Category Archives: Supply Chain

IndoSpace announced its partnership with KSH infra to develop a portfolio of grade A warehousing and logistics parks over the next five years across the country. To develop these assets spread over 10million sq. ft., IndoSpace will be investing Rs 1,000 crore in this new alliance. The primary focus of the joint venture will be the tier I premium micro-markets including Pune, Mumbai, Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), and Bangalore. In this venture, KSH Infra will take the responsibility of identifying and developing the assets and will also be co-investing in the assets along with IndoSpace. “The demand for warehousing and logistics space is high and the opportunity is enormous. As a market leader in this space, we are always looking to support India’s growth by enhancing our reach. With an established partner like KSH Infra, we are confident of tapping into the market potential,” said, Rajesh Jaggi, Vice Chairman, Real Estate, Everstone Group.

GEODIS, a global transport and logistics services provider announced a new sorting center in Schoten, as well as a new office within the airport of Liege. The first will facilitate the expansion of one of its largest international e-commerce customers into the Belgian market. The second is intended to reinforce GEODIS’ e-commerce footprint in Europe. In Schoten, the new 6300 m2 sorting center will host between 100 to 150 express trucks per day. In order to process up to 20,000 parcels daily (140,000 per week) and ensure the fastest possible delivery times, the facility will operate 24/7. “For our customers, this means access to more than 250 million consumers in less than a day by road, also via barge connections from Liege to Antwerp, Rotterdam and on to the Rhine; as well as through air and rail connectivity with China from Zhengzhou, Yiwu and Chengdu,” says Mark van den Assem, managing director of GEODIS for Benelux.

Cochin Port Joint Trade Union Forum has urged the government to abandon a proposal to allow concession in royalty / revenue share payable by private firms — both existing and new ones — handling transshipment and coastal containers at facilities in Centre owned major ports including the terminal run by Dubai’s DP World at Cochin Port Authority. Terming the move as “shocking”, the Joint Trade Union Forum, cutting cross party lines, said it sought “to grant undue benefits to DP World which runs the international container transshipment terminal at Vallarpadam in Cochin Port”. They said the “facts were entirely different” to the arguments put forward by the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways in considering the proposal from the point of view of the Vallarpadam container transhipment terminal. “The terminal operator has miserably failed in utilising the facilities and infrastructure provided by spending ₹1,900 crore from public exchequer and spending annually a further ₹125 crore for maintenance dredging by Cochin Port Authority,” the Forum explained in a letter to the secretary, ministry of ports, shipping and waterways.

Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Guidance – the Government of Tamil Nadu’s nodal agency, for investment promotion and single window facilitation. This is towards setting up warehousing facilities across the state. The projects will be executed by Welspun One Logistics Parks and will bring direct investments of approximately INR 2500 Cr to Tamil Nadu. Under this MoU, a total of six projects have been proposed in prime warehousing micro-markets like Hosur, Sriperumbudur and Thiruvallur; totalling to a development potential of approximately 8 Mn sq. ft. to be built across a span of 5 years. The MoU signifies a deep relationship between the Government of Tamil Nadu (GoTN) and Welspun One Logistics Parks with the collective aim of enriching the logistics infrastructure within the state. Considering the tangible social and economic benefits that the investments engender, the GoTN has assured support in streamlining the approval processes and single-window clearances for WOLP initiated projects to facilitate the overall ease of doing business. WOLP in turn, is determined to provide high-impact sustainable warehousing solutions by incorporating green infrastructure and an industry-led technology approach.

The UK’s largest port operator, Associated British Ports (ABP) is bringing forward more than 1,000 acres (4,046,856 m²) of development land to support the UK’s supply chain, manufacturing and renewable energy sectors. ABP operates 21 ports around the UK and is making 14 strategic sites, encompassing a total of 1,075 acres, available for a range of business uses. “This initiative will enable a growing number of businesses to leverage our land, property partnering expertise and power capacity. We believe this can make a significant contribution to the country’s economic vibrancy and supply chain efficiency,” commented ABP’s Chief Executive Officer, Henrik L. Pedersen. A first tranche of 14 sites is being brought forward at ports including: Cardiff, Immingham, Newport, Port Talbot, Southampton and Hull. Next year will see the release of further opportunities, while all locations benefit from strong rail and road connectivity plus renewable energy generation, according to a statement. During the next 18 months, ABP has committed to spending more than US$6.5 million to make the sites ready for development, obtaining appropriate outline planning consents, technical understanding and carrying out essential land preparation. “The country needs more distribution hubs adjacent to major conurbations with a good labour supply and which can connect into our road and rail networks,” said Bruce Robertson, head of supply chain and consumer advisory at CBRE, which is advising ABP on the initiative. “The need for more warehouse space to fulfil online retailing, which is growing and was accelerated by the pandemic, plus ongoing labour shortages are putting unprecedented pressure on the UK’s supply chain,” he added. The UK currently has the third-highest e-commerce penetration ratio globally at 24 per cent with an annual online …

Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Aviation Group, has entered into a Proof-of-Concept agreement with SPEEDCARGO, the leading-edge logistics technology solutions provider, to utilise the Singapore-based provider’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) products to boost cargo capacity on flights. The landmark agreement makes Etihad Cargo only the second aviation company worldwide to leverage the CARGO EYE dimensioning system, and among only a few global carriers to trial SPEEDCARGO’s AI-powered CARGO MIND software solution, which delivers optimal cargo space planning and utilisation in seconds in full adherence to regulations and business constraints. “Etihad Cargo’s goal is to assess whether implementing CARGO EYE and CARGO MIND could ensure a complete end-to-end process which totally transforms airfreight operations,” explained Martin Drew, SVP Sales and Cargo at Etihad Aviation Group. “The Proof-of-Concept will confirm whether these advanced SPEEDCARGO products can boost efficiency, productivity and revenue return through digital technology solutions, with the plan to integrate them into our operations in 2022.” CARGO EYE, developed with Microsoft’s cutting-edge Time-of-Flight sensing technology, captures imagery of incoming cargo and calculates accurate dimensions based on cargo type, size, and packaging in real-time, while seamlessly integrating the data into existing warehouse management systems. The solution also feeds data into CARGO MIND to accurately build load plans, monitor, and promote data compliance, and identify damaged cargo to reduce potential claims. “Etihad Cargo is the first airline to propose using SPEEDCARGO’s new CARGO MIND-Airline Product for early-stage flight planning and creation of final booking lists and first-level load plan within the airline ecosystem,” Dr. Suraj Nair, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, SPEEDCARGO. “Thereafter, working with their GHA’s where SPEEDCARGO’s GHA solutions are deployed Etihad Cargo will further maximize …

In the first nine months of the year, at 95.8 million tonnes the Port of Hamburg achieved a 2.9 per cent increase in seaborne cargo throughput. Bulk cargo throughput advanced especially strongly, being 6.1 per cent ahead at 29.7 million tonnes. Totalling 66.1 million tonnes, in the first three-quarters general cargo throughput was a modest 1.6 per cent ahead. The upward trend was also maintained on container handling. A total of 6.5 million TEU – 20-ft standard containers – were hoisted across the quay walls of Hamburg’s container terminals, a 2.4 per cent gain. Despite this positive throughput trend, the Port of Hamburg was not yet able to fully overhaul last year’s downturn caused by Corona. Axel Mattern and Ingo Egloff, HHM – Port of Hamburg Marketing’s Joint CEOs, are, therefore, pleased that pre- and post-voyage rail-borne container transport set a new record at 2.1 million TEU. “That represents an 8.3 per cent advance,” stresses Egloff. “At 709,000 TEU, the Port of Hamburg posted the highest quarterly total in its history for containers transported,” added Mattern. The Port of Hamburg has further strengthened its position as Europe’s one of the largest rail ports. Seaborne cargo throughput in the first nine months of 2021 Throughput of containerised general cargo in the first three quarters of 2021 totalled 65.2 million tonnes, representing a gain of 1.5 per cent. At 908,000 tonnes, the conventional general cargo was up by an emphatic 5.2 per cent. In the container throughput sector, exports, 2.9 per cent up at 3.2 million TEU, outperformed imports, just 1.9 per cent higher at 3.3 million TEU. At 5.8 million TEU, the throughput of loaded containers, contributing more to the port’s …

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has poached two container shipping services from Centre-owned Chennai Port to its Kattupalli Port located nearby as competition for cargo intensifies in the Chennai cluster. “We are in the process of shifting two services out from Chennai and we expect growth to happen in Kattupalli,” Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer, APSEZ, told analysts during the second-quarter earnings call. “We expect more market share to be taken especially in Kattupalli Port from Chennai Port,” he added. The Far East service run by COSCO is understood to be one of the two services shifting to Kattupalli Port, industry sources said. One of the container terminals operating at Chennai Port is facing congestion, a source said, pointing to the reason for the shift. During the first half of FY22, cargo handled by Kattupalli Port declined 11.2 per cent to 3.33 million mt from 3.75 mt in H1FY21. Of this, containers accounted for 2.8 mt, while dry and liquid cargoes were 0.3 mt and 0.2 mt, respectively. Liquid cargo handled at Kattupalli Port posted a growth of over 200 per cent in H1FY22 from zero compared to last year on the back of the addition of LPG and LNG cargo to its portfolio. In the dry cargo basket, Kattupalli Port added dolomite to its business. In contrast, Chennai Port handled 23.091 mt of cargo in H1FY22 from 18.381 mt a year earlier, posting a growth of 25.62 per cent. The two container terminals operating at Chennai Port handled a combined 787,000 20-ft equivalent units (TEUs) between April and September from 561,000 TEUs in the corresponding period a year ago. Kamarajar Port Ltd, a subsidiary of Chennai …

Freightwalla has launched a free supply chain automation platform, an intelligent shipment tracking service for MSME businesses. An advanced predictive analytics system will help exporters/importers to combat risk associated with shipment delays and improve supply chain efficiency free of cost. The intelligent cargo navigation service backed by the latest ML algorithm will be available to all shippers, including local and global exporters and allied parties. Businesses can avail of the service at zero cost for tracking up to 20 containers per month. According to the Maritime Executive, on average, “Four out of every ten containers (39 per cent) missed their scheduled sailing. At the same time, some significant carriers and ports reported rollover rates of over 50 per cent.” Whereas according to Sea-Intelligence’s Global Liner Performance (GLP) report, “Global shipping line schedule reliability has dropped to 34.9% in January 2021, the lowest in history.”

Locus announced its strategic partnership with NextBillion.ai. This collaboration combines Locus’ expertise in automating complex supply chain decisions with NextBillion.ai’s industry-leading location tech offerings — map data management service, map APIs, SDKs and tools. The companies will accelerate global supply chain solutions and drive sustainable impact through their technological capabilities. “Together with Locus, we’re working to enable use cases for businesses with location at their core. Our goal is to offer hyper-localized solutions that address gaps in the mapping and geospatial data industry. We’re grateful to Locus for their partnership and support,” asserted Ajay Bulusu, co-founder of NextBillion.ai. “Our shared vision of providing full stack solutions and scalable enterprise tech solutions in logistics is a key driver of our partnership with NextBillion.ai. We are confident that with NextBillion’s data layer and Locus’ AI & ML application capabilities we will unlock new supply chain solutions and empower enterprises in this space”, said Nishith Rastogi, Founder and CEO of Locus.