Category Archives: Supply Chain

Emirates SkyCargo, an air transport of temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals, announces the completion of more than 400 million kilos of pharma transport in 5 years, marking an important operational milestone. In September 2016, Emirates SkyCargo raised the bar in the air cargo industry for the safe and efficient transport of pharmaceuticals by launching its dedicated GDP certified pharma handling facility at Dubai International Airport and at the same time unveiling its three-tiered specialised product – Emirates Pharma. Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional senior vice president, Cargo, said, “At Emirates SkyCargo, we recognised very early on that our customers were looking for increasingly specialised solutions for their cargo and this was true especially for valuable and life-saving medicines that have to be transported under very strict conditions. We introduced our 360 degree transportation solution backed by state of the art GDP certified Dubai handling facility for our pharma customers in September 2016. The response from the market was overwhelmingly positive and we managed to very quickly transform the perception that Dubai was a destination to be avoided for pharma cargo in the summer to that of Dubai being a reliable hub for pharma customers all year round. Our pharma volumes have continued to grow over the years and to date we have transported more than 400 million kilos (400, 000 tonnes) of pharma cargo under our Emirates Pharma umbrella.”

project44, the global leader in real-time supply chain visibility, has acquired Austin-based Convey, the last-mile technology leader. Together, the two companies now serve the global supply chain end-to-end, providing real-time visibility and actionable insights from raw materials to the front door to help brands deliver differentiated direct-to-consumer and eCommerce experiences for their customers. Covey has direct-to-consumer delivery experiences for more than 200 of the world’s largest brands, including The Home Depot, Nieman Marcus, Ferguson, Ingram-Micro, and others. Convey, recognized as a Challenger in the Gartner 2021 Magic Quadrant for Real-Time Visibility Platforms, combines real-time visibility, post-purchase experiences, and machine learning-powered analytics to improve the overall customer experience.

In a major development at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), one of India’s premier container handling port, the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, virtually flagged-off the dwarf container train service from JNPT in the presence of Dr. Sanjeev Ranjan, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT and Unmesh Sharad Wagh, IRS, Deputy Chairman, JNPT. With this, the first consignment of laden Dwarf containers from Dwarf container depot (DCD) at the port was being moved by train to ICD Kanpur. The port is set to gain steadily from the implementation the Dwarf container train services from JNPT, as the rail movement of EXIM cargo through double stacked dwarf containers, would offer competitive cost advantage to the EXIM community, resulting in an increase in port cargo traffic via rail route.As the name suggests, the ‘Dwarf Containers’ are lesser in height by 660 mm than normal ISO containers, giving them a logistical edge. The Low height of dwarf container loaded on trailers can pass through rural, semi urban and urban roads, through limited height subways & level crossing in electrified sections. Furthermore, the ‘Dwarf’ containers provide a 67% increase in volume when double-stacked and can carry a weight of 71 tons, against 40 tons by an ISO container.

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has launched an ease of Logistic Portal to facilitate the process of container demand fulfilment in a systematic manner with the provisions for exporters to post their requirements. The portal is an initiative of FIEO to bring service seekers and service providers on a single platform to discuss and finalize business. It gives visibility of exporters logistics requirements (ocean freight, air freight etc) on Pan India basis to be fulfilled by Logistics Service Providers. The platform also gives large business outreach and networking opportunities to users.

Logistics operator LOGOS, in one of the largest warehouse lease transactions, leased out a million square feet of warehousing space in Devanahalli Industrial and Logistics Park in north Bengaluru to e-commerce major Amazon India. The 20-year long lease tenure has a rental outflow of $100 million. Built by LOGOS, the Amazon India facility will comprise a receiving centre, sorting centre, fulfilment centre and Amazon Retail in a single location, thus enabling the firm to enhance operational efficiencies and service the growing demand in this region. “The Indian warehousing sector has seen significant attraction from both global and domestic investors and occupiers on the back of the GST changes and significant growth in e-commerce. LOGOS is committed to establishing a new benchmark of high quality and sustainable logistics warehousing in India to support the critical infrastructure services needed for new economy businesses in India.” said Mehul Shah, CEO, LOGOS’ Indian business

Ecom Express has announced the launch of its delivery partner initiative under the name of “Ecom Sanjeev Program (ESP)” that is aimed at creating part-time work opportunities for individuals that allow them to work at flexible timings to maximise their earnings by delivering e-commerce packages to customers. “This program, besides empowering the gig workforce, will help to scale the company’s delivery capabilities in assuring speed, reliable and effective logistics solutions to deliver online-ordered products safely at customers’ doorstep. Ecom Express is looking at engaging 16000 + gig workforce as independent delivery partners to handle the upcoming e-commerce festive season shipment load in key cities and districts across the country,” reads the release.

Google Cloud announced the launch of Supply Chain Twin, a purpose-built industry solution that lets companies build a digital twin–a virtual representation of their physical supply chain–by orchestrating data from disparate sources to get a more complete view of suppliers, inventories, and other information. Google Cloud also announced the Supply Chain Pulse module that can be used with Supply Chain Twin to provide real-time dashboards, advanced analytics, alerts on critical issues like potential disruptions, and collaboration in Google Workspace. The majority of companies do not have complete visibility of their supply chains, resulting in retail stock outs, aging manufacturing inventory, or weather-related disruptions. In 2020, out-of-stock items alone cost the retail industry an estimated $1.14 trillion.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) will sponsor a number of women from developing countries to follow a new maritime leadership programme, curated by Maritime SheEO , as part of the it’s ongoing work to support gender diversity in the maritime sector. In Maritime, as with other sectors, the higher you climb the fewer women leaders you see in leadership positions. You cannot be what you cannot see! We need more women leaders, more role models and more importantly – our industry needs more capable women in the Captain’s seat. Says Sanjam Sahi Gupta, Founder, Maritime SheEO, “with a strong belief that every woman in the workplace should have the opportunity to flourish and achieve her full potential in 2019 I embarked on this mission through Maritime SheEO to create an ecosystem that supports women to become the leaders they want to be and they deserve to be”. She further adds, “I am really very grateful to IMO for showing their confidence in Maritime SheEO through their support for this unique Maritime women’s empowerment initiative”.

CargoTalk organised the digital conclave about Cool Chain revolutionising the supply chain. The conclave had eminent speakers from across the industry. With the focus on Cool chain in the new normal world, the summit discussed the significant role played by it in the transportation of the vaccine and other pharmaceutical essentials. In just a few months, the cold chain industry has become a focal point across the globe to do business. The industries across have well adopted to the changing dynamics of transportation of the temperature sensitive essentials in the supply-chain interactions and of their internal operations. Esteemed speakers included Fabrice Panza, Manager,Global Cool chain solutions, Etihad Cargo, Swarup Bose, Founder and CEO, Celcius, Udit Mangal, VP, Buisness Development, Pluss Advanced Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

“On the international front, we should have a smooth custom clearance when it comes to airlines. Another important aspect is processes which include regulations. Disruptions are going to happen more and more. As far as the pharmaceuticals is concerned, requirement for the deep frozen will definitely increase. There is a lot to learn from the covid-19 pandemic. I am a true believer of transparency. For this, we should be more clear on data sharing, location sharing etc. We should be able to give exact explanation to the customer about the shipments. For all this technology is there to help us.” says Fabrice Panza, Manager, Global Col Chain, Etihad Cargo