dnata and Qatar Airways Cargo have extended their partnership in Belgium. The multi-year extension of the contract will see dnata continue to deliver a range of cargo handling and road feeder services for the airline from its state-of-the-art facility at Brussels Airport (BRU). Qatar Airways Cargo currently operates a mix of 15 freighter and passenger flights each week to and from the Belgian capital. In 2021, dnata handled 25 per cent more cargo for the airline at BRU than in the previous year. Stef Vanbinst, Managing Director of dnata Belgium, said, “We are proud to have earned the trust and loyalty of Qatar Airways Cargo with our reliable and safe services. We continue to invest in our operations to consistently provide world-class quality to the airline and its customers.”

Jet Freight Logistics announced ‘Mission Excel,’ a business transformation initiative which promises to bring 5x revenue growth in next five years. This business initiative is built on the 4 ‘Ps’ of business expansion – Product expansion, People & culture, Process automation, and Promotion of business. Under Mission Excel, the company plans to expand its wings from air/ ocean forwarding to last-mile delivery specialisation, adapting 4PL approach, offering surface transport along with custom clearance, and warehousing. Jet Freight has recently announced use of electric vehicle for its last mile deliveries promising sustainable future and environment-friendly approach ensuring seamless deliveries for customers.

Vahak has launched an in-app payment feature, ‘Vahak Payments,’ to secure and simplify payments made by shippers to lorry drivers/owners. Karan Shaha, Co-Founder and CEO, Vahak, said, “Vahak is constantly addressing the challenges faced by transporters caused due to the lack of standardization in the transport sector. The truckers and shippers operating on our platform have been wary of the risks associated with their day-to-day financial transactions. Vahak Payments aims to simplify the ecosystem with its transparency and accuracy. Users can easily bid on loads and lorries of their choice and pay right away on the app. This saves them the hassle of making or requesting payments through cash or other means and ensures that the entire transaction is safe.”

Shreeji Translogistics Limited received ‘Premier Bonded Trucking Operator Award’ at the recently held India Cargo Awards 2022. India’s topmost supply chain awards which helps create a platform to recognise those behind the success of the cargo and logistics industry. Dileepa B M, CEO – Bonded Trucking said, “In these challenging times, Shreeji has grown its Bonded Trucking Division to another level. Shreeji has been providing Custom Bonded Trucking services for almost two decades and its services have been greatly appreciated by the Airline Industry. India Cargo Awards is an all-India platform with a vision to recognize those behind the success of the Cargo & Logistics Industry. I would say, the reward for work well done, is an opportunity to do more better.”

Jet Freight Logistics announced ‘Mission Excel,’ a business transformation initiative which promises to bring 5x revenue growth in next five years. This business initiative is built on the 4 ‘Ps’ of business expansion – Product expansion, People & culture, Process automation, and Promotion of business. Under Mission Excel, the company plans to expand its wings from air/ ocean forwarding to last-mile delivery specialisation, adapting 4PL approach, offering surface transport along with custom clearance, and warehousing. Jet Freight has recently announced use of electric vehicle for its last mile deliveries promising sustainable future and environment-friendly approach ensuring seamless deliveries for customers.

Air India, now owned by the Tata group, has proposed to acquire the entire stake in no-frills airline AirAsia India, following which it intends to consolidate its airline businesses under a single roof. The company has approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the country’s antitrust regulator, seeking approval to acquire the 16.33 per cent stake held by its joint venture partner, AirAsia Group. “The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of the entire equity share capital of AirAsia (India) by Air India (AIL), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons. The proposed combination will not lead to any change in the competitive landscape or cause any appreciable adverse effect on competition in India, irrespective of the way the relevant markets are defined,” Tata Group said in an official notice filed with the CCI.

Ramkumar Govindarajan, Founder and CEO at Wiz Freight received the ‘Most Promising Start Up- Logistics’ Award at the recently held India Cargo Awards, India’s topmost supply chain awards which helps create a platform to recognise those behind the success of the cargo and logistics industry. Wiz Freight is a tech-enabled freight forwarding platform with deep expertise in supply chain business. Amrit Lal Meena, Special Secretary (Logistics), Union Dept of Commerce and Piyush Srivastava, Senior Economic Advisor, MoCa conferred the award on Govindarajan at Crowne Plaza, New Delhi.

Activity in Grade A industrial and warehousing facilities continues to be robust during Q1 2022 with gross absorption in the top five cities at 6.2 mn sq feet, an 11 per cent increase from Q1 2021. The demand was led by heightened leasing in Delhi-NCR region and Mumbai. Vacancy across Grade A projects also declined during the quarter, indicating a healthy demand environment in the sector. Overall, the demand was steered by robust warehousing demand from third-party logistics players, amidst strong consumer demand across sectors. About 50 per cent of the gross absorption was led by third-party logistics players, followed by the Engineering and Automobile sectors with a share of 17 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively.

Shriram Properties Limited (SPL) and LOGOS have signed MoU for a potential sale of up to 90 acres of land in Shriram Grand City at Uttarpara, Kolkata, which will be developed into a warehousing and logistics park by LOGOS. The MoU for the proposed transaction was signed at the Global Investor Summit organised by Government of West Bengal at Kolkata and is subjected to necessary due-diligence and certain regulatory and governmental approvals that are customary to similar transactions. SPL is currently developing an integrated township project, ‘Shriram Grand City’ on a 314 acres of land parcel at Uttarpara in Kolkata.

FM Logistic has inaugurated its first owned Multi-Client Facility (MCF) in Farrukhnagar, Haryana. The newly inaugurated MCF is part of the five-year US$ 150 million investment plan the company announced in March 2019. Located on a 31-acre site, the modern facility will provide cutting-edge warehousing and handling, co-packing, distribution, e-commerce, and omni-channel services to cater to the dynamic demands of customers. The construction of this facility was supervised by NG Concept, the real estate sister company of FM Logistic. Jean-Christophe Machet, CEO of FM Logistic; Stéphane Descarpentries, Managing Director-Asia and Strategic Projects Director, and Alexandre-Amine Soufiani, Managing Director, FM Logistic India graced the occasion.