Category Archives: Warehousing

The FIATA Multimodal Transport Institute (MTI) gathered to address the implications of the ongoing events in Ukraine for freight forwarding and logistics spanning sea, rail, and road transport. Aside from the catastrophic human repercussions, which the industry is particularly sensitive to, global supply chains, which have already been weakened by the effects of the pandemic and the current maritime crisis, are being severely disrupted. Driver shortages, difficulty transporting freight within the impacted zone, and capacity challenges have all been cited. Rising fuel prices are projected to be a concern for the whole industry. It was observed that multimodal solutions are critical to guaranteeing the movement of commodities throughout the impacted area during this war, with border crossings apparently feasible by rail transit via Moldova and the Port of Galati, or via Romania, which gives port access. Trans-Caspian routes are projected to be crucial. Members of FIATA should be aware of the sanctions imposed by certain countries in reaction to the conflict, and should visit the appropriate government pages on a regular basis. Countries currently enforcing relevant sanctions include, among others, Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It is understood that more sanctions are being considered.

The Major Port Authorities Act, 2021 regulates, operates, and plans major ports in India and vests administration, control, and management of such ports in Major Port Authorities Boards. The legislation enables these ports to operate more efficiently as a result of improved decision-making autonomy and modernisation of their institutional framework. These ports have been given the authority to establish a scale of rates for port services and assets. Tariffs can be set by PPP concessionaires based on market conditions, for example. The compact Board of Directors, comprised of experienced independent members, is capable of boosting decision-making and strategic planning. Prior to the implementation of the Act, the overall capacity of major ports and the volume of cargo handled were as follows: *million tonnes per annum Connectivity is a vital enabler for ports since it is the end-to-end efficacy of the logistics chain that promotes industrial competitiveness. The Sagarmala initiative features a particular pillar of port connection projects to improve connectivity between ports and domestic production and consumption hubs. Under Sagarmala, 190 road and rail connectivity projects costing Rs 1.22 lakh crore have been identified for execution, with an emphasis on connecting large and minor ports. Fifty of these projects have been finished, while the remaining 140 are in different phases of development and execution. The Ministry of Road, Transport, and Highways (MoRTH), major port authorities, and other state organisations are principally in charge of implementing these projects. The government has launched a number of programmes aimed at port modernisation, automation, and digitalisation, with a focus on ease of doing business. This includes the implementation of web-based e-forms, direct port delivery, container scanners, radio frequency identification-based technologies for gate automation, a …

In the two weeks since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there seems to be a negligible impact on container prices and leasing rates in China. Container availability has improved from soon after the Chinese New Year until Friday across key ports in China. However, with the announcement of nationwide lockdowns, the supply chain must prepare for more turmoil in the coming months, impeding the flow of container movement as importers worldwide prepare for the peak season later this year. At the port of Ningbo, average prices for a 40-foot high cube container fell by 10%, approximately from $5930 on February 14th to $5329 on February 27th. As of March 10, this price stood at $5248. Similarly, average prices fell by 10–15% at the ports of Shanghai, Qingdao, and Shenzhen till March 11. Shenzhen witnessed a drop of 8% in the past two weeks. However, the lockdowns in Shenzhen, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jilin, Suzhou, Guangzhou, and Beijing (19 provinces as of Sunday, probably more to come in a few days) imposed now will clearly heavily restrict container movement at these ports, which will, as we’ve seen in the past, prove to be further damaging to the global supply chain. Clearly, 2022 has not brought any cheer to the supply chain industry. On top of this, war will just prove to be another disruption amongst the other innumerable factors for China’s supply chain. Freight rates and container prices were already at a record high even before the invasion started, and what happened immediately due to the war was that the Russian ports were not being called by the national shipping lines anymore, the Black Sea being somehow closed, and the Asia-European railway being quite …

Recently, Jeena Criticare, the critical healthcare division of Jeena & Co., India’s trusted and reliable logistics company, recently announced having completed a milestone of 100 tonnes of COVID-19 vaccine deliveries across the country in the last year.  Throughout 2021—the year when the nation was on a fast track to completing COVID vaccination after a devastating 2nd wave—Jeena Criticare was at the forefront of these efforts. Be it as an appointed distributor of Serum Institute of India’s (SII’s) COVISHEILD vaccine deliveries for private hospital supplies across the country or as a part of the strategic collaboration for Asia’s first drone-based vaccine delivery project for the Telangana government, Jeena Criticare has played a pivotal role.  Apart from the above milestone, during the peak pandemic time till the end of 2021, Jeena Criticare has been instrumental in clearing and moving 3,000 MT of COVID care equipment that includes oxygen concentrators, RT PCR kits, PPE kits, hospital beds, medicines, and critical care drugs, masks, vaccines, and ventilators. Jeena’s Pharma Division has also been instrumental in getting fast-track import clearance, from the normal 24 hours to a special 5 hours flat, for COVID Care Aid and other healthcare transportation from countries like South Korea, Germany, USA, Taiwan, China, Italy, and also the WHO. With their global logistics support, Jeena has also been a part of India’s export chain, enabling healthcare to various countries and also for customers like the WHO (World Health Organisation). Jeena & Co., an over-100-year-old logistics company, has always been at the forefront of innovation in end-to-end logistics solutions and continues to be a trusted and reliable supply chain partner.  Speaking about the milestone achievement and the strong thrust on critical healthcare …

Wiz, a tech-enabled full-stack freight forwarding platform for the modern-day, has announced the start of a new business entity exclusively for handling bulk cargo. The business division, headquartered in Singapore, will cater to the niche market of dry bulk shipping. Wiz has also announced that Punit Oza has been appointed as the CEO of Wiz Bulk. He will start his new assignment on April 11, 2022. Punit is a veteran of dry bulk shipping and comes with over 29 years of rich experience in the industry. Over the years, he has held senior management positions in some leading shipping and trading companies. In his previous assignment, he spearheaded the digital transformation of Klaveness Dry Bulk before moving to the board of Klaveness Asia. We are extremely excited to announce Wiz Bulk, a new business entity of Wiz that will cater to the dry bulk cargo market, and we will utilise our tech expertise to improve the customer experience for this market,” said Ramkumar Govindarajan, CEO, Wiz. It was immediately clear that Punit was the right choice to lead Wiz Bulk. I am looking forward to working with him to develop Wiz Bulk as a leading name for dry bulk cargo movements.” Punit Oza said, “I am extremely excited to join the Wiz family and look forward to building a sustainable and customer-centric bulk shipping solution to provide greater transparency and value, leveraging technology to the maximum possible extent.” I am extremely impressed with what Wiz has achieved in the container freight solution space, and I hope that we can achieve the same success in the bulk freight solution space as well. Punit will work with Wiz founders Ramkumar Govindarajan and …

The spectacular growth exhibited by the retail, ecommerce, grocery firms and third-party logistics providers have spurred up the demand for last mile deliveries, forcing top warehousing developers to ramp up their expansions in the tier-II locations and within metros. Aiming to have a better reach to the consumer, operators and investors such as ESR, LOGOS, Blackstone-led Horizon Industrial Parks, and Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP) are actively eyeing land acquisitions in smaller cities and vying for first mover advantage in setting up multilevel in-city logistics hubs. With focus on tier-II cities, ESR is currently in advanced discussions to acquire 3-4 land parcels. The company kicked off its urban logistics plan with the acquisition of 8.2 acres of land in Alipur, Delhi, to establish a distribution centre spread across 300,000 sq ft to cater to e-commerce, grocery, pharmacy, cloud kitchen, and other companies. “2021 was a mixed bag, with lot of leasing in e-commerce but slowdown in industrial. In the last six months light manufacturing and industrial sectors have revived. We are looking at significant expansion this year, incl-uding in tier-II markets, which have become important because of e-commerce penetration. Our strategy would be to build more plug-and-play (warehousing) facilities, which help customers to go live in three months,” said, Abhijit Malkani, chief executive officer (CEO), ESR India. Warehousing has been a sweet spot for the real estate industry during the pandemic largely because of the e-commerce boom. According to JLL India, the cumulative warehousing supply in the top 8 cities was 287 million sq ft in 2021-end and is expected to touch 500 million sq ft by 2025.

After two years of disruption, the logistics sector is riding on a growth wave as COVID-19 wanes, with the giant logistics provider DTDC leading this wave with a special focus on healthcare. The national player is taking the logistics game a notch higher and upgrading their infrastructure, launching several warehouses for positive growth and expansion. After the pandemic struck and several lockdowns, the demand for doorstep delivery of medicine and vaccines has soared. In order to meet this demand and facilitate people with speedy services that meet their life-saving medical requirements, DTDC is now on a mission to reach every large city and the remotest of villages in the country. Rolling this mission into action, DTDC has begun with the Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh. They have opened a new warehouse with state-of-the-art facilities and high-end technology-enabled. Partnering with e-commerce giants, the logistics provider is all set to provide enhanced deliveries across categories across the urban and rural segments of the state. “To further enhance our services and streamline operations to serve our customers better, we are building major logistic hubs across the country to facilitate business growth and deliver value to customers across the length and breadth of the country,” says Subhasish Chakraborty, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of DTDC. “We are happy with the way the people of the country have supported us in the last 32 years. We started from Karnataka but are all over India today. With the trio element of service, support, and advanced infrastructure, we are sure to take care of everyone’s needs in the coming future. Moreover, we also run a foundation called SSCF (Shri Subhasish Chakraborty Foundation), where orphanages and the aged …

Taking advantage of the good momentum, Combi Lift is expanding its business into the Americas. “Houston is the perfect location in the USA. It is one of the main project capitals in the world,” explains explained Klaus Hilpert, Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Combi Lift. “Solutions are becoming more complex and project risk profiles are increasing.Clients are looking for trusted and globally connected partners who can leverage their assets and drive risk-sharing throughout project delivery. For all of these reasons, opening the Houston office was therefore the logical next step for us.” The new branch is headed by Grant Wattman, President and Managing Director of Combi Lift Americas LLC. “Grant brings life-long industry experience in leadership roles, defining and implementing strategic plans, driving growth, operational excellence and building a strong financial portfolio”, said Klaus Hilpert. “I am extremely pleased that Grant is part of our team. He is a one of the industry heavyweights. Together, we will set new standards in the project logistics industry.” Grant Wattman is looking forward to the new challenge: “I am excited to be joining Combi Lift at a unique time for the global supply chain. Combi Lift provides subject matter expertise and assets, and is a member of the Harren & Partner Group, which also owns SAL Heavy Lift and Intermarine. The market is looking to those companies that will stand up and take a fresh approach to project cost, risk and predictability. The strength of the Combi Lift portfolio positions itself strongly for this new paradigm.” The new Combi Lift office is located in the Brookhollow Central III (2900 N Loop W, Suite 1100, Houston, TX 77092) which …

Coimbatore and nearby areas that are known for presence of manufacturing industries in various sectors will soon benefit from modern logistics facilities. The Central Government has identified Coimbatore as one of the two locations in the State for a multi-modal logistics park. The park is expected to meet the logistics needs of not only those involved in foreign trade but also for domestic cargo movement. An official of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said, “The park would come up on 100 to 120 acres in Coimbatore district. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation would identify the land. Simultaneously, two private companies were preparing a detailed project report and the NHAI would develop the infrastructure. We hope that bids will be called in a year to develop the park.” The park will have warehouses and proximity and access for air, rail, and road cargo movement. The land will be identified taking into consideration several such factors, the official added. Raja M. Shanmugham, president of Tiruppur Exporters Association, said this was a much-needed infrastructure. The government should ensure that costs reduce for the exporters because of the facility. “Such infrastructure are meant to support a region’s trade. So the infrastructure should be created first and these will gain the trade’s patronage over a period of time,” he said.

In the last 4 months, Amazon India has fortified plans (announced last year) to expand warehousing operations by 40% and has leased a total of 2.5 million sq.ft. space, spread across Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The US based e-com giant is also currently negotiating with Blackstone Group’s Horizon Industrial Parks to lease another half a million sq.ft. of warehousing space in Delhi and Alipore. Amazon has been signing deals with an aim to augment its warehouses across India, owing to the increasing e-com demand ever since the pandemic struck. Since late 2021, it has sealed 2 major deals with ESR for 6 lakh sq.ft. warehouse space at Bhiwandi and 1 million sq.ft. warehouse space at Shamshabad in South Hyderabad. It signed another major deal with LOGOS, for 1 million sq.ft. warehouse space at Devanahalli Industrial and Logistics Park. Amazon, with this expansion in warehousing capacity, will be spreading its wings over 15 states, supporting 8.5 million sellers throughout the country.