Category Archives: Supply Chain

Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) is likely to start coastal shipping services in the country’s eastern coast, linking Chennai Port with Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. The eastern coast service will be run with two ships hired by Vishwa Samudra from the market. The 10-year contract deploys two coastal ships capable of carrying as much as 700 twenty-foot equivalent units with maximum gross weight of 21,000 tonnes (cargo plus container weight). The company had picked Vishwa Samudra to launch the Western coast service last year through a tender, seeking to benefit from the impetus given by the government to the waterway mode to decongest road and rail. Bangladesh’s booming economy has earned it the status as the fastest-growing economy in the Eastern hemisphere. The country’s GDP grew by 8.1 per cent in 2019 and is forecast to expand by 8 per cent this year also, according to the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB).

  JSW Infrastructure has signed a Concession Agreement with New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) to develop and operate its first container terminal project at the port for 30 years. JSW Infrastructure is investing nearly Rs300 crore to develop the container terminal which will have a capacity of 400,000 TEUs. As part of the proposed investment, JSW Infrastructure will undertake mechanisation of Berth No 14 for handling containers and other cargo on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis. The container terminal will have a quay length of 350 meters and accommodate vessels up to 9000 TEUs. It will have a backup storage area of 15.5 hectares for storage of container. Commenting on the development Arun Maheshwari, Joint MD & CEO, JSW Infrastructure said, “Container terminal at NMPT will enable us to expand our footprints in container segment and diversify our cargo mix. We expect to commission the terminal by mid of next year. It will play a key role in economic development of NMPT and the entire region expanding upto Mysore, Hassan and Bengaluru.”

N Sivasailam, Special Secretary – Logistics, Department of Commerce, Government of India has kindly consented to grace the India Cargo Awards 2019. India Cargo Awards 2019 are scheduled to be held on January 27, 2020 from 7 pm to 10 pm at the Crowne Plaza Greater Noida. Sivasailam is an officer of the 1985 batch of the Indian Administrative Service allotted to Karnataka Cadre. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering, University of Delhi. He did his Master’s in Business Administration at the Faculty Management Studies, University of Delhi, and Master’s in Social Policy & Planning from the London School of Economics and Post Graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Rights Law (IPRL) from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Prior to this assignment, he served as an Additional Chief Secretary in the Department of Public Enterprises, Government of Karnataka. He has served in the Departments of Health & Family Welfare and Medical Education, Forest, Ecology & Environment Departments of the Government of Karnataka as Principal Secretary.

Flipkart has led a US$ 60 million investment in Shadowfax to strengthen its logistics network in the nation. “We have seen strong synergies with Shadowfax through our existing engagement with them, and their investments in tech-enabled innovations will help us significantly reduce delivery time and provide superior customer experiences across product categories. By leveraging kirana stores and the deep delivery capabilities of Shadowfax and other Flipkart-led innovations, we are building a strong foundation to make inroads into a dynamic hyperlocal consumer market,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer, Flipkart. The Series D funding round also saw the participation of Eight Roads Ventures, NGP Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Mirae Asset Naver Fund, and the World Bank-backed International Finance Corp.

Allcargo Logistics has forayed into the express logistics space by acquiring a controlling stake in Gati. The company has added another domestic service to its portfolio by entering a segment which has been growing exponentially through this transaction. “The exponential rise in cross-border and domestic e-commerce has opened up new markets for traditional express players such as Gati. With Allcargo’s existing strength in the ocean transportation business and Gati’s expertise in land and air transportation, we are now in a unique position to offer our customers a suite of truly multimodal solutions,” comments, Shashi Kiran Shetty, Chairman, Allcargo Logistics. According to a study led by Deloitte in 2018, the express logistics industry is expected to reach Rs48,000 crore (US$ 7 billion) by 2023. This growth will primarily be driven by domestic consumption, shift from unorganised to organised trade, e-commerce (domestic and cross border) and significant demand from the small and medium B2B segment.

In its attempt to reduce logistics cost, the government has decided to allow introduction of ‘road trains’ on select routes and between identified points.The transport ministry’s draft rule for road trains comes at a time when the Centre is putting more focus on building 2,500 km of greenfield expressways like the Delhi-Mumbai corridor. The draft specifies the length, height and width of the roads. Even state governments are constructing more such roads. The NHAI has also been tasked to take up building economic corridors on priority, which would connect major manufacturing hubs. This move will encourage multi-container transport on the road, simultaneously reducing logistics cost. This mode of transporting freight is popular in countries including Australia, United States and in Europe to move huge quantity of cargo. Road trains consist of a conventional prime mover – truck – pulling two or more trailers. One road train in India can replace at least three trucks and is expected to prove beneficial for movement of freight.

China Airlines Cargo is set to launch a freighter service from Mumbai. Group Concorde, which has been the airline’s general cargo sales agent in India, will look after the sales in Mumbai. The airline will operate four flights a week, two per week coming from Taipei to Mumbai and going forward to Amsterdam, and two per week coming from Amsterdam and going to Taipei. The operations will focus on active and passive pharma. For pharmaceuticals, the airline offers services for products requiring the strictest temperature control, products that need to be kept in a certain range of temperature, and products that need to be stored in temperature-controlled facilities or room temperature. The first flight is scheduled to operate on November 16 (subject to all government approvals) westbound, and November 17 eastbound. Pukhraj Singh Chug, Chairman, Group Concorde, said, “China Airlines Cargo is a premium carrier and well-known brand in Delhi. It’s time we showcase its strength to customers in Mumbai. It is a service-oriented carrier and have always satisfied its customers. We are positive that the Mumbai market will be elated to have the services of CI to enhance the customer experience.”

GreyOrange has announced the deployment of its 12,000 picks per hour Sorter. The new sorter is a first-of-its kind automated solution by GreyOrange for QuadX, Philippines. The GreyOrange Flexible Automation system has been deployed to provide an enhanced and seamless shopping experience for customers, along with the ease of payment and delivery. The 12,000 per hour Sorter, is a combination of two 6,000 per hour sorters, each having 11 arms and capable of sorting up to 480 and 240 unique destinations with and without pre-sorting respectively. It can sort up to 150,000 packages within 12 hours of operation. Speaking about the partnership, Vivekanand, Country Manager, India & APAC, Grey Orange said, “GreyOrange technology will help QuadX realize their vision of re-inventing the shopping experience for customers by optimizing operations and throughput. By effectively sorting packages for the company’s hubs across Manila and Philippines, this solution will help QuadX meet customers’ order delivery timelines more efficiently and complete orders with less manpower than before.”

CEVA Logistics has announced the launch of a specialist installation service for large-scale medical equipment using its own dedicated team of engineers and technicians in India. In a further expansion of its global healthcare capabilities, CEVA’s expert team will be responsible for unpacking, installing and setting up equipment such as MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) Scanners, Cath Labs, Digital Radiography machines and CT (Computerised Tomography) Scanners on behalf of several global manufacturers. Akash Agarwal, Director Business Development India and Head of Freight Management Sales, India, Middle East, Africa & Turkey, CEVA Logistics, says, “Cutting-edge medical machinery requires specialist handling and installation, a complex and technical process. As our clients are increasingly relying on our know-how in this regard, CEVA Logistics decided to bring its healthcare logistics expertise to the next level by setting up a dedicated team of medical equipment installation specialists.” Initially based in Mumbai, India, the team will work on installations there as well as in Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Belgaum, before being gradually expanded across CEVA Logistics’ network.

FreightBro became the first Indian startup to join the Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg in an exclusive event titled ‘Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg Roadshow – An Indo-German Logistics Startups Connect.’ Johannes Berg, Managing Director, Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg, believed, “There is immense potential for partnership and expansion opportunities for Indian startups in Germany. We have collaborated with an Indian startup for the first time and introduced FreightBro to one of our hub partners, DAKOSY who are keen on working on Indo-German synergies. We eagerly look forward to further connect Indian startups to hub partners in Germany and connect German startups with the Indian market. We are grateful to FreightBro for organizing a unique event for us in India and enable us to connect with startups which has been immensely satisfying.” Mohammed Zakkiria A, Co-Founder, FreightBro, said, “Joining hands with Digital Hub is a strategically sound decision for us and is the perfect platform for us to connect with the right partners in Germany and plan future expansion in the European market.”