Category Archives: Supply Chain

Roca Parryware has announced the strengthening of business tie-up with TVS Supply Chain Solutions (TVS SCS) by the expansion of their area of operations covering the factories, warehouses and import/export logistics. Roca Parryware roped in TVS SCS to support the Supply Chain operations during the year 2018 and since then both the partners have worked together to delight the vast network of more than 2000 customers across India. Roca Parryware operates in India with 8 manufacturing facilities and 12 warehousing stations. Apart from this the company also exports to over 15 countries including USA, Brazil, Australia, China and many parts of Europe. The company continues to import many containers from several countries to meet the growing demands for global products in India. R. Dinesh, MD, TVS Supply Chain Solutions comments, “We are delighted to further extend our partnership with Roca Parryware in India, cementing on the great relationship we had built over the last 3 years of our association. TVS SCS offers the best-in-class digitally led integrated supply chain solutions. The vast network of dealers of Roca Parryware today are a lot more demanding on SCM. With dynamic demand situation and consumers wanting products in a fast and efficient manner, our systems and processes must be digitally integrated to deliver an elevated experience.” Roca Parryware is one of our key customers in this sector not only in India but also globally. We look forward to continuing our mutually beneficial association and help them grow their business consistently” K.E. Ranganathan, MD, Roca Parryware says, “We are extremely happy with our partnership with TVS Supply Chain Solutions over the last 3 years. TVS SCS has added in good measure to our persistent …

With an aim to make the postage cheap and easy, Gxpress is all set to launch an operating system called Ecomgistics for e-commerce for small parcels in India, starting from 50 grams. The sellers also have an option to consolidate the small parcels in a single box and send to the desired location. Sellers will get the lowest shipping prices with free small parcel tracking, without sacrificing the quality of service. Its vision is to empower small to medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs so that they can really focus on their business instead of worrying about operational activities such as shipments, custom clearances and other challenges when are shipping internationally. Gxpress’ easy-to-use website will enable them to book a pickup, estimate cost, and track their packages and more. “The logistics industry has been completely standstill since the start of the beginning of the unprecedented crisis of Covid-19 and lockdowns, ensuring that the supply chains remain intact. Due to the shortage of labour and the restrictions being imposed on the movement of goods and businesses, the supply chain has been disrupted in the past six months. Now, as the businesses started opening, we have planned to launch Ecomgistics for small businesses because we at Gxpress understand the obstacles faced by companies especially when they have to ship small parcels from India but cannot due to high shipping costs. We will focus on empowering small to medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs in the growth of their customers by giving them the option to consolidate the small parcels in a single box and send to the desired location” said Praveen Vashistha, Founder & Director of Gxpress. Gxpress has a mission to build the …

IBS Software has partnered with CargoAi, to extend their presence in new and existing markets by leveraging on digital sales and distribution services. IBS Software is offering its iCargo customers the opportunity to increase their reach to the market and thereby scale their cargo revenues through a new partnership with CargoAi. IBS Software has been working with CargoAi since July 2020 to build a rich integration between iCargo and CargoAi using a scalable, API-based architecture. “Through this partnership, CargoAi and IBS Software have invested in creating platform-level integration to give our customers more choices on channels to digitally connect with their clients, faster time-to-market for such capabilities, and to do so with very little effort,” said Ashok Rajan, SVP & Head of Cargo & Logistics, IBS Software. “We believe that innovation can be fast-tracked by partnering with companies like CargoAi bringing in new and improved ways of doing business like in sales and distribution, which is still very antiquated and legacy-based in the air cargo industry,” he adds. Keen to offer a ‘digital ecosystem’ to its customers, IBS Software is making its motto of ‘Partnering for Innovation” a reality. With this API-based integration between platforms, airlines only have to turn on the switch for e-bookings from all over the world to reach their system. The process could not be easier for airlines – only a few days of tests are required between the platforms to get on board with CargoAi and no expensive bespoke IT development or complex system integration projects is required to deliver this capability. All the work has been done ahead of time by the two partners. “The integration currently covers real-time e-booking and e-quoting, flight availability …

With a primary focus on BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India & Nepal), V-Trans India has announced the commencement of its operations in SAARC countries on its 62nd foundation day. Initially, the service will primarily be focused on surface movement and will soon be covered with express and multimodal. On this M. K. Shah, MD, V-Trans says “This is one more milestone in our journey to become one of the most reliable and trusted players in the logistics business. The starting of our operations to SAARC countries is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of our company. We have been able to successfully manage the current scenario and looking forward to many more accomplishments in the near future. While the present times are challenging and tough, our team has gone all out and brought the best possible results, which are fully supported and integrated with the advanced technology and a collaborative approach.” One of the highlights for the company has been the successful management of the impact of the COVID pandemic. The company adapted quickly to the situation, digitised the processes, enabled smooth flexi working, and most importantly modified the decision-making process thus leveraging maximum to its advantage. It has undertaken several initiatives in the last couple of months towards the aim of achieving service excellence. The objective has been to ensure smooth conduct of its operations and maintaining high-quality standards in terms of delivery.

Adani Port & Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) has ranked 14th in the global transportation and transportation infrastructure sector and is the only company from India to have been included in this sector. This initiates the presence of APSEZ on the DJSI Emerging Markets Index, one of the most sought-after sustainability indices in the world that represents the top 10 per cent of the largest 800 companies within the world’s 20 emerging markets and is based on long-term Environment, Social and Economic, and Governance criteria. As part of a stringent DJSI rating process all responses by APSEZ were substantiated with internal documentation and real-life examples and audited by an independent third party to verify the accuracy of the information provided. APSEZ was ranked in the top 20 of every single dimension of the three criteria. In all, just 11 Indian companies made it to the DJSI Emerging Markets Index this year. Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director, APSEZ comments “We are pleased to make an entry into the DJSI Index. As the largest multi-port operator and logistics player in one of the fastest growing markets in the world we recognize the complexity that we are confronted with and therefore being able to achieve this high ranking on our debut into the DJSI Index comes as a shot in the arm for us as well as validates our accountability to our investors, customers, and employees. While our Environment, Social and Economic, and Governance criteria scores are a strong validation that we are on the right path, we really see this as just one point along a more ambitious journey we have embarked on to demonstrate our absolute commitment to …

Shankar Shinde, Chairman Elect, Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI) has been elected unanimously as Managing Director of the International Federation of Customs Brokers Association (IFCBA). IFCBA enjoys the status of Private Sector Consultative Group (PSCG) representation on World Customs Organisation (WCO).The election of Shinde in IFCBA’s crucial position once again underscores the growing importance of FFFAI and India at large in the international Logistics & Customs Brokers business. Having more than 30 years of experience in Logistics and Customs Broking industry Shinde is very well-known for his huge contribution to the entire industry. Apart from FFFAI and IFCBA, he has also been associated with various industry associations including Nashik Customs House Agents Association as President, International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) as FFFAI nominated representative, Brihanmumbai Customs Brokers Association, Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture, etc. In addition, from FFFAI Shinde is spearheading the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project collaborating with the Government of India. “The international trade community depends on the work done by Customs Brokers and IFCBA serves Customs Brokers by keeping them at the centre of the international trading system. It is IFCBA’s mission to promote the value and use of Customs Brokers worldwide,” emphasized Shinde while commenting on the importance of IFCBA. IFCBA works to bring about improvements in Customs policies and best practices on a global basis. These improvements benefit both Customs and Customs Brokers for achieving transparency in trade facilitation measures, brainstorming towards innovation for recommendation of seamless cross border customs processes and standardization with use of technology in achieving paperless transaction.

Enabling the ultra-fast delivery services of daily essentials and grocery under the Amazon Fresh Store on Amazon.in, Amazon India has announced the launch of Amazon Fresh in Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune and Chennai. With this expansion, Amazon India has more than 25 such Amazon Fresh centres, with a 3X increase in processing space. The company has also expanded its infrastructure with new centres in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR with growing customer demand for the grocery category. The specialiaed infrastructure is designed to ensure safe storage of products in the category with freezer and refrigeration zones, special packaging for frozen food among others. “The investment in these specialized centres is in line with our long-term commitment to invest in India and create hundreds of job opportunities. We are also delighted to help Indian customers get what they need, while keeping our customers and our workforce safe. In the last few months, customers have increasingly trusted us to enable delivery of essentials safely at their doorstep. We have ramped up our operational capabilities in cities where we already offered this service, and added 4 new cities ahead of the festive season to meet customer needs” said Prakash Kumar Dutta, Vice President – Fulfilment Operations and Supply Chain, Amazon India. Siddharth Nambiar, Director – Category Management, Amazon India, said, “As part of our commitment to fulfil the needs of customers, we are launching Amazon Fresh in four more cities of Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune & Chennai to offer customers the convenience of ordering daily essentials on Amazon.in while staying safe at home. Customers can now order the freshest fruits and vegetables as well as everyday grocery and get them delivered within 4 hours. The …

Snowman Logisticshas announced that the company is reserving average 500 pallets (approx. 35 lacs doses of vaccine) in every location and in some locations more than 500 pallets. In total, the company will be offering around 10000 pallets (approx. 7 crore doses of vaccine) space. The company can increase this availability, within short notice and can significantly expand capacity over a short period to meet evolving domestic and global demands. Snowman has also mapped other cold storage operators with whom the company can partner on a need basis. This can further help Snowman to create similar amount of space, if required. “Snowman is already managing vaccine distribution of Influenza/swine flu and Typhoid vaccines. This experience of ours will come handy while managing covid19 vaccine storage and distribution,” states Sunil Nair, CEO, Snowman Logistics, in adding, “We have worked out solutions for small volume locations where there are no cold storages (Small towns, Taluka, Village etc.), and how we can use refrigerated containers, reach in freezers, etc for the delivery. We also have mapped out, as our partners transport capacities and how we can use them in short notice. We can dedicate close to 200 trucks for this purpose, nationally” “The task is mammoth, as it is not just about vaccine, but associated ancillary kits (syringes, needles, alcohol swabs, etc.) should also be distributed concurrently. This will need robust distribution planning and involvement of multiple players.” Sunil added. The company runs 31 temperature-controlled warehousing facilities across 15 locations in the country, offering combined capacity of 108,375 pallets and has a fleet of about 300 refrigerated trucks that will further augment its vaccine delivery capability.

NebulARC has introduced UBICUO, an AI-enabled Virtual Assistant for organisations helping them to take immediate actions based on detailed workflows, real-time alerts and analytics. The solution aims to help the companies to automate the entire supply chain and make supply chain management even smarter. With the growing need for effective logistics amidst rising customer demand for ecommerce and FMCG companies, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find apt manpower to manage the supply chain functions. Leveraging the AI-enabled virtual assistant is a smart option for companies working towards faster decision making and enhanced experience. Being an innovation-driven company, NebulARC’s virtual assistant – UBICUO allows enterprises to keep a check on inventory, product perishability, supply trends, demand supply ratio etc. It is a cost effective solution that manages warehouse operations and follows up dispatched and stock in hand to inform the production requirements for smarter business decisions. Alok Sharma, CEO & Co-founder, NebulARC said, “Certainly positive about the market sentiment, we are thrilled to introduce one of our most-disruptive logistics solutions for businesses across verticals. Our one-of-a kind virtual assistant – UBICUO has been developed keeping in mind the various constraints that a company faces while managing its logistics be it for B2B shipments or for end-customers. With its unique capabilities, UBICUO will prove to be a key enabler for organisations by helping them to increase their productivity and optimise their operations at a significantly lesser cost. With this resource-saving project we are making yet another substantial effort towards accelerating digital transformation in the logistics space.” NebulARC’s AI-enabled Virtual Assistant not only manages the entire logistics ecosystem but also helps the businesses to significantly reduce risks of theft, pilferage and other …

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has opened a new Centralized Parking Plaza (CPP) for container tractor trailers with Customs facilitation, as part of its efforts to promote ease of doing business. The parking plaza spread across 45 hectares has a capacity to park 1,538 tractor trailers at a time. The plaza has been built exclusively to integrate the parking of tractor trailers carrying factory stuffed export containers at one location instead of multiple locations earlier. This will help integrate document processing by Customs with state-of-the art facilities and service provision. The plaza will be managed using Real Time Parking Management system and has a Wi Fi provision within the premises. It has a dormitory for truck drivers to stay, canteen for providing food to truck drivers, well-maintained toilets, area for vehicle repair and maintenance and commercial building. “JNPT is the only port in India which has planned for a facility of this scale and CPP is a key initiative to streamline the traffic movement and improve the port efficiencies using IT services, at the same time provide convenience facilities and amenities at very nominal rates to truck drivers who travel long distances to reach the Port. The Centralized Parking Plaza is an important part of our constant endeavour to provide the ease of doing business within the Port,’’ Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT said during a visit to the plaza today along with senior officials to oversee the functioning of the new facility.