Category Archives: Supply Chain

Cyclone Tauktae has forced the Indian port of Pipavav to shut, putting increased strain on the country’s shipping networks. Pipavav, operated by APM Terminals, said it had declared force majeure and would suspend operations until 1 June, following the cyclone making landfall last week along the coast of Gujarat in the north-west. With winds up to 185 kph, Tauktae is categorised as “extremely severe” and is one of the worst Arabian Sea-cyclones to hit India in a decade. Pipavav said there had been no major damage to port infrastructure, but its power supply and communication links had been “disrupted”. Its closure prompted forwarders to signal further cargo disruption, with containerships being diverted from the 1.35m teu capacity facility. Sanjay Bhatia, co-founder and CEO of Freightwalla, said: “Vessels will now have to re-route or, most likely, discharge containers at other ports like Nhava Sheva [Mumbai]. This is expected to have a cascading effect on the shipping lines, importers and exporters.

Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport) has processed 650,225 kgs (542,620 kgs of imports and 107,605 kgs of domestic inbound) of COVID-19-related relief material from April 1, 2021 to May 19, 2021. Of the total, a significant 567,791 kgs were processed from May 1 to 19, 2021, with imports at 507,820 kgs and domestic inbound cargo at 59,971 kgs. While 200 shipments came in April, the first 20 days of May accounted for nearly 800 shipments, accounting for an overall 25,891 pieces of COVID-19-related cargo. During this period, BLR Airport recorded a total of 136 Air Traffic Movements (ATMs), including 101 international ATMs and 35 domestic ATMs, carrying COVID-19-related cargo. This included 21different carriers (7 Indian and 14 international carriers). Wuhan and Singapore are the top importing origins. Oxygen concentrators, ventilators and Zeolite were the major import commodities, while COVID-19 vaccines and PPEs were the top domestic inbound cargo.

Talking about the important role played by the supply chain industry during the pandemic, Huseni Vohra, Director, Buisness Development, APAC, project 44, said, “During the lockdown scenario, like many other essential services, the supply chain never stopped. From delivering the medical supplies to food essentials and others, the supply chin industry faced many challenges not only due to the pandemic but also from within such as the capacity issues, the demand-supply equations which were dynamic to name a few. My wish would be to equip supply chain with much more intelligence and create a support system that helps in faster decision making.”

Emphasising on technology as the need of the hour to be in competition, Samit Datta, Head, Global Supply Chain, IT, Digital Transformation & Operational Excellence, piramal Glass Ltd. said, “Today technology has taken a front seat unlike earlier where it was considered a cost. Tracking the data is the most important thing today in the supply chain management. With the pandemic, technology has been at the bottom of the change and played a significant role. Going forward, it is upto us how we use the data to be more reliable and faster than others. In short, the real differentiator will be data and technology.”

Talking about the new order world has been thrown into due to the pandemic, V.Raju, Senior Vice President, CL – Chemical, Pharma & Food Sector, Awashya a CCI 3PL Logistic Company said,”Due to various uncertainities created due to the pandemic, thinking has changed from ‘Globalisation’ to ‘Regionalisation’. We need to work in an enviornment which is close-by, thereby cutting transportation and travelling time. The supply chain managements needs to be more positive and more alert in the changing realms of the world today. They also need to make quick decisions and at times heavy investments to keep the production going on.” He further added, “The importance of regional supply chain is here to stay for a few years now till the system reassembles meaning, factories start working, global supplies are back to normal. Till such time, we need to depend on the regional supplies of the regional supply chain management.”

Spoton Logistics, India’s premier technology, and engineering-driven logistics company have been successfully delivering FDA-approved oxygen concentrators since April 2021. The company stepped forward to enable seamless delivery of one of the most critical medical equipment needed by COVID patients all across India. Despite being time-critical, the delivery of oxygen concentrators is affected by multiple links in the supply chain defining its availability across different cities and regions in the country. Spoton Logistics is thus focusing on providing real-time visibility into the shipment of oxygen concentrators, also alerting the consumer in advance in case there is an unavoidable delay. Commenting on the development, Uday Sharma, COO, Spoton Logistics, stated, “To ensure that the demand of oxygen concentrators is effectively met, seamless and well-managed logistics is the key. We need to keenly keep an eye on the mobilization process of such critical equipment which can not only help the affected people but the government too in amplifying the healthcare infrastructure. As a leading player in the industry, Spoton has been proactive in making sure that there is optimum transparency maintained in the delivery process so that the customers can track their shipments in real-time. ”

.Cargo Talk in it’s conclave discussed at length the complexities involving the supply-chain sector. Various issues were addressed such as port congestion, enabling latest technologies to overcome the hurdles in the supply-chain. Renowned panelists of the field brainstormed over the difficulties and finding solutions to it. The panelists included, Samit Datta, Head, Global Supply Chain, IT, Digital Transformation & Operational Excellence, Piramal Glass Ltd., V.Raju, Senior Vice President- CL- Chemical, Pharma & Food Sector, AwashyaCCI 3PL Logistics Company and Huseni Vohra, Director, Business Development, APAC, project 44.

To combat the port congestion disruptions which continue to cause downstream effects throughout the supply chain, industry is looking for an insight into how delays will impact their shipments so they can remain agile and adjust plan as needed. Focusing on supply chain complexities, Cargo Talk in it’s conclave today at 11 am will be discussing the same with eminent speakers like Samit Datta, Head, Global Supply Chain, IT, Digital Transformation and Operational Excellence, Piramal Glass and Huseni Vohra, Director, Buisness Development, APAC, project 44. To sign up, contact, Jaspreet kaur on 9650196532 or jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com

Spoton Logistics, India’s premier engineering and technology-driven logistics company, has announced customisable logistics solutions to cater to the niche requirements of SMEs and MSMEs which include the Retail traders in India. With an aim to support small businesses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Spoton will provide best-in-class services backed by its widest express network covering 22,000+ pin codes and its technology-enabled processes to ensure timely movement of goods across the country.  Uday Sharma, COO, Spoton Logistics, stated, “With digitalization blurring geographical boundaries for businesses today, logistics challenges need to be resolved efficiently so as to sustain business growth. Especially in the case of essential goods, maintaining an optimum supply chain has become the need of the hour for MSMEs and SMEs  so as to be able to meet the rising consumer demand on time and also ensure their own survival. The logistics cost MSMEs and SMEs   has been historically the highest. Spoton is thus bringing these customisable solutions for moving goods across the country – quickly and economically.”

The Indian Railways said that the first ‘Oxygen Express’ to Karnataka is carrying six cryogenic containers–a total of 120 tonnes of life-saving gas. Another Oxygen Express carrying around 225 MT of oxygen from Gujarat’s Hapa offloaded in Delhi Cantt on Monday. Karnataka receives its first ‘Oxygen Express’ on Tuesday, May 11. The Oxygen Express has left from Jamshedpur on Monday and is expected to reach Inland Container Depot, Container Corporation of India, Whitefield on Tuesday. Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal also tweeted about this, “Railways fight against Covid-19 is in full swing, as #OxygenExpress with 11 tankers carrying life-saving oxygen via Green Corridor from Hapa, Gujarat, is offloaded in Delhi”. The Indian Railways has so far delivered nearly 4,200 metric tonnes (MT) of liquid medical oxygen in 268 tankers across the country. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Railways, as many as 68 Oxygen Expresses have completed their journey so far. “Till now, 293 MT has been offloaded in Maharashtra, 1230 MT in Uttar Pradesh, 271 MT in Madhya Pradesh, 555 MT in Haryana, 123 MT in Telangana, 40 MT in Rajasthan, and 1,679 MT in Delhi,” the Ministry said. Yesterday, Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur received its first Oxygen Express, carrying 80 MT of life-saving gas.