Category Archives: Rail/Road

The recently announced Prime Minister of India’s Gati Shakti National Master Plan for Multi-Modal Connectivity is all set to revolutionise the way infrastructure and logistic development projects are planned and implemented in India. It will bridge huge differences between macro planning and micro implementation. The Northeast region of India, comprising eight states, namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, share almost 12,000 kilometres of international border with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal and Tibet, and is connected with the rest of India by a narrow chicken-neck, having a width of approximately 20 kilometres, which is popularly known as the Siliguri Corridor in West Bengal. This has primarily kept the Northeast India’s trade potentiality under-utilised, which is understood to be much more than the realisation of Rs 3,577 crores in 2019-20 and Rs 3364.4 crores in 2020-21 as per the data as provided by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Government of India. As a result of this, there is a thrust on implementing a large number of Union and State Government funded infrastructure development projects in Northeast India with the purpose of improving its internal as well as external connectivity. As per the MoSPI, there are 143 ongoing projects in Northeast India, worth an original budget of Rs. 97,418 crores in the beginning of 2021.

FarEye, a global SaaS platform transforming last-mile logistics, has been recognised as a Representative Vendor in Gartner ® Market Guide for Vehicle Routing and Scheduling and Last-Mile Technologies, 2021. This is the fourth consecutive mention for FarEye in the reputed Market Guide, published on 13 December 2021. Per Gartner, “The market for vehicle routing and scheduling and last-mile applications continues to grow as organizations are seeking ways to optimize fleet operations. The evolution of applications due to new business needs has made vendors expand their capabilities in certain areas or even specialize their products in a specific area like last-mile operations”. FarEye has been recognized as a Representative Vendor in the report. “At FarEye, we are dedicatedly working to make deliveries better for everyone. Our aim is to redefine the last-mile home-delivery landscape, making it customer-centric and efficient. We feel honoured to receive the fourth consecutive recognition in the Gartner Market Guide for Vehicle Routing & Scheduling and Last-mile technologies. With constant innovation we empower our clients to handle the growing volume of shipments, ensuring timely deliveries, optimum utilization of fleet and delivering superior experiences.” said Kushal Nahata, CEO & Co-founder, FarEye.

India’s first end-to-end online logistics platform in the long haul segment, ShipNext Solutions, has raised INR 4.5 Crores in its pre-series A round. Kerala-based Group Meeran, the promoters of the Eastern Group of Companies, led the round. ShipNext’s Machine Learning (ML)-based AI apps called ‘WeTruck’ and ‘WeTruck Partner’ automate the entire booking process for customers and operations for the service provider, ensuring seamless and transparent communication and service delivery. This tech-enabled match-making is ShipNext’s key focus area which leverages a state-of-the-art ML and AI-based system to assist customers with predictive modeling. From order placement to proof-of-delivery (POD) verification, invoicing, generating lorry receipt and real-time payments, WeTruck is the first app to offer the complete online procedure in the long haul segment. Clive Jose, Founder, and CEO, ShipNext Solutions, said, “At ShipNext, technology is central to how we leverage data to balance demand and supply. In logistics, often, customers find it challenging to obtain the correct pricing for their shipment and have apprehensions regarding multiple touchpoints and lack of transparency. To alleviate these concerns, we have set up a business model and a machine learning-based app that will offer the highest level of transparency to our customers and fleet owners. To simplify and minimize the learning curve on our app, we have introduced a chat-based model similar to WhatsApp that most of our users are familiar with and can easily understand. This investment is an endorsement in ShipNext’s platform as well as our vision to empower customers and partners with the only end-to-end paperless logistics app that ensures a completely online model of business.”

Maersk became the pioneer of offering ‘Assured transit times’ with its rail solutions to customers. The forward-looking solutions developed are expected to aid the rising demand for sectors such as eCommerce through dedicated services. eCommerce, which has traditionally run on road transit, is expected to move towards rail even more in the near future as it gives assured transit for time-sensitive cargo. “Being committed to connecting and simplifying our customers’ supply chains meant we had to go beyond solutions that are on the menu card. We wanted to create exciting offerings that would delight our customers, especially in the tough pandemic situation that we have been operating in”, said Vikash Agarwal, Managing Director, Maersk South Asia. He added, “Having flagged off 13 new services successfully over the year, Maersk is truly proud to have designed and implemented what customers needed. And it doesn’t end there – with the new environment-friendly rail services, in 2021 we reduced carbon footprint that is equivalent to the emissions from a car being driven for around 60,000 km.” Maersk witnessed 43% growth in the movement of containerised export cargo on rail in 2021 and 23% growth on rail for import and export combined. Maersk plans to develop further on the foundation of the rail solutions in 2022. “Rail has always been considered as a second alternative to road transport despite being safer and faster. Last year we have created 273 new corridors with rail as the backbone and connected our customers on this highly efficient mode of logistics all the way to their hubs of convenience. Having carried more than 50,000 containers (twenty feet equivalent units / TEUs) over and above the previous year and …

Hero Electric, India’s leading e-scooter company, announced on Monday that it is going to join forces with a last-mile delivery solutions provider, Turtle Mobility and will deliver over 1,000 electric scooters by the end of 2022. The alliance is another step towards Hero Electric’s efforts to further the electronic (EV) transition in India, with special attention to the last mile delivery segment. The company is looking forward to converting 35% of its sales from the B2B segment. “We constantly strive to quicken the pace of transition to e-mobility and push forward the same through B2B partnerships to strengthen the EV ecosystem across India. This partnership is another step to boost the rapidly growing logistics and delivery industry and steer our commitment to carbon-free mobility by electrifying the segment.” said Sohinder Gill, CEO, Hero Electric.

Logistics company Delhivery Ltd has invested in Falcon Autotech, a logistics automation solutions provider. The investment is in line with its objective of sustained investments in future-ready hardware solutions in its operations. Falcon Autotech is in the business of providing intralogistics automation solutions, sortation systems, conveyor systems, delivery-warehousing systems, and pick/put to light systems Commenting on the investment, Ajith Pai, Chief Operating Officer, Delhivery, said, “The collaboration with Falcon Autotech strengthens our ability to drive greater speed, precision, and efficiency across our business lines.” With this partnership, Delhivery said it expects to work closely with Falcon Autotech to design and implement new automation solutions for transportation and warehousing operations. The partnership will also enable the bundling of the hardware automated solutions along with Delhivery’s SaaS platform, one of the proposed growth verticals for Delhivery in the national and international market. Naman Jain, Chief Executive Officer, Falcon Autotech, added, “We are delighted to welcome Delhivery as a partner to Falcon. This investment is a testimony to Falcon’s commitment to our customers, our design, technology, and delivery capabilities, and the product roadmap ahead.”

According to ICRA, the Indian Road logistic sector is likely to witness healthy growth in FY2022 on the back of demand recovery and improved business activities. This optimistic lookout is supported by the favorable scenario that has presented itself in recent times, wherein most players reported strong growth in freight volumes on a sequential basis in the second quarter of FY’22, and the momentum is likely to continue in the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal. A stable outlook was maintained by the domestic rating agency for the Indian road logistic sector. After a subdued Q1 FY’22 on account of the second wave of COVID-19, demand recovery and improved business activities from Q2 FY’22 onwards, led to better asset utilization, which, along with cost-rationalization measures, supported the operating margins in the current fiscal, Icra said in a statement. Demand from segments like e-commerce, FMCG, retail, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and industrial goods coupled with an industry paradigm shift towards organized logistics players, post the GST and E-way bill implementation will keep the growth steady over the medium-term.

With the perspective to de-congest the capital city, along with other benefits, NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) will be proposing to shift the majority of warehouses from within Delhi to the peripheries of the city i.e. the upcoming Urban Extension Road (UER) and the Eastern and Western Expressways. The Center plans to hold a meeting with the Delhi Government to discuss this initiative further, which is also expected to decrease the number of heavy goods vehicles entering the capital and divert them to the outskirts instead. “You all are aware and you also experience the ill effects from air pollution in Delhi and around. Now we have built two expressways around the national capital.Large godowns and warehouses can come along these expressways and there will be less need of trucks and other heavy goods vehicles to enter Delhi, which will reduce congestion and air pollution.” said Nitin Gadkari, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister National Highways Logistics Management System – a special purpose entity of NHAI – has already formulated a detailed plan for the proposed system and has identified the warehouses that can be shifted along the peripheral expressways and the UER area. The UER connects Delhi with Jaipur, Rohtak and Chandigarh via national highways and is scheduled to be wrapped up by August next year.

The latest report by the Indian Foundation of Transport Research & Training (IFTRT) says, there has been a 15%-20% extra arrival of fresh fruits and vegetables into APMCs. “Factory output and exports have also remained brisk helping truckers to post robust revenue for last two quarters,” said SP Singh, senior fellow & coordinator, IFTRT. The migration to CNG is also being seen as a factor in helping transporters improve their margins. “There have been large scale migration of 10-15.5 tonne medium and light commercial vehicles from diesel fuel to CNG which has further helped the fleet owners of this category make more money per tonne/km,” said Singh. The report said that the flat diesel price throughout December and the buoyancy in the overall economy in agri-food business, trade commerce, and industry including exports have allowed the increase in truck rentals.

With a recent collaboration, India’s leading electric scooter company Hero Electric and Gurugram-based last mile mobility solutions start-up BattWheelz have joined forces to electrify last mile deliveries. BattWheelz offers mobility solutions to e-commerce and hyperlocal grocery companies and with this collaboration, it plans to deploy nearly 4,000 electric two-wheelers by FY23. “Our constant endeavour is to hasten the electric mobility transition in India and thrusting the same through our B2B partnerships with complete EV solutions across India. This partnership highlights our shared vision of offering eco-friendly mobility solutions and the direct advantage of adopting electric mobility in terms of savings and contribution to safeguarding the environment.” said Sohinder Gill, CEO, Hero Electric.