Bolloré Logistics has received TAPA FSR A 2020 certification (Transported Asset Protection Association – Facility Security Requirements) for its operations at its Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport hub.
The certification, which was awarded after an audit process, confirms the logistics company’s capability of handling high-value cargo at the association’s recognized level of security.
Pascal le Guevel, director of the Bolloré Logistics hub at Paris CDG, commented: “Achieving the TAPA FSR A certification for our Hub demonstrates our commitment to providing our customers with the best security and protection conditions for their high-value goods such as luxury or high-tech products. It also illustrates Bolloré Logistics’ desire to actively pursue excellence.”
Nicholas Gilbert, head of security France at Bolloré Logistics, added: “The site and building, already highly secure and compliant with AEO (customs and security/safety) requirements for air cargo security as an authorized agent, have been given additional security features, including enhanced video surveillance systems and improved processes and equipment to protect sensitive, high-value products.”
The World Logistics Passport (WLP) is expanding in Africa – with Ethiopia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Burkina Faso and Guinea registering as Gateway countries.
With countries looking to build back global trade volumes, the benefits to businesses in these countries include a significant reduction in their supply chain costs and improved speed to market for their exports and imports. This is achieved through the over 130 benefits provided by WLP to traders and freight forwarders who expect to have an annual increase in trade volumes on average of up to 5-10 percent.
Mike Bhaskaran, CEO of the WLP, said, “We are excited to see so much interest in the WLP initiative from across Africa. The World Logistics Passport promises to help these economies grow and create jobs by enhancing their export competitiveness and the productivity of their national transport and logistics sectors. More efficient supply chains will make their products more competitive, open up access to new markets and trade routes and increase their national economic resilience.”
Countries that are part of the WLP network are classified in one of two categories: Gateways and Hubs. Gateways are top regional contributors to freight trade and have preferential access to the nearest hub country. There are, at present, two hub countries in Africa – Senegal and South Africa.
Gateway countries are represented in the WLP network by the leading national freight forward association or chamber of commerce.
Ethiopia’s participation is aligned with the Government’s ambitious economic reform program and commitment to upgrade national transport and logistics capabilities, including the recent strategic partnership with DP World to further develop the Berbera Corridor.
Participation of Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe will help deliver benefits to freight forwarders across Southern Africa, taking full advantage of global trade links through South Africa and ongoing upgrades in key regional infrastructure such as the Kazungula Bridge and strategic transport and logistics routes such as the Maputo Corridor.
The entry of Burkina Faso and Guinea builds on Senegal’s participation as a key hub for West Africa, opening up new trade routes and markets to Latin America in the west and the Middle East and Asia to the east through Dubai.
Mike Bhaskaran continued, “International trade is of central importance to the global economy, contributing significantly to development, growth and employment. In the context of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, the WLP is an integral part of the global response to boost international trade, facilitate access to new markets and increase resilience of the global supply chain.”
Dika Oha has joined as vice president product of Gokada, a Nigeria-based last mile delivery, logistics and transportation start-up.
He brings with him over 16 years of experience in the tech and e-commerce space in senior roles at Andela, DealDey, and Konga. He possesses experience in business and project management, product development, marketing and sales, and operations management.
In February, Gokada has appointed Nikhil Goel as CEO.
The company is continuing to evolve from a riding-hailing company to becoming the leading food delivery, parcel delivery, and last-mile ecommerce fulfillment solution in Nigeria. With a growing fleet of over 1,000 pilots and thousands of SME customers, Gokada plans to expand across other states in Nigeria in 2021.
Peter Ward, CEO of UK Warehousing Association (UKWA), has announced his intention to step down after six years at the helm of the sector’s leading trade organization. His successor will be named shortly.
Ward joined the Association in 2015, having held a series of major industry roles at director level with prominent companies within the sector.
Since joining UKWA he has transformed the fortunes of the Association, substantially improving revenues, widening membership to encompass retail and manufacturing logistics users, and introducing significant new benefits to membership.
Commenting on his decision to step down, Ward said: “It has been my privilege to represent the warehousing and logistics sector as CEO of UKWA. I am proud to have been able to instigate change, drive improvement and help this great industry achieve the respect and recognition it deserves.
“As we emerge from lockdown and adjust to the changes brought by Brexit, the world has changed. Having steered members through such turbulent times, I am ready to hand over the reins to my successor, who I am confident will continue to support members in negotiating the challenges of the ‘new world’ and seizing the exciting opportunities that now lie ahead.
In the meantime, I would like to express my thanks for the excellent support I’ve enjoyed from the UKWA management board, my hard-working executive team and, of course, the UKWA membership. I hope to ‘stay in touch’ with many friends and industry colleagues; and from the side-lines will continue to watch my beloved logistics industry, contributing wherever I can add value.”
The Governing Board of the oneworld global airline alliance has appointed Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker to serve as its Chairman. Mr. Al Baker will succeed current oneworld Governing Board Chairman Mr. Alan Joyce, Group CEO of Qantas Group.
As Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board, Mr. Al Baker will oversee the alliance’s governance, chair oneworld’s Governing Board meetings and work closely with oneworld CEO Rob Gurney and the alliance’s management team.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “As we emerge from some of the most challenging times ever facing the global airline industry, I am honored to be chosen by my fellow board members to lead the Governing Board for oneworld, an alliance that has continued to expand since COVID-19 emerged, with the addition of two new members in Alaska Airlines and Royal Air Maroc.
“I am also proud to lead an alliance that has set the benchmark for innovation, safety and customer service throughout the pandemic with many members, including Qatar Airways, taking the lead in trialing digital health passports. Qatar Airways has also enhanced bilateral relations with fellow oneworld members in the past 18 months, further demonstrating the strength of the partnerships between member airlines.
“The pivotal role airlines and aviation play in the global economy has never been more evident than this past year, with both passenger and cargo operations in the spotlight, supporting international efforts to protect lives and livelihoods. We have collectively enabled mobilization of aid, medical supplies and key workers and I would like to pay tribute to all the teams who have worked tirelessly across the oneworld member airlines to support these efforts.
“I look forward to serving as Chairman of the Governing Board and working with our alliance partners, oneworld CEO Rob Gurney and the oneworld team to provide more global connectivity, a seamless travel experience and more valuable loyalty offerings for our passengers.”
Having led Qatar Airways since its launch in 1997, Mr. Al Baker is the longest-serving CEO of a oneworld member airline. Under his leadership, Qatar Airways has grown into one of the world’s most highly-awarded airlines with an extensive global network, with plans to serve over 140 destinations by end of July 2021. Qatar Airways became a member of oneworld in October 2013.
An influential figure in the global aviation industry, Mr. Al Baker served as Chairman of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Board of Governors from June 2018 to June 2019. He has served on IATA’s Board of Governors since 2012. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Arab Air Carriers Organization and a non-executive Director of Heathrow Airport Holdings. In addition, he serves as Secretary-General of Qatar National Tourism Council.
The oneworld Governing Board comprises the CEOs of all the alliance’s member airlines – Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines, alongside Qatar Airways.
As travelers return to the skies with Qatar Airways, they can take comfort knowing that they are travelling with the only airline in the world that has, together with its state-of-the-art global hub Hamad International Airport, achieved four 5-Star Skytrax ratings – including the prestigious 5-Star Airline Rating, 5-Star Airport Rating, 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating and 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating. These achievements highlight Qatar Airways’ commitment to providing our passengers with an industry-leading experience at every point of their journey, including the highest possible level of health and safety standards that safeguard the wellbeing of our passengers both on the ground and in the air.
A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organization Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’, and ‘Best Business Class Seat’, in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite. Qsuite is available on flights to more than 40 destinations including Casablanca, New York, Paris and Singapore.
London City Airport has become the first major international airport in the world to be fully controlled by a remote digital air traffic control tower, following intensive testing and live trials of the revolutionary technology during lockdown.
All flights on the summer schedule are being guided to land or take off from the heart of the London Docklands business district by air traffic controllers based 115km away at NATS’ air traffic control center in Swanwick, Hampshire, using an ‘enhanced reality’ view supplied by a state-of-the-art 50m digital control tower.
The technology marks a step-change in global air traffic management and will help the airport meet an expected surge in demand for flying during the summer season as COVID-19 restrictions were eased in May.
The multi-million-pound investment in the proven remote digital technology marks a major milestone in City Airport’s investment in its future, following the completion of new aircraft stands and a full-length parallel taxiway which became operational in December 2020.
Alison FitzGerald, chief operating officer at London City Airport, said: “We are immensely proud to become the first major international airport to adopt this pioneering technology.
This investment in smart infrastructure will help us meet future growth in passenger demand, improve air traffic management and give us enhanced capability as aviation bounces back from the pandemic.
It is also a demonstration of the commitment to innovation in the UK aviation sector and to being at the forefront of defining the future of flight.
Since going operational at the end of January, the technology has worked really well and is ready for the expected increase in demand for flights as Brits book their well-deserved summer getaways.”
Juliet Kennedy, Operations Director at NATS, said: “This is the UK’s first major digital control tower and represents a significant technological and operational achievement, especially against the backdrop of COVID-19.
Digital tower technology tears up a blueprint that’s remained largely unchanged for 100 years, allowing us to safely manage aircraft from almost anywhere, while providing our controllers with valuable new tools that would be impossible in a traditional control tower.”
Ground handler dnata Singapore has started using Hermes Logistics Technologies’ New Generation (NG) cloud-based cargo ‘ecosystem’ for its cargo operations at Changi Airport.
The ground handler processes more than 6,000 tons of cargo each week at its 32,000 m sq facility at Changi Airport.
Hermes’ NG cloud ecosystem, which includes the Hermes 5 Cargo Management System (CMS), NG Business Intelligence and Datalakes, Hermes Track&Trace and additional apps, will support dnata’s ongoing digitization drive.
The ecosystem’s data can be used with artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to optimize business and handling processes, streamline workflows and increase transparency across supply chains.
Dirk Goovaerts, regional chief executive, Asia Pacific, dnata, said: “After the successful upgrade and seeing the benefits of the same system across our operations in Australia, we are excited to implement this technology in Singapore.”
Hermes’ NG suite includes: Hermes Cloud CMS and Hub Management System, Hermes NG Business Intelligence and Datalakes, Hermes Self-Serve Apps, and Hermes Application Programming Interface.
U-Freight Logistics has developed one of its five Hong Kong facilities into a smart warehouse to reduce picking costs and speed up operations to meet growing demand.
The forwarder’s 21,000 sq ft ecommerce fulfilment center (EFC) in Kwai Chung has been equipped with an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) and Intelligent Racking system, and associated operating software.
For inbound consignments, the system will analyze the weight and dimensions of each Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU) in order to bring the most suitable storage rack to the EFC operations staff, enhancing the utilization of storage capacity and shortening processing time.
This also shortens the time period to the outbound order processing stage.
“When there are no operations staff at the EFC, the non-sleeping AGVs still execute instructions and pre-arrange the required goods to be ready for pick/pack when the operations staff return to work,” U-Freight said.
“The deployment of autonomous mobile robots in warehouses around the globe is transforming the future of the e-commerce sector and its ability to meet rising business and consumer demand,” said U-Freight chief executive Simon Wong.
“The latest development is part of U-Freight’s ongoing investment to meet the ever-increasing challenges of providing logistics services to this rapidly expanding sector of global trade.
“In our EFCs, picking operations account for an increasing proportion of costs, accounting for more than 50% of warehouse operation costs.
“Traditional warehouses mostly adopt the ‘person-to-goods’ selection mode, which can mean high labor cost and low selection efficiency.
“By implementing an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) and intelligent racking system, we will be adopting the ‘goods-to-person’ picking mode, and believe this will improve production efficiency.”
Freighter operator Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) has signed up to offer its capacity on online air cargo booking portal WebCargo.
WebCargo said that by signing up, more than 2,000 forwarders will able to access NCA capacity with dynamic rates, live capacity and e-bookings.
“At NCA, we pride ourselves on leveraging digital innovation to provide customers with the best service possible,” said Shawn McWhorter, president – NCA Americas. “Through our partnership with WebCargo, we’re delighted to offer logistics providers the ease and transparency of access to e-bookings, making the booking process faster and more straightforward.”
“With the role of cargo-only carriers more important to supply chain resilience than ever before, we are pleased to be partners with Nippon Cargo Airlines, a similarly forward-looking partner that recognizes the need for digital tools at this critical juncture” added WebCargo chief executive, Manel Galindo.
Meanwhile, WebCargo said that the number of bookings made through the platform has continued to increase.
The percentage of global air cargo capacity represented by airlines on the platform has increased from from 11.1% to 24.3% over the past year.
Meanwhile, the number of e-bookings made on the platform have increased 20 fold compared with a year ago.
Volta Trucks, a start-up full-electric goods vehicle manufacturer and services company, announced the world’s first purpose-built full electric 16-ton commercial vehicle known as Volta Zero will make its customer debut in Munich and Frankfurt, Germany from 14-25 June 2021.
Earlier, the company announced Volta Zero’s debut in Italy. This follows successful French and Spanish events where over 600 individual customer demonstrations of the Volta Zero have taken place and concludes the first stage of its mainland European customer tour.
With offices in Sweden, France and the UK, Volta Trucks and is partnering with a number of global leaders in the supply chain for the development and production of the Volta Zero.
The Volta Zero will be displayed in Munich in conjunction with Volta Trucks customer, Petit Forestier, and in Frankfurt with partner, DB Schenker. The company said interested customers can book a demonstration of the Volta Zero at www.voltatrucks.com/de
Following the German roadshow, the full-electric Volta Zero will make its global public debut at the Innovation and Technology in Logistics live event, ITT Hub, at Farnborough International Exhibition Centre in the UK from 30 June to 1 July.
“I’m delighted at the customer reception that the Volta Zero has received across Europe. Its zero emission full- electric powertrain supports customer’s decarbonisation and sustainability ambitions, and our ground-up approach to design without the legacy constraints of the internal combustion engine helps us deliver a safer and more comfortable working environment for drivers,” said Carla Detrieux, Business Development Director of Volta Trucks.
“When combined with our Truck as a Service offer, fleet operators can deliver safety, sustainability, and profitability in their operations. I’m looking forward to introducing the Volta Zero to our German customers and showing them how it can seamlessly integrate into their operations,” she added.
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The Volta Zero is the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne vehicle designed for inner-city logistics, reducing the environmental impact of freight deliveries in city centres. Designed from the ground up with an operating pure-electric range of 150 – 200 kms (95 – 125 miles), the Volta Zero will eliminate an estimated 1.2M tons of CO2 by 2025.
The Volta Zero was designed for electric from the outset, which facilitates a step- change in vehicle, driver and pedestrian safety. Thanks to the removal of the internal combustion engine, the operator of a Volta Zero sits in a central driving position, with a much lower seat height than a conventional truck.
This combination, plus a glass house-style cab design, gives the driver a wide 220-degrees of visibility, minimising dangerous blind spots. The prototype Volta Zero was launched in September 2020, with the first vehicles expected to be operating with customers in late 2021.
Technology has made the world smaller and faster.Real time communication with people from all over the world at different time zones through phones and gadgets
