Category Archives: Supply Chain

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has invested Rs 30,000 crore (around USD 3.76 billion) in its retail business and added 2,500 stores, taking the total store count to 15,196 in FY22. Besides, Reliance Retail added 11.1 million square feet of warehousing space during the year, nearly doubling the warehousing space to 22.7 million square feet, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said in the annual report for FY22. “Reliance Retail has built capabilities through organic growth, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships with investments near Rs 30,000 crore in FY 2021-22. Reliance Retail added over 2,500 new stores and 11.1 million sq ft of warehousing space during the year,” said official statement from RIL. In FY22, on an average, Reliance Retail added seven stores per day.

The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) and NEC have collaborated to provide logistics visualization services that would help to streamline India’s complex logistics supply chains and reduce logistics costs. An official statement said, “India’s rapid economic growth has been causing trouble for the country’s aging logistics infrastructure. Transporting goods around the country takes a long time and there are frequent delays. It is difficult to know exactly where shipments are at any given moment. Wishing to avoid the risk of running out of stock, consignors in the manufacturing industry have tended to overstock their inventories. The added costs of navigating complex logistics supply routes and overstocking have created barriers to attracting foreign investment and enhancing international competitiveness.” Piyush Sinha, CEO of DMICDC Logistics Data Services (DLDS), a joint venture company between DMICDC and NEC also stated, “The logistics cost is probably 13 to 14 per cent of total GDP. This must reduce to 7 to 8 per cent to make our exports more competitive.”

DB Schenker is all set to commence a warehouse facility in Badli, Haryana. “We are glad to inform that our upcoming facility in Badli, Haryana is almost ready to use with full compliance. The facility spans a total area of over 6,00,000 sq. feet and is close to the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway within NCR,” stated a company’s statement.

According to the leading global freight forwarding company DHL, with new container vessels being delivered and demand from shippers softening, port congestion is expected to ease next year but not enough to restore global supply-chain flows to where they were before Covid. “It’s going to ease in 2023, but it’s not going to go back to 2019,” said Tim Scharwath, Freight Chief Executive Officer, DHL Global Forwarding in a statement. “I don’t think we’re going to go back to this overcapacity situation where rates were very low. Infrastructure, especially in the US, isn’t going to get better overnight, because infrastructure developments take a long time,” he added.

Elixia Tech Solutions recorded a business growth of 175 per cent in Maharashtra in 2021-2022. This apart, Elixia has also clocked a 2.2x increase in its customer base in the said region in FY 2021-2022. Sanket Sheth, Founder and MD said, “Maharashtra Government has made large investments towards improving the state’s fragmented logistics sector. It has resulted in the state emerging as a hub for supply chain operations. Elixia has responded enthusiastically to the moves by leveraging them with our tech-based services. We have taken full advantage and registered robust business growth.” Seth added that “technological intervention will boost and strengthen the state and India’s logistics segment”.

To deliver faster transit times and better service in mainland Penang, Perlis, and Kedah, DHL Express Malaysia has officially opened its new Prai Service Centre in Batu Kawan, Penang, on 17 May 2022. The new facility, which is five times the size of its previous location, occupies almost 2,400 sq. mts. of warehousing and office space. It is equipped with a solar panel system and energy-efficient infrastructure to cut the release of greenhouse gases by 26.9 per cent. Julian Neo, MD, DHL Express Malaysia, and Brunei said, “The boom in online shopping, social media, and express shipping led to record increases in our international inbound and outbound volumes. The positive trajectory is likely to endure as these trends prove their staying power and air cargo availability gradually returns to normalcy.”

To improve supply chain performance, CMA CGM has launched an industry first early container return incentive programme at the FMS terminal in Los Angeles and at its return locations in Dallas, Chicago, Memphis, and Kansas City. The 60-day incentive programme started on 16 May 2022 will continue until July 15 2022. “It will assist in putting back 43,000 dry containers into circulation within four days of pick-up. Clients are expected to receive a $300 credit per dry container returned to eligible locations during calendar days one to four. Followed by a calculation of incentive credits, which will be carried out on a weekly basis with a credit memo issued every 14 days to each applicable importer,” said a company release. Ed Aldridge, President, CMA CGM and APL North America, said, “We are committed to doing everything to increase the fluidity and velocity of America’s supply chain. Our new programme will result in an incentive credit for our importers, improve equipment availability for our exporters and expedite the flow of goods into and out of America’s heartland.”

With the focus on supporting growth of the Indian e-commerce ecosystem by expanding infrastructure and services, DHL Supply Chain has, after Bangalore, now expanded its India Fulfilment Network (IFN) to Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Delhi. The company has so far invested over INR 25 crores in capacity building through IFN. “The latest development is designed to be a launch pad curated for easing the B2C fulfilment process. It is a 360-degree supply chain solution for enterprises across sectors, allowing them to manage their fulfilment operations seamlessly in a fully online marketplace scenario. In addition to this, IFN also offers carrier agnostic transportation network linkages to brands and companies desiring to sell online, providing them with last mile delivery services to further bolster their independent dot.com models,” said an official release. Vikas Anand, Managing Director said, “Using IFN not only reduces delivery times, but also helps avoid long distance shipments across the country thus reducing CO2 emissions occurring from transport.”

With an aim to expand its geographical presence, enable sellers to make swift deliveries to end-consumers, and to promote efficient last-mile deliveries, Pickrr is planning to unveil 25 new fulfillment facilities pan India. “Pickrr Plus Fulfillment centers are a network of tech-enabled establishments strategically positioned in the near vicinity of the end-consumer, enabling more than 90 per cent same-day deliveries at significantly lower freight costs,” said an official company statement. With new fulfillment centers, Pickrr wants to bridge the gap between D2C brands from their end-consumer regardless of the geographical distance. Gaurav Mangla, Co-Founder and CEO said, “The competition between digital-first businesses is increasing, and to build a competitive advantage, they need to serve their customers pan India, on time. By using Pickrr Plus fulfillment facilities, brands can associate with us and grow multi-fold by tapping a diverse range of untapped consumer pools and addressing all the last-mile barriers. Pickrr’s upcoming fulfillment centers will also help D2C brands make their customer experience more frictionless and establish a trust to gain their loyalty.”  

LocoNav assisted logistics firm, Medallion Translinks, save more than Rs 7.25 crores in a year by deploying LocoNav’s fleet management and video safety solutions for its fleet of 170 vehicles. Pranjal Tulsiyan, Founder, Medallion Translinks, said, “Using LocoNav’s solutions gave us the confidence to diversify into a full-blown logistics business from being a traditional FMCG company. We have not only been able to reduce our costs significantly but also improve our fleet, driver, and cargo safety by using solutions such as e-locks and video dashcams. The solutions have enabled us to maintain a check on our drivers and prevent misuse of vehicles.”