CEVA Logistics has announced the launch of a specialist installation service for large-scale medical equipment using its own dedicated team of engineers and technicians in India. In a further expansion of its global healthcare capabilities, CEVA’s expert team will be responsible for unpacking, installing and setting up equipment such as MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) Scanners, Cath Labs, Digital Radiography machines and CT (Computerised Tomography) Scanners on behalf of several global manufacturers. Akash Agarwal, Director Business Development India and Head of Freight Management Sales, India, Middle East, Africa & Turkey, CEVA Logistics, says, “Cutting-edge medical machinery requires specialist handling and installation, a complex and technical process. As our clients are increasingly relying on our know-how in this regard, CEVA Logistics decided to bring its healthcare logistics expertise to the next level by setting up a dedicated team of medical equipment installation specialists.” Initially based in Mumbai, India, the team will work on installations there as well as in Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Belgaum, before being gradually expanded across CEVA Logistics’ network.

Chinese cargo carrier, SF Airlines, started its first cargo service to Delhi from Shenzhen, China (SZX-DEL). Earlier in September 2019, the cargo carrier completed its first intercontinental flight from Wuxi to Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, via Chongqing. SF Airlines started its India service in August 2018. Since then the airline has four flight routes to Chennai as Shenzhen-Chennai, Shanghai-Shenzhen-Chennai, Chongqing-Shenzhen-Chennai and HongKong-Shenzhen-Chennai.

FreightBro became the first Indian startup to join the Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg in an exclusive event titled ‘Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg Roadshow – An Indo-German Logistics Startups Connect.’ Johannes Berg, Managing Director, Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg, believed, “There is immense potential for partnership and expansion opportunities for Indian startups in Germany. We have collaborated with an Indian startup for the first time and introduced FreightBro to one of our hub partners, DAKOSY who are keen on working on Indo-German synergies. We eagerly look forward to further connect Indian startups to hub partners in Germany and connect German startups with the Indian market. We are grateful to FreightBro for organizing a unique event for us in India and enable us to connect with startups which has been immensely satisfying.” Mohammed Zakkiria A, Co-Founder, FreightBro, said, “Joining hands with Digital Hub is a strategically sound decision for us and is the perfect platform for us to connect with the right partners in Germany and plan future expansion in the European market.”

Fareye launched a machine learning algorithm that self-learns the ‘correct’ address by analysing historical data and geocodes customer locations to boost address accuracy for e-commerce. Particularly focusing on the festive season that witness huge surge in online deliveries, the tech company aims to help e-commerce businesses to scale cost-effective delivery operations to fulfil customer expectations. Kushal Nahata, CEO, FarEye, said “Inaccurate customer address remains a critical logistics problem for many countries and it’s a major reason that fuels the need for multiple delivery attempts. Businesses need to leverage advanced logistics platform that quickly learns a customer’s exact delivery location based on previous delivery failures or success.”

K. T. Rama Rao, Minister of MA&UA, Industries and IT&C in Telangana KCR’s Cabinet, inaugurated the state’s first-ever logistics park. Developed by Ancon Group in partnership with HMDA, this is the first-of-its-kind integrated logistics park developed in PPP mode.Spread over 22 acres, the logistics park at Mangalpalle has 2.5 lakh square feet of grade A warehouse space.It has facilities such as parking for 250 trucks, warehousing, automobile service centres, fuel stations, provision for cold storage, a primary health centre, dormitories and restaurants. “Eight more logistics parks will come up along 162-km long ORR, which has 19 interjunctions,” Rao announced.

The Ministry of Shipping is working on a plan to develop a National Grid for Ports based on synergy between the Major and non-major ports in the country that can bring port-led development in the country. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister for Shipping and Chemical & Fertilizers, Government of India, said, “The development plan for ports and the National Grid for ports will be ready in six months. An extensive study in identifying the specific cargo linked to the ports and the downstream industry will be done for the revival of each port.” According to him, there are 204 non-major ports in the country, of which only 44 are currently functional.

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), an autonomous body under the ministry of commerce and industry is developing a sector-specific index to monitor logistics cost in key export sectors. The idea of the exercise is to develop sector-specific indices to estimate the logistics costs and bring them down to 10 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) from 14 per cent at present as they are higher than those in developed countries.The index that will be released early next year helps estimate the logistics cost in top nine export sectors including agriculture, leather, apparel and, gems and jewellery. Manoj Pant, Director, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), informs, “Internationally, no one has made sector-specific indices to estimate logistics costs.

DP World has launched Log-X, a technology accelerator platform for logistics in India. The accelerator platform was launched in partnership with Invest India, Kerala Start-Up Mission and its accelerator partner Startup Réseau, to encourage innovation and technology adoption in the Indian logistics sector. The program will focus on digital technologies like block chain, artificial intelligence, robotics, simulators and internet of things, to identify logistics-focused technology start-ups in India. “Technology adoption and innovation will play a strong role in building an integrated logistics platform which offer end-to-end solutions for cargo owners,” said Rizwan Soomar, Chief Executive and Managing Director, DP World Subcontinent.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) has announced the opening of cargo terminal at Surat airport by the end of December. The city’s trade and commerce is set to get a major boost with the announcement. The steel-based modular cargo terminal structure built at the cost of Rs8 crore is ready but is awaiting approval from Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). With it getting operational, cargo movement is expected to cross 7,000 tonnes per month. Constructed on the land between the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the terminal building, the ground base of the cargo is 1,000 square meter and the first floor will have the same size. The cargo terminal has a cold storage facility for export of perishable items, a strong room among many more facilities.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation Ministry has permited SpiceJet to carry out self-handing of cargo from off-airport facilities. The order has been issued in accordance with ground-handling regulations (GHA), 2018 but has left some of the private airport operators displeased as this means loss of revenue for them. The ministry has said the airline to self-handle their cargo that is subject to clearance from Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The private airport operators want all the cargo to move through the designated handlers at the airport and argue non-adherence of this may create safety issues.