Category Archives: Rail/Road

According to WheelsEye Technology research, “Indian trucking sector is suffering from losses of ₹2-3 crore per day in faulty toll transactions. The Gurugram based logistics tech startup has revealed this figure in a research conducted on over five lakh FASTag users. WheelsEye claimed that one out of every 60 FASTag transactions is faulty, as a result of which truck owners lose hard-earned money every day. This survey prompted the startup to develop an auto-detection and refund feature for wrong or double toll deductions from FASTag accounts. In an industry-first move, the company has launched an auto-detection & refund system for faulty FASTag transactions. “E-toll collection systems are a symbol of developing economies. They enable a faster transit, check leakage, and create an efficient flow of money. While countries like Norway, Italy, Japan, USA, Germany have their e-toll collection systems since as early as 1969, India has just begun. It got a massive push due to the government making it mandatory and COVID-19 forcing contactless toll transactions. While we have reached a massive scale on adoption, we are still way behind in providing a glitch-free and smooth experience” says Sonesh Jain, Spokesperson, WheelsEye Technology.

Freightwalla has announced partnership with TradeLens; a blockchain enabled digital supply chain solution jointly developed by Maersk and IBM, to provide unparalleled visibility and connectivity for shipper’s international shipments. Improving transparency, traceability, and rapid response mechanism has been a significant concern for the shipping and logistics industry. With robust end-to-end connectivity of all stakeholders with the blockchain technology, the partnership will strengthen the overall supply chain transparency. The association will further fast-track the digitization revolution in the industry. Speaking on the occasion, Punit Java, Co-Founder & CTO, Freightwalla, says, “As a digital freight forwarder, our mission is to improve transparency and reduce costs for our partners and customers. Freightwalla getting on board the TradeLens platform will enable seamless connectivity between all stakeholders in the logistics ecosystem, including transporters, shipping lines, ports, and financial institutions. It will enable shippers to get full visibility into their shipments and reduce the overall cost of logistics.” The company has developed its own digital freight forwarding app for the EXIM fraternity and plans to link it with TradeLens, providing its customers unparalleled transparency and visibility while shipping internationally. Java, who also heads the development of Freightwalla’s digital freight forwarding platform, believes that TradeLens will help reduce the operational overheads and errors by enabling the automation of significant parts of the operational process. Bimal Kanal, Head – South Asia, TradeLens, mentions, “TradeLens is an industry-wide neutral platform aiming at digitalising supply chains and the logistics industries. We aim to bring as many stakeholders involved in the logistics sector as possible onto the platform and create an efficient, digital ecosystem that will drive benefits to one and all. Freightwalla’s moves towards digital transformation are helping shippers to …

With an aim to work together on last-mile delivery and distribution of products in rural India, Mahindra Logistics (MLL) has signed an MoU with 1Bridge. While Mahindra Logistics specialises in supply chain management and serves customers across various industries including Consumer Goods and E-commerce across India, 1Bridge is a bridge that connects the supply side of the value chain, i.e., industry stakeholders within the Consumer Goods, E-commerce, Fintech, etc. to the demand side of the chain – i.e., the rural consumer at the village level through its village entrepreneurs and a technology platform. Signing this significant partnership with 1Bridge, Rampraveen Swaminathan, MD & CEO, Mahindra Logistics, says, “This collaboration will complement MLL’s logistical expertise, pan-India network and a wide customer base with 1Bridge’s deep presence across villages in rural India through its network of local business associates and district-level stations. We look forward to working collaboratively towards a strengthened supply chain network in rural India.” Madan Padaki, CEO, 1Bridge, says, “We are delighted to partner with a leader like Mahindra Logistics, as this will enable a start-up like us to learn faster and deliver better consumer experience to the village consumers.” Mahindra Logistics and 1Bridge have begun pilot projects in Karnataka, Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu on deliveries of consumer/home appliances and groceries. Over the next 3 years, the partners intend to build an efficient last-mile delivery capability covering over 100,000 villages in India.

In a bid to orchestrate last-mile deliveries, achieve real-time visibility and enhance the customer experience, HomeTown has partnered with FarEye. HomeTown has improved delivery turnaround time by 50 per cent and achieved a 60 per cent reduction in customer calls due to proactive communication regarding orders and deliveries. With people favoring to stay indoors, following social distancing measures, and working from the comfort of home, shopping habits underwent rapid change. People increasingly invested in items such as fitness equipment, home entertainment, and furniture. HomeTown witnessed a gradual month-on-month increase in online purchases post-unlock. The brand’s ‘Home Office’ section saw a three-times increase in demand. Amidst surging orders and the need to drive seamless on-time fulfillment, HomeTown was facing challenges in ensuring safe and satisfactory deliveries. With regards to their multi-unit furniture delivery, highly efficient collaboration and interoperability between delivery and installation teams emerged as a key requirement. Leveraging FarEye’s logistics orchestration platform, the retailer was able to streamline processes such as- assigning orders to delivery executives, tracking incomplete orders and return/ replacement requests, and scheduling appointments for installation while keeping the customers informed at every step. Managers now track the delivery status in real-time with ePod and service completion pictures. Vaishali Thakkar, GM–Customer Service and Operations, HomeTown comments, “FarEye has helped us scale up our product delivery and post-sale processes with new distribution models and logistics partners smoothly, to ensure consistent customer experience. Being a highly customisable platform, it has been able to completely deliver as per our requirements. It has helped us in increasing the productivity of our field service engineers and technicians who are on the front lines of our business, and the face of the organisation.” Kushal …

To provide a seamless solution in transporting the temperature sensitive COVID-19 vaccine Shadowfax has partnered with SpiceXpress. Shadowfax plans to deploy a fleet of over 250 refrigerated vehicles, which will provide a speedy and reliable transportation solution for vaccine delivery through a sustainable cold chain network. For the COVID-19 vaccine movement, the company will provide logistics support to cover first mile pickups and last mile deliveries through a verified network of delivery partners operating across 500+ cities covering 7000+ pin codes in India. Commenting on this partnership, Rahul Kumar, Founding Team Member and Head of Network Partnerships, Shadowfax, says, “We are proud to partner with SpiceXpress for transporting the COVID vaccine and helping it reach people. Agility, speed, and precise handling will be essential considering the sensitive nature of the vaccine. We are geared up with our technology, people, and delivery expertise to ensure timely and safe deliveries across our extensive network. It has been a tough year and playing a role in bringing relief makes us immensely elated and energized. It is vital to have the right partnership when undertaking a task this critical. In SpiceXpress, we have found the synergies that will allow us to deliver the vaccine safely and seamlessly. We will handle ground services such as transportation to/from manufacturers, warehouses, airports and consumption points, packing, storage, and warehousing, at prescribed temperature across 500 + cities. We will deploy a fleet of refrigerated vehicles to ensure requisite temperatures are maintained throughout the delivery cycle.”

In the wake of keen interest showed by the investors and investments worth several hundred billion rupees being in the pipeline, Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh has issued directions for further strengthening of the investor-friendly industrial ecosystem and for building a robust logistics infrastructure in the state. The state government has nominated Additional Chief Secretary (Infrastructure & Industrial Development) Alok Kumar as state nodal officer for developing the integrated state logistics plan aimed at overall development of logistics sector. Kumar will head a newly created state logistics cell to function in sync with national logistics division for development of supply chains and warehousing facilities for industries. The officials of state government departments like Planning, Transport, Civil Aviation, Revenue, PWD, Export Promotion Bureau, UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) will be the key members on board, and nodal officers from Central agencies like National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Airports Authority of India (AAI), Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), etc. will be special invitees to the cell. The state government will also set up a state logistics coordination committee under the chairmanship of the chief secretary to monitor the progress and implementation of the logistics plan. Uttar Pradesh is attracting sizeable investments in warehousing & logistics sector, so far, total 6 proposals worth approximately Rs 438 Crores have been received in the sector.

In order to address the inadequacies of capacity constraints and improve its modal share in total freight ecosystem of the country, Indian Railways has issued draft National Rail Plan. “A long-term strategic plan called the National Rail Plan has been developed to plan infrastructural capacity enhancement along with strategies to increase modal share of the Railways. The National Rail Plan will be a common platform for all future infrastructural, business and financial planning of the Railways. This plan is being circulated among various Ministries for their views now. Railways aim to finalise the final plan by January 2021,” said Ministry of Railways in an official release. The aim is to create capacity ahead of demand by 2030, which in turn would cater to growth in demand right up to 2050 and also increase the modal share of Railways from 27 per cent currently to 45 per cent in freight by 2030 as part of a national commitment to reduce carbon emission and to continue to sustain it. Net zero carbon emission by 2030. The objective of the plan is: • To assess the actual demand in freight and passenger sectors, a yearlong survey was conducted over 100 representative locations by survey teams spread all over the country. • Forecast growth of traffic in both freight and passenger year on year up to 2030 and on a decadal basis up to 2050. Formulate strategies based on both operational capacities and commercial policy initiatives to increase modal share of the Railways in freight to 45% by 2030. • Reduce transit time of freight substantially by increasing average speed of freight trains from present 22 Kmph to 50 Kmph. • Reduce overall cost …

Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) has announced the findings of its industry performance review for the first half of fiscal 2020-21. The turnover of the automotive component industry stood at Rs.1.19 lakh crore (USD 15.9 billion) for the period April 2020 to September 2020, registering a de-growth of 34 per cent over the first half of the previous year. Commenting on the performance of the auto component industry in India, Vinnie Mehta, Director General, ACMA says, “The auto industry witnessed a downturn in FY2019-20, the situation further aggravated with the outbreak of the pandemic and the lockdown. While the first quarter for FY20-21 was significantly stressed, however with unlocking of the economy, the sales of vehicles witnessed improvement, month-on-month, in the second quarter. The component industry, in tandem, posted a subdued performance with de-growth of 34 per cent over the first half of the last fiscal, registering a turnover of Rs.1.19 lakh crore (US$ 15.9 billion). However, for the first time ever, the industry witnessed a trade surplus with Auto Component exports at Rs 39,003 crore (US$ 5.2 billion) and imports at Rs.37,710 crore (USD 5.0 billion); both exports and imports declined by 23.6 per cent and 32.7 per cent respectively. The aftermarket estimated at Rs 31,116 crore, also witnessed de-growth of 15 per cent. Component sales to OEMs in the domestic market contracted the most to Rs.87120 crore (US$ 11.6 billion), declining 42 per cent”. Sharing his insights on the performance of the auto component industry, Deepak Jain, President, ACMA said, “In the backdrop of the pandemic and the lockdown, the automotive industry faced unprecedented challenges in the first-half of FY 2020-21. The auto component industry, through …

Responding to November 2020 export figures, Sharad Kumar Saraf, President, FIEO, says that the monthly exports have shown a single-digit negative growth of 8.74 per cent with US$ 23.52 billion due to supply side disruptions including restricted container movement and declining petroleum exports due to its crashing prices. Besides, farmers agitation in some of the hinterland states have also affected exports during the month. Exports have been seeing signs of revival as order booking position has continuously improved and more new orders are in the offing. Saraf reiterated that the forecast of the arrival of the Covid-19 Pandemic vaccine along with gradual lifting of lockdown across the country and the globe has also helped in boosting the business sentiments for the sector as a whole, which can be expected to be seen from the positive figures of the upcoming months. Going by this trend, we expect to end the financial 2020-21 with an overall merchandise exports of about US$290 billion, adds FIEO President. Exporters have continuously been receiving a lot of enquiries and orders further adding to the positive sentiments with signals of further resilience in the global supply chain. However, the litmus test for the traditional sectors of our exports would be the Christmas and New year sale. If that goes well, the inventory will be liquidated, adding to further demand, observed Saraf. FIEO Chief said that the exports of other cereals along with oil meals, iron-ore, rice, ceramic products and glassware, handicrafts excluding hand-made carpet, cereal preparations and miscellaneous processed item, carpet, jute mfg. including floor covering, spices, drugs and pharmaceuticals, tobacco, cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handloom products etc., fruits and vegetables, tea, gems and jewellery, mica, coal and other …

Continuing to maintain the high momentum in terms of earnings and loading, Indian Railways has marked nine per cent increase in the month of November 2020. Indian Railways loading was 109.68 million tonnes which includes 48.48 million tonnes of coal, 13.77 million tonnes of iron ore, 5.1 million tonnes of food grains. On mission mode, Indian Railways’ freight loading for the month of November 2020 crossed last year’s loading and earnings for the same period. In this period Indian Railways earned Rs 10657.66 crore from freight loading which is also Rs 449.79 crore (4 per cent) higher compare to last year’s earnings for the same period (Rs 10207.87 crore). During this period, average wagon loading per day in November 2020 is 58,726 which is 4.6 per cent higher than October, 2020 (56,128 wagons). Despite festival holidays and Cyclone Nivar affecting freight loading, Indian Railways continue to register impressive figures in freight loading in last three months (in October 15%, in September 15%) suggesting steady economic recovery. A number of concessions/ discounts are also being given in Indian Railways to make railways freight movement very attractive. It may be noted that improvements in freight movements will be institutionalized and incorporated in the upcoming zero based time table. COVID 19 has been used by Indian Railways an opportunity to improve all round efficiencies and performances.