Economy has picked up and businesses are back to 70-75 per cent level. On this, Aditya Shah, Executive Director, V-Trans India, said, “The future seems to be positive and bright. We should learn from the crisis; it has taught so many things from managing people, be it drivers or labour or our staff, to be digitally connected with the entire universe of stakeholders. The crisis showed us that physical presence is not required everywhere and we can work from anywhere using various platforms.” “It has helped us in re-engineering the business to those directions which probably were not possible in normal working hours. So, technology has definitely shown us the path of how to operate in such scenarios. We are a people heavy industry and being connected during these times to those who were striving and going on the ground, full of risk, was crucial,” he added.

With an aim to improve customer experience and accelerate growth, Maersk announced its plan to integrate the Safmarine brand and continue Safmarine’s renowned customer centricity under the Maersk brand. From January 1, 2021, the Safmarine brand will be fully transitioned into the Maersk brand. “For more than 20 years, Safmarine has helped fuel customer centricity and by combining its capabilities and expertise with the offerings and global reach of Maersk, we will offer our customers more relevant products and services, and better experiences no matter where they are in the world,” says Vincent Clerc, CEO of Ocean and Logistics, A.P. Moller – Maersk. “Together with Maersk, we will define what moving cargo means as the global integrator of container logistics by delivering the best possible customer experience and take our customers places they have not been before, while at the same time delivering on our growth ambitions,” adds David Williams, Regional Managing Director for Maersk in Africa and Head of Safmarine. By doing this, Maersk will build closer relationships with customers who will get access to the full ocean and supply chain offering and its global reach. Customers will experience a more seamless interaction with one sales force, one customer experience team and one platform regardless of where in the world they require ocean and logistics services. The Safmarine brand will no longer be marketed by the end of 2020.

In a bid to revolutionise performance and operational excellence, Spoton Logistics has announced that the company is deploying AI-based video analytics solutions in one of its largest hubs. The AI-based system adds intelligence to the CCTV camera by analyzing video feed, identifying abnormal events, and sending automated alerts in real-time. “COVID-19 has had an indelible impact on businesses. It is, thus, of the highest priority for businesses to optimise their costs and increase efficiency. Almost two-thirds of the logistics costs are hidden, which is attributable to theft and pilferage of cargo, and holding of inventory. AI helps address this in an effective manner by automating processes and providing real-time visibility and alerts so that corrective measures can be taken. Being a technology and engineering driven company has always helped us stay ahead of the curve. Moving ahead with the same vigor, we will continue to invest in technology and automation such as Last-Mile Delivery Management, Interactive Chatbot, and IoT,” states Abhik Mitra, MD & CEO, Spoton Logistics.

ASSOCHAM in partnership with JBS Academy and Logistic Sector Skill Council (LSC) is conducting three training programs in supply chain and EXIM logistics domain. The three programmes; sales in logistics, insurance in logistics and legal aspects are 26, 25 and 24 hours programmes respectively which will be conducted two days in a week spread across the month of September, October and November. This will be one of its kind programmes in the country where industry, academia and government have joint hands together to surge in demand for up skilling of professionals in logistics industry. The course content of the programme is designed by learned and qualified faculty members having more than 25 years of experience in logistics industry. The industry experts and subject matter specialist have contributed in conceptualising the program and with through research and brainstorming sessions have been done in concluding the topics and course material. We have received an encouraging response ever since the course concept was made live and steady number of applications has poured in from across India,” said Capt. Sandeep Mehta, Chairman ASSOCHAM’s National council on Ports and shipping. All the three programs will be conducted online, with approx. one hour session per day. With an unique approach that has been adopted for the program, a baseline pre-test will be conducted to assess the skill level of participants in the beginning of the course and post completion, further test will be conducted to assess the impact, the program is able to make in domain knowledge of participants. Qualifying candidate receiving above 60 per cent marks shall receive certificates for successful completion of the course and other participants will be received Participation certificate.

Sharing his views on how the gap can be bridged, Keku Bomi Gazder, CEO, AAICLAS says, “Let’s work towards everything that the government can do rather than what it is doing. While coming up with issues in front of the government, the industry should suggest a probable solution so that the gap between the problem and the solution can be minimised.”

Freight networking group Neutral Air Partner (NAP) is working with Bridges Worldwide to provide international express and courier linehaul solutions. The strategic partnership between the companies will provide NAP members with a platform of neutral line haul solutions and block space agreements (BSA) on scheduled freighter services and commercial airlines for express and time-critical freight movements. NAP chief executive Christos Spyrou said, “Our collaboration will enable NAP partners to enhance their expedited freight and courier products on a global scale, utilising a dynamic freighter network and BSAs, to create a unique and competitive global advantage.” “We remain well positioned as a neutral supplier to offer bespoke services to the NAP members that will benefit them and their customers. It is an exciting opportunity and we look forward to working closely with Christos and the NAP team.”

Karaikal Port (KPPL) South India’s fastest growing gateway ports, announced highest Average discharge rate per day of fertilizer from Supramax vessel – M.V. Murgash which was imported by Indian Potash Limited (IPL) with a shipment size of 40,000 tonnes of Muriate of Potash (MOP). The vessel completed her cargo discharge and sailed out from Port in minimal time. By efficient way of cargo handling, KPPL could achieve the best average discharge rate per day of 27000 tonnes. “Karaikal Port serves prime fertilizer companies such as IFFCO, IPL, SPIC and concentrating in handling more fertilizer consignments in future. KPPL facilitates the fertilizer companies cater to the agro market of south India and mainly supports farmers and their families in Delta region of Cauvery & Vaigai basin. The port, through its efficient operations wants to be the primary fertilizer import port of the region and ensure timely supply to the farmers. By choosing KPPL, Government will also save in subsidy by reduced transportation cost,” said K. Muralidharan, CEO of KPPL. Located along the East Coast of India with easy access to the Indian Markets, Karaikal Port’s favourable location makes it the most preferred gateway for business in Tamilnadu with a vision of being India’s Preferred & Responsible Maritime Gateway. The Port has handled over 70 million tonnes of cargo and over 2,000 commercial vessels since inception. In the next few years, KPPL is expected to add new cargo flows to increase its cargo handling capacity to 40 MMTPA by 2025.

The international transport and info-logistics provider has strengthened its LCL service offering with further connections now from India, Thailand and Vietnam via Koper to Europe. With cargo-partner’s seafreight consolidation service via the Slovenian port of Koper, the logistics provider offers a faster alternative to shipping via Northern ports such as Hamburg or Bremerhaven. In recent months, cargo-partner has expanded its LCL services via Koper with new connections from Nhava Sheva in India, Lat Krabang in Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Port-to-port transit times average around 18 days from Nhava Sheva, around 25 days from Lat Krabang and around 25-28 days from Ho Chi Minh City to Koper. “The new routing via Koper fits very well into our long-established service portfolio of seven direct own consolidation lines from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, our faster consolidation services via the Iron Silk Road, our airfreight and FCL setup and the e-commerce distribution center next to Ljubljana airport. The Koper services allow us to offer significant time savings compared to routings via Northern ports, and our iLogistics Center in Ljubljana provides the ideal hub for fast distribution,” says Stefan Krauter, CEO of cargo-partner. He adds, “Despite the turbulences of COVID-19, we have been able to offer regular weekly departures. This premium service is not only faster, but also safer and more reliable than other options, as the containers are shipped directly without reloading, which means minimal risk of damage and delays.” Stefan Krauter explains, “At the moment, we are handling a lot of heavy cargo from the automotive, engineering and metal industries on this route. However, this service is also a convenient and reliable option for sensitive cargoes and …

Using its wide-body Airbus A340 aircraft, SpiceJet operated its first-ever long-haul cargo flight from Delhi to Frankfurt. The airlines’ A340 aircraft carried 45 tonnes of cargo supplies from New Delhi to Germany. Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “SpiceJet has operated its maiden non-stop cargo flight to Europe; a first by an Indian airline. Our first wide-body flight to Frankfurt, the busiest airport in Germany, carried a massive 45 tonnes of cargo. SpiceJet is now regularly operating non-stop cargo flights to Europe, Africa and CIS countries providing the fastest connectivity to Indian businesses, farmers, pharma companies to the rest of the world.” SpiceJet’s international cargo network now spans over 43 international destinations that include Amsterdam, Rome, Almaty, Abu Dhabi, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangkok, Bishkek, Cambodia, Cairo, Cebu, Chad, Colombo, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Huangzhou, Incheon, Jakarta, Kabul, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Kyrgyzstan, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Male, Myanmar, Shanghai, Singapore, Sharjah, Sulaymaniyah, Tashkent, Ukraine, among others. The airline has also been actively using Ras Al-Khaimah airport as a hub for its cargo operations.

The maiden Roll-On/Roll-Off (RO-RO) train between Bengaluru (Nelamangala) to Solapur (Maharashtra) consisting of open flat wagon was flagged off by BS Yediyurappa, Chief Minister, Karnataka through video conferencing. According to South Western Railway, the train will take 17 hours to cover 682 kms and reach its final destination. The SWR said in a statement that a total of 42 trucks with goods can be carried at time in this train which will run via Dharmavaram, Guntakal, Raichur and Wadi to reach Bale near Solapur in Maharashtra. The SWR noted that the RORO service reduces accidents on the road, improves safety, saves fuel, and foreign exchange. The RORO service is also set to ensure faster transport of essential goods, food items and smaller cargo and can also play an important role in facilitating large-scale movement of goods and reduces pollution.