make sure that their supply chain is resilient enough to reach the market through their warehouses. We have seen FMCG companies who were never on the e-commerce platform are now looking at digital distribution strategy in a big way.”

Using its Bombardier Q400 freighters, SpiceJet has launched 14 new cargo flights to and from North Eastern India ensuring unparalleled connectivity with the rest of the country. The airline will operate daily cargo flights on Kolkata-Guwahati, Guwahati-Kolkata, Kolkata-Imphal and Imphal-Kolkata sectors. SpiceJet has also introduced cargo flights between Kolkata and Guwahati via Aizawl and Dimapur which will operate twice-a-week. The airline will also operate cargo flights on the Kolkata-Agartala and Agartala-Guwahati sectors thrice-a-week and twice-a-week on Kolkata-Silchar and Silchar-Guwahati routes. In line with its commitment to enhance regional connectivity, SpiceJet is the first Indian carrier to introduce dedicated cargo flights for North Eastern India. The dedicated cargo flights will help transport fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, perishables, fish seeds, fresh fish, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, express cargo and other general cargo. Besides improving logistics and connectivity, the new freighter service will boost the growth of trade in the North Eastern markets and help Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME). SpiceJet connects Guwahati with key cities across the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Patna, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Amritsar and has been transporting cargo both to and from the capital of Assam using the belly space of its passenger aircraft. Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam, said, “Farmers from the region can now transport their fresh farm produce across the country and internationally also.” The minister urges local businesses, traders, entrepreneurs to make use of this opportunity that provides us access to markets not only within India but across the globe. He says, “SpiceJet dedicating a part of its fleet to improving connectivity and strengthening the supply chain in Assam and North East is a welcome step that will immensely help …

Amazon India expanded its fulfilment infrastructure in Telangana with the opening of two new fulfilment centres in Hyderabad. With this infrastructure, Amazon.in now offers storage capacity of more than 4.5 million cubic feet spread across four fulfilment centres to its more than 23,000 sellers in Telangana. It has also expanded an existing sort centre to offer an overall sorting area of more than one lakh square feet, in Telangana. This expansion will help sellers offer a wider selection and enable faster deliveries of customer orders within the region and neighbouring states ahead of the upcoming festive season. The expansion in Telangana is a part of the company’s recently-announced plans to add 10 new fulfilment centres and expand seven existing sites, across India. “Amazon and Telangana have partnered on several initiatives since the commencement of our operations in India with our largest fulfilment centre in the country located in Hyderabad. We are delighted to extend the partnership further with this additional investment in the State helping us deliver safely to our customers at their doorstep,” said, Prakash Kumar Dutta, Director of Fulfilment Centres & Supply Chain, Amazon India.

Developed by operator Fraport, Swissport Cargo Services Deutschland is set to open a new cargo handling warehouse at Frankfurt Airport. Swissport is aiming to start operations at the facility in November. Located in CargoCity South at Frankfurt Airport (FRA), the new building has 17,000 sq m of floor space, including temperature-controlled zones for handling sensitive pharmaceutical products. There are also 2,400 sq m of office and communal space. Willy Ruf, Senior Vice President – Central & Eastern Europe, Swissport International, said, “From November, we will be in a position to handle the cargo of our customers in Frankfurt in one of Europe’s most state-of-the-art air cargo centers. Our new cargo warehouse has 50 per cent more handling capacity and is therefore a commitment to growth at Frankfurt Airport. With the integrated Swissport Pharma Center, which has several cooling zones, we are well-equipped to satisfy the stringent requirements for the temperature-controlled transportation of medicines and vaccines.” “The property meets the stringent requirements of a cutting-edge air cargo handling facility,” said Felix Kreutel, Head – Real Estate and Energy, Fraport, in adding, “The warehouse connects the airside and landside areas of the airport through separate freight yards. Moreover, its ground-breaking material-handling system represents an important step in the continued automation of our freight processes.

Sharing the challenges, John Thomas, Group Director, Realistic Realtors & Reach Promoters and Director at CIRIL (Commercial Real Estate Advisors), says, “The limitations of warehousing industry was and still is infrastructure; mostly an A-grade warehouse. Though it has improvised a lot; the share of A-grade warehouse would rather be approximately 40 per cent as of now and has increased by 20-25 per cent. The other limitation is the process of constructing and making an A-grade warehouse, from land cause to overall construction it includes various laws and implied approvals which take their own time and cost. We are growing and getting towards a more organised way of doing things and I am sure the government agency will definitely support this entire cause and make it more-friendly for developers.”

STARLUX Airlines has deployed IBS Software’s iCargo platform to manage business and operational functions for its entire cargo business. The iCargo management platform was implemented ahead of STARLUX Airlines’ launch in January 2020, which saw maiden flights to Macau, Penang and Da Nang with three A321neo aircraft. After a rigorous evaluation process, STARLUX Airlines chose IBS Software’s iCargo SaaS-based cargo platform to provide a single, unified platform for all critical functions. iCargo now manages all aspects of STARLUX’s cargo business, including sales, airline operations, US customs, mail, Unit Load Device, cashiering, claims, cargo and mail revenue accounting, portal services, data warehousing and business intelligence modules. “We chose the industry-leading iCargo management platform to achieve our goal of providing the best and seamless cargo service to our customers,” said Glenn Chai, CEO, STARLUX Airlines. “So far, iCargo has proved itself to be well worth the investment. It is an advanced digital solution featuring advanced and user-friendly functions. STARLUX is very glad to have made the right choice.” STARLUX plans to expand its network with additional A321neo aircraft scheduled for delivery, plus wide-body A350 XWB aircraft. iCargo is fully enabled to support this future growth and continue to empower STARLUX to deliver on its brand promise to customers.