Smart Logistics - November 2011

Vol. 02 | Issue 08 | NOVEMBER 2011 ` 100/-

VIEWPOINT

HULL OF AN OPPORTUNITY THE opportunities in the shipbuilding segment have always been floating, waiting for the right wind and wave, to cruise forward. The ancient Egyptians saw the opportunity way back and assembled planks of wood into a watertight hull, using treenails to fasten them, and pitch for caulking the seams. Such was their vision and faith that they turned the tide to their advantage, and thus a ship was born – transcending all doubts about human capabilities, transporting goods & people.

And from then to now, the world of shipbuilding and maritime is sailing in supersonic speed worldwide, rife with opportunities created by the boundaryless markets. These opportunities are more applicable to India for two reasons. One has to do with the changing market dynamics and conditions, especially in Euro Zone and the US, because of which, India is gaining a lot of attention as a preferred manufacturing base. And the second is about India’s willingness to project itself as a ‘global factory’, now with quality competitiveness added to cost advantage.

With so much action happening in the markets and the shop floors on a global scale, maritime is the only option to reach all kinds of cargo in the most cost-effective manner, especially the heavy and difficultto-carry cargo, to its port of final destination. Considering the floating opportunities for the maritime and shipbuilding sector, the big question to ask is, whether India is ready to catch the wind and the wave?

The answer is ‘not in totality’. The reasons are vast and varied. India’s ship design capabilities may be fairly good for warships, but remains very poor for designs related to merchant ships, including coast guard ships. The country is unable to use the latest IT tools in shipbuilding, as India still lacks in basic ship design and production technology. According to experts, even though India has a vast coastline, there is an acute shortage of deep draft water space along the coast, which restricts the type and size of ships that can be built or repaired in India and curbs the full growth potential of the Indian shipbuilding & repair market.

Then again, about 40 per cent of the India-owned fleet is more than 20 years old, and Indian owners will need to spend about $4 billion to replace these during 2010-2015. In addition, the IMO had mandated the phasing out of all single-hull vessels by 2010 and single-hull tankers constitute about 15.8 per cent of the total vessels owned by Indian shipping companies. And these hurdles are the reason why this sector has earned $1.60 billion as revenue in 2010, even as it expects this figure to reach $3.50 billion in 2016. As per estimates, the industry can grow at a rate of more than 30 per cent and this momentum can be maintained for the next 10 years to reach a 5 million DWT order book level of the 11th Five Year Plan as against 1.3 million of the 10th Five Year Plan. With this, the shipbuilding industry would also be able to achieve a world share of 2.2 per cent and an annual turnover of `18,000 crore in the last year of the 11th Five Year Plan. It is expected that, in 2017, by the time the shipbuilding industry matures, it would have attained more than 7.5 per cent of the global order book and would have a turnover of `40,500 crore.

So, while the estimations are heartwarming, it is now up to the players in this sector to get a grip of the situation and turn these estimations into industry data. The opportunities are rife, but it is also a fact that ‘time & tide wait for none’! Ride the wind & the wave!

Archana Tiwari-Nayudu archana.nayudu@infomedia18.in NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 5

CONTENTS SPECIAL FOCUS: SHIPBUILDING

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Is India ready to take on the global position as the shipbuilding nation? The answer today is perhaps ‘no’… But this scenario is soon going to change with the maritime industry witnessing resurgence and making its way towards becoming globally competitive by eliminating the shortfalls in its operational processes and product development… With such promising initiatives in place, the Indian shipbuilding industry is set to ensure that the ‘Indian Flag’ keeps flying high…

Green Growth Ahoy!

NEW TECHNOLOGIES Low Energy Ship Attacking Energy Losses

Electric Ship The Prius Of The Seas

Digital Ship Navigation Made Easy

Virtual Ship New Ways Of Designing Ships

Green-fuelled Ship The Beginning Of The End Of Traditional Fuel

Shipbuilding Innovations Sailing To Newer Shores

Case Study APM Terminals Pipavav: Creating A Synergy Of Opportunities

Truview Remote Monitoring Service Aiding A Safer & Maintenance-friendly Feature

Opinions & More ‘Collaboration is A Win-Win Situation For All Stakeholders’

Lean Supply Chain How To Get Lean In A Supply Chain?

Parcel & Courier Express Speedy Prospects Ahead

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Managerial Skill Sets Moulding Warehouse Managers Of Tomorrow

Voice-directed Operations Optimising Worker Performance

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POLICIES & REGULATIONS Coastal Shipping Achieving The Right Policy Matrix

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TIPS & TRICKS Warehouse Management Systems Enabling Better Centralised Management

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STRATEGY Are You GST Ready?

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AUTOMATION TRENDS

Growth Guide

IN CONVERSATION WITH ‘The Indian Logistics Sector Is On The Curve That Will Lead India To An Evolved Era’

NOVEMBER 2011

INSIGHTS & OUTLOOK

Indian Shipbuilding: GEARING UP TO TACKLE GLOBAL COMPETITION

Eco-innovations In Shipbuilding

VOL. 02, NO. 08

One ‘Q’ Many Views Implementation Of GST: The Countdown Begins...

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Ajay Chopra, CEO, DIESL

VIEWPOINT NEWS, VIEWS & ANALYSIS Latest Happenings In The World Of Logistics

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DIESL ORGANISES ‘LAST MAN STANDING’ – A CROSS COUNTRY LOGISTICS RACE DRIVE India Enterprise Solutions (DIESL), Tata Group’s logistics company, recently organised a unique cross country race christened ‘Last Man Standing’. Teams were assigned to complete a logistics journey fraught with obstacles, from individual routes within the shortest amount of time.

In the quest for their commitment to deliver, the teams travelled in trucks across states with connecting vehicles and warehouses.

The routes included five individual teams covering a total distance of 13,000 km within a span of six days.

The teams were faced with induced situations creating bottlenecks in real life supply chains and identified problems & developed solutions around those obstacles.

Ajay Chopra, CEO, DIESL, says, “The teams competed not only with each other to match the desired delivery time earning the maximum scores along the way, but also dealt with infrastructural bottlenecks. They learnt the ways of the Indian motorways and about the hardships faced by the truck drivers.”

Elaborating further on the same, Chopra says, “The idea for this concept was born initially with a view to reverse the pyramid and have the middle and senior management learn the grassroot realities of operating a supply chain by moving out of the comfort of their desk jobs and gaining hands-on experience in warehouse management, distribution efficiency and supply chain optimisation.”

L O G I S T I C S

INMEX INDIA FOCUSSES ON MAKING INDIA A MARITIME HUB INMEX INDIA 2011, an international maritime exhibition and conference, was held in Mumbai recently. In its 7th edition, industry professionals from over 40 countries participated in the exhibition. The Guest of Honour for the inauguration was Hon’ble Bhaskarrao Jadhav, Minister of State (Ports) along with chief Guest K Mohandas, SecretaryShipping, Ministry of Shipping, Govt of India among other dignitaries. The conferences revolved around India moving beyond being a maritime hub and several high profile speakers addressing key issues & solutions. The products and solutions showcased were broadly classified for dredging, marine equipment, port equipment, ship repair, shipbuilding.

SOFTLINK, TRANSWORLD, DB SCHENKER WIN MALA 2011 AWARDS SOFTLINK has won the prestigious award of ‘IT & Software Company of the Year’ at the Maritime And Logistics Award (MALA) 2011, held in Mumbai recently. Softlink won the award for its pioneering innovation in the logistics technology market and its acclaimed enterprise application that delivers operational excellence to logistics service providers. On receiving the award, Amit Maheshwari, Cofounder & CEO, Softlink, said, “I am extremely delighted about winning this award for the second consecutive year.

Our commitment to quality solutions has been doubly reinforced with the appreciation and recognition our efforts have earned. This award is a testimony to our customers’ belief on us.”

Transworld Group wins 3 coveted awards Transworld Group, India’s leading shipping and logistics conglomerate, specialised in offering holistic solutions in shipping, logistics, warehousing, inland ports and surface transportation has bagged three coveted awards at the second edition of MALA 2011.

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Shreyas Shipping and Logistics, a Transworld Group company was awarded ‘Shipping Line of the Year - Coastal Operator’, Balaji Shipping Lines FZCO, another group company, won ‘NVOCC of the year’. The group was further acknowledged amongst the key stakeholders at the event, when Ramesh Ramakrishnan, Chariman, Transworld Group was recognised as ‘Maritime Personality Of the Year 2011’. Commenting on the occasion, Ramakrishnan, said, “We are pleased to be recognised as India’s leading shipping and logistics group. The All-India MALA awards reinforce our commitment to the industry at large and will further encourage us to seamlessly offer end-to-end solutions in shipping and logistics.”

DB Schenker wins ‘Freight Forwarder of the Year – International’ award Schenker India, a leading provider of integrated logistics services in the region was awarded ‘Freight Forwarder of the Year – International’ at MALA 11. The award is accreditation of

DB Schenker’s leading position in integrated logistics services in the region. The industry has recognised DB Schenker for its innovative freight solutions backed by global network across 2000 locations in the world and capability to penetrate the world market.

Shubhendu Das, COO & Sateshwar Tuteja, Director – Sales, Key Accounts & Vertical Market, received the award for Schenker India.

Das, while receiving the award, said, “All we want to assure our customer once again is that we still excel in our deliverable next time.” Tuteja added, “Being a global player in logistics and transportation, our customers expect us to reach every part of the world to fulfill their logistics requirements. We can now say that we have a renewed recognition for that capability.”

Companies entitled for the award are chosen on the basis of operational performance, network, innovations, y-o-y growth & customer satisfaction by the committee of ex-maritime veterans.

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DHL LAUNCHES NEW OCEAN FREIGHT CONNECTIONS FROM GERMANY TO OVERSEAS DHL Global Forwarding offers a new solution for the transport of exclusive, temperature-sensitive food in small amounts from Germany and Europe to overseas. To make sure that the chocolate and pastries from Europe arrive in the best condition to Asia, a consistent cold chain with temperatures from 12-17⁰C is necessary. Up to now, only full container loads (FCL) or air

DHL Express announces 2012 rate adjustments DHL Express recently announced a general price increase of an average of 4.5% in India, effective January 1, 2012. DHL Express adjusts its prices annually, taking into account inflation and rising costs in the 220 countries that it serves. Price adjustments will vary from country to country, depending on local conditions. It will apply to all customers where contracts permit. freight was available for this kind of transportation.

Thanks to the new ‘Cool LCL Service’ offered by DHL Global Forwarding, smaller amounts can now

be shipped cost-effectively via groupage freight as well.

“The demand for European specialities and exclusive products is constantly increasing all over the world. Therefore, we have combined our expertise in temperature-controlled goods with a new customised solution.

With this new service, our customers will also have additional business opportunities because small amounts can always be sent fresh. Moreover, the storage at the place of destination is no longer necessary,” says Bernhard Stade, VP–Ocean Freight Management Germany, DHL Global Forwarding.

Every week, the goods are transported by ocean freight from Hamburg to Singapore, to be further distributed from there. On request, temperature-sensitive food from all over Europe can be transported to the DHL logistics centre in the port of Hamburg and then be shipped from there to the Southeast Asian island state. Further destinations like Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, New York and Santos will soon be added.

MINISTER FOR PORTS, KERALA UNVEILS PLANS FOR COASTAL SHIPPING K BABU, Minister for Ports, Govt of Kerala, has told the assembly that the Kerala Government has worked out a comprehensive development programme for ports and coastal shipping by linking ports and inland waterways.

Around 17 small and medium ports would be integrated along with Vizhinjam and Vallarpadam Container Terminal in Kochi to improve the cargo movement through the state’s coast. This is being done to divert a portion of the 20,000 trucks, plying through Kerela’s small roads on an a daily basis, to sea route.

He also added that steps are being taken to modernise important ports in the state. The Kerala Government

has also taken up with the Centre the necessity to amend the Cabotage Law. This deals with movement of ships from one port to another in the country.

The current rule states that only ships carrying Indian flags could transport cargo from one port to another in the country. Kerela has a coastal line of 590 km and 250 inland waterways. Hence efforts were being made to re-route cargo transport through these inland waterways and sea. Maximum utilisation of these facilities would help them greatly. He also added that development of ports, coastal areas and integrated navigation projects and coastal protection are underway.

L O G I S T I C S

LEED GOLD CERTIFICATION FOR CEVA’S ECO-SUSTAINABLE WAREHOUSE IN DUBAI CEVA Logistics, one of the world’s leading supply chain companies, has announced that CEVA’s number four site, its eco-sustainable warehouse sited in Dubai, has received the prestigious LEED Gold certification. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognised green building certification system, developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and is based on several criteria including sustainable sites, water efficiency, materials and resources, energy and atmosphere, indoor environmental quality and innovative design.

CEVA’s number four site was developed by Gazeley and is a 100,000 sqm area located in Jebel Ali Free Zone. The multi-user facility serves customers operating in the retail, fashion and consumer industries, managing on an average 40,000 cubic metre of stock and handling inbound and outbound flows of 15,000 cubic metre of products every month. The area hosts two of CEVA’s warehouses; a 35,000 sqm controlled-temperature facility and a 27,000 sqm room temperature building.

John Gould, MD–Middle East, CEVA, said, “CEVA has developed a strategy of excellent eco-sustainable initiatives in order to offer customers state-of-theart warehouses that combine high quality logistics performance. We are proud of achieving this important certification, because it is the proof that our building project is truly ‘green’. The pursuit of LEED rating means a significant investment in the initial design and construction to meet all the USGBC requirements.

This is a clear recognition of our effort to offer excellent and cuttingedge integrated logistics services to our customers in this area.”

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MERIDIAN MOBILE TIES UP WITH GATI GATI recently announced its partnership with Meridian Mobile, a part of the UK-based Meridian Group. The tie-up makes Gati the sole logistics and supply chain solution provider for Meridian’s flagship brand of GSM phones ‘Fly’ in India.

Gati will offer 3PL solutions, which would mean providing integrated operations right from procurement to warehousing, inventory management, order management, demand-supply support & analytics, distribution and reverse logistics. This quintessential supply chain solution will, in turn, help Meridian to focus on its core activities of product development & management and achieve a substantial growth in the next two years.

Redsun, the Supply Chain Solutions division of Gati, will manage the account bringing in expertise of

SCM that will enhance performance and optimise efficiencies through a knowledge, experience and expertisebased strategic implementation plan.

Redsun is eyeing revenue of Rs 400 crore in the next two years Commenting on the association, Harry Lagad, Executive Director, Gati, said, “This exclusive tie-up with Meridian Mobile (MMPL) is a testimony of Gati’s ability to innovate its services and offerings to cater to the diverse needs of our discerning consumers. We have raised curtains over a new format in the logistics industry. We look forward to innovate further and offer more custom-made services in the times to come.”

MMPL sees India as a core strategic market and has focussed approach on increasing its foothold in the country.

L O G I S T I C S

DEFENCE MINISTRY MAY ALLOW PRIVATE SHIPYARDS TO BUILD WARSHIPS THE Defence Ministry may allow private shipyards to build warships and other vessels to meet the growing demand of the Navy and the Coast Guard. “There is a lot of demand in warship building from the Navy and Coast Guard. As a result, private shipyards also have substantial orders.

In the coming years, private shipyards will try to secure orders for warship construction also,” said MM Pallam Raju, Minister of State for Defence recently. He added that as part of strengthening the coastal security system, a lot of fast craft and other vessels were needed by marine police stations and Coast Guards for patrolling.

“Because of the large demand, some of these orders have flown to private shipyards,” he asserted.

ESSAR PORT TO ENTER MOZAMBIQUE

MAERSK TO EXPAND IN LAGOS

ESSAR Ports, a unit of the $20 billion Essar Group, is planning to develop a port in Mozambique as a channel for exports of iron ore from an affiliate’s mining assets in Zimbabwe. Mozambique looked like a good option as Essar Group has already made investments in Africa. “Mozambique is a mineral rich country. We are working towards signing a concession agreement for building a port in that country,” said Rajiv Agarwal, CEO & MD, Essar Ports. However, details of investment into the port were not disclosed. Scaling up 3PL business is on the cards as 98 per cent of Essar Port’s revenue comes from Essar Group companies already. Currently, Essar Ports has two operational ports at Hazira and Vadinar in Gujarat with a combined capacity of 88 million tonne per annum (MTPA). The company plans to expand capacity to 158 MTPA over the next few years. It is also in the process of building five more ports: an iron ore berth at Paradip in Orissa (16 MTPA capacity); a dry bulk terminal at Salaya in Gujarat (20 MTPA); a general cargo terminal at Hazira in Gujarat (20 MTPA); a coal terminal at Paradip (14 MTPA); and a liquid storage terminal at Vadinar in Gujarat.

DANISH shipping and ports group, AP Møller-Maersk, is slated to expand its terminal capacity in Lagos.

This is being done to meet rapidly growing Nigerian import volumes.

“We are not here to make a fast profit, we are here for the long-run,” said David Skov, MD, Maersk Nigeria. Currently, APM Terminals (APMT) is considering a US$120 million proposal to develop land at its Apapa facility. The investment would be part of a much larger commitment by AP Møller Maersk to the West Africa trades, with the group already spending $2.5 billion on 22 ships purpose-built for this market. But things do not look as smooth as there are also many impediments to trade, such as bad road conditions, no rail freight services and layers of bureaucracy. However, the Nigerian Government has responded to complaints by announcing that the number of agencies allowed to inspect cargo in the ports will be cut from 14 to six within a short span of time.

VIKRAM LOGISTIC & MARITIME SERVICES TO ACQUIRE FREIGHTSTAR IN a recent announcement, Infrastructure India plc, has stated that its subsidiary Vikram Logistic & Maritime Services (VLMS) has, subject to certain conditions, agreed to acquire the logistics business, related assets and associated liabilities of ETA Engineering, operating in India under the brand name ‘Freightstar.

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Completion of the transaction is stated to position VLMS as one of the largest private multi-modal endto-end logistics service providers in India. VLMS will have its own rail and road operations, captive terminals across the country, and a broad service offering for both domestic and EXIM cargo.

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TNT EXPRESS WINS CISCO AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE SERVICES IN TRANSPORT TNT Express received the 2011 Smart Services Award from Cisco, a leader in the development of Internet protocol (IP)-based networking technologies, during a ceremony in Singapore. “This award recognises TNT’s contribution for their forward thinking and outstanding operational excellence. TNT has enabled proactive and personalised services to customers and used technological innovation to transform the business”, said Karen McFadzen, VP, Cisco Technical Services Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China. TNT Express was awarded the prestigious recognition for providing Cisco with real-time visibility of all their transportation flows across Asia Pacific through the implementation of a regional ‘control tower’ based in Beijing, China. A control tower is a tailored bundle of information

services used to manage and monitor a customer’s supply chain.

As Cisco in recent years expanded its business rapidly in the region, ontime delivery and real-time visibility of shipments became increasingly imperative for successful management of its supply chain. To cater to Cisco’s needs, in December 2010, TNT established a control tower in Beijing with a dedicated team and customised IT systems to monitor Cisco’s international shipments across the Asia-Pacific. The control tower monitors the entire process, from start to end, until shipments are delivered.

As a result, Cisco can ascertain the real-time status of its shipments.

Moreover, the control tower also offers a proactive notification on EXIM regulation changes to help Cisco avoid any unexpected service delays.

SCLC TO HOST THE 2ND EDITION OF FOOD RETAIL SCM SUMMIT & AWARDS MODERN India’s appetite for food is insatiable making food retail one of the fastest growing industries in India.

Rise in incomes, changing lifestyles, urbanisation and easy availability along with fast changing demographics are only some of the reasons fuelling this exponential growth. With fast growth come operational and logistical challenges. The perishable nature of these products makes it all the more challenging. Inconsistent backend operations, lack of modern cold chain capacity, etc., magnify these challenges.

The 2nd edition of the India Food

Retail & Supply Chain and Agro Logistics Summit, to be held in Mumbai on November 25, 2011, is designed to address opportunities and challenges in this exciting industry through an agenda that effectively interweaves service users and service providers.

The KPMG-SCLC Food Retail & Supply Chain awards made its debut last year alongside the summit’s first edition. The food retail and supply chain awards aim to recognise and celebrate achievements and innovation within the wider field of food retail, supply chain and operations.

L O G I S T I C S

RUDRA GLT HOPES TO MAKE IT BIG WITH CARGO SERVICES RUDRA GTL Aviation is hopeful to make it big in the cargo industry with the launch of private air cargo services between Kolkata and NorthEastern States. The Kolkata-Imphal and Kolkata-Guwahati route is to be rolled out within a month, said Manosijj Roy, Director, Rudra GTL. Tourist helicopter services from Kolkata to the adjoining areas and from Siliguri to Darjeeling to help boost the tourism business are also on the cards. Lucknow-based GTL, a part of Eureka Group of Enterprises, is into logistics and surface transport industry and Siliguri-headquartered Rudra is a ground and cargo handling solution provider.

“Based on our experience in Imphal (Manipur) and Guwahati (Assam), we will extend the services to Agartala (Tripura) and Bagdogra (West Bengal). We have already put in place the infrastructure for ground handling at most locations,” Roy said.

However, several other companies such as Gati, First Flight Couriers and Quickjet, which provided cargo services did not fare well in their business there. As of now, Rudra GTL has wet leased two ATR 72 aircraft from Deccan Cargo Express and Logistics where Deccan provides the aircraft, complete crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) to the lessee.

CSCMP INAUGURATES BRANCH OFFICE IN MUMBAI THE Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) announced the opening of its latest branch office in Mumbai, India, in June this year. The office was formally inaugurated at Regus Business Centre, Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) recently.

“It’s a dream come true for most of us who have been pursuing to set

up a regional CSCMP office for the past many years, which will cater to professionals and focus on corporates in this region with CSCMP products,” said, Anshuman Neil Basu, Regional Executive Director, CSCMP. The new office was inaugurated

by Niraj Ambani, Board of Director, CSCMP and Shantanu Bhadkamkar, President, Mumbai Roundtable.

The goals of the India CSCMP Regional Office are to expand awareness of CSCMP and its value to SCM professionals working in the region. The staff will also be developing educational and training programmes, hosting conferences, workshops, and creating networking opportunities to meet the needs of the Indian SCM community.

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SOILMEC BEGINS USING ARSHIYA’S MUMBAI FTWZ AS THEIR IMPORT AND RE-EXPORT HUB ARSHIYA International, an integrated supply chain and logistics infrastructure solutions company, has executed a contract with Soilmec India, a subsidiary of Italy-based leader in design, manufacture and distribution of equipment for the ground engineering industry for making Arshiya’s first FTWZ in Panvel, Mumbai as its regional distribution hub. As per the deal, Soilmec will be utilising Arshiya’s Mumbai FTWZ for importing large sized machines, such as large diameter piles, cranes, hydromill, grabs & microdrilling equipment as well as the spare parts required to service these heavy engineering machines.

These products will be imported from international markets and warehoused in dismantled format at the FTWZ. Soilmec will be scaling its business operations in India, which is one of the key markets for these heavy equipment

along with re-exports to regions such as Bangladesh.

Commenting on the deal, Sanjoy Chakrabarty, MD, Soilmec India, said, “The Indian market is robust with infrastructure development and such an FTWZ provides us with the flexibility to serve the market just in time and reduce long lead times that become impediments to our business.

We look forward to this zone allowing us to serve the Indian customers better with our products.”

Ajay S Mittal, Chairman & MD, Arshiya International, said, “FTWZ will be a game changer for Soilmec as it will provide it flexibility to import equipments duty deferred in the zone, warehouse it for extended period and exhibit it to customers before final sale, either in India or nearby regions reducing the sales lead time considerably.”

L O G I S T I C S

FREIGHT FALL IN SEPTEMBER DUE TO RAINS HEAVY rains flooding the collieries has resulted in a sharp drop in coal loading and coal production. This has brought in a slew of other problems, the most important of which is the road transportation issue. Freight loading of the South East Central Railway (SECR), the country’s largest freight-loading zonal railway, is reeling from the blow. September witnessed total freight loading at 71.12 million tonne (mt), thus registering a drop of three mt from 74.21 mt targeted for the period.

During the same period last fiscal, the throughput was 67.51 mt. SECR now has to achieve the targeted traffic for 153 mt in the current fiscal. For that, it has to step up loading, particularly the loading of coal. SECR is trying to gear up loading through the adoption of several measures, such as running of heavy haul rakes and cutting down substantially on terminal detention.

SCAC CONSULTANTS & e4e JOIN FORCES DELHI-based SCAC Consultants has joined Experts for Experts International AG (e4e), the world’s leading international global management consulting and executive search network focussed on the transport and logistics industry. The e4e network now has 16 members.

Benu Malhotra from SCAC Consultants joined the existing network Partners at the 34th Partner meeting in Milan recently to confirm the new relationship. In India, Malhotra heads a very successful, dominantly female team, quite an achievement in the male dominated transport and logistics industry. The new partnership was announced at the meeting together with new partnerships in Brazil and Romania, expanding the e4e footprint across three continents.

Partner companies of the e4e network have worked together with the new member on some individual assignments and have tested their

14 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

abilities to meet the network’s standards.

“The new members will substantially strengthen the e4e network in eastern Europe and the BRIC countries. e4e’s development closely follows that of its clients. The network members have had a strong focus on dynamic markets of the BRIC countries and eastern Europe for some time,” explained Santiago Tarin, President–Executive Board, e4e.

“The network is positioning itself to assist its clients even more effectively by admitting partners that can solve the local challenges in these markets.

The continuing enlargement of our partner network underlines e4e’s ability to find the right solution for its clients.

It also confirms the attraction of the network and its leading position in the executive search field in the transport and logistics sector. As globalisation continues, so does the globalisation of e4e,” adds Santiago Tarin.

GUJARAT GOVERNMENT PLANS TO DEVELOP 6-7 NEW PORTS AROUND 6-7 new ports are going to be set up in the state as finalised by the Gujrat Government. The State Government is planning ports at Dahej, Nargol, Vansi Borsi and Kutchhigarh.

Works on the projects are on at different stages. In the long run, this means large investments flowing into the port sector in the coming years.

At an average investment of Rs800 crore to Rs1,000 crore, officials expect that these 6-7 port projects alone will attract investment of Rs5,500-7,000 crore in the next 2-3 years.

In the latest scheme of things, Adani Group is already developing a solid cargo port at Hazira. Dholera and Khambhat have already been identified as prospective sites for developing ports, but the plans have been put on hold temporarily in view of the Kalpasar project.

L A T E S T

H A P P E N I N G S

I N

T H E

W O R L D

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L O G I S T I C S

POOR LOGISTICS INFRASTRUCTURE COULD COST RS 7 LAKH CRORE BY 2020 NATIONAL losses due to inefficiency in logistics infrastructure could mount to Rs7 lakh crore per year by 2020 as compared to over Rs2 lakh crore at present, said Assocham recently.

Economic losses due to bad condition of roads are conservatively estimated at over Rs30,000 crore per year. A potential annual saving of Rs800 crore can be made by merely shifting the movement of goods through multiaxle and trailer trucks.

Over half of the motorised traffic is carried by 2-axle trucks that constitute 30 per cent of vehicles on the highways. Truckers ignore the real negative economics of overloaded vehicles in search of short-term gains, and add to inefficient fuel and road usage all along. With low rates, long delivery times, high competition and poor operator margins, the road

transport industry finds high level of investments in equipment utilisation and trained personnel unaffordable.

“Thus, the industry hides a huge level of inefficiency, including fuel use inefficiency, which weighs it down and costs the nation more in terms of higher fuel needs,” he said.

While the Railways carry 30-32 per cent of total goods traffic, road surface transport carries nearly 65 per cent.

Even if all highways in the country adopt concrete pavement, fuel savings per kilometre work out to Rs6.7 lakh per km.

Rawat advocated use of high volume fly ash concrete (HVFAC) technology for all road constructions and even replacement of existing structures as a national priority for significant savings on fuel use and improving quality of road transport of goods and passengers.

FEDEX TURNS FOCUS ON GLOBAL HEALTHCARE SECTOR THE healthcare industry is dynamic and growing at a rapid rate. FedEx estimates the global healthcare industry is valued at $1.1 trillion and is growing at a CAGR of 5-8 per cent. The transportation portion of the industry is forecast to reach $36bn by 2012 and cold chain valued at $9.5bn by 2016.

The globalisation of the healthcare industry along with increases in regulations has resulted in opportunities for transportation and logistics providers such as FedEx. However, according to Richard Smith, MD– Life Sciences and Specialty Services, FedEx, one of the most difficult issues for customers is when products move from one location to another.

Shippers, such as pharmaceutical manufacturers, need to be assured of not only the security but also that the correct temperature is maintained throughout the transportation process, a much more difficult proposition than managing temperature when products are at rest.

As the world’s largest air cargo

carrier, FedEx believes that it is in a unique position to maintain security and temperature control of products. For example, FedEx takes on a custodial role in managing the shipment of healthcare goods. It offers targeted temperature-controlled services in all markets where it has a custodial-controlled network, from pick up through delivery; instead of handing off the goods to a third party.

Although demand for transportation of healthcare products is currently strongest in the US, FedEx anticipates greater demand from Asia, particularly in Southern India, home for many pharmaceutical manufacturers.

FedEx is also developing its warehousing and distribution services for critical inventory in the US, Europe and Asia, including India.

As the healthcare industry continues to globalise, Smith says, “It will look for partners that can demonstrate the ability to handle industry concerns such as security and the management of temperature-sensitive goods.”

Saving diesel through better roads and efficient goods traffic would enable the government to introduce market price in phases.

“Energy prices should eventually be decontrolled. There is no escape from allowing diesel and other oil product prices to rise and fall in line with international prices of crude oil,” he said.

Assocham also urged the government to improve turnaround time of Indian Railways through the proposed dedicated high-speed corridors and related industrial hubs so that more road transport traffic can shift to the Railways. It supported the proposal to scout for investments in more such rail corridors and eight-lane highways to create efficient transportation infrastructure connecting all corners of the country.

SUNIL GUPTA APPOINTED NEW CEO OF VOLTAS MATERIAL HANDLING SUNIL K Gupta has been appointed as CEO of Voltas Material Handling (VMH) with effect from September 30, 2011. The members of the VMH Board to whom Gupta will report to are Gordon Riske, CEO, KION Group; Milind Shahane, EVP & COO–Engineering Products Business Group, Voltas; and Daniele Signorini, former MD, OM. VMH develops, manufactures, sells and services forklift trucks and warehouse technology. It was established as a JV between the KION Group and Voltas. Gupta, who studied electrical engineering, has earlier held the post of Associate President at Action Construction Equipment. From 2007-10, he was VP–Manufacturing Operations, Escorts Construction Equipment. He has also held the position of GM & Head– Customer Support and CGM & Head–Manufacturing & Customer Support at Escorts Construction Equipment.

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 15

NEWS ANALYSIS PLEDGE AGAINST PIRACY

OFFERING SHIPPERS A RAY OF HOPE Increasing incidences of piracy in the Indian Ocean has plagued economic activity. Despite corrective action, it has increased in frequency. Attacks by Somali pirates have gone up by 10 per cent last year, which has spelt huge losses for the industry. Now, India’s pledge towards tackling piracy on the global scale has given shipping vessels hope for a new scheme of things to dawn over the horizon…

SHRADHA MOHANTY

AT a recently held UN Security Council debate, it was declared that India has pledged to tackle the threat of piracy and robbery at the international level as well as play an active role in mediating for the safe release of hostages held captive by pirates. At the debate, India also called upon the international community to work towards adopting a comprehensive counter-piracy strategy that would not only act decisively against piracy from Somali, but also in other areas, such as the Gulf of Guinea, where activity of piracy was recently reported.

HOW BAD IS THE SITUATION TODAY? International Maritime Organization

16 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

(IMO) states that pirates operating in the Indian Ocean – an area which is almost as large as Europe – have already caused sizable damage in the first half of this year by attacking 187 vessels and hijacking 22. The European Union Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR), on the other hand, states that over 582 crew members have been held captive off the coast of Somalia. It, however, did not take into account the innumerable number of small dhows and fishing vessels.

These hijacked ships enable Somali pirates to continue their reign of terror for long periods of time even if it means functioning in far of areas. One

such example is the hijacking of two million barrels of Kuwaiti crude oil from a Greek tanker in the middle of the main sea lane coming from Middle East Gulf. This oil was to make its way to the US. Such attacks show the serious impact of piracy in the Indian Ocean.

Constant patrolling by the European and the US navies seemed to have had no effect as an ‘Oceans Beyond Piracy’ study estimates that reportedly $12 billion worth of losses have occurred due to piracy. If left unchecked, this can escalate to strangle crucial shipping lines and severely cut oil flows not only to the US, but also to the rest of the world.

MEASURES TO MEND THE MENACE The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) – a government body responsible for promoting British interests overseas – has laid out a set of instructions to help ships avert such a situation. It has specified a certain stretch of sea, which is to be avoided (15°N in the Red Sea, 23°N in the Arabian Sea, 78°E and 15°S in the Indian Ocean) by yachts and vessels. It also urges merchant ships as well as cruise ships to comply with the agreed shipping industry best practices on self-defence, including measures on speed, routing and maintaining adequate lookout. FCO also states that sailing vessels are vulnerable to attack because of their low speed and low freeboard. Mariners intending to travel through the abovementioned high-risk areas should consider the necessity of their travel as well as other alternatives, such as transporting the vessel by a yacht carrier.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) states that pirates operating in the Indian Ocean – an area which is almost as large as Europe – have already caused sizable damage in the first half of this year by attacking 187 vessels and hijacking 22.

Maritime analysts and experts feel that certain measures should be taken by the members of the vessel before seeking military response. There are specially designed citadels in a vessel where the crew can take refuge in case of attacks by pirates. During an attack, all the crew should have access to the citadel.

In addition, they should have independent two-way external communication. In no case should the pirates have access to the propulsion of the vessel. Also, about three days of provision should be made available to the crew inside the citadel. On such occasions, naval frigates have been able to come to the rescue, while the citadels hold fort.

India, in the UN Security Council debate, has made its stand to fight piracy clear. In the most recent development, India is going to base a Dornier maritime patrol aircraft in the Maldives to carry out surveillance and maintain anti-piracy levels. Additionally, Bharat Electronics (BEL) has also set up a chain of coastal radars in the Maldives along with training requisite personnel for operating the equipment. Besides, barely a few months ago, India gifted a fast attack craft to the Seychelles to assist them in anti-piracy operations.

Through such initiatives, efforts are on to fight the menace in the Indian Ocean. shradha.mohanty@infomedia18.in

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 17

TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATIONS CUTTING-EDGE SOLUTIONS

Dedicated Enterprise Mobility Practice Streamlines Supply Chain Execution accuracy and reduce operational TO meet the needs of both, discrete costs. and process manufacturers, TAKE Solutions has expanded its Enterprise “TAKE Solutions has been Mobility practice to include capabilities for implementing Oracle USPs The practice delivers supply chain Warehouse Management System mobility expertise coupled with the and Oracle Mobile Supply Chain ability to accelerate business applications. processes to help speed The extended mobility practice also includes services that enhance implementations of Oracle Warehouse Oracle processes for receiving, Management and Oracle Mobile inventory, manufacturing and Supply Chain Applications without distribution. This enables customers expensive customisations. It also to shorten time to decision, ensure leverages mobility expertise and on-time delivery, accelerate access streamlines supply chain execution. to information, improve inventory

providing mobile data collection services for Oracle E-Business Suite customers for close to 10 years now,” said Grant Woolf, VP – Strategy & Business Development, TAKE Solutions.

“TAKE Solution’s Enterprise Mobility practice leverages a distinctive combination of supply chain experience and the technology aspects of mobility. As a result, customers gain improved efficiency, visibility, control and inventory accuracy – all of which impact the smooth execution of the supply chain,” he added.

Existing Intelligent Transportation Technologies Could Eliminate 90% Of Traffic Accidents INTELLIGENT transport system has become the need of the hour. Mostly, traffic accidents are caused due to driver error. But up to 90 per cent of all crashes could be eliminated if the existing intelligent transportation technologies were implemented in our vehicles and roads, believe experts at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world’s largest technical professional association.

These include electronics and computing technologies such as in-vehicle machine vision and sensors to detect drowsy drivers, lane departure warning systems, and vehicle-tovehicle & vehicle-to-infrastructure communications for safety applications.

However, costs of such technologies need to continue to fall so that the average consumer can afford these vehicle safety features.

“Today’s advanced embedded systems, sensors, microprocessors and

control technologies have made our vehicles and roads significantly safer.

But integrating them into our vehicles and roads has been a slow process,” said Dr Azim Eskandarian, IEEE Member & Director – Center for Intelligent Systems Research, George Washington University.

“However, within 10 years, as technology costs continue to fall and implementation of these technologies increases, we could see significant improvements in vehicle safety, efficiency and energy conservation, especially in developing parts of the world where high-end cars are not yet affordable by the general public,” Eskandarian added.

According to Dr Eskandarian, other challenges include market acceptance and potential liability concerns surrounding technologies that take total or partial control of the vehicle, such as collision avoidance and driver

These types of self-driven vehicles will be ready for use in nonurban environments within 5-8 years. The same technology will also apply to agricultural equipment, including self-driven tractors and combines that will maximise land use, increase crop output and decrease injuries.

DR ALBERTO BROGGI, PRESIDENT, IEEE INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS SOCIETY & PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITÀ DI PARMA, ITALY

18 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

assistance programmes like automatic braking. However, these technologies may follow the path of driver- and passenger-side airbags and anti-lock braking systems (ABS) or electronic stability control (ESC), initially offered as optional features, but today considered proven and often, standard safety measures in nearly all vehicles.

Advanced research on safety technologies is going far beyond individual vehicles. For example, Teruo Higashino, IEEE Senior Member & Professor – Information Networking, Osaka University, Japan, has recently focussed on applying wireless networking technology for vehicle-to-vehicle communication to help detect dangerous vehicles on the road – such as a car approaching a blind intersection – and warn nearby drivers, thus helping dramatically reduce accidents.

Dr Alberto Broggi, President, IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society & Professor, Università di Parma, Italy, says that intelligent transportation technologies on the horizon, including autonomously driven vehicles, will change our concept of car use. Broggi recently coordinated the successful 13,000-km journey of a driverless van from Italy to China.

Marine Pad To Enhance Maritime Safety SOUTH Korea-based maritime solution provider Moim Consulting has recently launched a new marine pad to enhance maritime safety and ensure compliance with regulations. This would help the crew onboard to plan their weekly & daily work, conduct risk assessments, fill permits and checklists, schedule work hours & comply with rest hour regulations. This new software can also be used with an existing computer on board and the permits & checklists can be filled without the need to print them.

They can be sent to office for approval if required. The system also maintains an audit log of the permits, checklists and risk assessments to determine if the crew is complying with Ship Management Support with regards to the use of such safeguards. The new

touch screen interface also eliminates the need to send the entire word document to the office for approval and instead transmits the ticks and the crosses to synchronise with the checklist in the office server for approval. This helps

USPs The marine pad can be used as a tool to keep control over both, planned & unplanned marine operations. This will reduce the costs associated with non-compliance, ensure stakeholder satisfaction with the company quality systems and increase crew productivity with regards to administrative reporting.

save on communication costs.

The rest hour module helps to continuously record work hours and automatically prepares reports for inspection by the Port State Control.

This will ensure that even if the crew fails or forgets to fill in their rest hour, they are automatically updated. The system warns against any non-compliance and prompts for a reason for it. The system can be customised for best practice and risk assessment sharing between various ships in the fleet.

This helps to prevent staffs on different ships from repeating the work. The shore office can monitor daily work being carried out onboard. The work planning module also enhances the interaction between various departments.

Infor10 Supply Chain Execution Advances SCM With Greater Speed BY bringing warehouse management, labour management, billing and transportation planning into one solution, Infor10 Supply Chain Execution reduces complexities, automates repetitive processes and enables faster decision making. Infor, a leading provider of business application software, has recently announced the availability of Infor10 Supply Chain Execution, a revolutionary new application that helps companies eliminate obstacles to information flow. It helps companies operate at a faster pace and deliver more value at less cost.

Using Infor10 ION – Infor’s innovative interoperability platform – the application easily interfaces with other solutions throughout the supply chain. Infor10 Supply Chain Execution integrates with key enterprise solutions, including enterprise resource planning (ERP), customers’ systems for stock balances & transaction details and vendor solutions.

Today’s supply chain demands quick, critical decision making regarding schedules, costs, deadlines, transportation

USPs Infor10 Supply Chain Execution offers manufacturers, distributors, retailers and logistics service providers a unified approach to automating and simplifying complex warehouse and transportation management processes.

It uses advanced integration tools to upload master data and transaction data more quickly, thereby enabling companies to add new customers faster and start generating new revenue sooner.

requirements and customer requests at the drop of a hat. To make this happen, coherent, valid information from a single source is needed in real time.

That is why Infor10 Supply Chain Execution is a game changer. “It allows our customers to make better and faster

decisions for their own operations and inspires customer confidence,” said Brent Forden, Senior Product Manager – SCM, Infor.

Testifying the same, Dave Schroeder, VP – Operations & Information Systems, LAVA Supply Chain Solutions, said, “We chose Infor10 Supply Chain Execution because it offered a comprehensive solution with the functionality to cover our distribution requirements, even as our needs evolve over time. As our company grows, we are able to build upon our warehouse management solution with additional functionality such as transportation management, 3PL billing and labour management without the need to install or integrate separate standalone solutions.”

“Moreover, since this functionality is built into the Infor10 SCE solution, we can take advantage of a substantial time and cost savings from a solution that is able to effectively manage our ever-changing, distribution system,” Schroeder added.

Collated by Prerna Sharma

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 19

PRICE TRENDS ROAD FREIGHT INDEX CHART FOR OCTOBER 2011 IRFI TREND FOR OCTOBER 2011 The RFI stood at 175 points for the month of October 2011, which is at the same levels in comparison to the same period last year.

ZONAL FREIGHT TRENDS The overall freight rates have increased slightly by 0.20% as compared to the previous month. The freight rates from Ex-Delhi rates has registered the highest increase in rates by 6.76%, whereas Ex-Kolkata rates has registered the highest decrease in rates by 4.69% as compared to other metros. The freight rates from Ex-Delhi are high due to the start of the potato season in Punjab and due to the shortage of vehicles in the market.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

TRENDS FOR OCTOBER (Y-o-Y) 172

172 175

175

166

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

Index trend for five years The cumulative sales of commercial vehicles registered a growth of 17.85% for April-September 2011 as compared to the same period last year and the production grew at 16.62% in the month of September 2011 as compared to September 2010. Medium & heavy commercial vehicles grew at 6.05% and light commercial vehicles grew at 28.72%.

FORECAST FOR NOVEMBER 2011 The RFI in October 2010 over October 2009 had registered an increase of three points. It is expected to increase marginally in the upcoming months due to the movement of agricultural products.

Indian Road Freight Index (IRFI), a service introduced by Transport Corporation of India (TCI), is an index of weighted average lorry freight rates across various routes, calculated based on the route density and the dynamic freight rates of routes across the country.

Knowledge Partner: Transport Corporation of India (TCI); website: www.tcil.com; e-mail: irfi@tcil.com

20 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

IN CONVERSATION WITH CEO, DIESEL

THE JOURNEY OF DIESL… The journey of Drive India Enterprise Solutions (DIESL) is similar to the journey of the logistics sector in India.

When this company was set up, logistics was not considered a serious business. Initially, we traded in telecom products, handsets, mobile phones, accessories, data cards, etc., and logistics was nowhere in the scene.

We deployed other logistics players to run warehouses for us. In 200506, logistics became our second line of business. Fortunately, during that time, logistics was beginning to grow as a line of business in India.

YOUR VIEWS ON OPPORTUNITIES IN THE 3PL MARKET Our decision to choose logistics as the second line of business has proved right – less in terms of the success that we have achieved, but more in terms of the way the sector has grown. In the initial 3-4 years, we grew at almost 100 per cent y-o-y and today, our compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is close to 65 per cent. It is a fact that in the last five years, we already made it to the top 5 slot of logistics players in the country. And competing with players who are almost 40-50 years old in the market gives me a sense of pride. We believe that we are poised for bigger things as we have already created a base that will help us leap ahead.

Presently, this sector is passing through exciting times. The logistics sector in India is at the beginning of the curve that will take the country to an evolved and developed era. This is the right time for those seeking to enter this sector. But to leverage on the opportunities, one has to be a long-term player. There are no short-term gains here.

The logistics sector in India has continuously witnessed a double-digit growth rate in the last few years. In India, organised players, like us, hold only about 6-7 per cent of the market.

But in just five years, this organised sector has grown from five per cent

22 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

to 9-10 per cent, which despite being a small figure, cannot be ignored.

Additionally, those who had never considered outsourcing earlier are now looking at it as a credible option.

Also, those who were working with unorganised players are now moving to organised players in the industry.

These are some of the factors, which have made us feel that we are at the right place and are doing the right thing.

CATERING TO VARIED CUSTOMER SEGMENTS Telecom, FMCG, consumer durables, automobile, project logistics, retail and chemicals & bulk are our focus sectors. Every focus sector has a typical requirement and every customer has a typical expectation. Hence, when dealing with diverse markets, we need to understand what the customer expects from us. For instance, when dealing with customers in the chemical industry, they will first assess a logistics service provider on the safety parameter, the sensitivity involved and eventually, they will consider the remaining processes. But that is not the case with a telecom or FMCG player. Hence, we first need to understand a particular industry’s specific requirements as well as customers’ expectations, and then internally set up the processes accordingly and build process awareness within the organisation.

So, the first step that we took was to build that process awareness. We ensured that the entire organisation understood that we wanted to run this business with a greater focus on process and quality. We not only rolled out our own quality programme called Caliper, but also have a business excellence function. Very few Indian logistics service providers have such an arrangement in place. We are probably the only organisation, which has full-fledged business excellence completely focussed on process mapping, process audits, compliance tests, as well as accredited with ISO

certification.

With these in place, we wanted to create a difference in the market; we wanted to have a difference in approach, attitude and then, deliver desired results.

TECHNOLOGY – AN ENABLER The technologies we use differentiate us from the rest. We spent a lot of time on building the right technologies.

Instead of focussing on what the rest of the players are doing, we decided to focus on what the market leaders across the globe in this sector are doing. After analysing the top 10 global logistics organisations, our business excellence team concluded that logistics, in simpler terms, is all about moving & storing, but the differentiating factor can be achieved through technology. Hence, we decided to invest time, money, energy and focus on technology. Today, we have a warehouse management system (WMS) that can be compared to any player in the world; we have a distribution management system (DMS) that offers solutions to most customer queries. We have acquired the DMS from Oracle and have customised it to suit Indian conditions. We call it Connect. Connect has two segments – Connect Domestic and Connect International. Connect ensures that the right product is picked up from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or a vendor, outside or within India, at the right time. If it is outside India, then Connect India takes over till it gets delivered to the customer. It ensures that there is complete visibility of the product.

TACKLING COMPETITION In today’s highly competitive world, strategies need to be defined sometimes on a daily basis, market approach policies and programmes need to be updated probably twice in a day, and if companies do not have information & visibility, then it becomes a great challenge. We have tried to tackle

The Indian logistics sector is on the CURVE that will LEAD INDIA to an EVOLVED ERA Photo by Joshua Navalkar

“Five years back, a person who could not fit anywhere was placed in logistics. Today, logistics is considered an area which can create a huge strategic difference,” says Ajay Chopra, CEO, DIESL, during an interaction with Sumedha Mahorey. Excerpts…

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 23

In conversation with..., continued

this challenge with Connect India and Connect International. We chose WMS from INFOR and customised it. We call it WIMAC. WIMAC is comparable to the best WMS in the world. It gives complete visibility of what is happening within a warehouse or a distribution centre. It can also provide answers related to efficiency – person-wise, product-wise, stock keeping unit (SKU)-line wise. We are an ‘asset-light organisation’ as we do not invest in land, building infrastructure, etc. We only invest in aspcts, like technology, that enable us to provide better services to our customers. We are a service company and a service company should look at what makes service better.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS TO WIN ‘3PL OF THE YEAR’ AWARD We have won the ‘3PL of the Year’ award twice in a row. Our customers and the sector, at large, are realising the difference that we make. The fact that we are regarded as the best 3PL service provider is probably a recognition of the factors that differentiate us from the rest. I believe that in this sector, it is easier to replicate one another but difficult to create differentiating propositions. Any organisation, which is first able to create and then build on those differentiating factors, would be able to deliver more to its customers and achieve more returns.

PLANS IN PLACE TO REACH HINTERLAND MARKETS We are the No. 1 service providers in the seven north-eastern states. We have warehouses with more than 10-12 customers in the northeast. We believe that there is a huge market potential in the northeast as organisations want organised players to come in and set up infrastructure in this region. We also have 2-3 warehouses in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. We have challenges in terms of safety of people and client’s products.

And in places like Srinagar where, at times, facilities do not open up for 2-3

24 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

that can deliver anywhere within 24 hours.

TRANSFORMATIONAL LANDSCAPE

UP,

CLOSE &

PERSONAL What motivates you?

The process of creation is a great motivator and to be in an industry where you are creating something, evolving everyday and probably working on something that will hold good for the next few decades, as the size of the opportunity is so big, I think that is the natural motivator…

You realise that you are walking on a path, which can lead this industry, this organisation and the set of people that are working with you to a much brighter and better future.

What do you do in your free time?

There is very little free time... I love reading. I read a variety of books from Paulo Coelho to management books to autobiographies. At any particular time, I read a couple of books together.

The biggest lesson you have learnt Everything is possible and it has been proved umpteen times. If you can think about it, then you can also make it happen.

Your message to the competitors Watch us carefully... weeks, we have to create strategies and rise above the challenges to ensure that we meet our customers’ requirements.

But, at the same time, we also have to be clear with our customers that these special places require special service level agreements (SLAs). Fortunately, we have been able to overcome those challenges and deliver. As far as reaching the hinterland is considered, one of our biggest achievements in the last few years is our distribution reach.

We have about 170-plus warehouses functioning in the country today and we aspire to become a service provider

It is all about the perception of the sector in the market. The best talent flows towards a side when it is considered the place to be in or it is looked at as an area of opportunities, which provides scope for growth.

Five years back, logistics was a place where a person, who could not fit into production or finance or quality, was placed into the stores or the dispatch section. Now, logistics is considered an area, which can make a huge strategic difference. Therefore, the people employed need to understand what logistics is all about.

They have to have specialisations in the field. This change in the trend is already visible. In fact, there are several institutes offering MBA programmes in logistics.

CATERING TO THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETS We have three divisions that take care of warehousing, transportation & distribution and international logistics business. We call it International logistics support (ILS). We also have plans to set up a distribution centre outside India. The forth division is value-added services, which caters to packaging, bundling and all types of services, which can complete the entire range of services.

YOUR VISION AS THE LEADER OF THIS COMPANY...

We got to be market leaders and this organisation has everything that it needs to be the market leader in India and hold a prominent position among logistics companies’ the world over.

It is just a matter of time before we achieve that. We are walking on the right path and we are part of a great group, you cannot have better settings than this. sumedha.mahorey@infomedia18.in

INDIAN SHIPBUILDING SPECIAL FOCUS

Illustration By Sanjay Dalvi

GEARING UP TO TACKLE

GLOBAL

COMPETITION

Is India ready to take on the global position as the shipbuilding nation? The answer today is perhaps ‘no’… But this scenario is soon going to change with the maritime industry witnessing resurgence and making its way towards becoming globally competitive by eliminating the shortfalls in its operational processes and product development…

With such promising initiatives in place, the Indian shipbuilding industry is set to ensure that the ‘Indian Flag’ keeps flying high…

PRERNA SHARMA & ARINDAM GHOSH

CHARACTERISED by low capacity, poor productivity and lack of modernisation, Indian shipbuilding has miles to travel to become the global shipbuilding nation of the world. The good news is that India has already started taking proactive measures to become globally competent. Let us first start with the facts to understand the potential it has…

According to Frost & Sullivan, the market earned $1.60 billion as revenues in 2010. It expects this figure to reach $3.50 billion in 2016. “About 40 per cent of the India-owned fleet is more than 20 years old, and Indian owners will need to spend about $4 billion to replace these during 2010-2015,” says Srinath Manda, Transportation & Logistics Programme Manager, Frost & Sullivan, in a statement. In addition, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has mandated the phasing out of all single-hull vessels by 2010, and single-hull tankers constitute about 15.8 per cent of the total vessels owned by Indian shipping companies.

As per the Indian Shipbuilders Association’s (ISBA) estimates, the

industry can grow at a rate of more than 30 per cent and this momentum can be maintained for the next 10 years to reach a level of 5 million DWT order book in the 11th Five Year Plan as against 1.3 million in the 10th Five Year Plan.

With this, the shipbuilding industry would also be able to achieve a world share of 2.2 per cent and an annual turnover of `18,000 crore in the last year of the 11th Five Year Plan. It is expected that in 2017 by the time the shipbuilding industry matures, it would have attained more than 7.5 per

Research & Development Areas • Propulsion • Fuel cell and associated technologies • Nanotechnologies • Integrated platform management system (IPMS) • Composite materials • Harnessing wind energy • Weapon systems • Repair and maintenance philosophies/alternative technologies.

cent of the global order book and will have a turnover of `40,500 crore.

The Indian shipbuilding and repair market is poised to pick up momentum with the increasing penetration of Indian shipbuilding companies in the offshore vessels (OSVs) segment.

India has proven its might in the building and repair of OSVs, thereby resulting in a spike in orders for such vessels from the Indian industry. The limited capacities related to OSVs in leading shipbuilding nations, such as Japan and South Korea, have resulted in a diversion of orders to India, thereby driving up the fortunes of the Indian shipbuilding and repair market. The aging fleet of shipping companies in India augurs well for the shipbuilding and repair market in the country. But this is just one side of the story. The shortcomings possessed

by Indian shipbuilders are blocking their path towards attaining global competitiveness.

CHALLENGES ABOUND India lags behind China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Philippines in

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 25

Indian shipbuildings, continued

shipbuilding and ship repair. But what prevents India from becoming a world leader in shipbuilding? This is probably one of the biggest questions that the industry needs to address…

Lack of a mentor During a recently held summit, this question was discussed in detail and the outcome drawn was lack of vision, resolve and management i.e. the lack of a ‘Sam Pitroda’ in Indian shipbuilding.

Although at first, these hurdles seemed like they were easy to overcome, but in hindsight, the absence of a mentor has been hampering the growth prospects of this industry since long.

Poor production technology India’s ship design capabilities may be fairly good for warships, but the quality of designs related to merchant ships, including coast guard ships, are poor.

The country is unable to use the latest IT tools in shipbuilding as India still lacks basic ship design and production technology.

According to experts, for the last eight years, due to non-availability of expertise in ship design and production, most of the orders to build ships were either cancelled or postponed. We have to be ‘proactive’ in this area instead of remaining ‘reactive’. “India has a vast coastline, but there is an acute shortage of deep draft water space along the coast,” says Srinath, adding, “This restricts the type and size of ships that can be built or repaired in India and curbs the full growth potential of the Indian shipbuilding and repair market.”

Need for government support In the face of a global recession and in the absence of government support in the form of a shipbuilding subsidy scheme, which expired post August, 2007, Indian shipyards have been far behind their competitors for the want of new orders. The yards could book very few orders – either for export or domestic shipping lines as foreign yards.

Commenting on the same, Captain Rahul R Pathak, Principal Consultant,

26 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

ACT

THE GROWTH OF THE CHINESE SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY IS NOW BECOMING A THREAT TO ALMOST ALL MAJOR SHIPBUILDING NATIONS, AS CHINA IS PLANNING TO BECOME THE LEADING SHIPBUILDING NATION WITH AN AIM TO CORNER MORE THAN 30 PER CENT GLOBAL SHARE BY 2015. INDIA IS PROBABLY THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT WILL BE ABLE TO MATCH THE CHINESE PRICES WITH ITS RELATIVELY LOW LABOUR COSTS AND INDUSTRIAL BASE FOR MANUFACTURE OF EQUIPMENT. Mantrana Maritime Advisory, says, “Indian shipbuilding is going through a challenging phase. Very few new building orders have been placed by the private sector. Most of the orders that have come to Indian shipyards, in the commercial and naval segment, in the last two years are from the Indian Government. Most of the shipyards are executing past orders. Once completed, the situation at shipyards could worsen.

There is little hope for the revival of commercial shipbuilding in the next two years. The shipping industry is oversupplied and underutilised.”

The Indian shipbuilding industry has been growing at a steady pace since the last few years.

Indian shipbuilders must focus on benchmarking their own processes with the international standards to improve the efficiency and delivery time.

“Even though shipping companies have large cash on their books, they are not placing orders for new ships and their existing fleet has low utilisation.

Moreover, they do not see the trade and other maritime activity picking up to the extent that they absorb the surplus ships already in market. Hence, no company, other than governmentowned firms, is thinking of acquiring new tonnage. This leads to poor order outlook for shipyards,” he says, adding, “The immediate future opportunities for Indian shipyards would come from the government-owned companies,

such as ONGC, SCI, Indian Navy, Coast Guard, Ports, etc., whose requirements are budget driven.”

Other factors Additionally, the shipyard’s low productivity and delayed delivery schedules due to factors such as lack of management and commitment, shortterm policies & appointment of CMDs in shipyards, lack of experienced design engineers, production engineers, lack of development in ship design technology and production technology, poor labour relations, outdated government policies, lack of support from ship owners, etc., are preventing India from competing in the world shipbuilding market.

ACTION AGENDA Shipbuilding has a long gestation period. It needs a lot of funding as it is labour intensive and requires the installation of costly equipment.

This combination can prove to be highly rewarding if handled properly.

Industry leaders vouch for the fact that the National Shipbuilding Capability Index for shipyards has to be brought out. The ship breaking or recycling industry must not be neglected and norms have to be set for this industry.

Apart from this, some of the other initiatives that the industry needs to implement on an urgent basis include: • Delivery schedule of ships: The industry needs to tackle issues pertaining to non-standardisation of material, equipment, nonfreezing of design & specification, etc., which lead to a ship’s delayed

delivery, that, in turn, leads to cost and time overrun. Also, frequent layout changes between sister vessels of the same class should be avoided.

• Dearth of skilled manpower in design: Private & government institutions need to intervene and solve this problem by starting design courses in naval architecture.

AMET University, Chennai has already started a naval architecture programme.

• Lack of skilled manpower in shipyards: In private shipyards, there is acute shortage of skilled manpower. Government shipyards already have apprenticeship schools to meet their manpower requirement and institutions throughout the country, like ITI, to train students.

No industry-academia connect There has to be industry-academia connect to create awareness among students about the immense career opportunities that maritime offers.

Major industries can provide scholarships to students and train them about the maritime sector. There is also a need for industry people to visit academic institutions regularly and talk to students about the importance and relevance of maritime affairs in India and the prospects that it can offer students.

Consortium of ship designers needed Also, an association or consortium of ship designers needs to be formed so that the design load can be shared among them. Shipbuilding, at the sub contractor’s level, is an unorganised sector in India and workers are not given benefits as per labour regulations.

Additionally, the safety requirements are to be looked into and regulated.

Multiple professional associations must work together to bring up the shipping industry in close association with the government.

Need for subsidy scheme The shipbuilding turnover for private and public sector shipyards, excluding defence shipyards, has grown 14 fold

The Maritime Agenda 2010-20 has assigned the following targets for the Indian shipbuilding industry: • To achieve a global market share of 5 per cent by 2020 • To develop a strong ancillary base in the country by 2020 • To generate additional employment for 2.5 million persons (0.5 million direct and 2.00 million indirect) by 2020 in the core shipbuilding as well as the ancillary and supporting industry sector • To develop strong R&D facilities and design capabilities for commercial shipbuilding • To achieve a share of 10 per cent by 2020 in global ship repair industry. in the last nine years from about `440 crore in 2001-2002 to `6,200 crore in 2010-2011.

But the introduction of a shipbuilding subsidy scheme would immensely benefit the industry.

“Subsidy is required to provide a level playing field. Unlike other industries that are protected by customs and duty barriers, the shipbuilding industry has to compete on global pricing levels, as there is no duty imposed by the government on the import of ships and dredgers. In addition, the Indian yards have to pay excise and VAT on all indigenous items as well as on complete ships, which is not the case with ships imported, says a report. “Without this, the industry is likely to collapse and there will be no shipbuilding industry left in the country,” the report adds.

Much needed policy on shipbuilding The National Manufacturing Competitive Council (NMCC) has been emphasising on the need for a shipbuilding policy to enable Indian yards to compete effectively in both, the domestic and export markets to help build a strong shipbuilding sector in the country, given its potential for

employment generation as well as its strategic importance. In a meeting held in January 2010, NMCC recommended that the shipbuilding industry in India needs to be granted infrastructure status and also be declared a strategic sector.

NAVIGATING TOWARDS THE FUTURE With sustained support from the government, India can become a preferred shipbuilding nation and can contribute more to the global shipbuilding industry, if the existing regulatory mechanism is eliminated or relaxed. India can soon compete with nations like China, Korea and Vietnam. Also, the labour intensive nature of the shipbuilding industry and the availability of low-cost labour can play a key role in making India highly competitive in the global shipbuilding industry.

The future of the Indian shipbuilding and repair market looks promising and is likely to double in the next 5-6 years. The growth potential is further enhanced with the Indian Government aiming for the nation’s shipbuilding sector to attain a five per cent share in the global market by 2017. Of late, the Indian Government is encouraging greater private participation in the sector and a new world-class commercial shipyard is being built on the eastern coast. These factors will speed up the growth prospects for the market. The government is also facilitating improvements in port & infrastructure facilities and easing regulations and taxes to assist the industry in addressing the challenges and overcoming its barriers.

The prospects are ripe for the industry to capitalise on… It is just the industry’s preparedness and forthright attitude that will be enable them to make the right decision in the long run and become the world’s most preferred shipbuilding nation! prerna.sharma@infomedia18.in arindam.ghosh@infomedia18.in

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 27

SPECIAL FOCUS ECO-INNOVATIONS IN SHIPBUILDING

GREEN GROWTH

AHOY! Of late, shipbuilding has come on the radar of environmentalists owing to its devastating impact on the environ. Therefore, stringent measures need to be taken right from the design to production stage to develop an eco-friendly ship. Here’s a sneak peek into environ-friendly measures for global shipbuilders…

GROWING environmental concerns, particularly over climate change are likely to intensify attention on maritime transport over the coming years.

Recent studies have already put more emphasis on shipping, with results suggesting that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – which is shipping’s most significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emission – are higher than what was previously thought of. Shipping is also a major source of particulate matter (PM) and black carbon, and the sector contributes heavily to the global sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The sector’s actual contributions, nevertheless, appear to differ depending on sources.

For instance, shipping’s world share of global CO2 emissions ranges from 3 to 5 per cent, according to Vidal and International Maritime Organization (IMO), while the sector is estimated to account for 4-8 per cent of SO2 emissions and about 15 per cent of NOx emissions.

While IMO recently adopted amendments to the MARPOL Regulations to reduce SO2, NOx and CO2 emissions. In the European Union (EU), for instance, shipping is expected to surpass all land-based sources in terms of NOx emissions by 2020. In the absence of policy measures and appropriate actions, CO2 emissions could also rise by 200-300 per cent by 2050, when compared to emission levels in 2007, due to the

28 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

growth in international shipping.

With regards to the above, one of the primary environmental challenges in shipping undoubtedly pertain to the use of heavy bunker oils, which produce significant pollution. While the major environmental focus of the shipping industry remains reducing the impact of spills of various substances such as oil, cargo residues and ballast water, concerns with the extensive use of bunker oil for the operation of heavy diesel engines is growing, along with more peripheral concerns such as the growing evidence that noise generated by ships can disturb the natural wildlife. Nevertheless, recent innovative and technological developments offer promising ways for shipowners and shipbuilders to address these challenges.

CLEANER TECHNOLOGIES So far, the development and application of new technologies in shipbuilding have been relatively slow, but new ideas and innovative solutions for reducing the environmental impacts of ships during operations are beginning to surface, while some technologies already exist.

Many of these are particularly targeted towards the reduction of shipping emissions by further improving the energy-efficiency of ships.

While some of these technologies are still in the experimental phase, many have made it to the commercial stage. While some initiatives may entail

only incremental modifications, their effect on improving environmental

Using biodiesel as a mix in conventional fuels Maersk (Denmark) is one of the companies involved in projects of using bio-diesel as a mix in conventional fuels. Together with Lloyd’s Register and a consortium of Dutch subcontractors, they are currently running a two-year project, partially funded by the Dutch Government, that initially will test the viability of using blends of 5-7 per cent of bio-diesel, sourced from sustainably grown crops and recycled vegetable oils. The testing is carried out on one of Maersk’s container ships called Maersk Kalmar. It aims, among other things, to evaluate the extent to which the blends adverse effects in marine engines will mimic that found by the automotive industry in land-based engines. The project aspires to find solutions for some of the drawbacks associated with using bio-diesel blends; particularly those associated with susceptibility to microbial growth, adverse effects on instrumentation of the bilge water system, and the impact on the level of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

Although other test projects have used 100 per cent biofuels, this is the first to be conducted on a large container ship.

performance can be significant as well as highly cost-effective.

Biodiesel Biodiesel is a particular form of biofuel used in diesel engines, and is typically produced from vegetable oil or animal fat. The use of biodiesel has been tested extensively by automakers in automobiles with both economic and environmental benefits, including lower emissions of GHGs, SO2 and PM. However, in some cases, emissions of NOx were higher than when burning conventional diesel. Using biodiesel in ships has similar potential; but compared to biodiesel in land-based engines, there may be little economic incentive when used as blends in heavy bunker fuel. However, given the volatile oil prices and increasing world production of crops for biofuels, the economics can change quickly.

Wind and solar power Sail powered ships have been around for centuries, but new technologies in harnessing wind power may be giving sails a revival. The idea of using giant sails or kites’, to propel large commercial ships has been around for some time, but has usually been thought of as an idea. However, projects that test the viability of the technology have demonstrated significant potential for reducing fuel consumption; even on larger ships.

Solar power, on the other hand, is a relatively new and potentially promising form of propulsion for ships.

However, it is yet to find commercial application. The technology is new, and even if partially solar powered commercial ships already exist, they are small and relatively few in number.

Extensive tests of photovoltaic panels are nonetheless also being conducted on larger cargo vessels, but it will take time before this technology can have a significant impact on reducing fuel consumption, let alone operate as the single source of power for propulsion.

Liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is an efficient way to cut emissions for short

sea and inland water ways shipping.

In effect, the burning of LNG can eliminate all sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions, and cut emissions of CO2 and NOx by as much as 20 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively. According to Det Norske Veritas, LNG is currently one of the most cost-effective ways to cut CO2, SOx and NOx emissions.

Moreover, given the high volatility and uncertainty in oil prices, LNG has the potential to become an economically attractive solution to control those emissions.

However, one of the main obstacles in using natural gas onboard ships is storage. Even in its liquefied state, which is obtained by cooling the gas, the volume of the tank that is needed to store LNG is more than double the volume of the tank needed for storing conventional oil fuel with the same energy effect. Therefore, in most cases retrofitting an LNG energy system onto ships is a significant task;

Extensive pilot project with solar energy The first example of solar panels on a larger cargo vessel is the fitting of 328 solar panels on the 60,000 tonne Toyota car carrier, MV Auriga Leader, which is operated by Japan’s largest shipping company Nippon Yuse Kaisha (NYK Line), and co-developed with Nippon Oil. The fitting of solar panels is part of a two-year project, which started in the beginning of 2009. The solar panels on the MV Auriga Leader are capable of generating 10% of the energy while the ship is docked. When at sea, the solar power generated can provide 0.05 per cent of the ship’s propulsion power and one per cent of the electricity used onboard the vessel. These effects are not capable of reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by any significant level, but the aim has also been to test the endurance of solar panels under the harsh conditions at sea.

If reductions from emissions in shipping through the use of particulate matter filters would be comparable to the reductions obtained from such filters on land vehicles, black carbon emissions in shipping could be reduced by up to 90 per cent. and may reduce a ship’s cargo space.

Another big challenge is the building of an LNG fuelling infrastructure in ports. While this is not impossible, the use of LNG is perhaps best suited for the construction of new vessels where space requirements can be adequately designed. This may be a commercially viable opportunity available for exploitation by innovative shipyards.

SHIP DESIGN In addition to alternative fuels and propulsion systems, shipbuilders can also apply different ship designs to improve energy efficiency. This effect can be obtained by reducing a ship’s friction or resistance in water, either through ship modifications such as the application of more efficient propeller designs or air-lubrication systems or by entirely redesigning the hull.

AIR LUBRICATION Air lubrication uses air to cause less friction when a ship’s hull glides through the water. The effect is obtained by blowing air between the ship’s hull and the water, and thus literally reducing the contact surface between the ship and the water.

Commercial applications of this technology already exist.

HULL DESIGN Hull designs can be optimised for maximum energy efficiency by minimising friction and wave resistance.

This process typically relies on advanced research tools, such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which can be used to alter the hull’s design in a computer-simulated environment.

Besides lowering the friction of the ship’s hull, this technique also allows

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 29

Eco-innovations in shipbuilding, continued

for optimising hull designs across a number of other parameters, including stability, safety, noise and vibration.

BUILDING GREENER SHIPS In a lifecycle scenario, the shipbuilding industry sits at the heart of improvements to both the economic and environmental performance of the shipping industry. There are signs that efforts are already being made in this direction. A specific example is the Japanese NYK Super Eco Ship project, which seeks to construct a zeroemission ship by combining a long list of energy-efficient technologies. This is a project that is partly a response to strong emission targets set by Japan.

The reduction in emissions results from a number of factors. For example, weight is reduced by using high-strength ultra-light steels, but also from changes in ship structure and from using LNG fuel cells as a main power source instead of diesel

engines. Propulsion is furthermore assisted by solar and air power, as solar cells cover the entire top container area. They are also located on the side on the ship and on the ship’s 8 airfoil sails. These cover a total area of 31,000 m2, with a peak energy output of up to 9MW. The sails, which are located on retractable telescopic masts, are of a triangular shape to improve their effectiveness under different wind conditions. The vessel’s frictional resistance is furthermore reduced by an air cavity system.

In addition, pods and fore propellers allow the ship to manoeuvre flexibly, and the ship does therefore not depend on tugs for docking, leading to emission reductions from this source.

The ship is furthermore constructed following a modular design, which allows the ship to break into different parts for docking. This means that the ship’s middle section can be separated from the hull and left for unloading

and loading, while the fore and aft are reconnected to other middle sections that are pre-loaded and ready for re-integration with the vessel.

Combined with a new loading concept for the ship as a whole, it is estimated that this will lead to a decrease in loading time of 50 per cent.

Such design innovations are practical only when there are sufficient incentives for the investment to be made into research, development and production, and for the designs to be taken up as commercially viable vessels. There are indications that there is growing government, public, environmental and economic pressure to produce ships that meet environmental, climate change and green growth expectations, and there is a challenge for shipyards to build greener ships that are also commercially viable.

Courtesy: OECD Council Working Party On Shipbuilding (WP6)

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LOW ENERGY SHIP SPECIAL FOCUS

ATTACKING ENERGY LOSSES High bunker costs, new market realities, the cross-industrial focus on the environment, along with stricter regulations regarding emissions and ballast water, will result in radical changes in ships. Technological developments in materials science, drag reduction, propulsion and energy efficiency, will provide the basis for the key specifications of new ship concepts.

NOVEL technologies and demanding objectives regarding emissions, efficiency, strength and speed or cargo flexibility, necessitate holistic designs and use of risk-based methods. To manage the complexity and risk inherent in new solutions, large-scale demonstrators as well as advanced, model-based techniques are needed.

AIR BUBBLE LUBRICATION Although the wave-making resistance of ships can be minimised by careful hull design, friction drag is more important for large, slow speed, commercial ships.

Air bubble lubrication systems are based on the powered injection of air beneath the ship. Several small holes on the hull’s bottom are used to inject micro air bubbles into the flow stream. By interfering with the generation of vortices, the transition to the highly dissipative turbulent flow regime, which occurs around the hull, is delayed. Friction drag is reduced due to the lower friction forces associated with laminar flow, compared with turbulent flow. Uncertainties in the physical mechanisms and the scaling & technical feasibility of this system, need to be solved by 2020.

AIR CAVITY SYSTEMS The injection of air beneath a ship’s hull can have an

alternative embodiment. It can also result in friction drag forces being decreased. In air cavity systems, large indentations are opened on the hull’s bottom. Compressed air is pumped in to fill the void space and establish a continuous air cavity. The steelseawater interface is thus replaced by a more slippery air-seawater interface, effectively reducing the hull’s wetted surface and thereby the friction forces.

A decrease in fuel consumption of around 10 per cent is possible.

shaft propellers, pods and efficiency enhancing devices. Hydrodynamic optimisation can enable efficient arrangements of a contra-rotating pod propeller behind a main controllable pitch propeller, and of a feathering centre line propeller with steerable side pods. These systems capitalise on the hydrodynamic advantages of their components. This technology is expected to provide fuel savings up to 10 per cent, depending on utilisation and ship types, e.g. container or multipurpose ships.

HYBRID MATERIALS Reducing the weight of a ship’s hull can decrease emissions and save fuel. Lightweight materials are used in smaller vessels and secondary structures, e.g. fibre reinforced plastics. Hybrid materials can be formed from multiple layers of metal sheets and piles of polymer composite laminates. Fibre-metal laminates combine the qualities of metals with those of composites. The metal layers can be either of aluminium or steel plates, whereas the polymer core can be reinforced with carbon or glass fibres. The application of these materials in the aeronautical industry and in specialised ships provides an opening for introducing these materials into shipping. However, widespread adoption by 2020 is unlikely due to high costs, manufacturing and recycling challenges and fire resistance issues.

HYBRID PROPULSORS The high efficiency of the screw propeller is restricted to one design speed, large blades, two-stroke diesel engines and direct drive propulsion. Hybrid propulsion concepts consist of combinations of

BALLAST WATER FREE SHIPS Ballast water ensures sufficient draft, strength and stability when ships sail unloaded. However, when ballast water is discharged untreated, the marine ecosystem may be threatened with the introduction of invasive species contained in the ballast water.

A trapezoidal hull with a transversely raked bottom can maintain sufficient stability and draft when unloaded, without requiring ballast water. In order to achieve the displacement of standard designs, the breadth and length are increased. The bow and stern are now critical for regulating trim under all load states. Such ships incorporate more steel, due to their larger size as well as to obtain sufficient strength under partial load conditions. Hybrids, with two small ballast tanks to aid the adjustment of trim, seem preferable.

Even after 2020, ships that do not use ballast water will be more expensive to build and have various construction challenges. Competing solutions include onboard treatment of ballast water and in-port receiving facilities.

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 31

SPECIAL FOCUS ELECTRIC SHIP

THE PRIUS OF THE SEAS By 2020, a hybrid electric ship could contain diesel-electric configurations, marine fuel cells, battery packages, solar panels or retractable wind turbines, and compact superconducting motors. Introducing the electric ship concepts can improve the ship’s overall efficiency and enable incorporation of many types of renewable energy sources. and small cargo ships by 2020. For large cargo ships, they may only be used in auxiliary power generation.

MARINE FUEL CELLS

THE use of hybrid powering systems in marine applications has the potential to offer more efficient and eco-friendly ship power plants. These powering systems require design, operation and control of energy production & conversion in an integrated manner. The ship machinery will evolve into a more complex system, with a wide range of different energy conversion and storage sub-systems.

The equipment constellation will depend on the operational profile of each ship, more than it does today.

Supply vessels and ferries with high fluctuations in power demand are the suitable for hybrid powering systems.

HYBRID SHIPS Power generation works best when operating at a single, defined condition, and fluctuations in power demand or supply reduce efficiency. Switching to electric propulsion and powering will offer more flexibility at higher efficiency, as multiple power sources can be included. The hybrid electric ship of 2020 might contain a mix of conventional & superconducting motors and generators, fuel cells & batteries. This concept integrates power from alternative renewable sources. Performance monitoring, power management and redundancy will be key elements. These concepts will be applied to service, passenger

32 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

Fuel cells convert chemical energy directly to electricity, at a theoretical efficiency of up to 80 per cent (hydrogen), through a series of electrochemical reactions.

They can be fuelled by natural gas, biogas, methanol, ethanol, diesel or hydrogen. LNG fuel cells emit up to 50 per cent less carbon dioxide (CO2) per kW than diesel engines. Due to the establishment of emissions control areas (ECAs), installation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel cells will be favoured. Currently, a marine fuel cell prototype delivers power in the range of 0.3 MW. Initially, fuel cells will provide auxiliary power. Ultimately, they will provide supplementary propulsion power in hybrid electric ships. In the next decade, fully commercial marine fuel cells will become available.

BATTERIES The use of multiple electrical power sources in vessels with frequent load changes and the requirement to operate at optimum efficiency, requires appropriate power storage. Batteries address network power disturbances and overall balancing, thereby resulting in smooth operation. They can store surplus energy when available and provide supply at peak demands. For e.g., battery power can compensate when fuel cells cannot fulfil fast load changes. Battery storage enables dualfuel generators to run closer to optimal loads, thereby avoiding fast load

changes & additional ship emissions.

In 2020, a battery pack of 0.4 MWh, 4 MW peak load, could weigh 2-4 tonne and occupy approximately 1 m³.

It is expected that nanotechnology may play an important role in achieving a breakthrough in battery storage.

HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS Electrical resistance results in energy losses from components such as generators, motors and transformers.

High-temperature superconductors (HTS) have zero electrical resistance (at -160°C) and could enable significant reductions in the size of motors and generators as HTS wires allow 150 times more current than similar-sized copper wires. The storage of energy in HTS coils is another application.

Redundancy will be a major issue in designing ships that use HTS technology.

COLD IRONING About 5 per cent of the world fleet’s annual fuel oil is consumed in ports. As ports are often located in highly populated areas, emissions from ships contribute to local environmental and health problems. By replacing onboard generated electricity with shore electricity supply & cold ironing, the detrimental health and environmental effects from emissions of suplhur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particles are reduced.

Towards 2020, a standardised plug-inconnection, for use between ships and the shore electrical grid, will become available, both for existing ships and for new-builds. This connection will convert electricity to the appropriate voltage and frequency for the ship.

DIGITAL SHIP SPECIAL FOCUS

NAVIGATION MADE EASY E-navigation technologies are being adopted by the front-runners in shipping, and by 2020, the majority of the fleet will have followed. They combine accurate position data, weather and surveillance data, onboard and remote sensor data, ship-specific characteristics and response models. E-navigation technologies could prevent accidents and optimise secure, economic and environmental performance.

ENAVIGATION refers to the ability to access, integrate, process and present locally and remotely acquired maritime information onboard as well as to transmit key sensor information to shore or to other ships.

While some e-navigation technologies are presently in use by front-runners in shipping, by 2020 the majority of the fleet would have followed suite. e-navigation encompasses all aspects of ship operation – from safe navigation, including avoiding extreme weather events, to minimising fuel consumption & emissions and reducing maintenance costs, as well as effective ship-port communication for optimised port entry & cargo handling.

Harmonised data are processed by computer models and presented in an integrated format useful for decisionmaking – onboard and onshore.

ECDIS Ship grounding accidents are recurring events that cause considerable material damages and even fatalities & harmful oil spills. The Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), using Electronic Navigation Charts (ENC), reduces grounding probability by about 30 per cent. New International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations require that ECDIS be implemented throughout

most of the fleet by 2020. ECDIS will function as a platform for other support systems, such as advanced weather routing, piracy detection, sea ice awareness and floating objects alerts. Thus, ECDIS is a key e-navigation technology. By coupling to non-navigation systems, its potential benefits could extend well beyond safe navigation, to items such as port scheduling and customs clearance systems.

ADVANCED WEATHER ROUTING Traditionally, weather routing has mainly focussed on safe navigation, avoiding bad weather. However, it could also optimise fuel consumption (about 10 per cent savings), time of arrival, crew and passenger comfort or hull fatigue. The preferred route will be provided by a risk-based approach and will depend on the selected optimisation objective, ship characteristics and variations in wind, waves & currents.

Towards 2020, the accuracy and spatial-temporal resolution of metocean real-time and forecast data is expected to have improved, along with data collection from remote and onboard sensors. Response models for sea-keeping and resistance in waves will be customised to individual ships and routes. This will be achieved by utilising real-time and historical data with self-learning algorithms.

PIRACY DETECTION AND DETERRENCE Successful threat mitigation requires early detection and effective, remotely-controlled deterrents.

Commercial, high performance radars already have 4 times the range of standard navigational radars. They can detect dingy-sized objects over a distance of up to four nautical miles (nm), and this will have increased to 10 nm by 2020.

Real-time data from radars, sonars, and cameras, together with long-range satellite data, will be processed by an onboard warning system. During the next decade, it is expected that private service providers will offer piracy warnings via satellite, which are integrated with the onboard system. In response, pirates will try to adapt their attack strategy.

SHIP-PORT SYNCHRONISATION TECHNOLOGY Shipping contracts typically require vessels to steam at ‘utmost despatch’, i.e., at top speed, between ports, regardless of the availability of berths at the destination port.

This leads to unnecessarily high fuel consumption & emissions, and contributes to port congestion as vessels rush to their destination only to have to lie at anchor for days.

By 2020, berth planning algorithms, using satellite tracking and weather routing will be integrated into shipport communication systems. This will facilitate synchronisation and generate berthing schedules that maximise the terminals’ throughput at minimal transhipment cost, while minimising vessels’ dwelling and fuel consumption.

As ships tend to be more vulnerable in waiting situations close to shore, reduced time in port will also enhance ship safety and security.

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SPECIAL FOCUS VIRTUAL SHIP

NEW WAYS OF DESIGNING SHIPS Modern ship desIgn requires careful consideration of technical uncertainties, market specificities, future energy prices, existing and upcoming regulations, and anticipated climate change. These factors pose greater challenges for handling uncertainty and for managing risk. Advanced modelling methods and tools for the development and assessment of new hull designs, propulsors, and complex machinery systems are an enabling technology for addressing these risks.

SHIP designers always strive to combine different objectives, such as cargo capacity, optimal speed, fuel efficiency and safety, while being constrained by rules & regulations. In order to manage the complexity and risk inherent in innovative solutions, there is a drive towards the use of advanced, modelbased techniques for assessing novel concepts and technologies with respect to technical and economic performance from a lifecycle perspective.

INTEGRATED SHIP DESIGN The complexity of future designs and the risks involved will accelerate the adoption of advanced modelling methods and tools, thereby enabling the development and assessment of new hull designs, propulsors and machinery systems.

This design approach will be based on versatile software environments, including multi-objective optimisation algorithms. Mathematical methods, objectives, constraints and analysis suites will be entirely controlled by the designer on a case-specific basis.

The calculations involved will utilise module-based tools for each subsystem of the ship, e.g. for the machinery components or the hull shape. The different modules will be linked through an integrated design platform.

In order to ensure timely evaluations, the software will devise multi-scale, multi-physics and multi-resolution

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models of the pertinent physics.

The definition of performance will be multi-dimensional. The integrated design tools in place by 2020 will support the distributed, parallelised and coordinated execution of the various design tasks by taking full advantage of multi-processor architectures and the Internet. The major risks that will be faced in the use of integrated design tools towards 2020 will be their considerable complexity and the need for expert users. Tighter interactions between ship-owners, yards, component manufacturers and classification societies will be essential.

MODEL-BASED SHIP MACHINERY DESIGN With today’s maturity of equipment technology, new approaches will need to be adopted that consider machinery and energy conversion from an integrated systems’ perspective. By 2020, modular computer tools will be available to model, simulate and optimise the operation of machinery systems under realistic operational profiles. By building a system from libraries of equipment models, the same tools will be used to perform optimal design, condition monitoring, and performance optimisation, as well as safety and reliability analyses.

MODEL-BASED HULL DESIGN Traditional hull design optimisation is usually limited to still-water conditions, design cargo loads and design speed conditions.

This approach can result in ships being built that have poor performance under off-design conditions. In 2020,

hull design tools will seamlessly integrate computer-aided engineering components, i.e. CAD, CFD, & FEM, with multi-objective optimisation. The inclusion of drag reducing or propulsive efficiency enhancing devices increases the need for computational tools of high predictive power. In 2020, ships will be designed with realistic operation profiles to produce robust hulls that perform adequately under a wide range of external conditions. The major challenge is to implement these tools in a way that is both flexible and computationally efficient.

LARGE-SCALE DEMONSTRATORS In order to remain abreast with the complexities and risks in shipping in 2020, a faster and safer path from idea creation to the actual launch of novel products is required. The use of advanced modelling tools will be the first step. To gain confidence and bring innovative technologies to commercialisation, laboratory tests and large-scale demonstration projects are necessary. Showcase projects have the ability to validate theoretical models, identify and address safety challenges, qualify technologies and eliminate perception biases. Modelling tools and experimental projects will complement each other by defining the specifications for testing and scale-up with greater accuracy. Large-scale demonstrators can only be established jointly, between developing organisations and enduser shipping companies. Sharing the investment and risks among the major stakeholders will accelerate innovation and technology adoption.

GREEN-FUELLED SHIP SPECIAL FOCUS

THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF TRADITIONAL FUEL With sea transport facing increasingly strict environmental regulations and with rising bunker oil prices, natural gas and renewables are being considered as alternative energy sources. The adoption of LNG fuelling by a considerable share of ships in short-sea shipping is expected over the next decade, especially in emissions control areas (ECAs).

IMPENDING stricter environmental regulations are pushing the maritime industry towards using cleaner energy sources. Increases in bunker oil prices will probably accelerate this transition.

Abatement technologies, such as exhaust gas recirculation, scrubbers or catalytic reduction, can meet some of these regulations, but CO2 emissions are increased. Alternatively, liquefied natural gas (LNG), biofuel blends or more radical energy sources, like wind or nuclear, could be exploited.

The implementation of these new technologies could face significant technical and economic challenges and the time frame ranges from a few years for LNG to decades for nuclear.

NATURAL GAS A switch to natural gas could eliminate emissions of SOx and particulate matter, and NOx emissions could be reduced by 90 per cent in gas-fuelled, lean-burn, four-stroke engines. Such engines are suitable for cruise ships, smaller cargo and service ships. However, for slow speed, twostroke engines that are typical of larger commercial ships, NOx reductions are more modest. Although natural gas combustion can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 25 per cent compared to bunker oil, emissions of unburned methane pose a problem. Methane is 21 times more potent a greenhouse gas (GHG)

than CO2. Depending on the engine type, the change in CO2-equivalent emissions range from a reduction of 20% up to a net increase. Engines fuelled by natural gas are widely used for power generation and transport on land. One challenge for shipping is that LNG tanks require 2-3 times more space than a diesel tank. Since natural gas must be stored either liquefied or compressed, these storage tanks are also expensive. Based on recent experience, the new-build cost of LNG-fuelled ships is about 10-20 per cent higher than for equivalent diesel-fuelled ships.

engines can run on biofuel blends. The most promising biofuels for ships are biodiesel and crude plant oil. Biodiesel is most suitable for replacing marine distillate and plant oil is suitable for replacing residual fuels. There are, however, various unresolved problems.

These include fuel instability, corrosion, susceptibility to microbial growth, adverse effects on piping & instrumentation and poor cold flow properties. Although these technical challenges could be resolved by 2020, the widespread use of biofuel in shipping will depend on price, other incentives, and the availability in sufficient volumes.

KITES Kites are smaller installations and provide a thrust force directly from the wind. The system consists of the kite, control lines with a control node, a Hawser connection to the forecastle, a winch and the bridge control system.Commercial kites currently range from 160 m² to over 300 m² and can substitute a propulsion power of up to 2,000 kW depending on the wind conditions and ship’s speed.

They fly at between 100 m and 420 m high, at wind speeds of 3-8 Beaufort scale. The automatic control system actively steers and stabilises the kite, thereby optimising its performance.

BIOFUELS Biofuel is a renewable energy source with the potential of considerable decrease in lifecycle CO2 emissions. In operation, SOx and particulate matter emissions are also reduced, while NOx emissions slightly increase. In principle, existing diesel

NUCLEAR Nuclear power plants have no GHG emissions during operation and are well suited for ships with slowly varying power demands.

Although several hundred nuclearpowered navy vessels exist, few nuclear-powered merchant ships have been built. Commercial nuclear ships would have to run on low enriched uranium. Land-based prototypes offer a compact reactor (comparable to large marine diesel engines), with power output in the range of 25 MW. Fuel lifetime of around 10+ years at a price of US$2 mn/MW is indicated.

The extensive requirements for testing and qualifying this technology suggest that it will not be commercially available for civilian shipping by 2020.

Courtesy: These technology trends are excerpts from whitepaper, ‘Technology Outlook 2020’ by DNV.

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SPECIAL FOCUS SHIPBUILDING INNOVATIONS

SAILING TO NEWER SHORES Globally, the shipbuilding industry has been witnessing a surge owing to various companies’ research & technological capabilities. While, on one hand, shipbuilders are experimenting with newer materials to reduce weight and achieve energy efficiency, on the other, constant technological advancements are offering shipbuilders strong navigation capabilities. Here’s a snapshot of some of the world’s recent innovations in shipbuilding…

PRERNA SHARMA

WORLD’S LARGEST SHIP MADE OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS Innovator: Russian designers and shipbuilders in St Petersburg have set a new world record by successfully casting the world’s largest ship with a 100 per cent composite material body.

Description: The height of the ship is 8 metre and its displacement is almost 1,000 tonne. The shell of the ship is formed using a special fibre. The special fibre is then impregnated with a special solution in a computer controlled process. The composite materials are then allowed to solidify. Such a hull does not second to a steel one in endurance, although it weighs only 70 tonne instead of 200 tonne. The production of ships using composite materials is a dual technology and will also be used to build high-speed passenger boats, yachts and ferries.

Advantages: The main advantage of these ships is that radars cannot track them. Moreover, they do not corrode and consume less fuel since they are lighter.

TRIPLE-E CONTAINER SHIP Innovator: Maersk Description: Set for launch in 2013, Maersk’s Triple-E ships do not only cut fuel use because of their gigantic size and careful hull design, but they have also been specifically designed to operate at lower speeds, thereby optimising energy efficiency through the use of ‘ultra-long stroke’ engines. They have been created with end-of-life decommissioning in mind – each ship being issued with a cradle-to-cradle passport documenting the material composition of the entire ship for efficient and comprehensive reuse and recycling.

Features: Called Triple-E for the three main purposes behind their creation – economy of scale, energy efficiency and environment-friendliness – the ships set a new industry benchmark for size and fuel efficiency. The Triple-E, which is 400 metre long, 59 metre wide and 73 metre high, is the largest vessel of any type on the water today. Its 18,000 TEU capacity is 16 per cent greater (2,500 containers) than today’s largest container vessel, Emma Maersk.

The Triple-E will produce 20 per cent less CO2 per container moved as compared to Emma Maersk and 50 per cent less than the industry average on the Asia-Europe trade lane. In addition, it will consume approximately 35 per cent less fuel per container than the 13,100 TEU vessels being delivered to other container shipping lines in the next few years.

INTEGRATED PROPULSION SYSTEM Innovator: Wärtsilä Description: Wärtsilä’s scope of supply is for the dual-fuel machinery – an electrical & automation package, complete propulsion, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel storage and handling components – in an integrated package. The ships, of the STX Marine SV310DF design, will be powered by six-cylinder 34DF dual-fuel engines. The LNG storage capacity of 290m3 enables more than a week of vessel operational time. In addition, the vessels will carry 5,520 dwt at load line and have a transit speed of 13 knots. The vessels are scheduled for delivery in two years and will operate in the Gulf of Mexico. “We are witnessing a transformation of the marine industry as it charts a course towards a new era for natural gas. It is exciting for Wärtsilä to be a trusted partner in this launch with industry leader Harvey Gulf, whose natural gas supply vessel investment actions of today signal a coming paradigm shift. This is aimed at capturing operational savings while simultaneously reducing emissions,” says John Hatley, VP – Ship Power, Wärtsilä North America.

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SEASPAN CONTAINER SHIP Innovator: Developed in close cooperation between the Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group, the Marine Design and Research Institute of China (MARIC), the owner Seaspan and DNV Description: Compared to the current 10,000-TEU container vessels in operation or presently being built, the improvements due to the new design features are substantial. The cargo capacity is increased by 10 per cent, while the fuel consumption is reduced by 20 per cent. The new hull design enables the vessels to carry minimum amounts of ballast water while in operation. The vessels are designed to reduce the emissions to air by approximately 20 per cent in order to meet the future regulatory emission requirements. This follows Seaspan’s three-year Seaspan Action on Vessel Energy Reduction (SAVER) programme aimed at improving cargo uplift, reducing fuel consumption and improving operational performance.

Features: The ship hull lines have been optimised for a speed range of 18-22 knots. In this range, the fuel consumption has been reduced by 16-27 per cent as compared to contemporary similar-size ship series presently operated by the industry. The new SAVER design is also capable of reaching 25 knots as the focus on schedule reliability is expected to increase.

ECO-SHIP 2020 Innovator: Oshima Shipbuilding and DNV Description: Touted as an open hatch bulk carrier of the future, it is developed to significantly lower fuel costs, meet or exceed regulatory standards and improve commercial performance. The ECO-Ship 2020 is an energy-efficient and cost-effective concept design developed to help owners and operators improve commercial performance while lowering fuel costs.

Features: The LNG-fuelled open hatch bulk carrier concept features a number of innovative solutions, including a wide twin skeg hull, Oshima’s Seaworthy bow, air lubrication system, lean-burn four stroke medium-speed gas engines and a flexible propulsion and power generation system with shaft generator/motor viz., power take off (PTO)/ power take in (PTI).

The concept also features a waste-heat recovery system that can feed electric power into the PTI to be used as a supplement to ship propulsion power, representing about five per cent fuel savings at normal cruising speeds. The ECO-Ship is outfitted with four large capacity electric jib cranes and hatch covers made of a composite material that weighs about 50 per cent less than traditional steel covers. The vessel has been specifically designed to be fully compliant with future International Maritime Organization (IMO), European Compliance Academy (ECA) and Tier III emission requirements, emitting about 50 per cent less CO2 than typical existing open hatch bulk carriers (OHBCs). A significant part of the reduction is due to the highly efficient propulsion system running on LNG.

FUEL MONITORING SYSTEM FOR NEW TUG Innovator: Tug Malta has specified the Royston ‘enginei’ fuel consumption monitoring system for its newest tug, currently under construction at the Zamakona yard in Spain.

Description: The enginei system will supply data from all five diesel engines aboard the tug. These comprise two Caterpillar 3516 main engines, two Caterpillar 6.6 auxiliary engines and one Deutz BF4M1013M harbour genset. The enginei datataker will receive and process both, digital & analogue data from sensors and flow metres on each of the engines. Royston says that this represents an advance in the technology that is enabling it to offer a more compact and cost-effective product.

The Royston enginei system can be applied to any diesel-powered vessel and works by measuring fuel flow and matching the data with its global positioning system (GPS) location. Fuel consumption reductions of up to 20 per cent have been achieved by enabling the operator to continuously calculate a vessel’s ‘miles per gallon’ and to correlate the information with its activity and speed.

Applications: Operations Managers (Ashore) can be provided with a more sophisticated display that is claimed to make it easier to deploy vessels in a timely and cost-effective way. The data that is being used on the vessel and its GPS location are relayed ashore, where a satellite map display provides managers with a real-time presentation of the vessel’s fuel consumption. Managers benefit from a graphic overlay that shows the amount of fuel being consumed by the tug at any point along its track. This enables them to deploy vessels more efficiently and to avoid issuing instructions that lead to unnecessary fuel consumption.

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SPECIAL FOCUS CASE STUDY

APM TERMINALS PIPAVAV CREATING A SYNERGY OF OPPORTUNITIES The absence of rail facilities forced Essar Group to move 1,300 TEUs of containerised cargo on a monthly basis from Hazira to Nhava Sheva, 350 km by road. To provide an alternative supply chain for this cargo, APM Terminals Pipavav introduced a sea route to Pipavav. Its innovative proposition translated into strong and tangible benefits for its users.

This not only made the customer’s supply chain more efficient but also created a new business opportunity for Essar Group.

HAZIRA, a key industrial area, spans 59 km across the Gulf of Khambhat from Pipavav in Gujarat. However, due to the gulf, the road distance from Hazira to Pipavav gets extended to 494 km. As a result, the Essar Group, which has a captive port in Hazira, trucks about 1,300 TEUs of its containerised cargo on a monthly basis from Hazira to Nhava Sheva, 350 km by road.

COMPLICATIONS GALORE In the existing logistics landscape, determined by geographical factors such as the Gulf of Khambhat, Essar Group had no option but to move the cargo by road to Nhava Sheva, since rail facilities are not available in this region.

This setup costs approximately `20,000 per TEU to and from Nhava Sheva and has meant a significant loss of business opportunity from a catchment volume of about 2,50,000 TEUs annually that get fragmented over multiple ports in the region and are moved by road.

SOLUTIONS DEVISED To provide an alternative supply chain for this cargo that offers reduced transit time and cost, APM Terminals Pipavav introduced a sea route to Pipavav. As the first step, APM Terminals Pipavav initiated collaboration with Essar

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Logistics landscape in Southern Gujarat: Select transportation options Given this advantage of shorter road distance as compared to Pipavav, Nhava Sheva has been the natural gateway port for cargo originating in the Hazira-Surat region in Southern Gujarat.

Group’s Hazira port, which has been designed for its captive cargo. Besides, the port was only equipped to handle bulk cargo. APM Terminals Pipavav explored the possibility of transporting containers though Hazira port with some minor alterations, for instance, sling operations for lifting containers using the existing machinery and yards.

Essar Group agreed to accommodate the handling of container cargo at its port in Hazira and also use its barges for transporting containers to Pipavav, where large vessels belonging to international shipping lines berth.

Besides, berth windows had to be modified at Pipavav to accommodate the biweekly calls of the barges, which required the co-operation of other regular customers of Pipavav Port.

Apart from the multiple challenges related to customs procedures, bills of lading details, billing, etc. that had to be resolved; one outstanding issue was to get the shipping lines serving South Gujarat customers at Nhava Sheva to agree to come to Pipavav. This challenge was amplified during the transition phase when the volume had not reached critical levels to warrant a port call at Pipavav.

OUTCOME AND IMPACT APM Terminals Pipavav’s innovative proposition, achieved with due cooperation from Essar Group, resulted in direct savings of more than `5,000 per TEU for Essar Group apart from saving about a week – including stuffing, transporting, custom clearing and loading the container on to the ship. Not without reason then, the initial monthly volume of 72 TEUs that were moved via the barge service from Hazira to Pipavav is now about to reach the 1,200-TEU mark.

This innovation compliments the government’s plan to hasten the adoption of an environment-friendly and cost-efficient method of cargo movement. The change in the region’s supply chain has resulted in a win-win situation for both, Essar Group and APM Terminals Pipavav. While the new mode or route made the customer’s supply chain more efficient, it also created a new business opportunity for Essar Group in providing coastal shipping services in the future.

Courtesy: The case study is an excerpt from the whitepaper, ‘Adding Wings’ by KPMG & SCLC

TRUVIEW REMOTE MONITORING SERVICE INSIGHTS & OUTLOOK

AIDING A SAFER & MAINTENANCEFRIENDLY FEATURE THE new SMARTON process crane provides smart safety and maintenance features that were, so far, not available as standard features in this crane size range. The SMARTON crane, launched by Konecranes, records its usage data automatically, storing the runtimes, number of starts & cycles, average loads, machinery temperatures, and other important values on its graphical touch-screen service panel, which is located in the electric cubicle door on the crane bridge. The crane also computes estimates of its own condition, thereby generating different safe working period values, which the crane operator can check from the service panel. Additionally, all alarms and indications of their locations are also displayed on the service panel.

CONDITION MONITORING VALUES Sophisticated lifetime calculation formulae have been defined for the most important components of the SMARTON crane, such as the hoist, the hoist brake, the hoist wire rope and the trolley steel structures. By comparing these designed working periods with the cranes actual usage monitoring data, it is possible to analyse the condition of the crane and to make recommendations on the timing of the necessary maintenance & inspection measures. A comparison of the real usage and condition monitoring values with the theoretical design parameters enables optimal planning of maintenance, general overhaul and replacement intervals for the crane’s most critical components, such as the hoist wire rope. The ultimate goal is to fix the crane before it breaks and thus minimise downtime in the customer’s process.

REMOTE MONITORING REPORTS One of the new standard features of

Condition monitoring, remote monitoring service, wizard-assisted start up – all standard features in the new SMARTON process crane – takes safety and reliability to new heights. The objective for the SMARTON crane is to take the calculation of the service life of critical components to a new level.

SMARTON can help one prepare for the future by analysing the past. the SMARTON is that the condition and usage monitoring data recorded by the crane is automatically transmitted to the Global Technical Support Team (GTS) via a remote connection. The data is analysed by comparing it to the crane’s design parameters. It can generate reports on the crane’s usage for the customer at required intervals. On the basis of these reports, customers can improve the total life span management of their cranes. The reports can be delivered to customers via a passwordprotected customer portal

WIZARD-ASSISTED START-UP The automatic wizard functions, which assist the user in the crane’s start up process, are new and user-friendly features incorporated in SMARTON’s graphical user interface (GUI). With these smart wizards, the setting up of start up values on the service panel can be performed by the serviceman,

without having to resort to the help of a programmable logic control (PLC) specialist.

APPLICATION AREAS The remote monitoring concept finds applications in electrical overhead travelling (EOT) & port cranes where the actual crane usage data is recorded and sent to the global technical service team for further analysis.

CUSTOMER BENEFITS Trueview Remote Monitoring Services provides many benefits to customers.

It unlocks the power of information to customers and allows one to see the concrete facts about crane operation and usage. It also helps to improve safe crane operation, supports usagedriven maintenance and hence, saves on annual maintenance cost.

As told to Prerna Sharma by Konecranes India officials

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INSIGHTS & OUTLOOK OPINIONS & MORE

COLLABORATION IS A WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS “We should ask ourselves who is in the best position to take the lead when two companies seek to collaborate.

Is it the manufacturer, logistics service provider or the retailer?” questions Alan Waller, VP, Solving Efeso; VP, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) International; Chairman, European Logistics Users Providers and Enablers Group (ELUPEG).

During an exclusive interaction with Prerna Sharma, Alan emphasises on the ultimate aim of collaboration to reap mutual benefits. Excerpts…

IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION

GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN PERSPECTIVE Companies that were successful despite the financial crisis were the ones that considered the supply chain an opportunity rather than a cost centre. On the other hand, companies that looked internally to reduce supply chain costs have undermined their market performance,

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Image by Prerna Sharma

Businesses across the globe have been developing their own dedicated supply chain models. But they have been quite expensive. Although cost reduction measures have continued in almost all areas of logistics, transportation, warehousing, inbound supply, etc., what has happened over the years is that in the quest for faster time to market, more preparation of line items and the concept of just in time with low frequent smaller deliveries, the whole supply chain has been fragmented. Thus, the cost of moving products has been undermined by the fragmentation of volume.

Although the service has improved, the supply chain has got smarter and overall costs have been reduced, companies have not been able to leverage on the collective utilisation of their business & assets. So, the case for collaboration of businesses working together to put their product flows together to improve their own performance by reducing cost and to improve the asset utilisation & reduce carbon emissions, is unquestioningly the most compelling issue in terms of business improvement in the supply chain, in the world today.

as they tended to cut the asset price, reduce the inventory cover and reduce transportation frequency to reduce overall cost. Let us, for instance, consider the case of inbound goods going into a manufacturing unit.

Instead of trying to reduce the cost of transporting those goods by reducing the frequency or opting for a cheaper transporter, why not consider clubbing it with inbound goods of your business with those of another unit located in the same vicinity or those heading in the same direction?

A number of companies have succeeded in doing that. Reckitt Benckiser, Colgate & Henkel work together in France on collaborative solutions not only with respect to transport. The three companies also club their supply chains by combining their manufacturing facilitation into a single centre to bring different products from these different organisations.

In this way, they have been able to

The biggest barrier towards collaboration is finding the right partner. achieve good delivery performance.

Moreover, their retailers are satisfied because they can achieve higher level of sales considering that goods get on the shelves much quicker.

In addition, this helps immensely in reducing carbon emissions because the number of vehicles moving on roads is reduced. So, it is a win-win situation for all.

BUSINESSES ENSURING SCM SUCCESS WHEN THEY OWN JUST A PART OF THE BUSINESS Vertical supply chains have transformed into global demand webs where the enterprise is only a part of the supply chain. A lot of supply chain facets associated with a company’s product are external. For a supply chain to be successful, we have to look at an end-to-end supply chain to ensure

overall business success. We have to look at the entire supply chain from source to the final destination; from field to fork. By looking at the end-to-end supply chain, we have to recognise every part of the supply chain within the enterprise.

Gartner reported in 2006 that 60 per cent of the functionality in a supply chain was external to the enterprise. That means that the supply chain is predominantly an external aspect rather than an internal one. It is not a functional responsibility, but is a business process, which cuts across different players in the supply chain.

We actually need to manage those players in the supply chain so that our supply chain works efficiently.

COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES Although some of the sectors are more mature when it comes to supply chain collaboration, the opportunities are in combining vehicle flows for inbound parts, inbound product raw materials, semi-finished goods and finished goods.

This ranges from delivery to retailers, delivery through to distributors or home delivery where there is a huge opportunity in distribution, transport and delivery operations.

Transportation consolidation is an important opportunity, which can be limited if the start and finish points are different because the flows do not coincide. The real benefits lie in terms of supply chain collaboration if one wants to improve savings exponentially. The future lies in developing consolidated hubs. Besides, moving from transport to supply chain collaboration has its own set of challenges as the entire supply chain needs a complete revamp to suit the changing business needs.

PRIORITIES TO BE KEPT IN MIND TO STAY AHEAD We should ask ourselves who is in the best position to take a lead when two companies seek to collaborate. Is it the manufacturer, logistics service providers or the retailer? The retailer will certainly

Credentials • Alan was educated at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, Leicester School of Management and Cranfield School of Management.

• Following positions in production line management and management services, Alan moved into management consultancy and has spent over 35 years working on logistics and supply chain consultancy assignments with manufacturers, retailers and logistics service providers over a wide range of industries across Europe, North America and the Middle and Far East.

• Alan has also been active in developing new initiatives for the education and training of logistics professionals. put pressure on the manufacturer and the vendor to get the products on time.

Why have logistics service provider not participated? Well, there is some evidence that these companies have a fear that they might lose business because they have dedicated contracts to deliver goods for a whole host of manufacturers.

Historically, they have not taken the lead, but I believe that we are going to see the evidence of them taking the lead. Collaboration is primarily driven by cost and customer service with retailers wanting more frequent deliveries and manufacturers lowering supply chain costs while achieving this.

In the long term, more logistics service providers need to embrace the opportunities for collaboration by offering more collaborative services and this is beginning to happen. You have to identify the savings, then realise the savings and find a way of sharing the savings. prerna.sharma@infomedia18.in

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INSIGHTS & OUTLOOK LEAN SUPPLY CHAIN

The simple answer to this question would be to eliminate the waste! However, in order to build an efficient supply chain, a lot more needs to be done. There are a multitude of steps for any company to consider before it implements the lean strategy to its already existing supply chain. Today, lean has taken a new meaning altogether and it is applicable at various stages of the chain that is not just restricted to manufacturing. An analysis of how companies can use the lean strategy to gain added benefits…

SHRADHA MOHANTY

LEAN functions on the principle of creating minimum waste. Going lean has now become a strategic tool for companies who seek to have a competitive edge. The simple mantra behind a lean supply chain is increasing the velocity of three aspects – product or service flow, information flow and funds flow.

Waste, in the supply chain, mostly refers to unwanted inventory, which not only includes finished goods, but also includes inventory lying with the suppliers, godowns, warehouses, exhibition centres, manufacturing centres as well as retail outlets. Reducing this unwanted inventory is at the crux of achieving a

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lean supply chain.

APPLYING IT ACROSS THE CHAIN While manufacturers have recognised the benefits of going lean and have implemented the lean strategy in their production process, the retailers, wholesalers and logistics service providers, who comprise the other end of the supply chain, have not implemented the lean strategy properly.

Since this side of the supply chain has a lot of scope for value addition and reduction of waste, it is an important factor to be considered when applying lean to a supply chain.

Elaborating further on the same, M Gurunathan, Senior Counsellor,

CII Institute of Logistics, explains, “Collaboration between suppliers and customers is needed to build a proper lean supply chain. Although lean implementation starts from the manufacturing level, which is at the core position of the supply chain, it should be spread across other parts of the chain as well. For example, suppliers can be pushed to work their way around one-piece-flow manufacturing rather than batch manufacturing. The manufacturer can add to the process by giving the supplier some kind of training or service to go lean.” The lean strategy also applies to distributors where the necessity and the size of the warehouse, in which the inventory is

being stocked, can be questioned for waste reduction. Gurunathan adds that companies need to become mature to adopt this kind of collaboration in the functioning of their supply chain.

VALUE STREAM MAPPING One of the most important factors to consider before implementing the lean strategy in a supply chain is evaluating and measuring the present supply chain. Value stream mapping is a visual tool, which can assist any company in defining its current supply chain and identifying waste, especially in terms of time and inventory, thereby highlighting the areas in the supply chain, which require more attention.

These areas are basically classified as: • Wastefulness: This refers to unnecessary and non value-added products • Unevenness: This refers to its occurrence in quality, sales and promotion and supplier delivery performance.

• Overburdening: This can result from unevenness in demand.

After value stream mapping the state of the current supply chain, various lean tools can be used to design the future supply chain flow. The future supply chain should be designed in such a way that houses the requisite infrastructure to support IT training culture, quality methods, accounting systems and investment policies.

STRATEGISING AND CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT Unlike inventory management processes, applying the lean strategy to a supply chain is a different ballgame altogether. It is a change in processes along with a change in the mindset of the workforce of the entire organisation – a change that makes the entire organisation work as a single entity. Hence, strategising, which involves understanding value from the customer’s point of view and not the company’s, is required beyond the four walls of a factory or a warehouse.

Collaboration between suppliers and customers is needed to build a proper lean supply chain. Although lean implementation starts from the manufacturing level, which is at the core position of the supply chain, it should be spread across other parts of the chain as well.

M GURUNATHAN, SENIOR COUNSELLOR, CII INSTITUTE OF LOGISTICS In other words, create a product pull rather than pushing it to the masses.

This results in less inventory, increased productivity and increased capital equipment utilisation.

Another important factor to consider before implementing the lean strategy is to leave plenty of scope for improvement. This is imperative for a company to reach its goals and can

Reduction of these wastes can help create a lean supply chain • Inventory: Excess of finished product, raw materials or work in process over the absolute minimum results in waste. This could include inventory in transit as well.

• Transportation & movement: Movement of inventory between company facilities, along with slow and unnecessary movement of the product, kills value.

Movement, on the other hand, is the non-requirement of manpower movement during work, which generally occurs in warehouses.

• Over supply & over processing: Supplying products at a rate faster than what the customer requires results in waste. This occurs due to improper assessment of demand.

• Waiting: Inventories at warehouses, which are not moving at the requisite rate, indicate waiting.

Also, lapses in the previous supply chain means further waiting for people or equipment.

• Defective service or product: Poor quality of product or service adds zero value. Also, rework or scrap of any form is of no use as it does not meet the customer’s requirements.

be achieved by constantly working on improving products, processes and services over time while parallely working on reducing waste to improve workplace functionality, customer service and product performance.

Further substantiating the same, Gurunathan says, “It so happens that, many a time, retailers and manufacturers are not able to get the point of sales (POS) data as the necessary information is not communicated to them. Hence, without knowledge of the ups and downs in the market, they produce as per their previous forecast. This ultimately results in the accumulation of inventory at the retailers’ end.” Adding a different perspective, he says, “On the other hand, when collaboration successfully takes place across all the divisions of the supply chain through the lean strategy, it makes way for technology upgradations (RFID, ERP, etc.). Thus, constant improvement in lean is beneficial, as, in many places, information will replace inventory.”

NO SINGLE WAY TO ATTAIN LEAN There are no fixed set of factors, which could ensure a lean supply chain. It works on the principles of constant improvement and takes years to implement. However, the first step for any supply chain would be to attain stability before working on this strategy.

Environmentally, a lean supply chain is a blessing. It has many added benefits for any company as it helps in gaining market share, reducing capital tied up with inventory, increasing profitability along with customer service – all in a lesser time period. shradha.mohanty@infomedia18.in

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 43

INSIGHTS & OUTLOOK PARCEL & COURIER EXPRESS

SPEEDY PROSPECTS AHEAD The organised Indian express market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17 per cent till 2015, making it one of the fastest growing sectors in India. While significant opportunities exist for every player to leverage on, it is time for unorganised players to learn a lesson or two from the big players and deliver to the desired expectations.

ARINDAM GHOSH

THE express industry in India is emerging as a complete supply chain and logistics solution provider to a wide range of shipments at different locations. In fact, it has become one of the fastest growing industries in the Indian economy. Express delivery services are one of the fastest growing sectors in India. It plays a crucial role in trade facilitation and in enhancing the global competitiveness of Indian industries.

According to various reports, in India, the organised courier industry came into existence in 1977, with companies establishing domestic and international operations in Mumbai.

Since then, the industry has come a long way. The sector has become one of the major drivers for the implementation of state-of-the-art communication & IT and other modern & value-added facilities along with the presence of a dynamic supply chain model. An express service provider guarantees safe and reliable, faster, on demand, door-to-door movement of shipments or goods or any other commodities, nationally as well as internationally, within a given time period. Here, the

44 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

sender can easily track the progress of the shipments or any consignments throughout its journey till it reaches the desired receiver at the correct location.

The organised domestic air express market is pegged at around `15 billion, which grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7-8 per cent in the last five years, while the domestic organised ground express market is pegged at around `1,700 crore, which grew at a CAGR of 14-15 per cent in the last five years.

In India, the Department of Post, under the Government of India, is one of the biggest players in India’s express delivery industry. It has more than 1.55 lakh post offices spread across the country and is estimated to be holding a share of about 13 per cent. The express delivery services (EDS) industry provides services that include integrated door-to-door transport and quick delivery of timedefinite shipments of documents, samples, parcels, etc. Although it facilitates transportation of documents, samples, gifts and other high-valued time-bound items, the requirement

of fast delivery often overrules the weight limits or the size of the consignment. One of the key features of this industry is that it handles customs’ clearances.

On the global front, the express industry is one of the world’s fastest growing sectors. Since 1998, its growth has been more than twice that of the global economy as a whole. It is rapidly expanding, particularly in the emerging market economies. With the demand for rapid, guaranteed delivery services growing strongly, direct employment in the express industry globally is expected to increase from 1.25 million to 2.1 million by 2013, if it is unconstrained. The express industry is expected to support 4.5 million jobs globally by 2013, forecasts a report.

UPCOMING TRENDS The demand for express services is surging with each passing year and customer expectations have also risen tremendously. Today, the Indian express industry provides integrated, value-added, time-bound, door-todoor delivery of documents, parcels

and merchandise. It supports industries such as electronics, telecommunication, IT, banking, retail, auto-components, textiles and apparels, gems & jewellery and pharmaceuticals. In order to maintain competitiveness, companies operating in these industries are expected to outsource their logistics requirements to third-party logistics (3PL) service providers and concentrate on their core competency of manufacturing & marketing. Besides, the opening up of banking, insurance, telecom and retail sectors would boost the demand for value-added express services in India, as these are major user industries.

The EDS or courier industry in India

ACT

THE POSTAL AND COURIER INDUSTRY IS ONE OF THE OLDEST INDUSTRIES IN INDIA. ACCORDING TO DEOGAWANKA (2008), THE FIRST MENTION OF A SYSTEMATIC POSTAL SERVICE USING FOOT MESSENGERS IS FOUND DURING THE REIGN OF CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA (322-298 BC) WHEN MESSENGERS AND PIGEONS WERE USED FOR THESE DUTIES. the global integrators, the large Indian companies, regional players and small courier companies.

Currently, there are about 2,500 courier companies in India, but few major players, like FedEx, UPS, TNT and DHL in the premium organised sector, dominate the market. The

Figure 1: Various stages involved in express delivery service

has undergone significant changes.

Family-owned courier businesses have developed into EDS companies providing integrated services. There have been a number of mergers, acquisitions and tie-ups, which have resulted in some consolidation.

CHALLENGES ABOUND The express or courier industry in India is highly fragmented with a wide variety of companies offering different kinds of services. There are four main categories of express or courier companies in India, apart from India Post, which also offer express mail services (EMS). These include

organised segment, including various international express and courier majors, cover about 65 per cent of the total Indian market.

However, expanding its operations into other parts of the country and offering services in those regions at competitive prices remains one of the major challenges for these big players.

The unorganised and small players need to further develop and expand their services at par with international standards.

market presence, lately, some domestic courier companies like Overnite Express & DTDC are coming with money back guarantee schemes, under which, if the companies fail to deliver the consignment within the next business day, they would return the freight charges. Currently, such services are offered by international express delivery firms such as DHL, FedEx, TNT and UPS. For using this service, users have to pay 20-25 per cent higher charges for delivering the shipment than what a usual express delivery costs. It can be labelled as a new trend among the domestic courier companies in India towards competition. Express today plays an important role in trade and distribution because of the time-sensitive nature of many goods. For those looking at reliability, speed and security, it is still the preferred option over other modes.

However, inadequate infrastructure, increase in fuel cost and shortage of skilled manpower are some of the major challenges for this industry.

ON THE FAST TRACK TO GROWTH

NEW INITIATIVES

The organised Indian express market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17 per cent till 2015. Over the last several years, the use of 3PL providers has grown dramatically. It has increasingly become an effective way to reduce costs and spread risks for traditional & vertically integrated firms. This not only helps companies concentrate on their core business, but also eliminates investment in infrastructure & offers quick adaptability to changes in business environments, etc.

In a move to tap the express delivery segment and as well as increase its

arindam.ghosh@infomedia18.in

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 45

INSIGHTS & OUTLOOK MANAGERIAL SKILL SETS

MOULDING WAREHOUSE MANAGERS OF TOMORROW A key trait of a competent warehouse manager is efficient & thorough planning. The tasks he performs are complex, challenging and time sensitive. Hence, he cannot play a proactive role in all aspects of operation. Nonetheless, a warehouse manager has to make sure that, at all times, warehousing efficiency is maintained. Here’s defining the role and responsibilities of a warehouse manager & guidelines towards getting his priorities right…

IN most businesses, the function of marketing, sales, manufacturing and product development play the central role & attract maximum focus and attention. However, in the business of third-party logistics (3PL) services, the operations function takes the central position and the warehouse/ operations/distribution centre manager, who is responsible for the day-today operations, plays the key role in ensuring the success of the business.

He becomes the most important player and the ‘buck’ stops at him.

His responsibilities are spread across various functions including operations, customer care, people, facilities, technology, equipment & maintenance, security, etc. In the case of a small & medium enterprise (SME) setup, he may also take the responsibility of billing and collection.

Thus, his job is complex, challenging and highly time sensitive. In such a

46 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

scenario, is it possible to do justice to his role? Of course, it is, if he is organised and focussed.

MEETING THE NEED FOR WAREHOUSE MANAGERS According to a white paper by KPMG for the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on the skill gaps in the Indian logistics sector, it was estimated that 4,000 warehouse managers need to be added every year till 2015 to meet the growing demands. The white paper highlighted the inefficiency of the system to develop warehouse managers in such big numbers due to the lack of professional courses or training system. Let us identify the areas of responsibilities of a warehouse manager in detail, understand what is expected of him and then apply the 80:20 rule to arrive at his focus areas and help him get organised: Planning

What is expected?

Firstly, daily, weekly and monthly deliverables need to be well understood, resources need to be optimally employed and plans have to be made to achieve the same. Secondly, all the deliverables need to be accounted for and mapped into the plan.

But how could someone work on a task and achieve the expected result if he is not aware of the expectations and the timelines attached to it? Of course, some day-to-day routine jobs may take place without documented planning because of its routine nature. However, considering that resources will always be in short supply and deliverables will keep on increasing, prioritising becomes very important.

What the warehouse manager does?

He should be directly involved in the yearly, quarterly and monthly planning. Two-way communication with his next level subordinates and

his seniors & peers will facilitate the planning process.

What needs to be delegated?

The weekly and daily plans could be drawn by the next level subordinates. A warehouse manager should review the weekly plans and offer inputs. Daily plan could be understood through an informal chat, which could be done at the warehouse floor.

Facilities What is expected?

The upkeep of the facilities, in terms of hygiene meeting expected standards, is of prime importance, especially in cases of handling food or pharma products.

What the warehouse manager does?

The warehouse manager does not do anything directly. He physically visits the facility every day, observes the functioning and offers his oral feedback. If the facility is too big and the warehouse manager is unable to go through the entire facility in a day, the daily walk through could be split areawise. However, it must be ensured that no area is left out.

What needs to be delegated?

The entire execution and correction is delegated.

People What is expected?

In operations, the line manager is considered the ‘real HR person’. While the HR in the organisation prepares the policies and takes measures to implement it, the line manger ensures that it is followed. The core areas, which line managers are responsible for include discipline, welfare, training, communication and motivation. He takes care of the manpower structuring, including the succession plans.

What the warehouse manager does?

The warehouse manager is not directly involved in the implementation. He plays an active role in terms of policy making and its implementation. But he is responsible to ensure that his operation team performs the function of a line HR manager well and the organisation ‘walks the talk’. He needs to keep his eyes and ears open to

observe. He needs to use the informal chat method to interact with all the stakeholders – the ‘daily walk through’ is the best opportunity for him to carry out the same. He also needs to ensure that the communication from the entire operation team is the same.

In addition, he uses his weekly & monthly formal review mechanism to measure the effectiveness through key performance indicators (KPIs). But in extreme situations, he may have to get directly involved.

What needs to be delegated?

The warehouse line manager is wholly responsible for the shop floor HR management.

Customer Interface What is expected?

In most businesses, the customer is king and in 3PL businesses as well, it is the customer who calls the shots and drives growth. Each customer should feel that they are important and the logistics service provider (LSP) is focussed on his business. The deliveries should be consistent, predictable and meet the service level agreements (SLAs).

What the warehouse manager does?

The warehouse manager is the most important interface in the system and it is important that he keeps in touch with the key contacts of the customers on a regular basis. Although he is not a part of the daily execution team, he needs to be updated on the status of customer-wise service levels. He uses his daily walk through effectively to observe and question the same.

He intervenes, guides and provides resources in case of a slip. It is also important that he is well informed about the customer’s logistics expectations and new initiatives, as he has to ensure that they are delivered without fail. An internal structured review mechanism to discuss the delivery status and SLAs are a must. He also needs to take part and contribute in the strategic review meetings with a customer.

What needs to be delegated?

The execution is fully delegated to the next level.

Operations & Controls What is expected?

The resources need to be adequately employed & optimised, systems and processes need to be followed, costs need to be well managed, execution has to be effective and KPIs need to be met.

What the warehouse manager does?

He actively supports the operations.

He is fully involved in planning the resources – be it manpower, equipment or technology. Once the cost-benefit is understood and a decision is taken, he makes sure that the resources are made available. He uses the periodic review forums with his team to understand and analyse situations. He uses the audit route – both internal and external – to ensure the effectiveness of operations and spends time to implement audit recommendations.

What needs to be delegated?

The execution of the entire operation is delegated to the next level.

Subcontractors (Operations) What is expected?

The subcontractors’ scope is mapped well. The cost agreed is the best in the market for the given deliverables and terms of trade & SLAs are well defined. All the understanding and agreements are well documented, stamped & signed by both the parties through a legally tenable contract.

What the warehouse manager does?

A warehouse manager is fully involved in the selection of a sub contractor at every stage. He also makes sure through his network that the potential sub contractor has a good market reputation. He reviews the performance through the formal review system and directly steps in when necessary. It is his responsibility that the sub contractors are timely paid for their services.

What needs to be delegated?

Dealing with the subcontractors and getting the job done is delegated.

Administration What is expected?

The expectation of fulfilling the administrative responsibilities is limited

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 47

Managerial skill sets, continued

to the administrative areas within the operations, which are generally related to the people, process and policies.

What the warehouse manager does?

His role is limited to support and review.

At times, he may have to communicate with the organisation’s administrative setup for implementation.

What needs to be delegated?

The entire administrative function could be delegated to the resource identified in the system for the purpose.

Legal & Moral Compliance What is expected?

The operations have various legal & moral compliances to be followed.

These include compliances under the Factories Act, labour, FDA (in case of a food, pharma warehouse), Weight & Measures Act, taxes and levies, health & safety, etc.

What the warehouse manager does?

He is directly and fully responsible for all the compliances under his functions. While he cannot delegate responsibilities, he may delegate the execution. He reports the status to the senior management after every review.

Business Developments What is expected?

The product a 3PL organisation sells is its services, which are under the control of the warehouse manager.

Organisations may have a separate business development team to acquire new businesses. But the warehouse manager and his operations team is expected to help in mapping the services, identifying the challenges & complexities, sharing internal execution capabilities & starting up timelines and giving inputs for costing & pricing.

What the warehouse manager does?

The warehouse manager takes part in the discussion with the customer and gets involved in the presentation process. He also gives his inputs while drafting SLAs and contracts.

What needs to be delegated?

The next level subordinates could get involved.

New Accounts Start Up

48 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

What is expected?

The operation start up for a new account is smooth and meets the agreed timelines. The SLAs are met and stabilisation of the operation takes place in reasonable time.

What the warehouse manager does?

He reviews the start up plans and supports & guides the team in mobilising the resources. Initially, he oversees the operation on a daily basis.

What needs to be delegated?

The start up planning, mobilisation and execution is delegated to the next level.

Financials & Controls What is expected?

Most organisations have a separate function and functional head to handle finance & controls. But there are some expectations from the operations and the warehouse manager with regards to this as a majority of the expenses and revenue sources are controlled by the operations. The system works through a budgeting and review process.

Most of the 3PL contracts work on a ‘Cost + Margin’ model.

What the warehouse manager does?

The most important requisite for a competent warehouse manager is that he is well aware of his resources, their productivities and costs. He is able to convert all transactions into numbers and help the organisation take decisions. He interacts closely with the finance function in budgeting and reviews.

What needs to be delegated?

The team is involved in giving cost inputs and, at times, interpreting the same to the finance function.

Reporting & Review What is expected?

The expectation is that the operation function carries out its responsibilities within the agreed parameters of cost, quality & schedules. The warehouse manager is expected to put in necessary reporting and review systems so that variances can be tracked well in advance and timely corrective actions

can be taken.

What the warehouse manager does?

The warehouse manager creates systems to accurately capture and report on all parameters of the operations and on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

He spends quality time with his team in understanding and analysing the reports & works on corrective actions.

What needs to be delegated?

The data capturing and reporting is delegated Community What is expected?

Normally, most warehouses will be located outside the city limits due to cost and availability considerations.

The warehouses located in rural areas bring in the challenge of dealing with local communities. They should get a feel that they are benefitted by the presence of the facility there and they do not become a catalyst in interrupting the operations in any way.

The operations function has a direct conduit with the community because of their association with the warehouse staff and sub contractors who may come from the locality.

What the warehouse manager does?

He understands the influential powerhouses in the community and maintains the communication lines with them. He could take the position of a PR manager in such a role. He must ensure that neither he, nor his team directly or indirectly overstep the organisation’s mandate.

PLANNING IS KEY The above guidelines may not be fully applicable to all organisations.

But it brings out the fact that a competent warehouse manager spends more time in planning rather than implementing it. It is impossible for a warehouse manager to directly get into all the aspects of operation. However, it is important that to become successful he uses the 80:20 rule to plan his time.

H Shriram, MD, ImpelPro SCM Solutions

VOICE-DIRECTED OPERATIONS AUTOMATION TRENDS

OPTIMISING WORKER PERFORMANCE Enterprises implementing voice technology reap financial rewards through higher workforce performance. Voice technology is uniquely suited to optimise warehouse workers’ productivity and presents key enablers that voice solutions need in order to maximise their returns on investment.

THE contribution of the workforce in warehousing is crucial. Labour is the single biggest cost factor, yet it is the least leveraged by technology.

Warehouse workers have a huge impact on the ultimate bottom line – they either operate at top efficiency or waste time, thereby making wrong decisions and other costly mistakes.

Marginal improvements result from streamlining tasks, but breakthroughs come from a focus on people.

IT IS ALL ABOUT PEOPLE Many organisations push for high performance by striving for uniformity in all warehouse processes. Assembly line manufacturing has proved that efficiencies are improved when workers perform pre-optimised tasks repetitively. Unfortunately, this approach often falls short in the distribution centre due to three fundamental facts: • Order fulfillment activities are more complex than assembly line tasks.

• While some tasks might be uniform, those who perform them are not.

• Activities rarely go exactly as

planned. Exceptions are a dayto-day reality that interferes with uniform processes.

This combination of complex processes – ‘non-uniform’ manpower and exceptional conditions – adds up to a huge management challenge and a major opportunity to leverage technology for an operational breakthrough. Voice recognition is an ideal vehicle to address this challenge, but it must be applied in conjunction with people-centric software. Let us consider the issues of the human factor in warehousing. Many activities in the distribution centre are accomplished by people. They are the backbone of any warehousing operation. But then, people are not interchangeable components and effectively managing them is difficult because they have varying: • Experience and abilities • Education and motivation levels • Languages and cultures • Multiple job roles.

Often, the workforce is a diverse group that speaks different languages and hails from different backgrounds.

They have different levels of experience and abilities. Few warehouses are staffed with nothing but highly motivated ‘super workers’. This ‘bell curve’ of abilities is illustrated in Figure 1.

At one end of the curve, there are some workers who are relatively new, while at the other end, there are ‘super workers’ who out produce everyone else. Somewhere in the middle lies the bulk of the workforce.

In reality, the shape of the workforce experience curve varies with employee churn and business seasonality. Many enterprises bring on temporary workers to handle volumes during peak periods.

At this point in time, the experience curve is weighted more towards the left-hand side of the scale, as indicated in Figure 2, and supervisory challenges are magnified because inexperienced workers make more mistakes. Just when the warehouse needs high performance, what often happens is a drop in the effective contribution per worker.

KEY ENABLERS Voice technology utilises a wearable

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 49

Voice-directed operations, continued

Number

Number

Temps

Experienced Workers

Experts

Number

Temps

Experienced Workers

Experts

Temps

Experienced Workers

Experts

Figure 1: Ability Bell Curve

Figure 2: Ability Bell Curve during peak season

Figure 3: Optimising the contribution of every worker

computer equipped with voice recognition software. By far, the most important success factor is the quality of that software. Software has information about workers and activities and so, the devices should be robust and should be able to operate in demanding industrial environments characterised by high noise and potentially extreme temperatures. The key voice enablers are software-based and include: Continuous one-to-one management The better the manager, the better is the warehousing operation. If cost was no hindrance, the ideal solution would be to assign a manager to every worker. But supervision becomes too costly when manager-to-worker ratios dip below 1:13. A good voice software provides the opportunity to put a manager ‘on the shoulder’ of each worker. This lowers the cost of supervision for a given number of workers. In a sense, continuous one-to-one management gives workers the ‘perfect manager’ who: • Can communicate with them in their native language • Is present throughout every activity right from start to finish • Knows the worker’s abilities, experience & job roles and is able to provide assistance that is tailored to the specific worker • Is an expert in the business process.

Continuous one-to-one management combines the knowledge of the worker with the knowledge of the business process. It provides real-time access to the WMS & visibility into warehouse conditions to give superlative directions and optimise

what each worker can achieve. It also gives site managers immediate visibility into activities as they occur.

Workers who need personal attention are quickly identified, thus making managers more effective in utilising time. In addition, an individual can be interrupted via a special message without having to go out to the floor to search for the worker.

Personalised performance enhancers There are several productivity tools, but often, those tools have the ‘lowest common denominator’ quality. They do not take individual capabilities into account. Great voice technology solves this problem with personalised performance enhancers – a software that understands each worker’s language, abilities, and job role.

99.9 per cent recognition accuracy There are dozens of voice recognisers, but the overwhelming majority is designed for very controlled environments, such as automated call centres. Warehouses are dynamic industrial sites, where noise levels can be loud and can fluctuate dramatically for unpredictable periods of time.

Warehouses are often characterised by a cacophony of sound – palettes banging on the floor, forklifts doing let downs, conveyors starting & stopping, trucks backing into loading bays, doors opening and closing, etc. This makes warehouses one of the most challenging places for a voice recogniser.

At the same time, the job that voice systems tackle demands repeated action and quick movement-order selection. The whole justification for voice technology involves incremental increases in worker performance across hundreds of repetitive tasks over a full

shift. Workers must be hands-free, which is why ‘push to talk’ systems fail on the most fundamental requirement of a voice solution. If the voice recogniser makes a mistake, the worker must repeat himself – an indicator of how productivity suffers. Any time this happens, the voice system is not delivering…if it happens more than a few times, workers get frustrated. This, in turn, has an adverse impact on the return on investment.

A voice recognition accuracy of 99.9 per cent is essential for voice in the warehouse to deliver maximum benefits. The only way to achieve this is through ‘speaker dependent’ technology, where the user trains the software to recognise the way he or she speaks. When evaluating voice for the warehouse, it is vital to assess the capability and track record of the underlying voice recognition software.

50 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

REAL-TIME VOICE SOLUTION Voice technology effectively increases the span of control. In effect, each worker has a ‘virtual manager’ on his shoulder throughout every activity.

A real-time voice solution extends the reach of managers. A good voice technology is designed for a diverse workforce. The mission is to ‘move the curve to the right’ as shown in Figure 3. It aims to leverage technology that makes every employee’s personal contribution more effective, ie, employees should quickly rise up to elevated standards, experienced workers should produce like experts and experts should perform like warehouse ‘super workers’.

Courtesy: Voxware, Inc.

COASTAL SHIPPING POLICIES & REGULATIONS

ACHIEVING THE RIGHT POLICY MATRIX As we talk about the much-awaited Coastal Shipping Policy, there are various demands of the industry that the government needs to look at and consider before drafting the policy. In such a scenario, having a brief understanding of the industry’s requirements and indulging in solution-oriented discussions is the only way the Centre can formulate an all-inclusive policy draft.

SUMEDHA MAHOREY

INDIA has huge potential when it comes to exploring opportunities in coastal shipping. It has a 5,560km long coastline with 11 major and 168 minor/intermediate ports.

The country has access to the sea on three sides. Additionally, India lies in geographical proximity to important shipping routes, which offers a natural advantage to the country’s shipping.

Moreover, shipping is no longer an isolated mode of transport, but forms a part of an intermodal transport chain linking other transport modes.

Coastal shipping helps make the country more self-reliant and provides the necessary strategic support in critical times. Coastal shipping is also environment-friendly and much safer.

Fuel consumption for every tonnekilometre of freight carried is only 15 per cent of that by road and 54 per cent of that by rail.

Presently, major commodities transported by coastal shipping comprise mainly of bulk cargoes, foodgrains, cement and containerised cargo, including automobiles;

automotive spare parts; steel pipes; steel structures and machinery. But the huge potential that lies in coastal shipping still remains unexplored, as a miniscule portion of general cargo and finished products are transported through coastal shipping. There are various reasons behind the minimal use of coastal shipping in India.

HURDLES IN THE WAY There are various factors, which are curbing the growth of coastal shipping in India. Some of these issues include: Connectivity: There exists poor railroad connectivity between ports, terminals and cargo generating centres in the hinterlands, as a result of which cargo is usually transported by easier modes of transportation.

Integration: There exists inadequate integration of coastal shipping with inland waterway transport (IWT) due to the lack of basic infrastructure. In India, there are five national waterways, which are currently functional. If these can be integrated with coastal shipping, the trade and economy will

benefit immensely.

Infrastructure: There is inadequate basic port infrastructure in terms of suitable terminals, cargo handling capacity, connecting rail-road links, easy procedure for cargo, clearance, separate yards for coastal cargoes, etc.

Also, new facility needs to be created for coastal Roll-on Roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels, which deal with the movement of vehicles, including trucks.

Ship Support Facilities: The lack of low cost ship building, ship repair facilities, etc., poses a major challenge to the growth of coastal shipping.

Customs Procedures: Firstly, the customs procedures are cumbersome and the interpretation of the customs formalities is not uniform all over the country. Secondly, the conversion and reconversion (foreign to coastal and vice versa) formalities are time consuming. Besides, the conversionreconversion is extremely difficult on weekdays and public holidays.

Port Limitations: Most of the Indian ports have draft restrictions. Hence, fully loaded vessels are not able to

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 51

Coastal shipping , continued

that this concession has not been also offer the Indian coastal shipping enter for bunkering. In the Indian beneficial. Besides, road and railway industry a competitive edge. In order coastal shipping industry, most of the are required to pay a minimal Service to bring about this discussion with the vessels have to depend on barges for Tax, which is not the case with coastal industry, the International Chamber of bunkers. Also, the non-availability of shipping.

Commerce had organised a workshop suitable facilities for the discharge of Opportunities For Entrepreneurs: on coastal shipping under the guidance slops at most of the ports acts as a Very few entrepreneurs are entering of K Mohandas, IAS, Secretary to major bottleneck. It is also very this industry due to red tapism Government of India, Ministry of difficult to carry out basic husbanding and high compliance cost. More Shipping. During the workshop, activities like crew change, supply of opportunities need to be created industry experts gave the following provisions, surveys at the single bouy through planning policies to help build recommendations to the ministry that moorings. entrepreneurship. need to be considered while drafting the Berthing Policy: Vessels do not get Dredging: Dredging is required for all-inclusive policy for coastal shipping. berths on time as no priority is given to optimum use of existing small bundars.

National Flag vessels. Comparatively, The conclusions of the workshop Japan, Malaysia, the US, etc., give Minimum dredging will increase the were the urgent need for a robust priority berthing to the vessels carrying utility of old port facilities and curb Coastal Shipping Policy; rapid growth the country’s national flag. excessive burden on the exchequer. of ports using existing facilities; more Manpower: A major impediment comes suitable cargo transportation by road/ in the form of application of Merchant rail coastal ships; reserve coastal cargo POLICY ON THE ANVIL Shipping Rules to coastal shipping in for Indian Flag ships. This would be With the Central Government working India for vessels plying exclusively in flexible only when the fleet strength on finalising the draft of the new Indian waters. Manning and training is is augmented. An online discussion Coastal Shipping Policy to promote also a big burden on coastal shipping. forum for all stakeholders and bunker the domestic industry, it needs to There is a need to create separate cadre facilities should also be created. The consider all the above challenges of manpower, which will be able to duties should be abolished to make and bring out solutions that would work on coastal and river sea vessels. way for a level playing field. Other not only be long-term in nature, but Also, immediate manpower demands include provisions requirements would emerge – statutory or otherwise Major challenges • Cumbersome customs procedures if the need for over 5,000 – to enhance a number of • Non-availability of concessional finance to acquire coastal vessels is fulfilled. Creating coastal ships to help coastal vessels fresh entry points will trade thrive and removal • High import duties on bunker oil and spares increase supply and reduce of entry barriers for coastal • High manning scales, which increase operational costs costs. manpower creations, • Stringent specifications related to construction of vessels Tax: Indian seafarers on among others. With the • Incidence of Corporate Tax for coastal shipping, as against Indian ships have to pay recommendations in place, Tonnage Tax for oceangoing vessels, and personal Income Income Tax, while those the coastal shipping policy Tax, which discourages quality officers from continuing on working on foreign ships is likely to be passed Indian coastal vessels are exempted. There is

by March-April 2012.

• Lack of separate berthing facilities at major ports and an urgent need to look With desperate measures inadequate cargo handling facilities at minor ports. into seafarer’s Income Tax needed to streamline the Solutions concessions to increase functioning of the coastal • Review Cabotage laws retention on coastal vessels. shipping industry in India • Exempt customs duties on spares and bunker fuel A Service Tax abatement of for both, commercial as well • Extend tonnage tax to coastal shipping 25 per cent was given for as domestic trade, the new • Consider possible reduction in manning norms transport of coastal goods Coastal Shipping Policy • Review design specifications and goods transported is expected to bring in • Ease ship acquisition by making capital available under more through national waterways uniform rules & regulations attractive conditions • Enable this sector to offer more attractive employment or inland water, but with and act as a growth enabler opportunities to officers and seafarers no CENVAT credit on to explore the huge • Provide earmarked facilities at major ports, develop minor taxes paid on inputs, input potential that currently lies ports for coastal shipping, and reduce port charges. services and capital goods unexplored. in the 2011 budget. The Source: Bottlenecks in the Growth of Coastal Shipping shipping industry believes sumedha.mahorey@infomedia18.in

52 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS TIPS & TRICKS

ENABLING BETTER CENTRALISED MANAGEMENT In order to procure the right warehouse management system for a company, it is essential to understand its specific demand requirements. The software selected should be the solution that best matches a business’ objectives.

Simply purchasing the latest and costliest system is not the solution. Here are eight ways which could help a company simplify this complex process.

SHRADHA MOHANTY

TODAY’S warehouse management systems (WMS), which incorporate technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID), barcode scanners, mobile computers and a host of other such technologies, offer companies a competitive edge.

These technologies not only reduce the scope for errors, but also offer better control over stock, thereby optimising processes and ensuring optimal utilisation of space. A few pointers on how you can select the right WMS:

1 3 5

Conducting an assessment test is the first step towards getting the right WMS. Hence, understanding the software’s functionality and the businesses’ key requirements are mandatory as it would help a company identify and ultimately, select the most appropriate option.

2

Before installing a new WMS, a company should be aware of the impact that it will have on the current business processes. The software should satisfy the businesses’ needs in terms of providing tools for improvisation. It should also be flexible so that companies are able to customise it to meet their specificities.

4

The WMS should be user-friendly as it is exposed to a high turnover of staff or a number of temporary staff, on a daily basis. Other employees who are not part of the system, such as salespeople, also use WMS. Hence, it should be easy to learn and use so that employees can adapt to it quickly. Graphical user interface (GUI) systems employ 100 per cent point-and-click operating environments. These types of systems have high satisfaction ratings and have a positive impact on overall operator productivity. On the other hand, sophisticated WMS leads to longer training cycles and consequently, poor returns on investment.

The level of integration that the WMS offers across all aspects of business, such as finance, sales, purchasing, etc., is another factor to look out for in a good WMS. This helps increase efficiency and lower costs. Such WMS facilitates immediate exchange of information among various departments and eliminates the pitfalls of having a WMS that is good for warehouse operations, but causes additional workload in other areas.

Basics in technology, like integration with advanced RFID & barcoding technologies, are a must. There should also be provision for automated inventory receipt and assisted put away. For this, complete back office integration with order entry, inventory control and purchase orders module are a must. Moreover, the WMS should also facilitate the process of data retrieval. Some areas where this aspect can be evaluated are ease of conducting inventory queries, cost-to-serve model and performance reporting.

6

7

The WMS provider should offer reasonable rates and must be willing to set a realistic budget after one has specified the needs of the business. Moreover, modifying costs becomes easy if the provider has already installed WMS systems with clients in the same industry.

The WMS provider should have a prompt and responsive help desk. This plays an integral role in reinforcing user training, troubleshooting problems and supporting system upgrades. The help desk should also be adequately staffed. Most importantly, they should be on duty during the company’s hours of operation. Also, the help desk should be equipped with sufficient resources to provide ongoing support at the previously agreed upon rate.

8

The WMS should be scalable to keep up with the changing market scenario. It should be adaptable so that it can incorporate newer technologies, like voice recognition, for instance. One should also look out for a WMS provider who invests significant capital into research and development along with future product enhancements.

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 53

STRATEGY GROWTH GUIDE

This is probably one of the biggest concerns among logistics players who seek to cater to the vast & growing demands and, at the same time, sustain business. The post-GST era certainly offers innumerable opportunities to manufacturers, retailers as well as logistics service providers. But the key lies in preparing ourselves to be GST ready NOW to reap the benefits TOMORROW… PRERNA SHARMA

THE fear of uncertainty is looming over the projected implementation of the Goods & Service Tax (GST) since April 2010. While the industry is awaiting its widespread implementation, the policy makers are busy finalising the uniform tax rates. It is high time the logistics industry gets ready for the GST era and eradicates inefficiencies from the businesses. As rightly stated

by Shammi Dua, Manager – Logistics & Customer Operations (India), Akzo Nobel, “There is a significant opportunity to drive variety and move from the one-size-fits-all approach to a custom-built approach.”

According to Vineet Agarwal, Joint MD, Transport Corporation of India (TCI), “The implementation of GST is a major milestone for the Indian tax system. It will bring about changes in the way manufacturing, warehousing and distribution is carried out in India.

Organisations have to restructure their supply chain strategy to overlook tax boundaries and will be able to position

54 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

their warehouses and distribution networks with increased focus on cost and time.” Seconding his thoughts, Malay Shankar, National Business Head, Drive India Enterprise Solutions (DIESL), adds, “More companies will start outsourcing supply chain. Today, the aftermarket supply chain is highly outsourced followed by the factory gate supply chain. However, the factory gate

supply chain is customised considering that it sells material. Inbound logistics is still customer controlled and the suppliers’ supply chain is aligned to the production line and dependent on the plant’s location. The inbound supply chain will be driven by factors like logistics and transportation infrastructure rather than the location of the manufacturing plant.”

PREGST & POSTGST DUTY IMPACT Pre-GST

Post-GST

Where VAT is levied at 5%, price to GST rate may be higher: price to ultimate ultimate consumer may be lower consumer may increase Absence of ‘seamless credit’: higher ‘cost ‘Seamless credit available’: decrease in of production’ ‘cost of production’ In case of inter-state sales/stock transfers, company’s profit margin gets reduced to the extent of CST cost/reversal of input VAT duties

In case of inter-state sales/stock transfers too, company may not be required to absorb additional cost (i.e. ‘non-creditable GST’)

Current distribution model may be Distribution model could be revisited for relevant for ‘economising’ tax cost cost efficiency, in view of ‘seamless credit’ chain Source: Nokia

Customers will push for end-toend outsourcing of the supply chain – right from sourcing the raw materials into the production line, distribution of factory gate and aftersales support supply chains. Companies will tend to move from a ‘cost’ mindset to ‘solution’ mindset. Customers will demand technology, information systems and material handling equipment. Apart from this, the post-GST era will witness: • Demand on increasing geographical spread • Low volume rural thrust • More value-added services (VAS), operations in warehouse, e.g., testing, product bundling, etc.

• There will be greater opportunities for 4PL. Overall, the supply chain will be outsourced to one company, which, in turn, will tie-up with network or regional players.

INDUSTRY PREPAREDNESS As per a Crisil report, the introduction of GST will result in greater adoption of the ‘hub-and-spoke model’ in infrastructure segments, such as warehousing. Shankar says, big corporations are planning to close down their regional warehouses in the wake of GST coming in. Many corporations have approached us to handle their distribution and logistics part to cut down the cost.”

Ajay Chopra, CEO, DIESL, says, “The implementation of GST would be the most widely impacting change that the country will witness post independence. But the only challenge is when will it happen? It will completely transform the way logistics is done in this country.” Playing the role of an enabler, Vineet Kanaujia, GM – Marketing, Safexpress, informs, “Being the knowledge leaders of our industry, we have always kept our approach very industry-driven and pro-industry. Hence, we thought that it was the right time to educate our customers and our fellow companies about the importance of GST and

Strategic & Tactical Planning to Maximise SCM Opportunities Network + Inventory + Transportation Optimisation = Significant ROI GST is just one driver to optimise network, which in turn, will drive inventory and transportation optimisation.

3. Transportation Optimisation

1. Network Optimisation

Goal - Optimise Cost & Route Planning • Evaluate transportation strategies •Multi-modal fleet requirements •Tariff simulations •Inbound & outbound route planning

Goal - Optimise Cost & Service Delivery • Optimum demand-supply linkages • • Sourcing, capacity mix & product mix • •

Continuous Improvement Faster Scenario Analysis & Comparison

Smarter Decision Making As Governing Parameters Change

2. Inventory Optimisation • • •

Goal - Optimise Service Levels & Cost • Optimise inventory positioning (where) • Inventory levels (how much) • Service levels " cost trade-off

how companies could get ready for the post-GST era. Essentially, we are also telling our fellow players that now is the right time to take the lead and build up a lot of warehousing facilities across India, which will help them serve the vast market with ease.”

According to Kanaujia, as GST regime comes in, it would bring in a total change in the business models and supply chain models of firms.

Adding further, he says, “Tomorrow, if we are not GST ready, we will be doomed as an economy. We need to be future-ready now to serve tomorrow’s vast market demands. Moreover, it will also bring about cost optimisation opportunities for companies and will help curb a lot of existing inefficiencies in our systems. With GST coming in, we will be a much more efficient economy.”

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS… The proposed levy of GST is slated to change the manner in which indirect taxes are levied and perceived in India and would be of great benefit to logistics players. With the introduction of GST, trade boundaries between states will cease to exist and companies can consolidate their supply chains, which will result in seamless supply across the

© 2011 IBM Corpora on

Source: IBM

country. However, if the dual GST system, which comprises of Central Goods & Service Tax (CGST) and State Goods & Service Tax (SGST), is adopted, then some states may enforce online declaration of transit pass in order to ensure the sale of goods within the state territory. This may render the use of hub-and-spoke difficult and can negate the essence and significant expectation from GST. It is hoped that GST will also catalyse investments into information technology to help avoid delay & detention of trucks. This in turn, will not only ensure fast delivery of goods, but also catalyse the industry towards better fleet utilisation and modern fleet where the optimum performance of the machine translates into revenue and not overheads.

Most FMCG companies have their post-GST blueprint ready in terms of distribution network. With very impressive closing remarks, Dr Rakesh Sinha, COO – Global Supply Chain, Manufacturing & IT, Godrej Consumer Products, concludes, “Real success begins when we set the highest standards for ourselves and reach them… every time.” prerna.sharma@infomedia18.in

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 55

STRATEGY ONE ‘Q’ MANY VIEWS

THE COUNTDOWN As the debate over the tax rates between the Centre and the states continues, the implementation of GST is yet to see the light of day. While April 2012, the newly announced implementation date, still seems far from reality, logistics service players as well as manufacturers are readying themselves to deliver to the expectations of the customers in the post-GST era. Since GST is going to be the real game changer for the industry, NOW is the right time for them to take a hard look at their business processes and build a future-ready organisation…

PRERNA SHARMA

Post GST, if investors are not linked to a particular geographical area where they can avail tax benefits, they will move to areas, which are best suited from a logistics perspective. So, states which offer the best possible resources – easy availability of manpower, surplus power – and allow entrepreneurs to do business in areas they want to… those are the places that will attract business. Eventually, consolidation will take place and larger facilities will come up. Today, in India, the average size of a warehouse is 7,000 sqft, whereas the rest of the world measures their warehouses in sqmt.

Post GST, all this will change. But first, GST has to be implemented.

– Ajay Chopra

T S G

S

ER

56 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

AND

– Vineet Agarwal Joint MD, Transport Corporation of India (TCI)

X

DS

TA

GO

O

CEO, DIESL

The implementation of GST is a major milestone for the Indian tax system. It will bring about changes in the way manufacturing, warehousing and distribution is carried out in India. Organisations have to restructure their supply chain strategy to overlook tax boundaries and will be able to position their warehouses and distribution networks with increased focus on cost & time. To stay competitive, companies should be ready with their new supply chain strategy post-GST with details of an optimal network structure and the steps that needs to be taken to get there. With experience in the logistics industry and expertise in multiple industry verticals, Transport Corporation of India (TCI) is well poised to help companies make their supply chains GST-efficient by providing network & optimisation consultancy and implementation. The Group has also set up warehousing and distribution infrastructure in major potential hubs of the country.

Additionally, TCI is actively participating in relevant industry forums and engaging with customers to inform them about this.

They have also released internal communication to clients as part of their thought leadership initiatives. However, the government and industry associations should generate awareness by organising supply chain-focussed workshops, seminars or conferences and collaborations with academia and corporations.

VICE

B E G I N AND

– Shammi Dua Manager – Logistics & Customer Operations (India), Akzo Nobel

T S G

Head – Logistics Strategy & Services Deployment, Customer Logistics, Demand Supply Network Management, Nokia

S

ER

X

– Sushil Agarawal

DS

The removal of a supply chain intermediary, viz., third-party logistics (3PL), will facilitate direct distribution and make plants invoicing centres. For the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, there will be a possible 35 per cent reduction in time to market.

The implementation of GST will consolidate the entire route to market, which will mean a significant transition from ‘cost focus and service conscious’ to ‘service focus and cost conscious’.

TA

GO

O

GST will create a single Indian common market. It will make way for a tax neutral supply chain that will lead to supply chain efficiency and scale economy. In addition, there will be a reduction in the compliance cost with the simplification of the tax structure and uniform returns or procedure. Also, due to zero rating of Central Goods & Service Tax (CGST) & State Goods & Service Tax (SGST), the export cost will reduce. Owing to dual GST on import, parity with regards to indigenous goods will change. However, services will be expensive due to dual tax incidence and distributive trade will have higher tax incidence.

...

GST will offer companies an opportunity to redesign their supply chain network. Once implemented, optimisation of cost and service delivery will be the key drivers going forward. But to make this a reality, companies will need to evaluate various network strategies – mother distribution centres, hubs, super stockists, etc.

This also implies evaluating carbon emissions in various scenarios. As far as logistics is concerned, companies will be able to optimise fixed and variable transportation & warehousing costs. They will be in a position to redefine new lanes and tariffs as well as optimise on both, inbound & outbound route planning.

VICE

The excise benefits will disappear for new units and units established before the sunset clause would be compensated. The concept of state boundaries would completely disappear once GST is implemented. GST will have significant implications in terms of lowering freight cost on raw materials and finished goods, lowering inventory in the system as well as lowering manufacturing costs due to scale efficiencies.

– Rahul Jadhav Business Manager – Commerce (India/South Asia), IBM

– Dr Rakesh Sinha COO – Global Supply Chain, Manufacturing & IT, Godrej Consumer Products

prerna.sharma@infomedia18.in Inputs taken during SCLC Summit on GST

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 57

PRODUCT UPDATE

This section gives information about products, equipment and services available in the market. If you know what you want. . . refer to Product Index on Page 64 to find it quickly

S

takall manufactures and offers drum pallets that are designed to store two drums per pallet. These pallets can be stacked up to 4-feet height. They provide the quickest, safest & easiest method of moving and handling loaded steel drums. The drum pallets can be moved individually or by the stack with a forklift truck. They can be accessed on all the four sides. Cradles are made from MS pressed channels. The drum pallets are shipped in knockdown condition. They are made in standard sizes only for standard steel drums of 200 liter capacity.

Stall No: 5D138

HYDRAULIC PALLET TRUCKS

V

anjax Sales offers hydraulic pallet trucks (model VXHPT-N200) with lifting capacity of 2 tons (2000 kgs). Technical U A L I T Y features of these pallet trucks include: forks fabricated from high tensile steel special rolled double U APPROVED shape frame; heavy-duty hydraulic O totally sealed controlled lowering with hand control valve; front rollers on the fork and the rear castors designed to give maximum ease to operators; control handle allows three positions; key positions provided with grease nipples; single loader roller on each fork; and steering castor wheels of nylon/ polyurethane.

L

DRUM PALLETS

Q

Stakall, Dist Thane 401 208.

Tel: 0250-2456970, Fax: 0250-2452530, Mob: 08087383146 Email: storage@stakall.in , Website: www.stakall.in

Vanjax Sales Pvt Ltd, Chennai 600 098.

Tel: 044-4282 1000, Fax: 044-4598 5700, Mob: 09789976611 Email: info@vanjax.com, Website: www.vanjax.in Certification: An ISO 9001 Certified Company

HEAVY-DUTY RACKS

A

lfa Electronic Equipments manufactures and offers 19” light-duty and heavy-duty racks. All racks are available in multiple options and variety of basic structure, depending upon load carrying capacity and surrounding environment. Aluminium extruded frame structured racks are being offered. These racks are suitable for load carrying capacity from 350 kgs to 500 kgs. Accessories are designed for improving the utility of the unit and keeping aesthetics in mind, help users to achieve optimum level of utilisation.

Easy to assemble and user-friendly design provides interchangeability.

Standard rack supply includes items like frame structure; two side panels, screw type; rear door/panel; top cover; and bottom plate/tray with cable entry arrangement, all in assembled unit. In heavy-duty racks, the vertical column aluminium profi le is of heavy cross section and of sturdy design. The racks are provided with extra horizontal supports to the main frame as standard supply.

Recess arrangement for 19” equipment mounting, is available in these types of racks.

Alfa Electronic Equipments, Pune 411 038.

Tel: 020-2528 2874, Fax: 020-2528 0612 Email: alfaee@vsnl.com, Website: www.alfaracks.com

58 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

WAREHOUSING & STORAGE SERVICES

W

arehousing & storage are important factors in logistics. It is very essential that the goods while in transition should be properly kept before reaching its required destination. Proper warehousing facilities are available with the company. Safety and security are well kept in mind. The warehousing location is well selected so that it compliments the subsequent required procedures like loading and unloading. The warehouses in various parts of the country are well guarded and spacious ensuring complete safety of clients’ goods. The warehouse areas are safely made for customers’ specific need.

H2H Packers & Movers (Regd), Bengaluru 560 096.

Tel: 011-2371 3761, Mob: 09742833407 Email: h2hpackers@gmail.com, Website: www.h2hpackersmovers.com

TRUCKING DELIVERY SERVICES

M

ulti Moving Systems offers trucking delivery services.

These services include: efficient communication, daily follow-up of inbound & outbound cargo; feedback to customers on current status of their cargoes; E-tracking; preadvice to overseas agents with accurate details; and follow-up till clients get the delivery to their residence. The functional areas include: moving of personal effects from residences to

overseas or to a domestic location; moving of office equipments to overseas or to a domestic location; moving of warehouse to overseas or to a domestic location; moving of personal effects, office equipment, warehouse, etc, from overseas to India; customs clearance, documentation, etc (inbound shipment); free cost analysis, international packing, quick delivery, door-to-door services; and comprehensive Insurance coverage.

Multi Moving Systems , Chennai 600 013.

Tel: 044-2598 0353, Fax: 044-2598 0232, Mob: 09840071201 Email: multimoving@multimodal.co.in, Website: www.multimodal.co.in

for instant process variability, is a practical example of the company’s vision moving towards process automation and integration. In line with this vision, Festo has developed a simple control system for the tripod robots that allows easy parameterisation and configuration of new variants programmed using the teach-in function. The system only requires data input for positions, sequences and settings to be entered via the Festo front end display (FED). These inputs can then be recalled at will to initiate a different process sequence.

Festo AG & Co KG - Ostf ildern-Scharnh - Germany Tel: +49-711-3474032, Fax: +49-711-347544032 Email: haug@festo.com, Website: www.festo.com

TRIPOD ROBOTS

F

esto in conjunction with machine builder, IFC Intelligent Feeding Components, has made production process variability and shorter set-up times possible for Tyco Electronics. The Festo tripod robots have created instantaneous re-calibration of workpiece types a reality at the press of a button. These robots manage production with an IFC flexfeeder system that feeds components through the production process.

Th is simple integration, including the resulting new possibilities

Vol. 02 | Issue 06 | SEPTEMBER 2011

GANTRY CRANES

H

eavy-duty gantry cranes manufactured by Hiking Engineers are ideal material handling equipment for various industries and projects, like maintenance hangers, factories, power stations, large water works, railway yards, harbours, warehouses, transporters, mines, quarries, heavy fabrication units, contracting fi rms, etc. These gantry cranes fi nd numerous applications, such

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NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 59

Product update, continued

as loading & unloading trucks, heavy pipe laying in trenches, erection of bulky equipments, shifting of heavy load, etc.

Hiking Engineers, Ahmedabad 382 443.

Tel: 079-2573 3260, Fax: 079-2573 2091, Mob: 09427524899 Email: info@hikingcrane.com, Website: www.hikingcrane.com

ELECTRIC PALLET TRUCKS

E

Q

zi electric pallet trucks (model EP-20) manufactured by Jay U A L I T Y trucks used for Equipment & Systems are heavy-duty horizontal transport of goods. AWith design P P Rtheir O V Ecompact D and small turning radius, these electric pallet O trucks are suitable for manoeuvring in narrowN T aisle and gangways. They are ideal equipments for high intensity movement over a long distance. The spring suspended centre drive wheel assembly is supported with swivel castors and tandem wheel. Th is wheel confi guration ensures a positive traction thereby maintaining a fi rm road grip and enhanced stability.

C

Jay Equipment & Systems Pvt Ltd, Mumbai 400 104.

Tel: 022-2676 3552, Fax: 022-2676 3895, Mob: 09225141811 Email: sales@jayequipment.com, Website: www.jayequipment.com Certification: An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

ELECTRIC WIRE ROPE HOISTS

E

lmech Engineers manufactures and offers electric wire rope hoists from 0.5 tons to 50 tons capacity and maximum height of lift of 200 metres in accordance with class I, II, III, IV heavy-duty specification as per IS:39381983. These wire rope hoists are manufactured offering foolproof electro-mechanical brakes operating on conical rotor motor principles. Brakes are far superior to electro-hydraulic thrustor brakes offered by most other manufacturers. All hoists have high torque, crane duty, 40 per cent CDF, class-F insulated conical motors suitable for 150 starts/hour. Brakes are provided in hoisting as well as cross traversing motion. The hoists are available n four basic arrangements, viz, fi xed mounted type, push-pull trolley type, hand-operated trolley type and motordriven trolley type. The hoists are also manufactured to suit special applications, for eg, outdoor location, hoist with driver’s cabin, twin hoist for exceptionally high height or lift or high hoisting speeds, etc.

Elmech Engineers, Mumbai 400 034.

Tel: 022-2352 1798/2710, Fax: 022-2352 1886 Email: eddycranes@vsnl.com, Website: www.elmechengineers.com

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Disclimer: “The Company is proposing, subject to market conditions and other considerations, an offer of its equity shares on rights basis and has filed a Draft Letter of Offer with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”). The Draft Letter of Offer is available on the website of SEBI at www.sebi.gov.in and the website of the Lead Manager at www.icicisecurities.com.Investors should note that investment in equity shares involves a high degree of risk and are requested to refer to the section titled “Risk Factors” of the Draft Letter of Offer for details of the same.”

60 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

EOT CRANES

S

Q

ingle girder and underslung EOT cranes offered by Eddycranes Engineers are designed in accordance with UALITY IS:807-1976 code of practice for design manufacture, erection and testing (structuralA P P R O V E D position) of cranes and hoists and IS:3177-1999 code of practice for design of overhead travelling cranes. In the design of components adequate factor of safety as per relevant codes is allowed. Impact fatigue, wear and stress concentration factors is taken into account whenever applicable. Tested quality steel or equivalent is used in the manufacture of the main load bearing members of the crane structure. Hoist is complete with motor driven trolley/ hand geared trolley for cross traverse motion. The long travel motion is achieved through long travel mechanism placed at the centre of the bridge or by means of two motor drive arrangements driving each wheel. The cranes are controlled from floor through pendant pushbutton station hanging from the hoist. They are tested at 25 per cent overload.

CHAIN HOISTS

D

C

avid Round offers stainless steel chain hoists (cleanroom hoists) that are available from 304 and 316 series stainless steel. These clean room hoist products are well-suited for lifting applications in wash-down, environmentally-controlled and corrosive processing environments. They are available in standard capacities up to 2 MT and feature sealed gearing, food grade lubrication and stainless steel hooks, chain, frames and trolleys. The hoists are designed for applications which require USDA approved or food grade hoists. Additionally, these clean room hoist products are ideal for electronic clean rooms, biotechnology and pharmaceutical applications that require the cleanliness of stainless steel chain hoist construction. Unlike many products sold as cleanroom hoists, the stainless steel chain hoist products are not painted.

Paint, and even FDA approved epoxies are not tolerated in many cleanroom environments, particularly pharmaceutical or electronics manufacturing. The clean room products always have housings of either 304 or 316 highly polished stainless steel.

Eddycranes Engineers Pvt Ltd, Mumbai 400 034.

Tel: 022-2352 1798, Fax: 022-2352 1886 Email: eddycranes@vsnl.com, Website: www.eddycranes.com Certification: An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

David Round, Inc - Ohio - USA Tel: +1-330-6561600, Fax: +1-330-6561601 Email: info@davidround.com, Website: www.davidround.com

REACH STACKERS

T

IL has launched a new range of reach stackers. The Hyster TIL reach stackers are available for high density container stacking applications up to 5-high and 3-rows deep. These machines have been designed to achieve maximum space utilization on container terminals, thanks to outstanding maneuverability, superior handling speeds and unrestricted stacking capabilities, in an all-in-one package. The series is available with a modern clean-running diesel engine, standard oil-immersed brakes, robust drive-axle and advanced auto-shift transmission, which all combine to maintain maximum productivity and reliability during operation in demanding applications. It delivers outstanding flexibility for container handling applications. Features include: engine & transmission protection systems as well as oil-immersed brakes to ensure reliable operation; Vista cab provides optimum container visibility in varying operating conditions; efficient hydraulic system with functions like power-in-demand & two-speed lift delivers excellent lifting speeds; increased capacity handling thanks to models available with stabilisers & increased wheelbase; and strong & sturdy frame and boom construction to carry out high capacity handling operation.

TIL Ltd, Kolkata 700 024.

Tel: 033-2553 1352, Fax: 033-2553 2546 Email: tilkmt@tilindia.com, Website: www.tilindia.in

COMPACTOR STORAGE SYSTEMS

S

tomat compactor storage systems manufactured by Space Magnum Equipments can increase storage efficiency. The existing and new shelving units can be mounted on mobile bases, which run on tracks set into the floor. Shelving units can be opened or closed when required, making it possible to make one aisle do the work of many. Only one aisle is required to provide access to all shelf locations. These systems fully utilise the full height, width and depth, allowing the user to maximise storage in the space available.

The closed aisles also bring security to the items stored and improves working environment. The compactor storage systems fi nd application in all areas of industries, ie, for storage of engineering components, documents and records, etc.

These are available in two versions, manually operated and with mechanised drive wheel.

Space Magnum Equipments , Pune 411 051.

Tel: 020-2435 5895, Fax: 020-2435 8082 Email: spacemag@pn3.vsnl.net.in

The information published in this section is as per the details furnished by the respective manufacturer/distributor. In any case, it does not represent the views of

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 61

EVENT LIST TRADE SHOW TRACKER

NATIONAL

ABROAD

6-9 DECEMBER 2011

15-16 DECEMBER 2011

1-2 DECEMBER 2011

CeMAT INDIA 2011 Focus: Logistics, plant & machinery Where: Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bengaluru Tel: +91 22 40050681/82 E-mail: unmesh.mandpe@hmf-india.com Web: www.cemat-india.com

COLD CHAIN SUMMIT 2011 Focus: Cold chain logistics Where: To be announced Tel: 011 24682230 E-mail: r.vaidyanathan@cii.in

LOGIPHARMA ASIA 2011 Focus: Cold chain strategies Where: The Hilton, Singapore Tel: +44 (0)20 7368 9400 E-mail: pives@wbr.co.uk Web: www.wbr.co.uk

NATIONAL

ABROAD

10-11 JANUARY 2012

27-29 JANUARY 2012

16-18 JANUARY 2012

SUPPLY CHAIN AND LOGISTICS SUMMIT ASIA 2012 Focus: Logistics & SCM Where: The Ritz-Carlton, Singapore Tel: +44 (0)20 7202 7690 E-mail: magdalena.musial@wtgevents.com Web: www.sclasiasummit.com

COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGING EXPO (COMPACK) Focus: Logistics & packaging Where: Palace Grounds, Bengaluru Tel: 91-44-28604087/28603086 E-mail: admin@plast-world.com Web: www.plast-world.com

JUMP START 2012 Focus: Transportation, railroad, trucking Where: Renaissance Concourse Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia Tel: 800.845.8090 x 5802 E-mail: astankosky@smc3.com Web: www.smc3.com/smc3/jumpstart2012/ index.htm

NATIONAL

ABROAD

1-3 FEBRUARY 2012

6-7 FEBRUARY 2012

9-10 FEBRUARY 2012

AIR CARGO INDIA 2012 Focus: Logistics & air cargo market Where: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai Tel: (91+22) 2757 0550/2757 5055 E-mail: events@stattimes.com/aci@ stattimes.com Web: www.stattimes.com/aci2012

MILITARY LOGISTICS INDIA 2012 Focus: Defence supply chain Where: Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantonment, New Delhi Tel: +44 (0)1753 727011 E-mail: jb@shephard.co.uk

5TH INTERMODAL ASIA 2012 Focus: Container port and terminal operations Where: Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto, Australia Tel: +60 87 426 022; Fax: +60 87 426 223 E-mail: enquiries@transportevents.com

62 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

NATIONAL

ABROAD

14-18 MARCH 2012

13-15 MARCH 2012

29-30 MARCH 2012

INDIA AVIATION 2012 Focus: Aviation industry Where: Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad Tel: 011 32910417 Fax: 011 23359734 E-mail: indiaaviation@ficci.com

TOC CONTAINER SUPPLY CHAIN ASIA 2012 Focus: Shipping and container cargo Where: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) Tel: +852 2582 8888 E-mail: info@hkcec.com Web: www.hkcec.com.hk

6TH INDIAN OCEAN PORTS & LOGISTICS Focus: Ports & logistics Where: Le Meridien, Mauritius Tel: +60 87 426 022 Fax: +60 87 426 223 E-mail: enquiries@transportevents.com

NATIONAL

ABROAD

12-14 APRIL 2012

26-28 APRIL 2012

26-27 APRIL 2012

AERODROME INDIA 2012 Focus: Airport infrastructure, operations, security & connectivity Where: Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC), Mumbai Tel: 80-25547169 Fax: 80-25542258

INDIA MATERIAL HANDLING & LOGISTICS SHOW 2012 Focus: Material handling solutions Where: India Expo Centre, Greater Noida Tel: 9999164925 E-mail: mayank@manchcommunications.com Web: www.indiawarehousingshow.com

7TH SOUTHERN ASIA PORTS, LOGISTICS & SHIPPING 2012 Focus: Container ports and terminal operations Where: Cinnamon Grand Colombo, Sri Lanka Tel: +60 87 426 022 Fax: +60 87 426 223 E-mail: enquiries@transportevents.com

ABROAD 6-9 MAY 2012

18 MAY 2012

23-24 MAY 2012

WERC ATLANTA 2012 Focus: Logistics Where: Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Atlanta, Georgia Tel: 281.746.0449 E-mail: cpilbeam@werc.org

5TH GLOBAL LOGISTICS & SCM SUMMIT Focus: SCM Where: UAE Tel: +971 4 3318855 Mob: +971 50 7453002 E-mail: admin@sclgme.org

LOGICHEM Focus: Petrochem logistics Where: Grosvenor House Hotel, Dubai Tel: +44 (0)20 7368 9354 E-mail: paulo.godinho@wbr.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2011 • SMART LOGISTICS • 63

PRODUCT & ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

To know more about the products & advertisements featured in this magazine, write to us at b2b@infomedia18.in or call us on 022-3003 4640, and we will send your inquiries to the companies directly to help you source better.

Products

Pg No

Products

Pg No

Barcode & rfid technologies ............................................................17

Heavy-duty racks .............................................................................58

Chain................................................................................................61

Hydraulic pallet trucks .....................................................................58

Compactor storage systems ..............................................................61

Institute ..............................................................................................3

Drum pallets ....................................................................................58

Logistics services ........................................................................ 7, BC

Electric pallet trucks ........................................................................60

Reach stackers ..................................................................................61

Electric wire rope hoists...................................................................60

Tripod robots....................................................................................59

EOT cranes ......................................................................................61

Trucking delivery services ................................................................58

Exhibition - Engineering Expo ....................................................BIC

Warehouses.........................................................................................6

Gantry cranes ...................................................................................59

Warehousing & storage services ......................................................58

Pg No

Advertiser

Tel. No.

E-Mail

Website

BIC

Engineering Expo

+91-9819552270

engexpo@infomedia18.in

www.engg-expo.com

17

Great Eastern Impex Pvt Ltd

+91-124-2347431

info@geipl.com

www.geipl.com

4

Hannover Milano Fairs India Pvt Ltd

+91-22-40050681

info@hmf-india.com

www.hmf-india.com

FIC

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (Auto)

+1800-22-6006

3

NIIT Imperia

+91-9910034182

baljeet.kaur@niit.com

www.niitimperia.com

7,BC

Safexpress Private Limited

+1800-113-113

suyash.srivastava@safexpress.com

www.safexpress.com

8

Supply Chain Leadership Council

+91-9819519284

gautami@sclc.in

www.sclc.in

6

Vijay Logistics Pvt Ltd

+91-2135-675000

info@vijaylogistics.com

www.vijaylogistics.com

21

VRL Logistics Ltd

+91836-2237511

headoffice@vrllogistics.com

www.vrllogistics.com

www.mahindragenio.com

Our consistent advertisers COC = Cover-on-Cover, FIC = Front Inside Cover, BIC = Back Inside Cover, BC = Back Cover

64 • SMART LOGISTICS • NOVEMBER 2011

Use this form for free additional Information on advertisements published in this issue. We will send your inquiries to the advertisers and ask them to send you the details or contact you directly.

HOW TO USE THIS FORM: • Please tick against the box of advertiser(s) you are interested in: • Mention specific product/service you need, against the advertiser’s name • Complete all the details on this form.

• Tear the form & mail it to us. (It is a prepaid mail) Tel.: +91-22-3003 4640 • Fax: +91-22-3003 4499

E-mail: b2b@infomedia18.in PRODUCT INQUIRY FORM Barcode & rfid technologies

Heavy-duty racks

Chain

Hydraulic pallet trucks

First Fold Here Compactor storage systems

Institute

Drum pallets

Logistics services

Electric pallet trucks

Reach stackers

Electric wire rope hoists

Tripod robots

EOT cranes

Trucking delivery services

Exhibition - Engineering Expo

Warehouses

Gantry cranes

Warehousing & storage services

Second Fold Here Engineering Expo

Safexpress Private Limited

Great Eastern Impex Pvt Ltd

Supply Chain Leadership Council

Hannover Milano Fairs India Pvt Ltd

Vijay Logistics Pvt Ltd

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (Auto)

VRL Logistics Ltd

NIIT Imperia

Third Fold Here

GLUE

ADVERTISERS’ INQUIRY FORM

Please complete the following & get a quick effective response from suppliers:

1. Your company’s business function is ( one only) K Wholesalers K Manufacturer K Distributor K Agent K Other, please specify ______________ 2. Your role in your company’s buying process can best be described as: K I buy K I identify potential suppliers K I approve purchases K I negotiate contracts K I select suppliers.

3. Your line of business 4. Specific product requirement Name: Designation: Company Name:

City:

Pin:

Tel:

Fax:

Email:

11 / 2011

Address:

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