Gati-KWE has upgraded its logistics solutions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by integrating a gamut of useful customised and solutions-based offerings. The company is also intensifying its reach among SMEs in metros as well as in tier-2 and 3 cities. Apart from offering technologically advanced domestic air and surface logistics solutions for the SMEs, as a part of its latest service offerings, Gati-KWE has launched deferred service offerings for companies with low bandwidth of last mile distribution spend but are willing to compromise on TAT. For SMEs catering to multi brand outlets (MBOs), the express logistics major has introduced seamless and tech-enabled multi-location pickup services which can be accessed through ‘Genie’, a WhatsApp chatbot (+91 74000 12000) offering instant assistance or customer portal on GatiKWE.com. “We have always been an SME-centric organization and witnessed a significant growth in this segment. Our deeper engagement with the SME sector has actually propelled us to expand our network and operational reach through continuous addition of OU (operating units) and channel partners. SMEs have emerged as the engine of growth for the economy. Thanks to the growing internet penetration, the geographical periphery of the potential markets of the number of SMEs is always increasing, so is the growth potential. Our tech-driven logistic solutions have been helping new-age growth-focused SMEs develop a well spread-out distribution network across India to scale businesses sustainably and grow exponentially. To make our services more impactful, we are customising our services as per the specific requirements of SMEs from tier 2, 3 cities, and beyond with the same vigour as that for a key account in a metro location,” said Manish Jain, National Head-SME, Gati-KWE. The SMEs have been …

DACHSER is expanding its Allgäu logistics center with high-bay storage for non-chilled food and food packaging. The company is investing some EUR 25 million in the project. Designed for sustainable operations, the new warehouse is due to open in summer 2022. “Now is the time for us to invest in the largest expansion of our Allgäu logistics center to date,” Thomas Henkel, Branch Manager said at the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony, in adding, “Our existing customers are growing at a rate of about 5 per cent a year and they need more storage space. We also want to create capacity for new customer business.” Covering an area of just 7,500 m2 but at 32 meters tall, the new high-bay storage facility will provide space for 52,000 pallets of non-chilled food and food packaging. The warehouse is fully automated and designed to store fast-moving products from different customers with a high percentage of full pallets. Around 5,000 pallets a day will be stored or withdrawn from stock via 22 loading and unloading gates for trucks and over a handling area of around 2,600 m2. Installed conveyor systems will, for the most part, automate this process. On the upper level above the loading area, 2,300 m2 will be available for manual picking and finishing operations. A total of 40 employees from the Memmingen branch will work in the new high-bay warehouse. “Intelligent automation technology relieves employees – our scarcest and most valuable resource – of much of the manual storage or withdrawal work, so they can concentrate on value-added services that are more demanding,” explains Stefan Hohm, DACHSER’s Chief Development Officer who is in charge of worldwide contract logistics at the company. Climate-friendly …

Kuehne+Nagel’s start to the 2021 business year was marked by a strong demand in transport services, especially for pharma and e-commerce fulfilment. Kuehne+Nagel achieved an excellent result in this environment; net turnover of over CHF 6 billion, EBIT of CHF 431 million and earnings for the period of CHF 318 million were all significantly higher year-on-year. Dr. Detlef Trefzger, CEO of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, says, “Exactly one year ago, when we were still at the beginning of the pandemic, we decided to commit to our proven strategy. Upon reflection, we are assured that we chose the correct path. In the first quarter of 2021, we were well-prepared to serve our customers’ robust demand for high quality logistics services despite the tense market environment. We expect this environment to remain challenging for the remainder of another atypical year.” Sea Logistics The positive profit trend reversal in Sea Logistics, already noted in the second half of 2020, continued in the first quarter of 2021. Kuehne+Nagel delivered intensified service to meet exceedingly high customer demands particularly in the US, in an environment of limited container capacities, reduced terminal productivity and increasing demand. Volume growth was particularly strong in the consumer goods segment. Container volumes in the first quarter of 2021 were up 2% year-on-year at 1.1 million TEU, despite a decline in recyclables demand. The unit’s net turnover was nearly CHF 2.4 billion and EBIT CHF 206 million. The conversion rate reached a record high of 42.7%. With a new alert feature in the online Seaexplorer platform, Sea Logistics customers are informed promptly about irregularities in container transport. This transparency proved particularly helpful to remedy disrupted supply chains during the Suez …

To revolutionise the transport of goods and reduce the overall logistic costs, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highway (MoRTH) has hosted the draft on the Automotive Industry Standards Committee and has amended AIS-113 Standard to include the safety requirements of Road-Trains. The standards have been prepared after examining European benchmarks, keeping in mind Indian operating conditions. “These standards shall pave the way for a breakthrough intervention for fast and efficient movement of goods along the long-distance freight corridors,” said the ministry. For the unversed, Road-Train is a motor vehicle wherein the traction is provided by the puller, which is connected to a serial combination of trailers or semi- trailers. These shall ply on select stretches to reduce congestion, save fuel and reduce noise & air pollution. The Automotive Industry Standards Committee has representatives from the relevant Ministries, Testing Agencies, Industry stakeholders, BIS etc. The amended standard AIS-113 (Code of Practice for Type Approval of Trailers / Semi-trailers of categories T2, T3 and T4 being towed by Motor Vehicles of categories N2 and N3) has been published for invitation of public comments, after which it shall be notified in due course.

With an aim to allow consignees get their containers railed out on same rake/same day from APM Terminals Pipavav port, the Port has launched Rail-Out by Bill of Lading service so that all containers under one Bill of Lading can be cleared together at destination with less hassle. This saves considerable cost and time for importers on consignments planned for inland/hinterland locations. The service is available to any shipping line, NVOCC, consignee or their forwarders or agents. For sea shipments, shipping lines issue a Bill of lading with specific number of containers according to details provided by shippers/exporters. APM Terminals Pipavav offers rail-out of import containers grouped by Bill of Lading (B/L). This supports the Government of India’s “Ease of Doing Business” initiative. At the discharge port, due to differences in discharge timing, most of the time containers under same B/L get stacked separately. This results in the rail-out of these containers on different rakes/different days (First-in First-out principal). This service does not provide an early/priority rail out. It’s an assurance/support that the nominated containers will rail out together on single rake. All containers would follow first in-first out principle. Charge • Consignees/forwarders/agents will be charged USD 12/TEU or USD 16/FFE for the service Order Service • Register with APM Terminals Pipavav as consignee/forwarder/agent. • Open Pre-Deposit Account (PDA) with APM terminals Pipavav using the PDA Application Form. • Consignee or their agent send completed B/L Raila-Out Request Form (.xls) to APM Terminals Pipavav (see sidebar) 72 hours before vessel arrival

Responding to a boom in e-commerce and general cargo traffic, Australian airfreight consolidator Consol Alliance has increased its services from the UK to four Australian Airports. Consol Alliance now serves Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane a total of 20 times weekly, using premium carriers and a proven transhipment routing. All cargo is pre-palletised before presentation to carriers for added security, safer transits and faster handling. The company is offering both door-door and airport-airport options. A steady rise in demand throughout 2020 is seeing Consol Alliance now handling a record 300 tonnes of airfreight per month on the UK-Australia trade lane alone, and the company has already processed 500,000 inbound e-commerce parcels in the first quarter of 2021. Alana Raitt, National Airfreight Product Manager, says, “Having successfully maintained a totally reliable service throughout the last year, despite the considerable challenges, we are pleased to announce this increase in capacity and frequency to Australia, with over 20 consolidations per week from the UK. Capacity has not been an issue for us. We make bookings one month in advance, and have pre-allocations to all airports. Our consistent support for carriers and our excellent carrier relations have given us a strong edge in securing space for our customers.” Although the normal services do not allow for outsize or project shipments, these can be accommodated on a back-to-back (separate AWB) basis, still receiving attractive rates. Consol Alliance is also attracting dense cargo by offering discounts based on its ability to optimise pallet capacity by carefully combining dense and volume cargo. “For Dense cargo, we will always beat competitors’ pricing, and our local arrival charges are also discounted,” adds Alana. Consol Alliance says its service quality …

TAP Air Cargo has launched a new online booking portal which allows more autonomy in managing bookings and tracking shipments. The online booking portal has a more modern and intuitive design which allows remote accessibility anytime and anywhere with all the information about cargo bookings on different devices (computer, tablet or mobile). Through the new TAP Air Cargo portal, agents now have independence in managing their bookings and can consult flights and prices, space availability, print labels, update bookings and send AWB (Airwaybill) and HAWB (House Airwaybill). The handling of electronic waybills (eAWB) will also become possible autonomously (providing that IATA requirements are met). The new portal provides a fully digital booking process, combined with the concern of constantly improving the user experience. It is available at https://www.tapcargo.com/en/manage-booking, after registration (only for agents) in the user area.

Antonov Airlines has transported 14 pieces of mining equipment, weighing 216 tonnes in total, on two AN-124-100 flights from Istanbul, Turkey to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Monrovia, Liberia. The 113-tonne cargo for the second flight was safely loaded in minimal time to meet the tight deadline required by the mines, both in the process of expanding operations. “These two flights from Turkey to Africa were meticulously planned and both flights were completed with maximum payloads on each route,” said Eugene Kiva, commercial executive at Antonov Airlines. “Antonov Airlines provided the flexibility required by our partner Skyair Chartering to perform these air shipments within the customer’s deadlines.” The airline made a single technical stop in Algiers, Algeria for the 103 tonne Burkina Faso-bound cargo and two stops in Casablanca, Morocco, and Diass-Thies, Senegal for the journey to Liberia to refuel and provide crew rests. “As per our customer’s request for the delivery of large quantities of oversized drill machinery in a short timeframe, the two flights provided by Antonov Airlines made sure the needs of the expanding mining facilities were met,” said Tekin Ertemel, Director Business development at Skyair Chartering. “Antonov’s AN-124-100s are equipped with ramps, which are ideal to transport heavy and oversized loads safely and easily, contributing greatly to the delivery of a seamless operation.” Antonov Airlines has seen an increase in charters for mining projects since the beginning of the year and just last month completed three flights of equipment weighing 370 tonnes to Latin America from Australia.

Continental Carriers has successfully completed the door to door movement of Airbus H145 helicopter ex Germany, Donauworth to Mumbai on April 21, 2021. H145- Airbus twin-engine light utility helicopter can carry up to nine passengers along with two crew in standard configuration. The helicopter will be used for passenger transport, corporate transport, emergency medical services (EMS), search and rescue, para-public and utility roles with the possibility of reconfiguration for various roles. With experience of 64 years in the logistics industry, Continental Carriers is a proud member of IATA Family, one of the pioneers of CHA License Holders and International Freight Forwarding business with strong partner presence across the globe. Continental’s global service portfolio includes AOG’s, ODD Dimension, HAZ movements. The Group’s Aerospace Team has for over a decade been the first choice for Private Carriers, OEM’s, MRO and Lessors.

Delhi-based Om Logistics is now the frontrunner to take over Transafe Services (TSL), a JV with Balmer Lawrie, a Miniratna I PSU, from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). This would be one of the rare instances where a JV of a PSU has changed hands through a corporate insolvency process. The Kolkata bench of the NCLT has approved the resolution plan. Balmer Lawrie is a market leader in steel barrels, industrial greases and speciality lubricants, corporate travel and logistics services. It also has significant presence in most other businesses, it operates, viz, leather chemicals, logistics infrastructure etc in its 154 years of existence. Om Logistics, the highest bidder during the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) for Transafe Services (TSL), has proposed to pay Rs 49 crore, whereas the total admitted claim was around Rs 533 crore. The secured financial creditors will have to take a haircut of 87 per cent. The resolution plan submitted by Om Logistics was, however, approved by 100% votes of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Kolkata-based TSL, a joint venture of Balmer Lawrie & Co (BL) and Balmer Lawrie — Van Leer (BLVL) with each holding 50% shares. The firm is specialised in the design and manufacturing of containers and tanks. Western Carriers (India), which offered Rs 47.6 crore, was declared the H2 bidder. Syndicate Bank, merged into Canara Bank from April, 2020, had moved NCLT against TSL on the ground that the company had committed default. Other financial creditors are: Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Karur Vysya Bank and Bank of India, among others. Source: Times Of India