According to Amar More, CEO, Kale Logistics Solutions, “If we leverage this opportunity, we will be at a different level of automation and this has happened in the past as well. After the 9/11 incident, most of the electronic communications got a major boost when US customs and border protections wanted information in advance. Our industry woke up and suddenly there was EDI flowing all around. Then the Yemen incident happened, and then there is big rush on providing a date before the aircraft is loaded. This kind of crisis has always created the pleading ground for higher technology adoption, and I am extremely confident it will take our industry, especially India to a new level,” he added

Explaining whether India is ready for driverless vehicles and drones, V Raju, Senior Vice President CL – Chemical, Pharma & Food Sector, Avvashya CCI Logistics at at CargoTalk’s fourth digital conclave, “At a moment it seems like a distant dream. But in 1970s or 80s we used to have human labour force working for the loading and unloading of cargo and every single activity was done only by the labour. And, if the labour was not in sufficient numbers the cargo operations used to come to a halt. Unloading a truck used to be dependent through metallic plates or metallic panels which used to rest against the trucks and the cargo used to be slit down those metallic panels. However, today things have gone to the scientific level. The entire planning in warehouse has been done by WMS; we never used to have them in the past. The forklifts, stackers are now battery operated ones; we never used to have even ordinary forklifts. This is how things have changed over a period of time.”

Continuing its efforts towards greater environmental sustainability, Bolloré Logistics Taiwan has launched a first hybrid truck for local deliveries in collaboration with Chieh Yu. The Hino 300 HV was selected to meet growing demand for greener logistics solutions on the domestic market and comes equipped with a nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery which has the advantage of proven reliability, safety and durability even in high current applications, as well as resilience to overcharging. It is a 6.5 tonnes truck with a payload capacity of three tonnes per trip. The new Hino Hybrid can also accelerate gently without increasing diesel engine revs, using the electric motor for propulsion instead. Additionally, the vehicle will cover nearly 20,000 km per year, plying from clients’ warehouses up to their boutiques anywhere within Taiwan Island. “Powering sustainable logistics is not just a tagline to us, we actively practise this philosophy to deliver greener, smarter, and cost-effective solutions across the domestic market. We truly believe that the use of cleaner trucking technologies will help to shape the future of the logistics industry in a responsible manner and are thankful to the stakeholders who have stood beside us in pioneering such initiatives and innovating towards a greener, better future”, said Helen Hung, Managing Director, Bolloré Logistics Taiwan.

Strata, a tech-enabled fractional investment platform for premium commercial real estate (CRE), has raised Rs 140 crore from investors to buy three grade-A warehousing asset opportunities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Situated in Hosur, Strata Avigna Warehousing I and II has received 100 per cent commitment from investors within just 42 days of its launch. The assets are expected to offer investors an average rental yield anywhere between 9.5 per cent and 10 per cent year-on-year. These three assets, to be owned fractionally by investors, collectively account for 0.7 million sq ft of warehousing space. “With global supply chains diversifying away from China to India, greater penetration of e-commerce, faster shift to 3PL, and companies eyeing higher inventory levels, we foresee an approximately 30 per cent growth in warehousing facilities in the coming years,” said Sudarshan Lodha, Founder, Strata.

The government has decided to cap export incentives under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) scheme at Rs 2 crore per exporter on outbound shipments made during September-December, 2020. Welcoming the decision, Sharad Kumar Saraf, President, FIEO said, “It will help in resolving the impasses, resulting in blockage of MEIS benefits from April 1, 2020 and would provide huge relief to majority of exporters and give them stable policy environment for exports. However, the sudden imposition of a cap of Rs 2 Crore per IEC on MEIS benefit of exports made during 01.09.2020 to 31.12..2020, is going to seriously affect exporters, whose numbers may not be very large, but their contribution to exports warrant a revisit to the imposition of cap. FIEO President said that the exports which will be made during September-December, 2020 are based on the orders, which have already been negotiated much earlier factoring the existing MEIS benefit. These benefits are part of the export competitiveness and therefore the sudden change will affect the exporters’ financially as buyers are not going to revise their prices upward.” FIEO expressed its concern over the financial outlay of Rs 5,000 Crore given for exports during September-December, 2020 with the condition that if claims exceed Rs 5,000 Crore, the ceiling may further be revised downwards. This will create huge uncertainty as those eligible for cap of Rs 2 crore will not be able to factor even such benefits in their exports. A clarity is also required whether any change in the MEIS rate will be notified for those who are not affected by the cap, if the amount of Rs 5,000 Crore is exhausted. FIEO also urged the government to extend …

Calling pandemic an opportunity for us to look at digitisation seriously, Saurabh Kumar, CEO, Hyderabad Air Cargo, says, “We started challenging ourselves to process the same amount of cargo with minimal number of people. The pandemic has led us to challenge the existing way and leverage all the existing technologies. The busiest people in the industry are the people who are giving solutions to the emerging needs. The pandemic has set a clear roadmap in front of airports and air cargo complexes to become more sustainable and resilient in the future in case of any such pandemic.”

Portall announced that Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has joined the maritime trade digitalisation platform, run by the government, Port Community System (PCS1x) to promote ease of doing business. The move comes as more ports, container freight stations (CFS) and inland container depots (ICD) move entirely to the application programming interface (API) on PCS1x that enables instant data exchange with zero loss, encompassing 17 messages which cover all the operational requirements of the port and its stakeholders. NMPT, New Mangalore Port Trust is also close to go live with API shortly. “The benefits of such real time connectivity are open to all custodians, all carriers and all ports and terminals. More and More stakeholders are approaching us for API and we have our technical partners Portall deployed on the job daily to assist and facilitate. The API Integrations have not only helped the Ports, CFS and ICDs to share and distribute data more efficiently, but also to customize data sets and enrich user experience via PCS1x.” said Dr. Janardana Rao, MD, IPA. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has also completed its API integration with Port Community System (PCS 1x) with 17 API messages which cover all the operational requirements of the port and its stakeholders. With this go-live, JNPT and PCS1x have ensured the future road map for API integration is set for other ports who are already testing with PCS 1x for API Integration. The Port handles about 200 vessels a month and has been at the forefront of tech adoption in the country. This enhancement will bring real time experience for data availability and acknowledgements in case of errors while message transmissions.

In coherence to the expansion plan of the company, APM Terminals Pipavav has announced the approval of Rs. 700 crore. The stated investment will be utilised for upgrading the port’s existing facility to handle bigger ships and eventually expand the container capacity to 1.6 million TEUs. The supply chain and the inland logistics is expected to significantly improve the reliability and reduce transit time going forward with the implementation of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC). This will improve overall cargo volume for imports and exports. About 40 per cent of the total investments in entire 1,535 km of DFC is likely to be in Gujarat, which has around 37 per cent of area covered of complete stretch. Jakob Friis Sorenson, Managing Director, APM Terminals Pipavav said, “With this investment, we aim to strengthen our network and continue to provide best in-class services to all our stakeholders. However, we are awaiting the confirmation of concession extension from Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to execute the expansion plan. The container yard capacity will be expanded once the cargo growth is visible post commissioning of DFC. We expect the world economy and business to follow an expanded ‘U’ curve and normalcy in business to be restored by the second quarter of 2021.”

Indigo has transported two bags of convalescent plasma from Bengaluru to Srinagar, via Delhi for a COVID-19 patient. The plasma sustained a transit period of over eight hours and was delivered successfully at the government hospital in Srinagar, the airline informs. The plasma was first flown from Bengaluru to Delhi on 6E 363 followed by the connecting flight from Delhi to Srinagar 6E 2486.. The airline confirms that it is the second airline in the world to have transported plasma successfully on-board cargo. Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo said, “The creation of the first air corridor in India to transport blood plasma can have a huge positive impact on the treatment of COVID-19 patients through plasma therapy”.

Stressing on the difficulties being faced by the unorganised sector and how difficult it is going to be for them to survive, Chander Agarwal, Managing Director, TCI Express said, “The unorganised segment is going to go through a tough time in the next few years because if they are not asset light or manpower heavy, it’s going to be very challenging.” He continued, “Looking at the way the organised segment is positioned, the entire crisis has helped us to manage our cost and become more lean.” Adding to this, Goyal said, “With the help of technology, manpower cost has come down; it has made us realise that a number of field staff were not even required.”