SMILe (Shree Maruti Integrated Logistics Ltd) has announced its ground-breaking collaboration with Skye Air. This strategic partnership is set to revolutionize the e-commerce landscape and introduce a game-changing capability to deliver shipments via drones. As the first-of-its-kind offering in India, this transformative alliance showcases SMILe unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology to bring better solutions to its sellers and customers. The partnership is centralized towards enabling faster order fulfillment within urban traffic congestion with the help of Skye Air’s autonomous logistics solutions. By integrating drones with highly adaptable on-demand interfaces, Skye Air minimizes disruptions to partner operational processes, thereby enhancing shipping capabilities and ensuring unparalleled customer satisfaction for both B2B and B2C operations. The introduction of drone delivery services will not only provide Shree Maruti sellers with the ability to offer same-day and next-day deliveries but also revolutionize the entire delivery process, making it more efficient, eco-friendly, and customer-centric. “SMILe (Shree Maruti Integrated Logisistics Ltd) is on a mission to empower Indian merchants with inclusive, tech-driven solutions to ease their business operations,” said Priyank Patel, VP-Business of SMILe. “Our collaboration with Skye Air represents a significant step towards achieving that goal and propelling the e-commerce landscape towards future advancements throughout India. With this partnership, we are redefining the future of e-commerce and providing our sellers with a competitive edge in the market.” “Skye Air is dedicated to revolutionizing drone delivery and making it a mainstream logistics solution in India, and our collaboration with Shree Maruti is a significant step in that direction,” said Ankit Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO of Skye Air. “By leveraging our state-of-the-art tech stack and infrastructure, including Skye Pod and Skye UTM, we aim to …

Challenge Group, the end-to-end solution provider for complex verticals, announces the acquisition of an additional Boeing 747-400F aircraft. This strategic decision demonstrates Challenge Group’s confidence in its vision for the future and its dedication to providing top-tier services to clients globally. “The new 747-400F is a testament to Challenge Group’s commitment to staying ahead of the curve despite industry discussions about overcapacity,” said Or Zak, Chief Commercial Officer of Challenge Group. “It is an ideal choice for transporting commodities such as heavy & oversize, horses, pharma, aircraft engines, dangerous goods, cars and other complex verticals and will enhance our capacity and flexibility, allowing us to tap into new markets as well.” Boasting unique nose-loading capacity and a 120-tonne payload, the aircraft is set to elevate Challenge Group’s operational capabilities, ensuring timely and efficient cargo transport in the evolving air freight landscape. In recent years, Challenge Group has diversified its fleet with the addition of a B767-300BDSF aircraft in August 2023, the continuation of the conversion program with two aircraft undergoing simultaneous conversion, and the full fleet of four B767 converted freighters expected to be fully operational by Q3/2024. Challenge Group anticipates that the new aircraft will be deployed on strategic trade lanes to enhance the connectivity between Europe and the Far East.

Indian Institute of Freight Forwarders (IIFF), which is a training arm of the Federation of Freight Forwarders Association of India (FFFAI), opened its Eastern Region Chapter by launching a training programme for the G Category Examination candidates. The training programme was initiated by the Odisha Customs Brokers Association (OCBA) in the presence of Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Commissionerate, Bhubaneshwar Madhab Chandra Mishra, IRS. FFFAI Chairman Dushyant Mulani; Chairman Elect Amit Kamat, Immediate Past Chairman Shankar Shinde; Vice Chairman Puneet Jain; Hon. Treasurer & OB In-charge, IIFF Sudhir Agarwal and IIFF President Tej Contractor. Sudip Dey, Hon. Secretary, FFFAI moderated the launch programme and Viren Dayal, Faculty Member IIFF conducted the first training session. The members appreciated the efforts of FFFAI, IIFF and OCBA in providing additional qualified manpower in Odisha and adjoining regions, will help the entire logistics community of the East India region and will be immensely beneficial. Mulani shared how FFFAI has been playing a pivotal role in the country in dissemination of knowledge and holding training courses periodically for the benefit of the logistics industry. He also commended OCBA president Sachidananda Pattanayak and other members of this FFFAI Member association for their path-breaking initiative concerning the human resources development by skilling the aspirants for the entire logistics industry. He stated that IIFF would offer many more training courses to the students of this region to make them efficient multipliers in strengthening the logistics industry as well as the economy of this region. Speaking on this occasion, Shankar Shinde said there should be more professionalism in the logistics sector. This can be achieved through imparting the required training to the candidates. This industry is no longer an industry …

DHL Express and Aragen LifeSciences jointly announced partnership to use DHL’s GoGreen Plus service. This collaboration makes Aragen the first Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) customer of DHL Express in India. The GoGreen Plus service supports Aragen’s goal to reduce carbon emissions in international shipments. R.S Subramanian, Senior Vice President – South Asia, DHL Express, said, “We are happy to announce our partnership with Aragen LifeSciences, a significant move towards sustainable business in India. Aragen is our first Science Based Targets Initiative customer to have come on board to reduce carbon emissions, and we’re proud to support their ambition. Now more than ever, it has become necessary to address the problem of Scope 3 emissions. With our GoGreen Plus service, we’re assisting customers in this journey. We hope this agreement inspires others to adopt sustainable practices and embrace low-emission transport services through sustainable aviation fuel.” Manni Kantipudi, CEO, Aragen Life Sciences, added “Sustainability and ESG are key priority areas for Aragen and this collaboration with DHL Express will help us achieve our near-term target under SBTi by 2032. As a socially and environmentally responsible corporate, Aragen is committed to reducing carbon emissions produced while shipping internationally and the GoGreen Plus service will enable us to achieve this. Aragen and DHL have a long-standing association and this collaboration underscores our mutual commitment to responsible sustainable practices and managing our scope emissions with carbon insetting.”

Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd (AISATS) has started domestic cargo handling services at Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi as the airport’s official Operator & Management (O&M) service provider. Partnering with AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Ltd. (AAICLAS), AISATS Ranchi Cargo Services Private Limited will provide world-class domestic cargo handling services to ensure that Ranchi Airport’s cargo throughput is ready to take off to new heights of service excellence. With its expertise in air cargo handling and logistics, AISATS is focused on levelling up the infrastructure at Ranchi Airport to enable faster freight movements and improve air cargo connectivity for the state of Jharkhand. As the official Regulated Agent (RA) at Ranchi Airport, AISATS will ensure that all cargo is robustly screened, labelled and dispatched as per global best practices. AISATS is committed towards providing efficient and seamless solutions to airlines for all their cargo handling, processing and warehousing needs at Ranchi. This includes the capability to handle various types of cargo be it pharmaceuticals, perishables or machinery. Commenting on the start of services at Ranchi Airport, Sanjay Gupta, CEO of AISATS, said, “We are excited to bring our unparalleled air cargo services to Jharkhand and our team at Ranchi is committed to make the city a lucrative focal point for the region’s air cargo needs. AISATS is delighted to partner with AAICLAS as its trusted O&M service provider at Ranchi Airport for this service. We believe that Ranchi Airport is going to play a significant role in transporting India’s cargo from regional industrial clusters and their distribution points to domestic and international marketing across the world, and AISATS is thrilled to be part of that journey.” “India …

DHL Global Forwarding partnered with Schneider Electric to design and launch an industry-first multi-modal shipping model, using sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) to help improve the agility and reduce the environmental impact of its supply chain. Together with Schneider Electric, DHL Global Forwarding has deployed two multi-modal shipping bridges – between Singapore and North America and between India and North America – to reduce Scope 3 carbon emissions from air freight. In total, Schneider Electric plans to design and execute eight global multi-modal bridges with its logistics partners that can be deployed on demand. Schneider Electric estimates that these bridges, by using a combination of air and sea transport, will reduce the carbon emissions of these regional shipment lanes by up to 40% compared to normal air fulfillment. Since the start of the pilot in March 2023, both the Singapore to North America bridge and the India to North America bridge operated in partnership with DHL Global Forwarding, have seen up to 20% carbon emission reduction. Schneider Electric and DHL Global Forwarding’s new pilot schemes have allowed the two partners to test multi-modal shipping as a business-as-usual process on demand. Orders are delivered with agility and flexibility, either by air freight or multi-modal shipping, depending on capacity, air surges, margins, customer offers, and stock availability. Building on this end-to-end capability, the model is further enhanced with DHL Global Forwarding offering the use of SAF via its GoGreen Plus service, leading to deliveries generating up to 90 percent less carbon emissions and being and self-sustaining. This gives Schneider Electric the agility to plan, decide, procure, execute, and govern the model, achieving a more resilient and agile supply chain.

Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) facilitated the inbound handling of arecanut (Areca catechu), a tropical crop, at its integrated cargo terminal (ICT) in January. The red variety of arecanut, weighing 1,519 kg in 60 bags, was ferried as belly air cargo from Agartala in Tripura to Mangaluru. The shipment is the highest quantity of the crop that the integrated cargo terminal has handled since it started domestic cargo operation on May 1, 2023. It also marks the highest single-day inbound cargo that the ICT has handled since May 1, 2023. In the past, the ICT had handled inbound parcels of arecanut, although in smaller quantity, according to a press release from the airport. The arecanut was procured by a Shivamogga-based supari trader from Tripura. The representatives of the trader transported the crop by road to Shivamogga. Airlifting of arecanut was also a first for the trader who otherwise regularly sources this crop by road from various parts of India, including Agartala.

Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) recently launched international air cargo operations. Jindal Stainless despatched a 28-kg consignment of hot-rolled stainless steel plate samples to Sweden, becoming the first company to use the airport’s direct air cargo operations for international destinations. The airport is currently handling around 1,000 tonnes a year, the cargo services are expected to bolster the export potential of the state, benefiting a wide range of manufacturers. “Our first consignment has gone to Sweden. According to the Odisha government’s department for micro, small and medium enterprises, the new air cargo facilities at Bhubaneswar airport will be connected to the entire globe. We will be leveraging the services as per our customer requirements,” said official statement. With the launch of international air cargo operations at BPIA, the frequency of his company’s daily shipments from Bhubaneswar will increase significantly.

JSW Infra aims to spend ₹6,000-7,000 crore over 3-4 years to increase its annual cargo handling capacity by over 40 per cent to 250 million tonnes. The bulk of investment will be on two greenfield port projects in Karnataka and Odisha as well as the expansion of a cargo terminal the company recently took over. The primary focus of this investment will be on two greenfield port projects in Karnataka and Odisha, along with the expansion of a recently acquired cargo terminal. Construction for both greenfield projects is scheduled to commence within the current calendar year. JSW Infra secured the development rights for the Keni greenfield port in Karnataka last year, and the concession agreement with the Karnataka Maritime Board has already been signed. Additionally, JSW Infra is venturing into Jatadhar in Odisha for another greenfield port project. The company plans to start building the port after the concession agreement is signed, which is expected within the next month or four weeks. This project is projected to take 3-4 years with a planned capacity of 30 million tonnes in phase 1, incurring a capital expenditure of around Rs 30 billion.

Fast Logistics, an eminent player in the logistics domain, proudly unveils the inauguration of its state-of-the-art office in Baroda, Gujarat. This strategic leap not only underscores the region’s exceptional logistical ecosystem but also resonates with the company’s unwavering dedication to delivering services that are both efficient and seamlessly tailored to the needs of its discerning clientele. We’re not riding the current wave of development; boldly pioneering new waves in the evolving landscape of progress. Our establishment in Baroda signifies a proactive strategy, capitalizing on the city’s pivotal role as a key logistics hub in Western India. Baroda, with its strategic location, and outstanding transportation infrastructure, distinguishes itself as a flourishing epicentre for industries, fostering a heightened demand for streamlined and efficient logistics solutions. This is further complemented by the city’s well-established warehousing facilities and governmental support, creating an environment conducive to streamlined logistics operations. “Our strategic presence in Baroda highlights our commitment to innovation and excellence in logistics. We actively contribute to shaping the future of logistics in Baroda and beyond, emphasizing our dedication to delivering cutting-edge solutions and meeting the growing demand for efficient logistics in this thriving region,” expressed the team at Fast Logistics. The inauguration of the Baroda office stands as a tangible commitment by Fast Logistics to excellence, innovation, and its overarching vision to be a global leader in logistics solutions. This move not only reaffirms our dedication but also signifies our eagerness to contribute to the economic growth of Baroda while consistently delivering unparalleled service to our esteemed clients.