PHDCCI organized the 3rd Edition Virtual Supply Chain Excon: Future of Global Supply Chain and Logistics on 22 and 23rd July 2021. The two days ExCon witnessed exhibition and four technical sessions on different subjects: The Chief Guest for technical session on Revolutionize Urban Logistics was Vikas Chaube, JS, Logistics, Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The eminent speakers were Shashvat Somany, Chairman, Retail Committee, Dr. John Gattorna – CEO, Gattorna Alignments, Adil Zobair, Vice President, Sedres Shipping, Virendra Sharma, AVP – Supply Chain, Jockey India, Arvind Kalra – Supply Chain Professional, Virendra Sharma, AVP – Supply Chain, Jockey India and Dr. Rakesh Paras Singh, Chairman, ISCM

Air Methods announced the launch of Spright, a newly formed drone solution, designed to help improve healthcare access and minimize supply challenges. Collaborating with Wingcopter, an industry-leading German drone manufacturer, Spright is creating a drone-based, healthcare-specific delivery network across the United States. As a result of the nation’s efforts to keep healthcare costs down, Americans are impacted by a lack of immediate or timely access to healthcare resources. When these shortages impact the availability of blood products, medicines, diagnostics or small medical devices, the consequences can be dire. The solution is a flexible, rapid distribution network designed with 21st-century technology.

Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) is set to open up rare industrial leasing space on Brisbane’s northside, with the development of a new warehouse and distribution facility within the successful Export Park precinct. BAC executive general manager commercial, Martin Ryan said the speculative development will meet growing demand for warehouse in South East Queensland. “This is one of a series of developments that will form part of our airport city. The next decade will see exponential growth at BNE with more than $5 billion invested across a range of projects including a third terminal and multi modal transport options to better connect BNE to South East Queensland’s major economic hubs. “From an imports and exports perspective, fresh produce suppliers in particular are seeking sites that are well-connected to the USA and major Asian ports. This gives Brisbane Airport a strategic advantage.”

Japan Airlines has partnered with Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) in Liege to provide cargo handling and ramp transportation for its new weekly Boeing 747 freighter flight from the Belgian airport to Tokyo. In a separate development, Japan Airlines has also extended its offline handling agreement with WFS at Brussels Airport, which sees WFS working closely with the airline’s cargo GSSA partner, J-Air, to coordinate road transport connections for Japan Airlines’ flights from Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and London. WFS has also been appointed by Japan Airlines to handle a series of all-cargo flights ex Brussels Airport to Osaka this summer carrying Covid vaccines. “We are very happy to expand JAL’s European partnership with WFS, which responds well to our requests, such as for the high quality handling of vaccines in Brussels and our requirements for time definite handling of large volumes in Liege,” said Tatsusuke Osakabe, the airline’s regional manager cargo and mail, France, Spain and Belgium.

Reacting to the trade data for July 2021-22, Dr A Sakthivel, President, FIEO said that the sustained growth in exports of about 48 percent with USD 35.17 billion over FY’ 2020-21 and by 34 percent over FY’ 2019-20 yet again demonstrated the strength and resilience of the exports sector. This is the highest-ever exports recorded at least in the previous 9 years as per the data readily available with FIEO. It also is a sign that global trade is recovering fast, added Dr Sakthivel. FIEO Chief reiterated that the global demand during this period has also remained buoyant as the order booking positions of the exporters have still been impressive. Dr Sakthivel complimented the government under the able and dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also the Union Finance Minister, Union Commerce & Textiles Minister for showing confidence and trust on the exporters during these difficult times, who have not only continuously performed impressively but have also been able to showcase that the government’s vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat has given a boost to the sector.

Close on the heels of the announcement of Uzbekistan Airways announcing Aeroprime as its Passenger Sales Agent; comes an additional announcement of Aeroprime being given the mantle of the Cargo Sales Agent as well for India. Aeroprime’s mandate will be to look at the holistic cargo and passenger sales channels for the airline and will responsible for the airlines’ cargo sales, operations, customer service apart from passenger sales, reservations, marketing and other associated services. The twin appointments demonstrate the positive intent of Uzbekistan Airways to the Indian market and its commitment to scale up its business and brand awareness in India through close cooperation with Aeroprime.

Following a seven-month blockade by protestors agitating over the controversial farm Bills passed by the government, Adani Logistics Ltd has now decided to shut all operations at its rail-linked inland container depot (ICD) at Kilaraipur in Ludhiana. Since January, the protestors have blocked the main gate of the ICD by placing a tractor trolley to obstruct the movement of goods and personnel, thereby halting entire operations at the facility. The multi-modal logistics park at Kilaraipur, spread over 80 acres, was opened in 2017 to cater to the industries in and around Ludhiana, offering services for the import and export of cargo by rail and road. “As the state administration was not able to remove the blockade and allow the ICD to continue operations, the Adani Group has decided to close the business operation at ICD Kilaraipur as it cannot sustain losses and continue to pay wages to employees any longer,” said a source in the know of the development.

In a latest development, Piyush Srivastava (IES) has been appointed as the new Economic Advisor for the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India. He will replace Vandana Agarwal (IES) who had been serving this position and had led the industry from the front. In his earlier role, Srivastava had held the position of Additional Development Commissioner in the Ministry of MSME, GoI. Under his able guidance, he led many initiatives to strengthen the MSME sector in the country. The civil aviation industry has emerged as one of the fastest-growing industries in India in recent years. Thus, Srivastava’s role will be instrumental in paving the way forward for the industry under the leadership of Jyotiraditya Scindia who has taken over as the new Civil Aviation Minister.

Ecom Express, a leading technology enabled end-to-end logistics solutions provider for the e-commerce industry, announced the launch of its self sign-up portal called ‘E-zippie’. The portal is for micro-entrepreneurs, small business owners, sole-proprietors and home-preneurs, to quickly, conveniently, and securely sign-up for a one-stop-shop for logistics services in less than 30 minutes. Commenting on the announcement, T. A. Krishnan, Co-founder and CEO, Ecom Express, said “With ‘E-zippie’, we can fast-track registration to less than 30 minutes against a 10 to 12 days process taken by most players in the market. The self sign-up portal is a major milestone in our effort to provide an automated and seamless experience for online businesses right from onboarding to fulfilling all their shipping requirements. We will continue to enhance customer experience by making logistics simpler and convenient for small and micro businesses, by providing direct control on their shipments and flexibility in managing end-to-end shipment life cycle. Our aim is to help them expand their market access to 27000+ PIN codes, diversify their customer base, and solidify their supply chain through Ecom Express.’’

India and Bangladesh restored regular operations of freight trains through the Haldibari-Chilahati rail route after 56 years on Sunday, in a step aimed at strengthening rail connectivity and bilateral trade between the two countries. The Haldibari-Chilahati rail link was inaugurated in December 2020 during a virtual meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina to boost trade relations between the two nations. This rail link is also set to provide northeast India with an opportunity to enter the international market. The first goods train left Dumdim station of Alipurduar division on Sunday and will reach Chilahati station in Bangladesh via the Haldibari-Chilahati rail route. It will also boost e rail network accessibility to the main ports and dry ports to support the growth in regional trade and to encourage economic and social development of the region.