Category Archives: Technology

At the recently concluded ACAAI’s 47th Annual Convention, Ramesh Mamidala, Head – Cargo, Air India shares,  “There are few areas that would be heavily impacted as a result of evolution of Artificial Intelligence. CRM services, revenue management and pricing, demand forecasting which will depend on data availability, reliability and how your business analytics skills are and intelligent decision making using accurate data analytics are some of them. These functions will be positively impacted and they will help us in the coming decade in terms of the industry becoming more intelligent, better and more profitable. That’s what I foresee coming as a result of AI evolution in the industry.”

Data provider Rotate launched a live air cargo capacity tool which is accessible to air cargo company users for free. The tool consists of live updated flight data from an exhaustive list of airlines, more than 9,000 airports and over 200 aircraft types and will let users see the amount of air cargo capacity on various trade lanes. The data has been “filtered, cleaned, and enriched to deliver unique, real-time insight into changes and trends in air cargo capacity”, according to Rotate. Gert-Jan Jansen, co-founder of Rotate, said, “The air cargo industry has long been investing in digital and technology solutions, which have led to ever-increasing amounts of data being produced and stored every day. Our Rotate Live Capacity tool supports a range of functions within the air cargo industry, from network design to business development, benchmarking, carrier management, pricing, and market trend analysis. Access to real-time data also opens up a whole new range of use-cases going forward – such as pricing and revenue management”

Blue Dart announces partnership with India Post to introduce automated Digital Parcel Lockers at selected post offices. This innovation will allow consignees to retrieve their shipments from digital parcel lockers, without needing personal receipts or signing for a package. The Digital Parcel Lockers will keep the shipments sure and provide ease of access. In addition, deliveries can be collected at any time, with only authorized personnel having access to the packages. Blue Dart collaborated with Podrones, a last-mile technology and parcel locker company, for this initiative. Balfour Manuel, Managing Director, Blue Dart, said, “Blue Dart has maintained a long-standing strategic business relationship with India Post. This transformative partnership underscores our unwavering commitment to exceptional customer service, providing customers the option to collect packages at their convenience. This initiative demonstrates our commitment to revolutionize hyper-connected city logistics, enhancing last-mile delivery efficiency while ensuring a reliable and secure experience for our customers in an increasingly digital and on-demand world.”

Lufthansa Cargo coats another freighter with its AeroSHARK technology that reduces aerodynamic drag on the fuselage and engine nacelles of the airplanes. This technology was developed jointly by Lufthansa Technik and BASF for their Boeing 777 freighters, and results in substantial fuel and emissions savings. Ashwin Bhat, Chief Executive Officer, Lufthansa Cargo said: “The special coating significantly reduces the frictional resistance of the aircraft. Together with the lightweight cargo equipment we already use today, this technology will enable us to save 5,493 tons of kerosene per year. This is an important step on our way to becoming 100% CO2-neutral in the air by 2050.”

Cathay Cargo joined hands with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) for the first time to offer ONE Record data protocols for intermodal sea-to-air shipments accepted at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) Logistics Park in Dongguan for export from Hong Kong. IATA’s ONE Record initiative implements end-to-end transparency for consignments and logging progress as they pass through multiple links in the supply chain. Tom Owen, Director, Cathay Cargo, said, “This pilot also showed ONE Record’s flexibility, and being able to accept cargo from an upstream cargo terminal and then log its transit by boat was a world first. It also shows ONE Record’s value in enabling services such as Ultra Track and other use cases that we are continuing to explore.

In a strategic response to the recent government notification requiring exporters to declare freight and insurance details, Softlink Global has launched innovative solutions Logi-Sys and Live IMPEX, to alleviate the complexities this new mandate introduces. The challenge at hand involves the meticulous declaration of freight and insurance values at the invoice level, a task that becomes particularly intricate when managing multiple invoices per shipment. This regulatory shift, while aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability in trade practices, necessitates a recalibration of how exporters and their agents manage compliance documentation. Softlink Global, a stalwart in the industry with a commanding 80% market share, has ingeniously crafted a solution that allows users to declare freight or insurance as a percentage or value at the shipment level, ensuring stringent compliance without compromising operational efficiency. This feature, now available in our Logi-Sys and Live IMPEX platforms, not only ensures adherence to the new regulatory framework but also fortifies the robustness of our software solutions in navigating the ever-evolving landscape of trade compliance. Advantages to Logi-Sys and Live IMPEX Users 1. Effortless Compliance Navigate through the new compliance requirements with ease, ensuring all declarations are accurate and timely 2. Enhanced Efficiency Maintain operational flow without getting bogged down by the additional administrative tasks the new mandate could impose 3. Scalable Solutions Whether managing a single or multiple invoices per shipment, our solution scales to meet your needs, ensuring every detail is managed meticulously Softlink Global continues to affirm its supremacy in innovating for supply chains, demonstrating a profound understanding of the complexities and challenges inherent to the industry. Our solutions, consistently ahead of the curve, ensure our clients navigate through regulatory changes with unparalleled ease …

Kale Logistics Solutions (Kale) is pleased to announce the successful completion of its Series B funding round, raising USD 30 million in capital led by Creaegis Advisors LLP, a digital and tech focused private equity fund. This funding round represents a significant milestone in the company’s journey and positions it for rapid expansion and continued innovation. The company had earlier raised a Series A investment from Inflexor Ventures in 2020 and counts marquee founding angels Narendra Kale and Vipul Jain. The investment will fuel Kale’s mission to develop and deploy robust Cargo Community Systems to transform global logistics beyond regional boundaries. Vipul Jain, Chairman, Kale Logistics Solutions, said, “This is our second fundraising with an external investor, and we are happy to partner with Creaegis because of the alignment of vision for the business, their record and understanding of the SaaS and tech products space globally. We are confident they will add value to the company as we shift gears towards a faster growth trajectory. Amar More, Rajesh Panicker, and Vineet Malhotra, Co-founders of Kale Logistics Solutions, said jointly, “We are thrilled to partner with Creaegis for our global expansion, leveraging their operational value add and SaaS experience. Together with our esteemed group of existing investors, we are well positioned for the next phase of growth. The current funding will empower us to accelerate our mission of connecting the different stakeholders of the logistics industry through our community platforms and empower them with several digital value-added services and enterprise systems to facilitate global trade.”

GMR Aero Technic (GAT), the MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) division of GMR Air Cargo and Aerospace Engineering Ltd. (GACAEL), has been awarded an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Boeing Global Services (BGS) contract to convert 737-800 passenger aircraft into a 737-800BCF configuration. GMR Aero Technic is the first Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) partner to be located in India. The partnership will support conversions of both domestic and foreign aircraft. GAT has bagged the contract through a global competitive RFP (request for proposal) bid which Boeing had announced to identify MROs for their B737BCF program. GAT has been selected for the program post a detailed due diligence conducted by Boeing. GAT will be the 4th location after China, UK and Costa Rica, where the freighter conversion work will be performed for the B737 BCF program. Initially, this program will cover 30 plus aircraft BCF conversions, occupying multiple lines successively for appx. five years beginning in year 2023. Speaking on this partnership, Mr Ashok Gopinath, CEO, GMR Aero Technic said, “With the rise in the Indian aviation industry, MRO services in India has been one of the fastest- growing market globally. The partnership with Boeing reaffirms our capability to provide world- class MRO services and further contribute to the “Make in India” initiative. We thank Boeing for the opportunity given and look forward to working together for future initiatives.” “Our cooperation with GMR Aero Technic not only a testimony of the maturation of Indian MROs in the country to support the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, but also supports the anticipated growth of the cargo sector in the region,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India. Key features of GAT – GMR Aero …

FedEx has announced plans to open its first Advanced Capability Community (ACC) in Hyderabad, India in 2023. The opening is part of a broader multi-year initiative to strengthen the recruitment and development of the company’s diverse workforce all around the world and build a more efficient and agile organization to enhance how we deliver for our customers. FedEx plans to set up ACCs in different parts of the world in the future. Locations will be selected based on business needs and access to highly skilled talent pools. Each community is planned to be staffed by full-time FedEx team members across many functional areas who will provide shared services to support the technological and digital requirements of the entire FedEx enterprise. The digital innovation these communities will provide will enable the company to provide even greater value in the global supply chain ecosystem. The Indian government’s focus on providing world-class infrastructure to build a technology-driven and knowledge-based economy makes the country an ideal location for the first ACC. The first ACC will be situated in Hyderabad and is anticipated to launch in the second half of 2023. The state of Telangana and its capital, Hyderabad, has been focusing on its engineering and digital enterprise talent pool to support international organizations that want to set up a presence here. “FedEx is creating the world’s most flexible, efficient, and intelligent supply chain for our customers,” said Raj Subramaniam, FedEx Corp. president and chief executive officer. “The opening of our first Advanced Capability Community in India, a critical market for FedEx, will enable us to be faster, more flexible, and secure as we innovate digitally. This move supports our long-term vision to grow our …

IBS Software has announced the completion of a transaction to acquire Accenture Freight and Logistics Software, which provides technology platforms to help airline and ocean transportation companies manage freight operations and grow through digital transformation. The acquisition will strengthen IBS Software’s leadership as a technology provider to the airfreight industry by bringing together complementary solutions and a shared vision for innovating and transforming the air cargo businesses, a company spokesperson announced. VK Mathews, Executive Chairman of IBS Software, said the acquisition is an important milestone for the company’s cargo and logistics business in its bid to broaden its global footprint, with ocean transportation being a natural adjacent industry to expand into. “It is also a synergistic opportunity to bring decades of our experience and expertise to the ocean cargo business, as well as strengthen our own capabilities to provide greater value to the air cargo customers.”