WFS acquires US cargo handler Pinnacle Logistics

WFS acquires US cargo handler Pinnacle Logistics 

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has acquired IAS Logistics DFW, LLC (also known as Pinnacle Logistics), a leading provider of cargo handling services in the United States. The companies have not disclosed the financial details yet. 

Pinnacle Logistics is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, The United States, strengthening WFS’s cargo handling platform in the States. The company is focussed on specialist express cargo handling for e-commerce customers. 

WFS is also handling cargo in London, Liege, Amsterdam, France, Japan, Spain and more. 

Michael Simpson, WFS’s EVP Americas, commented, “The acquisition of Pinnacle Logistics enhances our core cargo and express cargo handling value proposition to customers, and Pinnacle’s established trucking logistics business further expands our service offering. Pinnacle’s people bring renowned experience and expertise, great service quality, and long-standing customer relationships with them to WFS. This acquisition is a strong strategic and cultural fit for WFS and we are delighted to welcome the Pinnacle team to WFS.”

The acquisition delivers on WFS’s commercial growth strategy, which includes accelerating revenue growth in cargo handling through product development including high-growth specialist e-commerce handling.

Uber co-founder Garrett Camp’s Expa invests in Wingcopter

 Uber co-founder Garrett Camp’s Expa invests in Wingcopter

Wingcopter, a German manufacturer and service provider of eVTOL unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) announces its new investor, Expa, a global network of startup founders supporting entrepreneurs.

Getting things to where they need to go isn’t always simple and, often, can be critically urgent. That’s where Wingcopter comes in. The leading German company not only develops and manufactures autonomous delivery drones, but also operates drone-delivery-as-a-service infrastructure. Whether deploying vital supplies, life-saving medicine, parcels, or spare parts—the sky is Wingcopter’s highway.

Expa’s support of Wingcopter aligns with the firm’s mission of backing tech-enabled companies that build the next generation of category champions and solve global challenges through innovation. Expa’s hands-on, partnership-driven approach has resulted in the growth and development of industry-shaping companies across transportation and logistics, including Beacon, Aero, and Convoy.

Wingcopter’s new flagship aircraft, the Wingcopter 198, is a state-of-the-art, all-electric delivery drone, designed for safe, reliable, fast, and bi-directional deliveries across a wide range of use cases. The company’s patented tilt-rotor technology allows for vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL), while also enabling efficient forward flight over long ranges thanks to its fixed-wing design. 

“Just how Uber revolutionized the way people get from point A to point B, Wingcopter is providing that same level of innovation to the transport of goods including urgently needed medicine and medical supplies, groceries, or freshly prepared food, and even has the power to automate e-commerce. Accelerated by the tailwinds of the global pandemic, we approach an inflection point in consumer adoption and industry regulation. Wingcopter is ideally positioned to capitalize on this momentum thanks to its cutting-edge delivery drone, software and services,” said Garrett Camp, Founder, Expa. “Given the team’s track record and impressive technology stack, Wingcopter will have a deep impact on supply chain transformation, logistics and on-demand delivery.”

Wingcopter’s product has already received significant commercial traction and inbound interest by globally renowned corporations. As such, the company has recently announced a partnership with America’s largest air medical service provider Air Methods to set up a drone-based medical delivery network for thousands of hospitals all over the United States. In Japan, Wingcopter collaborates with ANA Holdings Inc., parent company of Japan’s biggest airline All Nippon Airways. ANA aims to build a drone delivery network to help improve quality of life in rural areas across the whole country.

Wingcopter is backed by a wide range of institutional investors such as Silicon Valley-based Xplorer Capital. Based on strong traction in the market, it is preparing its Series B round. While Expa believes in Wingcopter’s growth phase and their ongoing fundraising, the firm usually invests in earlier stages. Along with the investment in Wingcopter, Expa continues to build out its portfolio in Europe and actively scouts for early-stage investment opportunities in transportation, logistics, advanced technology, fintech and health and wellness.

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Expa and Garrett which bring a brilliant network and years of experience building and globally scaling companies that disrupt entire industries,” said Tom Plümmer, CEO and co-founder, Wingcopter. “With their hands-on approach ‘By builders for builders’, Expa is actively supporting our strategy to create national-scale logistical highways in the sky.”

Asia Airfreight Terminal receives IATA CEIV Fresh Certificate

 Asia Airfreight Terminal receives IATA CEIV Fresh Certificate

Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT) has been awarded IATA’s Center of Excellence for Perishable Logistics (CEIV Fresh) certification in September 2021. This accreditation recognizes our strong expertise, stringent training and excellent facilities in handling perishable cargo in accordance with global standards. It enhances our service commitment and professionalism when handling temperature-sensitive shipments.

There is increasing demand for the safe transportation of high-end perishables and pharmaceuticals by air. AAT is in the process of further enhancing our handling capabilities to capture these opportunities as part of Airport Authority Hong Kong’s initiative to develop HKIA into the world’s Perishables Hub. 

AAT is investing in new cold chain facilities that will tie in well with the certifications such as CEIV Fresh, CEIV Pharma and WHO GDP. These new facilities are specifically designed to ensure unbroken temperature control for cargo, from export acceptance to ramp release, and from the receipt of imports at the ramp to cargo delivery. These new facility upgrades will be ready to serve the industry by 2022.

Bollore Logistics Singapore transported pharmaceutical in two part-charter flights

Bollore Logistics Singapore transported pharmaceutical in two part-charter flights

Bolloré Logistics Singapore arranged two part-charter flights holding eight temperature-controlled ULDs of pharmaceutical drugs weighing over 13,000 kg to Australia. Operational flexibility, teamwork, and partnerships with key industry players were key factors to success.

Faced with air capacity shortage and restrictions on flow of goods across borders in times of Covid-19, reliability and flexibility is more crucial than ever in logistics. This is particularly true in the case of pharmaceutical products, which are temperature sensitive and require greater care and quality assurance during transportation.

In this context, one of the customer faced a challenge to ship directly from USA to Australia. It was understood that any delay would cause additional strain to the supply chain down the pike, ultimately impacting the patients.

Bolloré Logistics Singapore devised and proposed a customized part-charter flight solution with eight temperature controlled ULDs for the shipment of temperature sensitive pharmaceutical drugs. A solution made possible with the involvement of Bolloré Logistics Healthcare Hub that is located in the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) of Singapore. 

Expedited Delivery with Seamless Connectivity

With lockdowns in place, affected countries had no direct flight options. Our team thus proposed a transit solution via Singapore.

Within our Healthcare Hub, the team of pharma experts with full on knowledge were tasked to handle the goods with extra care to ensure product safety and integrity for the rest of the journey. To further reduce turnaround time, the committed operations and healthcare teams expedited clearance through the preparation of accurate and thorough paperwork.

“Thanks to our global competency in the healthcare industry, strategic worldwide office structure and the seamless collaboration between the healthcare teams in Bolloré Logistics Singapore and the USA, over 13,000 kg of pharmaceutical drug were successfully delivered within the customer’s expected timeline,” the official release stated. 

“We understand the need for speed in transporting medical supplies, and we are more than happy to step forward to provide quick and effective solutions. We will continue to be flexible and remain the trusted solution provider for our clients in the healthcare industry.” said Lim Zhi Wei, Head of Air Freight at Bolloré Logistics Singapore.

DHL delivers 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses since 2020

 DHL delivers 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses since 2020

Since the global vaccine campaign began in December 2020, DHL has delivered over 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to more than 160 countries, playing a key role in the global vaccination roll-out.

“Looking back at the state of emergency these past nine months, we are honored to be playing our part, seamlessly managing and executing multiple supply chain set-ups without cold chain interruptions or security incidents. We are working across multiple supply chain set-ups and managing direct distributions in certain countries. We implemented new, dedicated, and reliable services at an accelerated speed to ship the highly temperature-sensitive vaccines, as well as ancillary supplies and test kits. In line with our purpose of ‘Connecting people, Improving Lives’, we will continue tapping into our cold chain infrastructure, resilient global network, and deep pharmaceutical logistics knowledge and experience of our people,” says Katja Busch, chief commercial officer DHL.

“The global vaccination campaign represents a crucial instrument in the fight against the virus, and it is essential for containing further virus variants. To reach high immunization levels, around 10 billion vaccine doses will be required worldwide by the end of 2021. The global distribution of these doses is necessary to ensure that as many people as possible have access to vaccines. Besides managing various and complex supply chain set-ups, the sensitive temperature requirements have been a major challenge for logistics experts. We are glad that DHL has played a critical role as part of the solution,” says R S Subramanian, SVP and MD, DHL Express India. 

“Our advantage is that we already had a sophisticated network in place with the necessary healthcare expertise. This allowed us to react swiftly”, explains Claudia Roa, President of Life Sciences and Healthcare at DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation. “We ship the vaccines in special active thermal containers equipped with state-of-the-art GPS temperature trackers to ensure consistent temperatures and provide full transparency throughout the entire journey.”

DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Express have been tasked with transporting COVID-19 vaccines on multiple routes from Europe and other origins to countries across Asia Pacific, South America, and Europe. DHL Supply Chain is responsible for the proper storage and local distribution of the vaccines in several German states.

Air France KLM Martinair Cargo partners with Total Touch Cargo for SAF programme

 Air France KLM Martinair Cargo partners with Total Touch Cargo for SAF programme

Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP Cargo) and Total Touch Cargo Holland BV (TTC) join hands within the framework of the airline’s sustainable aviation fuel programme. Under the partnership, AFKLMP Cargo will use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on selected cargo flights from Nairobi - Kenya to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, carrying TTC’s fresh agricultural and horticultural products. 

Cargo CEO/owner Harry van der Plas was at the AFKLMP Cargo headquarters at Schiphol to sign the formal documents. The agreement includes a fixed annual investment from Total Touch Cargo that will allow AFKLMP Cargo to further expand development and procurement of SAF. TTC’s contribution will be used to cover the cost differential between conventional aircraft fuel and SAF.

Pier Luigi Vigada, director Eastern and Southern Africa at Air France KLM Martinair Cargo says, “We are delighted that a professional company like Total Touch Cargo and its visionary CEO Harry vander Plas has teamed up with us. Total Touch Cargo is the first Freight Forwarding agent in Africa to commit to our SAF programme. Its vision on sustainability and enthusiasm about our programme form part of a clear path to make the airfreight industry for daily commodities, a cleaner and more sustainable one. Congratulations to Total Touch Cargo!”

Total Touch Cargo specialises in the air transport of fresh flowers, vegetables, herbs, fruit and fish from Nairobi to Amsterdam on a daily basis.

Harry van der Plas, CEO/owner at Total Touch Cargo says, “The SAF programme fits in perfectly with our vision and drive to be a first-mover in relation to innovative industry developments, as well as maintaining a focused strategy to be a distinguished service provider with top-quality airlines and long-term relationships to achieve optimal customer satisfaction.” 

SAF is a jet fuel made from renewable sources such as cooking oil and serves as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuel that reduces carbon emissions by a minimum of 75 percent. It is blended with conventional fossil fuel and can be used by all aircraft engines.

The AFKLMP Cargo SAF programme enables different stakeholders in the logistical airfreight industry to power a percentage of their flights with SAF. Customers determine their own level of engagement and we ensure that their entire investment is used for sourcing SAF.

Boeing sees huge potential for P2F over next 2 decades

 Boeing sees huge potential for P2F over next 2 decades

Replacement of aging airplanes and freighters in-demand for e-commerce and other services is likely to create a demand for 2,610 freighters in the next two decades, according to the new Boeing Commercial Market Outlook.

“Of these, 890 planes will be production freighters. The remaining 1,720 freighters are forecast to be passenger-airplane conversions. The freighter fleet will increase by 70 percent from 2,010 airplanes in 2019 to 3,435 airplanes by 2040,” the report said.

Air cargo traffic declined 9 percent in 2020 following a 3 percent decline in 2019 due to the economic downturn and disruptions caused by the pandemic, Boeing said in its statement. “Air cargo traffic is now above 2019 levels. Accelerated e-commerce growth, supply chain disruptions, and severe maritime challenges are contributing to a robust air cargo market recovery.”

Boeing, which has a near monopoly in the production freighter market, has a plan for a freighter version of its yet to be operational passenger jet B777X. 

Airbus, one of the world's largest airplane manufacturers, has firmed up plans for the freighter version of its successful passenger jet A350 with interest from the likes of global cargo giants DHL and UPS. 

In the latest development, Mammoth Freighters, a Florida-based company founded in December 2020, is promising to offer a P2F conversion programme for both Boeing 777-200LR and 777-300ER.

With continued lockdowns and uncertainties over reopening of the global economies, the airline industry continues to face new challenges. And cargo is turning out to be a saviour for the industry. Airline chief financial officers and cargo chiefs are positive on cargo demand for the rest of the current financial year and the next year, according to an International Air Transport Association (IATA) survey done last month.

The survey found 72 percent respondents expecting cargo demand to increase for the coming 12 months, an improvement compared with the previous survey (56 percent).

GEODIS invests in sustainable logistics campus in the Netherlands

 GEODIS invests in sustainable logistics campus in the Netherlands

Global supply chain operator GEODIS is acquiring 21.5 hectares of land at Trade Port Noord from Greenport Venlo. Here, GEODIS plans to build one of the most sustainable logistics facilities in the Netherlands: a 130,000m2 contract logistics site servicing customers from various vertical sectors and designed to accommodate the current growth in e-commerce.

The Venlo region is one of Europe’s prime spots for logistics activities, located near the Dutch border with Germany, acting as a link between the nearby air and seaports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp with the major industrial markets of the continent.

“Trade Port Noord has excellent connections to the European multimodal infrastructure via road, river, rail, ocean and air. This makes it the ideal location for GEODIS to operate cargo flows for international clients, and to manage their warehousing and logistics needs utilizing our European distribution network – and to expand our Benelux-Germany-Poland corridor at the same time”, says Marie-Christine Lombard, CEO of GEODIS.

The construction of the new facility will start in 2022. With the investment, GEODIS will protect the environment and ensure the well-being of its employees. This new build will be designed to standards aimed at a BREEAM “outstanding” certification, and a WELL Silver certification. BREEAM is a world-known sustainability assessment method for buildings; WELL is an international standard for creating spaces that enhance human health and well-being.

“Health and safety of our employees have always been our first priority – already before the Covid-19 pandemic, and still today”, says Marie-Christine Lombard. “In the same spirit, the GEODIS logistics campus in Venlo will be one of the very few logistics buildings in the world with a WELL certification.”

To ensure all standards for the desired certifications will be in place, GEODIS has involved real estate services and investment company CBRE, advising on the land acquisition and project management.

“The new GEODIS campus is not only impressive in size, but it is also ambitious. To achieve the highest possible BREEAM-rating, we will pay attention to every detail in both design and material use, as well as design various energy saving systems”, says Tim Habraken, Sustainability Director at CBRE.

PayCargo appoints Christian Dornhaus for EMEIA Region

 PayCargo appoints Christian Dornhaus for EMEIA Region

PayCargo onboards Christian Dornhaus as managing director for Europe, the Middle East, India, and Asia (EMEIA). He is experienced in the logistics and freight industries, recently as vice president of Sales Europe at UPS Company Coyote, as well as having held previous senior roles at FedEx, Panalpina, Bolloré, and Dachser. 

“This is an exciting time to be joining PayCargo’s leadership team as we witness a huge uptick in adoption of digitalisation across the freight industry, which is supporting our platform’s rapid global growth,” said Dornhaus.

“Companies across the EMEIA region are increasingly seeing the value of adopting modern digital solutions that enable efficient, sustainable operations, and with our scalable platform, we are able to support them to achieve just that.”

Dornhaus will be based in Madrid, Spain and lead a team dedicated to delivering PayCargo solutions across EMEIA.

“We have seen continuous growth in users and are currently on track to process USD10 billion of freight-related payments; a 250 percent increase from 2020,” said Eduardo Del Riego, PayCargo Global Chief Executive Officer.

“We envision a substantial portion of our future growth to come from the EMEIA region under Christian’s leadership.

"His hands-on local market knowledge, experience, and network will undoubtedly enable us to expedite this objective, and strengthen our commitment to providing digital payment solutions that add efficiency and transparency to the global supply chain.”

PayCargo is poised to rapidly grow across the EMEIA region and is committed to continue investing in growing both its team and online payment offerings to achieve this objective.

In June, PayCargo announced a Series B investment of USD125 million by global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners which is being used to fuel the EMEIA expansion as well as digital payment tools and services for platform users

Wingcopter Drones convey blood samples in Germany

 Wingcopter Drones convey blood samples in Germany

Wingcopter drones recently transported blood samples covering the distance over 26 kilometers (16 miles) between Greifswald and Wolgast in the Northeast German federal state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. 

The flights were carried out by Greifswald University Medical Center in cooperation with DRF Luftrettung and Wingcopter as part of the MV|LIFE|DRONE Challenge project of the hospital's Department of Anesthesiology. 

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and intends to improve structures of regional emergency care by integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the rescue chain and emergency medical transports.

Ansgar Kadura, co-founder and CSO of Wingcopter, comments: "With this project, we have demonstrated that we can also improve medical care and quality of life in rural areas in Germany. With our new unmanned aerial vehicle, the Wingcopter 198, this can be carried out even more efficiently in the future. We look forward to continued collaboration with the project team at the Department of Anesthesiology as part of the MV|LIFE|DRONE Challenge and beyond."

The flights beyond the pilots’ visual line of sight (BVLOS) carried a pneumatic tube including 250 grams of blood samples. The Wingcopter completed the 26-kilometer route in an average of 18 minutes, nearly twice as fast as ground-based transport. The use of Wingcopter drones could thus significantly speed up emergency medical care in rural areas and help save lives. 

The goal of Greifswald University Medical Center is to establish permanent flight connections between the medical center in Greifswald and hospitals in the surrounding area as soon as possible. Drones are also to be used to support first responders on site, for example by quickly transporting medications, transfusions, or emergency medical equipment such as defibrillators to the scene of an accident.

"We are continuing to work towards the goal of shortening long distances in the region for the benefit of our population. Key to this is the integration of new technologies into existing rescue and care systems as part of comprehensive care concepts," emphasizes Dr. Mina Baumgarten, project manager of the MV|LIFE|DRONE-Challenge project, adding: "The next step on the way to realizing this must be to transfer tests into longer-term use under real-world circumstances; the conditions in the region are ideal for this.”

Leipzig/Halle Airport annual freight volume exceeds 1 million tonne in August

 Leipzig/Halle Airport annual freight volume exceeds 1 million tonne in August

The volume of freight handled at Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ) reached the figure of 1,025,187 tonnes and already exceeded the 1 million mark in the month of August since the beginning of the year. This represents an increase in the amount of cargo of 18.4 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.

Approximately 125,050 tonnes were processed at the airport in August alone this year. That represents an increase of 15.1 percent in comparison with the same month in the previous year.

The total amount of freight handled in the previous year set a new record at more than 1.38 million tonnes. The number of air cargo flights rose by 25.8 percent to more than 40,000 during the first eight months of the year.   

Leipzig/Halle Airport is one of the cargo airports with the dynamic growth rates in the world. LEJ is the first airport in Germany to have registered more flights in August than before the Covid-19 crisis (August 2019). 

Overall, more than 80 cargo airlines fly to the airport and operate a network of routes, which covers more than 270 destinations around the globe. The airport registers as many as 1,300 take-offs and landings for cargo flights every week.

More than 10,800 people are currently employed at Leipzig/Halle Airport or at local companies and public authorities based there. This figure includes about 8,200 working in the freight handling, cargo airline, logistics and freight forwarding segments alone.

DHL delivers eight original James Bond vehicles for exhibition

 DHL delivers eight original James Bond vehicles for exhibition

DHL have transported eight original film vehicles from Norwich, Norfolk in the UK across the Atlantic to Los Angeles, USA. The vehicles will be the main attraction of an exhibition at the Petersen Automotive Museum. DHL's logistics experts have provided transport and logistics solutions for the production of James Bond films since Casino Royale in 2006. 

"The special features of this shipment were a relatively tight schedule, the high value of the vehicles, and the temporary import permit, for which no import duties and taxes are due. In addition, there were also some challenges regarding the handling, as two cars - including the famous Aston Martin used for the spectacular rollover stunt in Casino Royale - could only be moved using tailor-made skids. We have teams of expert who specialize in such individual issues, be it handling or customs regulations, and guarantee a smooth process across national borders", says Thomas Hofmann, Head of Auto-Mobility at DHL Global Forwarding.

In total, DHL's automotive logistics experts were responsible for the safe transport of five Aston Martins, two BMWs and one Lotus Esprit S1, known to fans as Wet Nellie from The Spy Who Loved Me. DHL also transported Bond's iconic silver-grey Aston Martin DB5, as well as the Aston Martin DBS. 

"We are grateful to partner with DHL for the transport of these one-of-a-kind James Bond vehicles," said Terry L. Karges, Executive Director of the Petersen Automotive Museum. "This exhibition is one of the most high-profile undertakings we've had yet and they have gone above and beyond the call of action."

The vehicles were first brought to Houston in Texas (USA) by sea freight and then travelled via road to Los Angeles. To ensure that the vehicles arrived safely, DHL used special enclosed car carriers with air suspension. The vehicles were transported using DHL's Sustainable Marine Fuel Service FCL GoGreen Plus, making the delivery climate neutral.

Lufthansa Cargo offers CO2-neutral freight shipments

 Lufthansa Cargo offers CO2-neutral freight shipments

Lufthansa Cargo announces that its customers can opt for CO2-neutral transport of their freight. In addition to the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), the company also offers certified offsetting projects to avoid or compensate for the fossil CO2 emissions generated during airfreight transport from the outset. 

The add-on service "Sustainable Choice" is available on all routes with a freighter segment, for all product groups and all customers worldwide. Customers can offset or show the corresponding CO2 emissions proportionately in their own carbon balance.

"For the transport of airfreight, we are striving for 100 percent CO2 neutrality. However, we will only achieve this ambitious goal together with our customers. Therefore, we are very pleased to now be able to offer everyone a way to contribute to reducing their own carbon footprint," said Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo. "Already in recent months, we have observed an increasing demand for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. These requests confirm to us that the use of sustainable aviation fuels is an essential component for climate neutrality in airfreight."

Lufthansa Cargo currently offers two options for transporting shipments more sustainably. When using Sustainable Aviation Fuel, a certain amount of sustainable bio-fuel is mixed with conventional kerosene, thus avoiding fossil CO2emissions that normally occur when conventional kerosene is burned. In addition, further CO2 emissions that arise, for example, during the production and transport of SAF, are offset through compensation with environmentally friendly climate protection projects. The complete CO2 neutrality of a freight shipment can be achieved either by combining both options or by 100 percent compensation in climate protection projects.

Already during the booking process, customers can use a CO2 calculator to determine the CO2 footprint for each shipment flying with Lufthansa Cargo. Possible routes can be compared with regard to their CO2 emissions. Customers can then choose to have their freight transported CO2-neutrally for an additional charge as part of their booking. The Sustainable Choice service also includes the option for customers to have a CO2 report drawn up afterwards to provide an overview of all the CO2 emissions of the shipments they have transported. 

As early as November 2020, Lufthansa Cargo carried out the first 100 percent CO2-neutral commercial freight rotation from Frankfurt to Shanghai and back together with DB Schenker. Since April 2021, weekly CO2-neutral freighter connections between Frankfurt and Shanghai have also been available. The freight crane is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and actively promotes five selected sustainability goals, including "Climate Action. In addition, Lufthansa Cargo supports the ambitious CO2 reduction goals of the Lufthansa Group: By 2030, the CO2 balance is to be reduced by half compared to 2019 - the cargo airline is working to reach this milestone even sooner. In the long term, climate neutrality is the common goal.

By the end of 2021, Lufthansa Cargo will have converted its entire fleet to freighters of the type Boeing 777F - currently the most modern and efficient freighter with the best environmental balance. To reduce the fleet's carbon footprint even further, all B777Fs will be equipped with Sharkskin technology from 2022.

DP World to invest in London Gateway Logistics Hub

DP World to invest in London Gateway Logistics Hub

DP World is set to invest in London Gateway logistics hub to increase supply chain resilience and create more capacity for the world’s largest vessels.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said, “As a central pillar of Thames Freeport, London Gateway’s new fourth berth will allow even more customers to benefit from world class ports and logistics, with unrivalled global connectivity, on the doorstep of Europe’s largest consumer market. 

“DP World plans to be at the heart of Britain’s trading future and this investment shows that we have the ambition and the resources to boost growth, support businesses, create jobs and improve living standards.”

Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, will be guest of honour at today’s commercial launch of Thames Freeport at the Savoy Hotel in London. 

He added, “Our new freeports will create national hubs of trade, innovation and commerce, and attract more investment to regenerate communities and level up the UK.

“Bringing ports and business together to invest in their regions is crucial to the Freeports success story – that’s why I’m thrilled that DP World is investing £300 million to support Thames Freeport – creating new opportunities, boosting growth and supporting local jobs.”

Kenya Airways sign up for IATA’s gender equality pledge

 Kenya Airways sign up for IATA’s gender equality pledge

All 19 SkyTeam member airlines have signed up to the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) 25by2025 initiative, as the global airline alliance advocates for greater gender diversity in the industry. The 25by2025 initiative is a voluntary commitment launched in 2019 that seeks to increase the number of women holding senior positions and in under-represented areas by 25 percent or up to a minimum of 25 percent by 2025.

In 2020, after the International Women's Day celebration, Kenya Airways was the first major aviation signatory in Africa of the IATA 25by2025 Initiative. 

The 2019 Stitching Equileap Foundation Report names Kenya Airways among the 5 leading companies with outstanding commitment to workplace gender equality in Kenya. According to the report, six companies (10 percent) have gender balance at the senior management level, with Kenya Airways named the only airline.

Speaking on the initiative, Kenya Airways chief executive officer Allan Kilavuka said, "KQ aims to be a model to Africa and the world. We share the common belief that leveraging the private sector will shape and transform Africa's future and that women must be a part of it. This belief fits well in our purpose of the "Sustainable development of Africa" and aligns well with Sustainable Development Goal No 5, which promotes gender equality."

"Delivering on the commitment to improve diversity and inclusion will strengthen the airline and the entire industry. Being the first major African airline to join 25by2025 sends a signal about the determination of the aviation industry to close the gender gap. And it sets a positive example for others to follow as we continue to expand this critical industry commitment across the IATA membership and beyond," said Willie Walsh, IATA's Director-General.

As of 1st July 2021, female employees across the network made up 39.3 percent of the workforce, with 1,370 women out of the 3,482 employees. As part of the airline's strategy to continue growing the number of women in underrepresented jobs such as pilots, technical, and operations, Kenya Airways continues to train women on leadership every year through the IATA Women in Leadership development training. We are also working to mainstream gender diversity in our talent and leadership development. Kenya Airways has also revamped its internal mentoring programs to be more comprehensive and will continue dialogue on gender balance and women in leadership. We see the participation of our male colleagues as critical to the support and success of our diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda, specifically increasing gender representation across the different areas in the company. 

"The IATA's 25by2025 initiative is vital for the airline, something that mirrors the variety of our customers and is a critical element in our long-term diversity agenda. At Kenya Airways, our ultimate goal will be to be at 50% gender representation as part of a comprehensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion agenda. We continue to work closely with the industry to close the gender gap and ensure greater representation for women in our industry," said Evelyne Munyoki, Chief People Officer at Kenya Airways.

MASkargo and cargo.one announce global partnership

 MASkargo and cargo.one announce global partnership

As part of its digitalization agenda, MASkargo, a Malaysian Cargo Airline, has entered into a distribution agreement with e-booking platform cargo.one. The aim is to bring a smooth digital booking experience to MASkargo’s customers and to expand its presence in key cargo markets. 

 “At MASkargo, our strategy is to deliver a first-class customer experience by way of a continuous innovative digital solutions cycle. We are delighted to partner with cargo.one to augment our domestic digital offering to a premium global presence by bringing our real-time rates and capacities to this innovative and rapidly growing online booking platform”, Mark Jason Thomas, chief commercial officer at MASkargo, explains. 

Freight forwarders using cargo.one will soon have access to MASkargo’s real-time rates and capacity at the click of a button and receive immediate confirmation of their bookings. cargo.one will benefit from MASkargo’s network into Asia and Australia, as it delivers on its global expansion strategy. 

“Over the past months, cargo.one has already helped shape our strategy and I believe the team’s expertise and analytics will be crucial in supporting our shift towards a digital-first business model going forward. The platform will increase the airline’s service quality and efficiency, and the ongoing partnership support and access to data will also enhance MASkargo’s ability to manage digital sales channels and drive market relevance”. 

“Not only will we reach a larger booking audience by extending our network visibility to cargo.one’s strong global user base, but we are also keen to benefit from being at the forefront of the platform’s imminent expansion into new markets, particularly within Asia”, Mark Jason Thomas confirms. 

“In line with our Asia expansion strategy, we aim to partner with forward-thinking and customer-centric airlines. We are therefore especially pleased to welcome MASkargo as our latest airline partner, with its strong Asia and Oceania network,” says Moritz Claussen, Managing Director of cargo.one. 

“We look forward to working with the MASkargo team in serving their customers’ needs in the best way possible and developing the future of digital cargo in Asia together.”

MASkargo and cargo.one are now working on integrating their systems and look forward to bringing MASkargo capacities to forwarders before the end of 2021.

Google Cloud brings supply chain twin solution for end-to-end visibility

 Google Cloud brings supply chain twin solution for end-to-end visibility

Google Cloud announced the launch of Supply Chain Twin, a purpose-built industry solution that lets companies build a digital twin--a virtual representation of their physical supply chain--by orchestrating data from disparate sources to get a more complete view of suppliers, inventories, and other information.

Google Cloud also announced the Supply Chain Pulse module that can be used with Supply Chain Twin to provide real-time dashboards, advanced analytics, alerts on critical issues like potential disruptions, and collaboration in Google Workspace.

The majority of companies do not have complete visibility of their supply chains, resulting in retail stock outs, aging manufacturing inventory, or weather-related disruptions. In 2020, out-of-stock items alone cost the retail industry an estimated $1.14 trillion. 

"Siloed and incomplete data is limiting the visibility companies have into their supply chains." said Hans Thalbauer, managing director, supply chain and logistics solutions, Google Cloud. "The Supply Chain Twin enables customers to gain deeper insights into their operations, helping them optimize supply chain functions—from sourcing and planning, to distribution and logistics." 

With Supply Chain Twin, companies can bring together data from multiple sources, all while requiring less partner integration time than traditional API-based integration. Some customers have seen a 95 percent reduction in analytics processing time, with times for some dropping from 2.5 hours down to eight minutes. Data types supported in Supply Chain Twin include: Enterprise business systems: Better understand operations by integrating information such as locations, products, orders, and inventory from ERPs and other internal systems.

Supplier and partner systems: Gain a more holistic view across businesses by integrating data from suppliers, such as stock and inventory levels, and partners, such as material transportation status.

Public sources: Understand your supply chain in the context of the broader environment by connecting contextual data from public sources, such as weather, risk, or sustainability-related data, including public datasets from Google.

Once customers are up-and-running on Supply Chain Twin, the Supply Chain Pulse module enables further visibility, simulations, and collaboration features:

Real-time visibility and advanced analytics: Drill down into key operational metrics with executive performance dashboards that make it easier to view the status of the supply chain.

Alert-driven event management and collaboration across teams: Set mobile alerts that trigger when key metrics reach user-defined thresholds, and build shared workflows that allow users to quickly collaborate in Google Workspace to resolve issues.

AI-driven optimization and simulation: Trigger AI-driven algorithm recommendations to suggest tactical responses to changing events, flag more complex issues to the user, and simulate the impact of hypothetical situations.

"At Renault, we are innovating on how we run efficient supply chains. Improving visibility to inventory levels across our network is a key initiative," said Jean-François Salles, Supply Chain Global Vice President at Renault Group. "By aggregating inventory data from our suppliers and leveraging Google Cloud's strength in organizing and orchestrating data, with solutions like the Supply Chain Twin we expect to achieve a holistic view. We aim to work with Google tools to manage both stock, improve forecasting, and eventually optimise our fulfillment."

"End-to-end visibility across the entire supply chain is a top priority for supply chain professionals to optimize planning, real-time decision making and monitoring," said Simon Ellis, Program Vice President at IDC. "Google Cloud's approach to a digital twin of the supply chain spans internal, external, and partner data networks without complex integrations. This approach can help organizations to better plan, monitor, collaborate and respond at scale."

Customers are deploying Supply Chain Twin via Google Cloud partners

Retailers, manufacturers, CPG firms, healthcare networks, and other logistics-heavy companies can deploy Supply Chain Twin by working directly with Google Cloud's partner ecosystem. For example, system integration partners such as Deloitte, Pluto7, and TCS, can help customers integrate the Supply Chain Twin and relevant datasets into their existing infrastructure.

In addition, data partners, such as Climate Engine, Craft, and Crux can augment Supply Chain Twin by providing geospatial, sustainability, and risk management data sets for a more complete macroenvironment view. Finally, application partners such as Anaplan, Automation Anywhere, and project44 can provide information from their platforms into Supply Chain Twin to help customers better understand product lifecycles, track shipments across carriers, predict ETAs, and more.

Atlas Air and DHL Express extend freighter agreement

 Atlas Air and DHL Express extend freighter agreement

Atlas Air announced its contract extensions with DHL Express to continue operating 20 freighter aircraft in support of their express and e-commerce markets. The agreements are built on the long-standing strategic partnership between Atlas Air Worldwide and DHL, which began in 2008. It also includes DHL acquiring 49 percent of AAWW’s subsidiary, Polar Air Cargo, as well as a long-term agreement for six dedicated 747-400Fs to operate on key Trans-Pacific routes.

Under these extended agreements Atlas Air will continue to operate four different aircraft platforms for DHL Express, including:

Six Boeing 747-8 freighters

Two Boeing 747-400 freighters

Eight Boeing 777-200 freighters

Four Boeing 767-300 freighters

“DHL Express is a global leader in express and e-commerce, and it is our privilege to contribute to their continued success,” said John W. Dietrich, president and chief executive officer of Atlas Air Worldwide.  “These agreements build on our successful 13-year partnership. We look forward to continuing to provide DHL Express with critical capacity through our modern, fuel-efficient fleet. As this agreement indicates, Atlas is capitalizing on the strong global airfreight market conditions as we deepen relationships with our customers.”

“We are pleased to extend our long-standing and valued partnership with Atlas Air,” said Rob Hyslop, Executive Vice President Aviation at DHL Express. “Continuing to utilize Atlas and its global operating capabilities enables us to best serve our customers and their continued high demand for fast international shipping, fueled by the megatrend of e-commerce and the overall importance of global trade.”

Tim Strauss leaves Amerijet, Vic Karjian returns as interim CEO

 Tim Strauss leaves Amerijet, Vic Karjian returns as interim CEO

In a major development in the air-cargo industry, Vic Kajian, Amerijet International Inc’s Executive Chairman will be taking over as the interim CEO replacing incumbent chief executive Tim Strauss from September 18.

Strauss will be hanging up his boots after just a year of his appointment to the role and is expected to serve as an advisor to the company through the balance of the year until a new CEO is found. The change at the top hasn’t been without controversy after the Miami-based airline that is owned by private equity firm ZS Fund did not give any reason for the replacement. A report in FreightWaves claimed, citing unnamed sources, that the move could be owing to Karijian’s encroachment into Strauss’s area of responsibility which prompted Strauss’s pushback and may have resulted in his exit from the company.

Incidentally, Strauss’s appointment as CEO last year on August 17, along with the carrier’s Europe expansions were seen as the first step to Amerijet’s long term vision to becoming a global air cargo carrier of choice for its customers.

In an exclusive chat with STAT Media Group this June in an episode of Cargo Masterminds, Strauss called his appointment ‘a unique and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’. He said, “The opportunity with Amerijet came forward and it was unique and it had an opportunity to take everything I have learnt over my 36 years in the industry and put it together in a spot that was ready to boom and in a company that was ready to renew itself and look at a long-term focus.”

He had also indicated that the role as Amerijet CEO had meant a bigger chance at turning things around as compared to his old role as he said, “As the head of cargo at a passenger airline, you’re 2 percent to 4 percent of the revenue of the company, so you don’t always get to pull the trigger on decision you’d like to make and push the company where you want to go even though we were very fast growing. We grew 80% in my time there at Air Canada, but you still don’t quite have your hands on the controls.”

Interestingly, Vic Kajian was Amerijet’s CEO before Strauss and led the company through its receipt of Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS) certification in March 2020 and expansion into ACMI and CMI charter operations. ETOPS is a certification that permits twin engine aircraft to fly routes which may, at the time, be 60 minutes flying time from the nearest airport that is suitable for an emergency landing.

SAL and Gulf Air sign cargo logistics partnership agreement

 SAL and Gulf Air sign cargo logistics partnership agreement

SAL Saudi Logistics Services Company has joined hands with Gulf Air – the Kingdom of Bahrain’s national carrier – to provide ground handling solutions to their fleet at all KSA main airports. The Saudi company said that this 7-year agreement is another step towards enhancing the expansion plans and strategic relations with diverse airlines with high cargo operational capacity.

SAL’s CEO Hesham Alhussayen noted that the agreement represents years of mutual cooperation in both passenger and cargo flights with Gulf Air, and that the Bahraini leading airline will benefit from SAL’s wide range of logistics services and offerings. He highlighted the pivotal role SAL plays in facilitating cargo movement at all main airports where the company utilizes its full logistic capacity to effectively serve airlines through its full-fledged modern facilities according to high international standards. 

Gulf Air’s Acting chief executive officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi welcomed the partnership and noted that such agreements will strengthen its presence and expansion into important markets such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

SAL is a specialized ground handling company and in 2020 only it handled a total of 900,000 kg for Gulf Air in all main airports in KSA. SAL provides premium ground handling services for multiple airlines at Saudi Arabia’s local airports and logistic support with cargo chain solutions.