Category Archives: Technology

At the FFFAI convention, Stanley Lim, Chairman, FIATA Congress Committee & Past President FIATA, expressed the need of logistics cost to be cut down. He said, “No matter in which industry you are, you need logistics and in logistics we are talking about from farm to fork and the number of steps and the cost involved. Moreover, for globalisation one needs to involve all government agencies in one platform to facilitate trade. Hence, logistics cost needs to be cut down to make country’s import and export competitive. Once the number of steps will get cut down, security will be enhanced and there will be less human error.”

The Federation of Freight Forwarders Association in India (FFFAI) convention showcased the role and efforts undertaken by the government to elevate the industry. Ashish Pednekar, Chairman Elect, FFFAI & Convenor Kochi Convention, highlighted how the government has been taking initiative optimally. “The government is bringing lot of changes in the Exim trade and FFFAI is the important link. Change is eminent and we have to be with the change to take the industry to the next level. Moreover, with initiatives like ‘Make in India’ logistics has a very important role to play. Most importantly, now government has realised the significance of logistics industry and started taking the fraternity suggestions seriously,” he said.

The FFFAI convention held in Kochi, saw eminent industry persons come and deliberate on crucial elements of the logistics sector. Highlighting the same, Samir J Shah, Chairman, FFFAI, said, “We are working on three important issues. One of the most important issues we are targeting is skill; we understand with technology, domain knowledge of the broker is going to become important. Secondly, our focus is on gender equalisation and thirdly, we are creating a platform where FFFAI member can adopt the changes that are coming in the future. The Indian custom broker is capable of doing everything. Hence, any importer or exporter does not need to go to anybody else; the entire supply chain will be looked after by them.”

The 23rd convention of the Federation of Freight Forwarders Association in India (FFFAI) was inaugurated on January 19, 2017, in the august presence of Venkatesh, Eminent Economist, William Demoor, Chief of Cabinet of Chairman, Port of Antwerp, Stanley Lim, Chairman, FIATA Congress Committee and Past President FIATA, V.J. Mathew, Legal Advisor to the Government of Kerala, Senior Advocate of High Court of Kerala, K.V. Thomas, PAC Chairman, MP, Erankulam, along with the logistics fraternity, in Kochi. The convention aims to build a platform for enhancing the logistics sector as a whole while highlighting necessary issues like skill development, supply chain, gender equalisation, among others.

Kale Logistics Solutions and Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) have signed a MoU, whereby Kale’s eVGM platform will be made available to its members for eVGM filing. The e-VGM Platform from Kale allows exporter, CHA/CB, CFS/ICD, shipping lines/liner agent record, declare and transmit the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) electronically. It is not just compliant with industry regulations but has many added features like; a dedicated secure DG Shipping approved website, digital signature enabled, EDI connectivity to shipping lines, weighbridge software integration for tamper proof transmission of container weight, automated alerts, dashboard view and mobile application. Kale’s eVGM platform will be accessible to FFFAI members through FFFAI website for filing eVGM to shipping lines.

Kale Logistics Solutions announced the formal Go Live of CODEX–Container Digital Exchange—after a three-month successful pilot run. It is designed to automate the container movement at Tuticorin Port and reduce the container dwell times considerably. It is an EDI-based electronic platform through which communication, information exchange, connectivity and electronic processing of key business transactions/operations can be facilitated between all container stake-holders at the port and its related logistics value chain.