Logistics News ME - April 2018

F ly i n g v e h i c l e s

Commercial vehicles

Viewpoint

VIMANA reworks the global airspace market

Latest trucking trends in the region

The corporate barriers of adopting technology

Connecting trade professionals with industry intelligence

April 2018

From stable to airport, and to the racetrack - the art of transporting horses

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Contents

Contents

A p r i l 2018

Website: www.CBNme.com/logistics-news twitter: @logisticsnewsme Facebook: /LogisticsNewsME

April 2018

R e a d a l l t h e l at e s t i s s u e s o n I s s u u

Start 12 | News 20 | Op-ed

FedEx Express comments on crossborder e-commerce

Features 22 | Cover story The tale and trade of transporting racehorses

30 | Commercial vehicles

Latest trends in the global and regional sector

34 | Trucks

Mercedes-Benz launches the new Actros and Arocs

38 | Technology

VIMANA is a gamechanger in the autonomous aerial vehicle business

44 | Event review

Highlights from Middle East Rail 2018

48 | Viewpoint The managerial implications of technological innovations

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52 | Supplier News 54 | Diary Logistics News ME | April 2018 | 3

Regional News

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A p r i l 2018

E d i to r ’ s L e t t e r

M a r c h 2 018

A note from the editor

Pa r o m i t a D e y paromita@bncpublishing.net |

W

@paromitadey1 |

hen Godolphin’s Thunder Snow crossed the winning mark during the Dubai World Cup 2018, the entire stadium erupted into a thunderous applause. Standing amidst the crowd, I couldn’t stop myself from admiring the Irish veteran and how the equine dominated other favourites. The races might be a spectacle to watch but what goes on behind-thescenes is no mean feat.

We delved into the logistics and transportation of these marvellous horses from different parts of the world to the venue, and the journey left our team completely spellbound. Each equine passenger has an allocated baggage allowance, by weight – however this includes the horse itself! And then there is water, hay, 30kg shavings as bedding, water buckets, feed buckets, tack bags (for saddles and bridles), rugs and any spare equipment. Horses are also provided with in-flight wear, such as a light rug and protective leg

linkedin.com/in/paromita-dey

gear. More so, every horse has his passport, and is microchipped.

Complete care is taken during the entire journey and the beautiful creatures travel in utmost luxury. Their legs are taken extra care of since they are fragile and those are its biggest assets. Emirates SkyCargo has been successfully transporting the horses since the races began and our cover story for this month talks to the specialists for more in-depth details.

Not to forget, this issue also presents highlights from the region’s largest rail exhibition and conference, Middle East Rail, which bought all the major railway players to contribute to the Middle East rail network. Companies like XRail, Alstom, Hyperloop One, and many more highlighted their contributions towards designing, building, and maintaining the future growth of the sector.

Enjoy reading!

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Editor Paromita Dey paromita@bncpublishing.net Reporter Mehak Srivastava mehak@bncpublishing.net Art Director Aaron Sutton aaron@bncpublishing.net Marketing Manager Mark Anthony Monzon mark@bncpublishing.net Photography Hayder Al Zuhairi Cover photo by Gabriel Nascimento.

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Building the UAE’s highest road Jebel Jais is part of the Hajar Mountain Range in Ras Al Khaimah.

It is the highest peak in the UAE. And for centuries unreachable by most.

For 8 years, a fleet of Volvo FMX Trucks carried a total of more than 5.5 million cubic meters around the clock building a 36 km road that goes up more than 1910 meters. The rugged terrain, steep slopes and loose rock were not a challenge for Volvo FMX, which is built tough for such conditions. That is why more than 30 of our Volvo FMX trucks completed this ambitious road project without any major breakdown.

To watch the full video please visit www.volvotrucks.ae/jebeljais

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Regional News

Regional News A n u p dat e f r o m a r o u n d t h e r e g i o n Technology

DHL introduces mobile-friendly shipping application

DHL has unveiled MyDHL+, an industry-leading global shipping application in the UAE, which will bring new levels of speed and simplicity to the crossborder shipping process.

Shippers ranging from small businesses to large global corporations will be able to benefit from the intelligent, streamlined interface – which means considerably greater functionality than anything that DHL has previously offered.

MyDHL+ is mobile friendly that can be accessed on all mobile web platforms and integrates the functionality of 13 different applications on a single user-friendly platform. Once customers log in, they can take care of all their shipping tasks and get access to wider range of online logistics tools, without 12 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

needing to access several DHL web portals.

Praveen Sashi, senior director IT and Logistics, DHL said: “We are proud that the UAE is the first country in the world to launch the all new MyDHL+ online shipping tool. We have used feedback from thousands of our international shipping customers, and developed an efficient shipping platform that also provides customers with a simplified and seamless online experience. With the new tool, customers can be more productive and focus valuable time on building their business.”

Ryan Hunter, VP communications, DHL, said: “It was amazing to welcome our customers and partners to help us inaugurate and celebrate the global launch of

MyDHL+. DHL UAE is proud to be the first country globally to roll the system out. The feedback has been excellent so far, and with the development team incorporating so much customer input, we are confident it is a platform that will reduce customer effort and reinforce our leadership position.”

The new MyDHL+ is designed to be flexible, efficient, intuitive, and transparent. The designers put a premium on ease of use and state-of-the-art functionality. The goal was to save customers time and hassle – whether it’s a personal user shipping internationally for the first time, or a registered corporate user who relies on DHL services every day.

Shippers can customise their “dashboard” interface

to put the most important information and tools right at their fingertips – helping them quickly create exports and imports, view rates, get quotes and determine shipment status.

Users can also customise quick links, view shipment history, and more.

Key features include single platform for all steps and processes in international shipping; clean, modern new design; simplified control for corporate shipping environments, intuitive interface that quickly recognises and applies user preferences; built-in tools for calculating rates and transit times; real-time shipmenttracking tools; integrated address books and directories; and generation of customs documentation, with saved information for repeated use. www.cbnme.com

A p r i l 2018 Achievements

Emirates SkyCargo receives Cargo iQ certification

Emirates SkyCargo was presented with its Cargo iQ certification at the World Cargo Symposium in Dallas, Texas, USA. SGS, Cargo iQ’s nominated external audit company, audited Emirates SkyCargo’s internal processes, including the measures taken by the carrier to minimise or eliminate shipment errors and provide customers with more visibility on the status of their shipments.

Emirates SkyCargo became a member of Cargo iQ in 2016,

and integrated Cargo iQ shipment cycle management standards as the basis for its live shipment planning and tracking of cargo.

Ariaen Zimmerman, executive director, Cargo iQ, remarked: “The way Emirates SkyCargo has integrated the Cargo iQ Master Operating Plan with their internal procedures is a clear example of how implementing our standards offers so much more than a mere monthly report, and can actually lead to better

process and shipment control.”

Emirates SkyCargo has invested in setting up and operating a dedicated Cargo Operations Control Centre (COCC) which monitors the status of shipments in real time. COCC uses live shipment data and Cargo iQ metrics to track the shipment’s journey against its route map and delivery commitment created at the time of booking.

Nabil Sultan, Emirates divisional senior vice president, Cargo, commented: “Over the last two years, we have worked on integrating the vision of Cargo iQ into our processes. Getting the Cargo iQ certification and the setting up of our 24/7 Cargo Operations Control Centre are the first steps in a journey where we can be more transparent and at the same time more proactively support our customer promises.”

The Cargo iQ route map is integrated into the framework of the COCC, ensuring that the service promise and journey updates are exchanged between Emirates SkyCargo and the customer.

The data Dubai Metro Route 2020

$3.19bn

Total value of the Dubai Metro Route 2020 project

15km

Expansion length of Route 2020 on the Red Line

11.8km Elevated Metro Line

3.2km

Underground metro line

April 2020 Estimated time of completion of Route 2020

ACCIONA and Gulermak JV are leading the civil engineering works for Route 2020, which accounts for approximately 50% of the project, while Alstom is carrying out the other half, which includes supplying 50 Metropolis trains and integrating the metro systems, and upgrading the existing metro line.

Quick news

DAFZA and Liaoning Chamber of Commerce UAE plan to increase collaboration between the two organisations to help expand bilateral trade and create investment opportunities with the Liaoning province in China.

Emirates Motor Company Daimler Commercial Vehicles (EMC-CV) will supply Khalfest with 15 6×6 trucks as part of a long-term plan to supply Mercedes-Benz and Titan trucks.

A.P. Moller – Maersk has transferred its shares in Maersk Oil to Total and as consideration received 97.5 million Total shares equalling $5.6bn as of 7 March 2018.

Oman’s Salalah Free Zone recently celebrated the laying of the foundation stone for Felix Pharmaceutical Industries’ plant with an investment of OMR140mn.

Logistics News ME | April 2018 | 13

Regional News

M a r c h 2 018

Digital air corridor initiated between India, Netherlands

Mumbai Airport, India, and Schiphol Airport, the Netherlands, along with their partners for cargo community systems, Kale Logistics Solutions and Cargonaut, have launched an initiative to create a digital air corridor between India and the Netherlands.

Through this trade facilitation initiative, the collaboratively created digital corridor will facilitate flow of information within the stakeholder chain and optimise cargo visibility across the stakeholder network. Following the signing, both companies will collaboratively develop a shared interface between their respective air cargo community systems.

This interface shall be capable of facilitating exchange of cargo status at each individual location, followed by interchange of actual shipment data. At any time, participants of the network will be in full control of their data. The initiative will help to reduce unnecessary administrative paperwork involved in shipment movement between the two countries, thus strengthening and easing cargo and data movement. This will enable both the countries to experience ease of shipment data exchange.

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14 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

Results

Agility reports $228mn net profit in 2017

Agility reported a net profit of KWD68.5mn for 2017, as against KWD59.1mn in the previous year, marking an increase of 16%. Revenue for the year reached KWD1.4bn and EBITDA was KWD135.2mn.

For the fourth quarter (Q4) 2017, Agility reported a net profit of KWD19.3mn, or 15.3 fils per share, an increase of 22.5% over Q4 2016. EBITDA for Q4 2017 was KWD37.6mn, an increase of 19.8%.

Tarek Sultan, Agility CEO and vice chairman, said: “In 2017, Agility posted another year of healthy growth and continued to plant the seeds for a future of sustainable growth. To reach our target of $800mn EBITDA by 2020, we remained focused on improving GIL’s performance and investing in our infrastructure companies. For every business in the group, 2017 was a critical year.”

Agility Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) revenue grew 14.3% to KWD1.06bn in 2017. The increase is

attributable to growth in the freight forwarding business and contract logistics. Full year net revenue grew 2.6%. Net revenue margins shrunk to 23.7% from 26.4% amid yield pressure across the industry.

In Q4, GIL revenue was KWD293mn, a 21.5% increase over Q4 2016. Air and ocean revenue were up 25% on air tonnage growth of 9.7% and a 12% increase in ocean TEUs. Contract logistics and specialties (Project Logistics and Fairs & Events) improved revenue 17.6% over the same period in 2016.

Fourth-quarter net revenue increased 6%, but net revenue margins declined to 22.6% vs. 26% in Q4 2016, amid yield pressure throughout the freight forwarding industry.

Contract logistics continued its strong growth in Q4, primarily in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, aided by a combination of new customers and investments in new facilities. www.cbnme.com

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Regional News

Aviation

Gulf Air unveils five-year expansion strategy

Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf Air, has rolled out its new corporate strategy for 2018 and beyond, which includes major network expansion plans adding eight new routes into its regional network this year, besides boosting its fleet strength and offering best inclass products and services.

Unveiling its roadmap for the future, Gulf Air said the move is aimed at elevating the passenger experience, promoting the Kingdom’s tourism economy and bolstering its aviation, transport, tourism and business infrastructures, and the aviation industry as a whole.

The Bahraini national airline is planning a major network expansion coinciding 16 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

In the coming months, Gulf Air will be boosting its fleet strength with 39 new Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Five Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and two Airbus A320neo aircraft will enter service by year-end. with its new aircraft deliveries under the five-year strategy.

In India, its current operations to Delhi, Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, and Hyderabad will be enhanced by additional flights to the South Indian cities of Bengaluru and Kozhikode.

Gulf Air will be launching services to the Saudi Arabian cities of Abha and Tubuk, thus complementing its current service to Dammam, Riyadh, Madinah, Jeddah, and Gassim.

Its operations to Egyptian capital Cairo will be supplemented by direct flights to Alexandria and flights to Sharm El Shaikh, with further operations to Baku in Azerbaijan and Casablanca in Morocco.

Zayed Bin Rashid Alzayani, the chairman of Gulf Air’s board of directors, said: “Gulf Air is an integral part of Bahrain’s economy and a critical component of its aviation infrastructure. Gulf Air’s future plans bode well for the country’s aviation,

transport and tourism infrastructures, and the Kingdom as a whole.”

Alzayani said reducing the losses was a vital step, together with the commitment to boost its services, fleet, and network with the opening of new strategic routes, and added: “This has been made possible due to the determination and passion of Gulf Air’s workforce and management team who are working towards realising this plan for the airline’s future.

CEO Krešimir Kučko commented on the new plan, saying the new hi-tech fleet along with the best in-class products and service will pave the way for Gulf Air’s growth and expansion. www.cbnme.com

A p r i l 2018

Integrated Logistics Company purchase all-terrain Terex cranes Terex Corporation announced successful delivery of two all-terrain Demag AC 300-6 cranes to Integrated Logistics Company (ILC), a leading logistics provider in the Middle East.

ILC said it plans to put both the cranes to work at several worksites across the Gulf region. The new six axle Demag AC 300-6 all-terrain crane, boasting a 300 tonne classification, features an 80m main boom. This new six-axle Demag crane claims to deliver strength, reach, and

versatility needed for accomplishing the most demanding jobs at lower operational and transporting costs than similar models in its class.

ILC CEO, Salah Al Huwaidi, said: “After much consideration, we selected the brand new Demag AC 300-6 because it combines long reach with a strong load chart to give us the perfect fit for efficient work at height or on reach, and it offers interchangeable components. We have always received fast, reliable service from Terex Cranes

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Etihad eliminates 195,000 tonnes CO2 emissions

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FAMCO introduces Euro 5 Volvo Trucks

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DP World wins 30-year concession in Congo

4

Far-Eye launches new supply chain suite

5

Continental launches new tyre safety features

– they really go above and beyond for us.”

ILC, a one-stop-shop for the heavy-lift cargo handling, are specialised in erection of heavy-lift, transportation of over dimensional cargo, alternative lifting services, engineering services,

end-to-end logistics solutions, supply of all type of construction, and lifting equipments to oil and gas, fertiliser and petrochemical plants, steel structure, refineries, wind turbines, power, and construction sector projects in the GCC countries.

Contracts

Changi airport loses King Abdul Aziz airport contract Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has terminated an agreement to allow a consortium comprising Singapore’s Changi Airports International and Saudi Naval Support Company to manage and operate the new King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah.

The decision comes just 10 months after the award of the concession to the consortium.

In a statement released

by GACA, the authority said: “Following an internal review, GACA has decided to undertake a new international tendering process for the contract to manage the new King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah. This review raised a number of fundamental concerns that has required GACA to revisit and terminate the award of the concession to the consortium.

The new King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah

All actions undertaken by GACA are in accordance with the terms of the executed concession agreement.”

GACA said it would communicate further information on the new tendering process in due course. It also added that the decision would not impact the projected timeline for the new airport, which is scheduled for a soft opening in May 2018.

Changi and its partner, the Saudi Naval Support Company, also confirmed in separate statements that the consortium had received a notice of termination from GACA. Logistics News ME | April 2018 | 17

Regional News

Quote Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain will impact trade to ensure sustainable growth and the demands of an increasingly competitive global market.

Only those who can adapt will succeed.”

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, DP World Group chairman and CEO

UPS expands worldwide express portfolio UPS has expanded its Worldwide Express package service to reach 124 countries and territories, providing an earlier delivery option for customers to more locations.

UPS now reaches more countries and territories with express midday than any other carrier, said the company in a statement.

The UPS Worldwide Express service offers guaranteed delivery in one to three business days by 10:30 a.m., noon, or 2 p.m., depending on the destination.

In 2017, UPS Express service was added to 7,000 new postal codes in 57 countries and territories.

Jim Barber, UPS international president, commented: “Our international value proposition is to offer a powerful global network and portfolio that connects buyers and sellers through seamless cross-border movements.

With the latest expansion of UPS Worldwide Express services, we are the industry leader in making this connection in 124 countries and territories, which comprise nearly 96% of the global gross domestic product, and 93% of real imports.”

UPS Worldwide Express service is part of the broader UPS Express portfolio, which offers international guaranteed time-of-day delivery options that include routine customs clearance.

18 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

M a r c h 2 018

Aviation

GE Aviation launches engine support centre in Dubai South

GE Aviation has opened its On Wing Support Center in Dubai South’s Aviation District Aerospace Supply Chain Facility, marking the expansion of the company’s engine repair services in one of the world’s leading aviation hubs.

GE has been operating its On Wing Support Center with Emirates Airlines since 2013, providing 24/7 full-service repair solutions for all GE and CFM engines that serve the Emirates fleet. With the new facility in Dubai South, the centre will serve all UAE carriers – including Emirates, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia, and flydubai – providing prompt maintenance and repair.

A significant addition to the comprehensive aviation ecosystem at Dubai South, which is designed to service the global aerospace industry, GE’s On Wing Support Centre can service up to 20 LEAP1A and LEAP-1B engines annually for quick turn workscopes, including hot

section module replacements, in addition to delivering ongoing service support for all other GE/CFM engine models with capability to service the GE9x engines in the future. It will also store spare engines, enabling GE Aviation to deliver them swiftly to its customers in the region.

The centre, set on an area of 1,500sqm, can undertake the entire breadth of services including remote borescope inspection, compressor top case repairs, fan case removal and installation, turbine module replacements and gearbox, and component replacements. It also offers 24-hour technician cover for Aircraft On Ground (AOG) services.

Every 30 seconds, an aircraft equipped with GE technology takes off in the Middle East and North Africa. With almost 2,900 jet engines in service, GE and its joint venture partners help fly two-thirds of all flights in the region. www.cbnme.com

Op-Ed

Opinion

Nathalie Amiel-Ferrault, vice president customer experience, FedEx Express MEISA, comments on business opportunities presented by cross-border e-commerce

Beyond borders

E The value of e-commerce transactions in the Middle East is expected to reach more than $69bn by 2020.”

20 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

-commerce has changed the way the world conducts business, and the rise in technology has made it easier to interact with customers quickly and across borders. With economies becoming more interconnected, large and small companies are now able to access markets that were previously unattainable.

With a growing shift in retail industry trends, driven by technology and access to the internet, consumers are now accessing most stores and brands through online platforms.

This shift provides entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to expand with new opportunities to sell their products or services to a much bigger international market.

The value of e-commerce transactions in the Middle East is expected to reach more than $69bn by 2020. Cross-border e-commerce trade volume in particular is expected to reach $26bn by 2020 in the Middle East and Africa. This trend is driven by consumers in the Middle East who choose to shop online because they believe it is cheaper than buying in stores, that there is a better selection of products to choose from, and because it is more convenient.

In the UAE, more than 60% of shoppers have purchased from other countries, primarily from the US (35%), Asia (30%), and Europe (25%). Free shipping is attractive and is increasingly expected by online shoppers in the UAE, in addition to the call for simple and safe payment methods.

E-commerce business owners should bear these factors in mind when developing the value chain for their online shopping process, as meeting customer-needs and expectations is critical to being successful. Beyond this, providing access to innovative products and services, paired with a seamless online experience and quality customer care is a winning formula.

Customer service, customer experience, and price are the three main ways for e-commerce retailers to distinguish themselves from the competition. In “Seizing the Cross-Border Opportunity,” a study commissioned on behalf of FedEx, Forrester Consulting surveyed online merchants and thousands of online consumers across 17 countries and markets to understand their concerns, their priorities, and what smart SMEs are doing to bridge that gap and remain competitive.

Below are some of the key research findings highlighting best practices for cross-border businesses in the digital age.

Understand your customer Many of the merchants Forrester Consulting surveyed began selling into global markets after orders were placed by international customers, who found them through search engines or online adverts. It is important that your business knows and understands who is buying your products in order to cater to their needs.

Online shopping behaviors are largely similar across the globe, but paying attention to those regional nuances can help a business understand its customers better. Middle East consumers, for example, are more likely to purchase from companies they can trust – and 32% of them will remain loyal to brands that inspire trust. They’re also keen on using social media channels as a means to learn more about the products they want to buy. This means that companies must look beyond their online retail business to develop a strong social presence.

Highlight what makes your products special Think about what you are offering to your customer. Is there something you can offer that nobody else can? Use this as your selling point to customers.

www.cbnme.com

A p r i l 2018

Cost is also a concern to the global e-commerce customer. Lower prices, and fewer duties or taxes were two of the main reasons given for seeking items across borders. However, 75% of participants rated availability as the most important aspect of their purchase.

Consumers are increasingly using their computers and smartphones to find goods that aren’t available where they live. For instance, 68% of respondents in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa considered uniqueness to be influential or very influential when it came time to making a purchase.

shoppers in another country, most small businesses are seen as unknown entities, which makes it harder to establish trust since they may be viewed as unestablished.

In order to leverage multi-brand marketplaces for your business, SMEs should consider selling their goods through a marketplace platform. Your homegrown venture can build off another company’s global reach, language, localisation, and country-focused marketing.

Shoppers get buyer protection, and on-site customer reviews provide an unbiased demonstration of just how good your products are.

Put global consumers at ease One major hurdle for SMEs is that most crossborder shoppers prefer multi-brand retailers or marketplaces. In a survey asking consumers to rank their preferred online shopping destinations for foreign goods, small or medium-size independent retailers were rated fourth, out of five options. This was mostly due to the limited seller reputation information. For example, for

Build your brand on excellent service Along with the business’ reputation, logistics are vital for cross-border transactions. Key deciding factors for choosing a product form a particular store included: delivery times, package tracking, as well as a simple return or exchange process.

When it comes to international shipping for

SMEs, delivery features that boost transparency and eliminate guesswork also go a long way to leveling the playing field.

Many of the successful merchants from the study worked closely with at least one major global logistics provider which provided guidance and assistance. This approach allowed businesses to easily offer those all-important add-ons like guaranteed delivery. However, the top merchants work with logistics providers to make life easier for business owners, by offering services like calculating duties and taxes, paperwork support, and streamlining cross-border returns.

The Forrester study shows that savvy online retailers can compete on the global stage. Small businesses create new businesses, drive and shape innovation, speed up structural changes in the economy, and introduce new competition – thereby contributing to productivity. In order to continue to grow and expand their markets, small businesses need to focus on their strengths while building on the expertise of established services.

Logistics News ME | April 2018 | 21

C o v e r S to ry

Transporting racehorses isn’t an easy job—but our experts aren’t horsing around with their adept skills

By Mehak Srivastava

+$17,422,600 Life-earnings of Arrogate, a renowned American Thoroughbred racehorse

Champion Horse Arrogate arriving in Dubai at horseramp DWC

H

orseracing is one of the heritage sports of Dubai. Dubai World Cup, a Thoroughbred horse race, has been held annually on the last Saturday of March, since 1996. Conducted by the Emirates Racing Authority, it was first held at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, and since 2010, at the iconic Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse. Winners can boast of a prize money of $10mn, and tens of thousands of people descend upon the

22 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

city every year to bask in the magnitude of this event.

The race itself falls under the banner of the Dubai World Cup Night, which includes seven other Thoroughbred races, and one Purebred Arabian race.

Undeniably, transporting the horses for the races is one of the biggest challenges. Complete care has to be ensured during the course of a journey, and the horses travel in utmost luxury, inside a stable that includes bedding,

hay, and plenty of water. Horses have very fragile legs and greatest care must be taken not to harm them when the animals are walked into the stall. Grooms make sure the horses are constantly fed and hydrated; they are clearly the stars of the event.

Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates airline, has been transporting some of the world’s best racehorses to Dubai for the global racing event.

“Emirates SkyCargo is no stranger to

A p r i l 2018

Photo by: Gabriel Nascimento

transporting horses,” says Hiran Perera, Emirates senior vice president, cargo planning & freighters. “We have been engaged in equine transport from 2002 onwards. Right from the process of boarding, we ensure that the welfare of the horses is kept in mind.”

In 2017, the freighter transported Arrogate, the world’s highest rated racehorse at the time. Arrogate was joined by stable companion Hoppertunity, another contender for the Dubai World Cup, for the journey from United States to Dubai. The carrier worked with the international equine transport specialist Janah Management Company, who also provided highly specialised grooms to accompany the horses, to ensure successful and safe transportation.

“Emirates SkyCargo transports all breeds of horses-- racing horses as well as horses for endurance races and other major equestrian events such as show jumping and dressage,” explains Perera. “Because of our reach and network, we transport horses all over the world— not just the Dubai World Cup but a number of major equestrian events around the world. Last year, we transported over 100 horses across three continents for the Longines Global Champions Tour. We had to operate 10 dedicated freighter flights with around 25 horse stalls per flight to make this happen.”

In June 2017, Emirates SkyCargo successfully transported some of the world’s best show jumping horses across three continents in the space of a month. The horses were transported from Liege in Belgium to compete in the first three legs of the Longines

www.cbnme.com

Did you know?

Each equine passenger has an allocated baggage allowance, by weight – however this includes the horse itself! Plus water, hay, 30kg shavings as bedding, water buckets, feed buckets, tack bags (for saddles and bridles), rugs and any spare equipment. Horses are also provided with in-flight wear, such as a light rug and protective leg gear. More so, every horse has his passport, and is microchipped.

-- Via Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI)

Global Champions Tour in Mexico City, Miami, and Shanghai in April 2017. Emirates SkyCargo worked closely with Peden Bloodstock, a specialist in horse transportation to manage the complex logistics involved in flying close to 100 horses across four different countries within the space of a few weeks.

Emirates SkyCargo transported 93 horses in two flights from Liege to Mexico City for the first segment of the journey between March 31 and April 1, 2017. The horses, each weighing

between 600-650kgs, were transported in Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 777F freighters along with 11 accompanying grooms and about 30 tonnes of equipment. The flights lasted close to 12 hours and the horses arrived at their destination a few days ahead of the start of the championships. Incidentally, all the winners of the CSI 5 level competitions at the Longines Global Champions Tour event in Mexico City had travelled on board Emirates SkyCargo.

The second leg of the tour involved a relatively shorter three hour hop for the 93 horses from Mexico City to Miami onboard Emirates SkyCargo freighters. At the close of the event in Miami, the horses were brought back to Liege on April 16, 2017.

For the next stop in the itinerary, the air cargo carrier transported 96 horses and 27 grooms in three separate flights from Liege to Shanghai on April 22-23, 2017 and back on May 1-2, 2017. The jet-setting horses had approximately one week on the ground at each destination to compete in tournaments before being transported to the next stop on their itinerary.

Emirates SkyCargo’s freighter hub at Dubai World Central airport includes dedicated areas for handling and airside ramps for horses, one of the very few global locations that hosts a permanent dedicated horse ramp. The carrier also provides custom designed horse stalls and trained and experienced expert personnel to ensure proper handling and welfare of the horses. Inside the cargo hold of the aircraft, the temperature is set to ensure maximum comfort and minimum stress for the horses.

Premium horses can also travel with profes-

Logistics News ME | April 2018 | 23

C o v e r S to ry

Dubai Royal Family Darley is HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al

Maktoum’s global thoroughbred stallion operation which currently stands stallions in six countries

around the world. Sheikh Mohammed purchased the headquarters Dalham Hall Stud in 1981.

Godolphin is the Maktoum family’s private

Thoroughbred horseracing stable, named after

the Godolphin Arabian, one of the three founding stallions of the modern Throroughbred. Head-

quartered in Dubai and established in 1992, the

operations are directly overlooked by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Godolphin

has won over 4,500 races worldwide, with horses trained in Dubai, United Kingdom, Australia,

America, Ireland, and France. Some of the best horses in the world wear the stable’s famous royal blue silks.

Sheikh Mohammed was honoured by the

racing industry in 2008 when he was presented

with the Cartier Award of Merit for his outstanding contribution to the thoroughbred industry.

2016 saw the global racing and breeding em-

pires of Sheikh Mohammed, Darley and Godol-

phin, merge into one seamless operation. Darley, under which all Sheikh Mohammed’s bloodstock

holdings formerly operated, is now used solely as a brand to promote stallions.

sional grooms and certified veterinarians onboard Emirates SkyCargo freighters.

“Our dedicated horse ramp at DWC ensures that the process of boarding is safe and stress free for the horses, from their transport vehicle to the horse stalls in the aircraft and vice versa,” remarks Perera.

“Once inside the aircraft, the interiors are maintained at a temperature that is comfortable for the horses. With our modern fleet of Boeing 777 freighter aircraft, we are able to make sure that the horses travel comfortably. We also allow for professionally trained and experienced horse grooms and vets to travel with the horses at the owner/ shipper’s request. This allows for constant attention and monitoring of the horse’s welfare even during the flight.”

Perera mentions that the horses tend to arrive anywhere between two to three months

24 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

prior to the event to even just a few days before the main race. It is a decision that is made by the stables that own the horses.

He says: “We ensure that all international regulations relating to the transport of live animals such as the IATA Live Animals Regulation (LAR) are followed to enable safe and secure transportation of horses. What we keep in mind when we are transporting horses is that the comfort and safety of the horses is of primary importance. We need to make sure that the horses are not fatigued because of the journey and arrive after a comfortable and quick journey ready to hit the ground running.” Emirates SkyCargo also helps move the horses back home post the races, and transports personal horses for individual customers.

Janah Management Company is a worldwide equine transportation company, formerly

known as Darley Transport. Based in Dalham Hall Stud, Janah transports over 5000 horses per year to destinations all over the globe making them one of the largest equine shippers in the world. Janah is the equine logistics department for the Maktoum family.

Henry Bullen, shipping director, Janah Management Company, comments: “Travelling any live animal is a challenge as there are so many variables that must be taken into consideration. The horses travelling for the Dubai World Cup are all elite athletes and it is vital, as with all horses, that they are transported as swiftly and smoothly as possible on the shortest route. There are limited aircraft that can carry horses and the schedules do not always meet our requirements, so we work closely with the airlines to charter aircraft and adjust schedules to ensure the smoothest journey for the horses.”

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A p r i l 2018

IATA Live Animals Regulations

Henry Bullen

Hiran Perera

Bullen explains that laws pertaining to animal transport differ greatly from country to country and region to region; things can be as simple as filing a health certificate, or as complex as months of quarantine and various blood and vaccination requirements.

“Horses must meet strict import health requirements for entry into the UAE,” says Bullen. “Prior to shipment, the horses are vaccinated for equine influenza and are tested for a number of equine diseases. They are monitored by vets prior to export to ensure that they are fit and healthy.

“Within 48 hours of shipment, a vet will inspect them and complete an export health certificate which has been agreed between the country of origin and the UAE; this must travel with the horses.” Upon arrival in the UAE, the horses are quarantined and monitored by vets and the quarantine team.

IATA’s Live Animals Regulations (LAR) is the worldwide standard for transporting live animals by commercial airlines. Whether it is a pet, an animal transported for zoological or agricultural purposes, or for any other reason, the objective of the LAR is to ensure all animals are transported safely and humanely by air. The 42nd edition of the regulations came into effect on 1 January 2016.

For horses in particular, IATA has several rules and procedures, pertaining to: • Container requirements, stall configurations, and ventilation • Qualified attendants, with skills to administer tranquilisers or perform euthanasia • Transporting mares and foals together or in close proximity • Protection of legs, as they are highly sensitive • Adequate feeding and watering; avoid tidbits • Ensuring that the horses are transported facing forwards or backwards to the direction of flight

Horse ramp at Dubai World Central

Logistics News ME | April 2018 | 25

Av i at i o n

A p r i l 2018

Soaring growth

T

IATA forecasts a rise in cargo carried to 62.5 million tonnes in 2018

he International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association representing approximately 275 commercial airlines worldwide, accounting for more than 83% of total air traffic. The organisation develops global standards and tools, offers financial services and industry solutions, drives transformation projects, creates partnerships, and runs campaigns, advocacy and outreach activities.

In its agenda ‘Cargo Strategy 2018’, IATA discusses air cargo trends and its impact on the global economy.

Air transport is vital for trade, particularly

26 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

trade in components, which is a major part of cross border trade today. IATA forecasts a rise in cargo carried to 62.5 million tonnes in 2018 (+4.5% on the 59.9 million tonnes in 2017) representing less than 1% of world trade by volume, but over 35% by value. The value of goods carried by airlines is expected to exceed $6.2tn in 2018, representing 7.4% of world GDP. Air cargo is essential to many facets of modern life. Moving perishable goods from one side of the world to the other would not be possible without air transport. The pharmaceutical industry relies on air transport for its speed and efficiency in transporting high-value, time, and temperature sensitive

cargo, particularly vaccines. $13.4bn is spent worldwide on temperature-controlled biopharma logistics. By 2021, it is estimated that this will rise to $16.6bn.

In today’s world, carriage of live animals by air is considered the most humane and expedient method of transport over long distances. Furthermore, most people have personal electronic devices that were built using a global supply chain linked by air.

Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, and other e-commerce companies rely on the express delivery services made possible by aviation to get those devices, and so much more, to their customers. Transport of letters

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Richard Gale, air cargo sales director, DHL Express – EEMEA comments “In relative terms, the cargo market is in a good place right now and markets are strong and there is no indication there will be a slowdown. Volumes from Asia remain high; Europe has recovered over recent years as well. For the Middle East, despite competition being high, volumes remain strong.”

Technology

decreased from 340 to 328 billion letters globally, whereas the number of postal parcels grew from 6.7 to 7.4 billion. The best example is China’s famous “single’s day” where in just one day, online shoppers bought goods worth $17.8bn, representing 657 million packages, and air transport plays an essential role in their delivery. In 2016, online retail sales only represented 7.6% of global sales, which shows a huge potential for growth in the years to come.

The cargo business continues to benefit from a strong cyclical upturn in volumes, with some recovery in yields. Volumes are expected to grow by 4.5% in 2018 (down from the 9.3% growth of 2017). The boost to cargo volumes in 2017 was a result of companies needing to restock inventories quickly to meet unexpectedly strong demand. This led cargo volumes to grow at twice the pace of the expansion in world trade (4.3%).

Cargo yields are expected to improve by 4.0% in 2018 (slower than the 5.0% in 2017).

While restocking cycles are usually short-lived, the growth of e-commerce is expected to support continued momentum in the cargo business beyond the rate of expansion of world trade in 2018. Cargo revenues will continue to do well in 2018, reaching $59.2bn (up 8.6% from 2017 revenues of $54.5bn).

Technology is and continues to be an ever-increasing part of our cargo business. The available technology is advancing, and our customers continue to demand higher visibility and traceability on their enroute cargo.

Pressure on visibility and cargo check pointing continue, and the overall demands on shipment visibility are significantly higher now than ever before.

Mobile technology and the expectation of real time information in the palm of your hand 24/7 will continue to increase.

Piece Identification (piece ID) is the next vital step in increasing shipment visibility and pushing the boundaries of what we, as the operator know about the cargo in our possession, as well as giving the customer absolute visibility on what’s moving where, down to piece level. We are working tirelessly to have piece ID as an absolute standard throughout our network.

Additionally, Electronic Airway bill (eAWB) for example, as well as other paperless technology is currently being embraced.

The cargo community is generally a long way behind an integrator type set up, where lots of manual pieces of paperwork & invoices still accompany cargo movements. We need to move away from cumbersome set ups of this nature, where physical pieces of paper can potentially be the achilles heel of cargo movement. By embracing technology and working with local authorities we can dramatically improve the customer experience and ultimately make gains on end to end transit performance.

Drones & Hyperloop

The introduction of drone technology will undoubtedly revolutionise logistics. That said, it may not have the same impact in the general cargo environment. Cargo by nature has a very different profile to your traditional e-commerce shipment where drone technology brings in benefits. You would need a pretty big drone to deliver an aircraft engine to a user. So, I do not see a significant need for drone deliveries in the cargo environment.

As for Hyperloop, it is indeed an interesting concept. We all have a corporate and social responsibility to reduce our carbon footprint and have less of an environmental impact on the world we live in. At DHL, we are working hard to reduce our carbon footprint and have made commitments to become carbon neutral by 2050. Will Hyperloop be a success? I think in relation to some very specific point-to-point movements it can work, but cargo logistics is a complicated process and having the ability to access 220 countries worldwide with one singular system is a significant challenge.

Air transportation will have a place for a long while yet.

Read the complete agenda by IATA on www.iata.org

28 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

www.cbnme.com

Commercial Vehicles

Trucks & Trends

Trends like autonomous trucking and electric-mobility continue to impact the commercial vehicle industry—but keeping customers happy is just as important

By Mehak Srivastava

P

ut cleanly by Kivanc Arman, regional director for Automotive Aftermarket, Turkey, Iran, and Middle East at Bosch, the trucking sector is currently witnessing some interesting developments.

“Electric vehicles are being developed at a faster pace than expected, as their motors have fewer moving parts, require less maintenance, and generally have a longer lifespan,” elaborates Arman. “Autonomous transportation technologies are also set to make a mark in this sector. Although self-driving vehicles have their benefits, the downside is likely to be a loss of trucking jobs.”

He also adds that in terms of the workforce, driver shortages will make many trucking companies not only explore automation to a greater degree, but also look to millennials to fill the gap and various ways of incentivising them.

“At Bosch, we are continuously striving to innovate, with research and development built into our DNA. In 2015, we raised R&D expenditure to EUR6.4bn, and for the past five years, we have spent no less than 8.1% of our revenues on R&D. We even have a dedicated research and advance engineering campus in Renningen, Germany. It hosts over 1,500 creative minds, working on accelerating innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration, mainly for microelectronics and software.”

Electrification is burgeoning and to that end, the Nikola Motor Company and Bosch have developed the world’s first powertrain for the electric long-haul truck. Touted as the ‘commercial vehicle powertrain of the future,’ the development partnership will bring to the market the Nikola One and Two, a class 8

30 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

“Autonomous driving will still take some time, but when it comes to electric vehicles, it is a more practical reality in the next five years.”

Jan-Erik Thoren, Volvo Trucks hydrogen-electric truck lineup that will deliver more than 1,000 horsepower and 2,000 ft. lbs. of torque.

This advancement is achieved by the eAxle developed by Bosch. A scalable, modular platform with the motor, power electronics and

transmission in one compact unit, the eAxle is suitable for vehicles of all kinds, from small passenger cars to light trucks. The technology vision of Nikola and integration expertise from Bosch will enable the Nikola trucks to realise unprecedented targets for e-machine efficiency.

As part of the government’s efforts, Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA) recently mandated that all trucks imported starting this year must meet Euro 4 emission standards. Al-Futtaim Auto & Machinery Company (FAMCO) and Volvo Trucks Middle East have taken a step further and introduced the Euro 5-compliant trucks. The new Volvo Trucks are equipped with on-board diagnostics (OBD), which helps monitor the level of AdBlue liquid that together with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology helps lower emission levels.

The OBD also easily provides authorities with information regarding the emission levels of the trucks during inspection.

Jan-Erik Thoren, managing director of Volvo Trucks Middle East, says: “Emission level in the Middle East is moving towards Euro 4 by 2021, and the UAE has already moved to Euro 4. Load legislations are being enforced in most of the countries in this region. The focus ultimately remains on safety and environmental care.”

Vladimir Knezevic, managing director of FAMCO UAE, said: “As the whole industry is shifting its focus to decreased fuel consumption and increased fleet efficiency, Volvo Trucks, with its advanced safety features and Euro 5 emission standards, is in a class of its own.

The new trucks in addition to supporting the

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A p r i l 2018

government’s efforts to lower pollution levels also ensure our customers drive environmentfriendly trucks that are more fuel-efficient and provides greater productivity and returns.”

FAMCO also recently unveiled Volvo Trucks’ special safety edition truck, which contains numerous world’s first innovations to assist in safe driving, fast loading, and fatigue reduction.

Knezevic remarks: “As part of the safety features we’re talking about, it’s also about the total cost of ownership (TCO), which is extremely important in the overall customer business.

So, we’re strongly focusing on the awareness of the safety features, but we also emphasise on looking after our customer.”

Thoren supports the above, adding that it is absolutely vital to bring the awareness (of safety) to the customers, as well as the relevant authorities. He also believes that there are plenty of discussions about electro-mobility and autonomous trucks, but the trucks they have today will continue to play an important role over the next five to 10 years.

“But there will be a lot of innovations, and new solutions on the road. Autonomous driving will still take some time, but when it comes to electric vehicles, it is a more practical reality in the next five years.”

A 2016 study by Deloitte predicts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of only 0.6% for the global heavy and medium commercial vehicle markets until 2026. Could improved customer service and after-sales involvement boost these numbers?

Franz Freiherr von Redwitz, managing director MAN Truck & Bus Middle East,

comments: “Customers are more and more empowered and are looking for integrated solutions, end-to end and not just the product itself. An integrated offering is the key for future service contracts; with every vehicle, we provide piece of mind, so our customers can ‘focus on running their businesses.”

A ‘CustomerFirst’ programme was developed by MAN Truck & Bus to systematically record data on customer satisfaction and improve service quality. At its heart, the initiative uses customer feedback to monitor the performance of MAN and its distributors on a regular basis, and effectively the scheme ensures that they are constantly delivering on their promises to customers over the days, months, and years following the initial purchase of a vehicle. If MAN or its dealers are falling short, then the solution can be found early and quickly.

Marc Legeay, general manager, MercedesBenz Trucks MENA, explains how the all-new Mercedes-Benz Actros and Arocs are packed with the very latest technology; boasting the best in the company’s engineering expertise to specifically keep TCO as low as possible.

“Fleet owners here are focusing more and more on the TCO, seeking for the highest profitability of the overall vehicle lifecycle. Over the last years, we have witnessed an increase of diesel prices in many Middle East markets, which means fuel efficiency becomes increasingly important,” he says. “With the new Actros and Arocs, we are providing a highly attractive product and service offer for TCOoriented fleet customers. Further, significantly reduced fuel consumption, tailor-made service,

“At Bosch, we are continuously striving to innovate, with research and development built into our DNA.” Kivanc Arman, Bosch

We’re strongly focusing on the awareness of the safety features, but we also emphasise on looking after our customer.”

Vladimir Knezevic, FAMCO Logistics News ME | April 2018 | 31

Commercial Vehicles

and extended warranty packages are just a few aspects paying into the overall attractive TCO for the new Actros and Arocs.”

In a sector shaped by operating costs, efficiency and safety, fleet operators will pursue any opportunity to improve the bottom line and ensure event-free driving. With the driver accounting for much of a fleet’s operating cost, and human error accounting for over 90% of road traffic incidents, technology that can reduce or remove the need for a driver is of growing interest to those fleet operators.

“Autonomous driving fits perfectly into our “invented for life” ethos” remarks Arman. “Autonomous driving has innumerable benefits, from reduced traffic jams to saving on time, energy and fuel, and increased safety as 90% of traffic accidents today are the result of human error.”

Arman believes that implementing autonomous driving in a fast-paced, ever evolving city like Dubai, coupled with a population that is young and technologically savvy, make for a great fit. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has stated that 25% of all road trips within Dubai will be smart and driverless by the year 2030. There are also ambitious goals in place to make Dubai a smart city, which means it might be faster than the average city in adapting infrastructure to automated vehicles.

Arman continues: “On a global scale, autonomous driving will be introduced in premium vehicles and then trucks, which in the future would be able to maneuver themselves around logistical depots. We are first focusing on Europe, Japan, and the United States, and later China.” Demonstrating an increase in the interest in the region’s fleets to use technology to gain greater control over their costs, Legeay says that Mercedes-Benz Trucks is seeing more fleets request access to its FleetBoard telematics system – which is again available for those wanting to make the most of their new trucks.

“Telematics systems are key when it comes

32 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

A p r i l 2 018

to monitoring and managing your fleet. With the cost pressure on one hand and the ambition to increase profitability, safety, and efficiency, our FleetBoard offer is proving that telematics systems are becoming more and more important, especially for fleet customers here in the region,” he comments. “The key here is that FleetBoard does not only cover tracking and tracing – driver performance monitoring for safe and efficient driving, as well as service uptime are paramount features, maximising the profitability. Major fleets in the region are using FleetBoard already for years and they acknowledge the ben-

efits of the system for their operations.”

Looking even further ahead, he suggests that the region could one-day get its own electrically-powered version of a MercedesBenz heavy truck.

“Mercedes-Benz Trucks has always been an innovator when it comes to new technologies.

Now, with the eActros being rolled out in 2018, first to selected customers in Europe, we are proving our competence in the field of fully electric trucks,” he states. “With the region striving for excellence, for high-tech and sustainability, why should there not be potential for electric trucks in the long-term?”

“With the region striving for excellence, for hightech and sustainability, why should there not be potential for electric trucks in the long-term?”

Marc Legeay, Mercedes-Benz Trucks MENA www.cbnme.com

1 – 3 May 2018 www.automechanikaDubai.com

The largest international trade exhibition for the automotive service industry in the wider Middle East Some compelling show figures: 1,955 Exhibitors 30,322 Trade Visitors 25 Official Country Pavilions

57 Exhibiting Countries 136 Visiting Countries 38 International Trade Associations

Register online to visit at www.automechanikaDubai.com/Logistics

Trucks

A new legacy

Marc Legeay, GM, Mercedes-Benz Trucks MENA, takes CBNME on a tour of the new Actros and Arocs

M

ercedes-Benz Trucks took to the beaches of Dubai last month for a spectacular launch of its new generation of trucks for the Middle East and North Africa markets – and if first impressions count most then the famous German truck brand’s new Actros and Arocs are off to a great start.

“The feedback we have received on the new products from our customers and business partners is extremely positive,” enthuses Marc Legeay, general manager, Mercedes-Benz Trucks MENA, as he looks back on the event.

Following their Dubai debut, attention now turns to introducing the new Actros and Arocs across the region, with the first in a series of national launches by its partner JIPCO in Saudi Arabia taking place shortly before Legeay’s interview with CBNME. Considering Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ reach across the vast territory, it is unsurprising to hear him add that the events will need to be held until the end of 2018 to fully roll-out the new vehicles.

While talking, Legeay highlights that Mercedes-Benz Trucks are renowned for their dependability and retaining their value in the region. This has been demonstrated in the past

34 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

year by the company celebrating both the 20th anniversary of the Actros as well as honouring long-term fleet owners through its mileage millionaire campaign. With one Actros racking up 2.3 million km on the clock, CBNME asks Legeay whether it difficult to convince people to buy new trucks considering the reputation its trucks have for lasting a long time?

“That’s a great point. Mercedes-Benz Trucks enjoy an excellent reputation here in the region as a hallmark for quality and reliability,” remarks Legeay. “This is attested by the high resale values and the many Mercedes-Benz trucks from older generations you encounter, which are still doing their job, day in day out. Now, with the new Actros and Arocs, we are taking the legacy of Mercedes-Benz into the future. We are sure that many of our customers will ultimately be convinced by the latest benchmarks set by the new Actros and Arocs in terms of reliability, efficiency, comfort, and safety – and of course in terms of total cost of ownership (TCO), where the new Actros and Arocs excel.

We also assume some will just not be able to refrain from the fantastic new design.”

Legeay explains that with the new launches, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is offering fleets in the

region a clear choice of state-of-the-art truck.

What they opt for will ultimately depend on the type of operation they own.

“The new Actros is made for long-haulage transportation and distribution tasks, providing highest reliability and efficiency for our customers,” he explains. “When operations get tougher, we have now with the new Arocs a dedicated and supremely robust product offer for construction and off-road applications, which includes the all-wheel-drive models.”

The engineers at Mercedes-Benz Trucks not only designed and manufactured the vehicles to meet the demanding conditions of the Middle East but also brought them into the region to endure months of testing prior to launch. The rigorous process has ultimately created two heavy duty trucks that should be able to pound the sun-baked roads and sites of the regions for many years ahead.

“We tested extensively over the last couple of years at our test center in Abu Dhabi,” says Legeay. “More than six million test kilometres for the new Actros and Arocs in the UAE prove the highest standards of quality and reliability.”

The older Mercedes-Benz trucks serving in

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A p r i l 2018

the region’s fleets may demonstrate the German truck-maker’s ability to make vehicles that will run and run, but the new generation of trucks have been developed with the changing demands of haulers and operators in mind.

Fuel and operational costs are rising and Legeay says this is having a profound effect on the buying habits of fleets in the region.

“Fleet owners here are focusing more and more on the TCO, seeking for the highest profitability of the overall vehicle lifecycle.

Over the last years, we have witnessed an increase of diesel prices in many Middle East markets, which means fuel efficiency becomes increasingly important,” he says. “With the new Actros and Arocs, we are providing a highly attractive product and service offer for TCO-oriented fleet customers. Further, significantly reduced fuel consumption, tailormade service, and extended warranty packages are just a few aspects paying into the overall attractive TCO for the new Actros and Arocs.”

As Legeay suggests, the two new trucks are packed with the very latest technology; boasting the best in the company’s engineering expertise to specifically keep the TCO as low as possible. Both come equipped with the

“We tested extensively over the last couple of years at our test center in Abu Dhabi.

More than six million test kilometres in the UAE prove the highest standards of quality and reliability.” latest fully automated Mercedes PowerShift 3 transmission as standard which is – exclusively to the market – also available in a 16-speed variant for demanding operations.

“With its intelligent shifting strategy, Mercedes PowerShift 3 ensures fast and precise gear changes, increasing the safety and comfort level. Another highlight is the wide range of safety features available with the new truck

generation, and of course the Active Brake Assist 4, a radar-based emergency braking system,” he explains. “It’s the first and only system available for trucks which detects not only static and moving obstacles in front of the vehicle and initiating an emergency braking down to standstill; it also detects obstacles crossing the truck’s path such as pedestrians.”

Demonstrating an increase in the interest in the region’s fleets to use technology to gain greater control over their costs, Legeay says that Mercedes-Benz Trucks is seeing more fleets request access to its FleetBoard telematics system – which is again available for those wanting to make the most of their new trucks.

“Telematics systems are key when it comes to monitoring and managing your fleet. With the cost pressure on one hand and the ambition to increase profitability, safety, and efficiency, our FleetBoard offer is proving that telematics systems are becoming more and more important, especially for fleet customers here in the region,” he comments. “The key here is that FleetBoard does not only cover tracking and tracing – driver performance monitoring for safe and efficient driving, as

Logistics News ME | April 2018 | 35

Trucks

well as service uptime are paramount features, maximising the profitability. Major fleets in the region are using FleetBoard already for years and they acknowledge the benefits of the system for their operations.”

According to Legeay, Mercedes-Benz Trucks continued to strengthen its leadership position in the premium heavy-duty truck segment in the MENA region in 2017 despite macro-economic challenges in some of the key markets. He cites the closing of a major deal with Saudi customer Al Khaldi for more than 500 trucks including an after-sales package as one of the highlights of the year, “underlining the trust our customers have towards our brand and products,” he adds.

He expects this momentum to be maintained in 2018 following the introduction of the new Actros and Arocs trucks across the MENA region, particularly in the UAE, as contract awards are announced in the lead up to Expo 2020 Dubai. Focusing on the UAE, he turns his attention to the options that Mercedes-Benz Trucks can offer with changes in emissions standards expected to be introduced later this year.

“We are offering the new Actros and Arocs with engines complying with Euro III, IV, and V standards. All engines come as in-line 6 cylinder, providing excellent reliability, efficiency, and performance. The OM460 engine (Euro III) with its proven pump-line-nozzle injection system is characterised by its exceptional robustness. When it comes to Euro IV/V engines, customers can choose from three different variants with outputs of up to 625hp.

All Euro IV/V engines are equipped with the unique common-rail X-Pulse injection system, providing outstanding fuel efficiency. The Euro IV/V engines also feature Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) and SCR-Technology (AdBlue) for lowest emission levels.”

He adds that a raft of new services are being launched around the new trucks that are complemented by the change of emissions in the UAE. “Customers choosing the new Actros and Arocs with a service contract offer can now enjoy extended flexible maximum service intervals, further reducing the service cost of the fleet over the lifecycle and providing ‘peaceof-mind’ to the fleet operator. Besides this, tailor-made extended warranty packages are available as well as driver training focusing on efficient and safe driving.”

He continues “As a manufacturer of premium trucks, Mercedes-Benz will take a leading role in supplying state-of-the-art technology to customers in the UAE. This does not only apply to emission standards, but

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Mercedes-Benz on: Euro IV and higher engines

In addition to the choice of two Euro III engines, the new Actros and Arocs are available with three different engines complying with Euro IV and Euro V emission norms. All engines are designed as in-line 6-cylinder engines with exhaust-gas turbocharging and charge air cooling for high torque at little more than idle speed. Maximum tractive power levels of from 1,000 to 3,000Nm are achieved by three displacements of 10,7, 12.8 and 15.6l, with a power range from 240kW up to 460kW. An important feature of all of the 6-cylinder in-line engines of the OM 470/471/473 model series from Mercedes-Benz is the unique flexible common-rail X-Pulse injection system with fully electronic control and pressure booster. Whether the OM 470, OM 471 or the OM 473 – all engines comply with the Euro IV or Euro V emissions standard. They feature the latest common-rail injection system and come with exhaust gas recirculation. Exhaust gases are treated with SCR technology with AdBlue injection, as well as a downstream oxidation catalytic converter.

also to safety features, where the new Actros is setting a new benchmark for trucks, making roads safer and helping saving lives.”

With a new generation of trucks coming into fleet operations, Mercedes-Benz Trucks can now afford to focus on serving its customers in the region. Legeay says it is continuing to strive for the best product and service offer

in the premium truck segment and exceeding its customers’ expectations in the region. He adds that Mercedes-Benz Trucks is also “planning a further expansion of our already wide network of 59 sales and service partners across the region, as well as the extension of our tailor-made customer services offer will facilitate our ambitions.”

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Training

A p r i l 2 018

Intelligent service Why MAN is bringing its award-winning CustomerFirst programme to the Middle East for the first time

T

his year’s MAN Middle East AfterSales Conference was held in Muscat, Oman, last month and brought together representatives of importers from the 14 countries of the Middle East Region as well as executives from MAN’s German headquarters and its regional office in Dubai.

Typically, these conferences are an opportunity to review the state of the market, highlight some key trends, and network. But this year’s event was different.

At the top of an agenda addressing MAN’s evolving role from manufacturer to intelligent solutions provider, delegates were given an insight into the company’s latest customer experience concept ‘CustomerFirst’.

The programme was developed by MAN Truck & Bus to systematically record data on customer satisfaction and improve service quality. At its heart, the initiative uses customer feedback to monitor the performance of MAN and its distributors on a regular basis, and effectively the scheme ensures that they are constantly delivering on their promises to customers over the days, months, and years following the initial purchase of a vehicle.

If MAN or its dealers are falling short, then the solution can be found early and quickly.

“The primary message of the conference this year was to focus on the latest

“An integrated offering is the key for future service contracts with every vehicle, we provide piece of mind so our customers can ‘focus on running their businesses”

Franz Freiherr von Redwitz, MAN Truck & Bus Customer Experience Concept from MAN CustomerFirst. Customer requirements are important, so we want to react proactively and offer tailored solutions to meet their needs,” remarks Dr Richard Brown, head of AfterSales MAN Truck & Bus Middle East.

CustomerFirst has already had a positive impact in other markets for MAN, leading it to be awarded at the German Excellence Awards 2018 in February in the ‘Products & Services – Customer Support’ category. The award is presented every year by the German Institute

for Service Quality and the magazine, DUB Unternehmer, to companies and entrepreneurs who have stood out thanks to their excellent products, services, campaigns or initiatives.

Franz Freiherr von Redwitz, managing director MAN Truck & Bus Middle East, says that the programme is part of a suite of integrated after-sales solutions to ensure MAN is never too far away from a customer’s journey.

“Customers are more and more empowered and are looking for integrated solutions, endto end and not just the product itself. An integrated offering is the key for future service contracts with every vehicle, we provide piece of mind, so our customers can ‘focus on running their businesses’,” says von Redwitz.

Dr Richard says it is essential to introduce the CustomerFirst programme for the first time in the Middle East.

“Our focus in the region is to be unified and offer a consistent experience across different countries,” he says. “Through our close cooperation with regional partners, we can focus on offering products tailored for the regional requirements. The Middle East is different but unique, and together with partners we need to see how to continuously innovate and customise our product offerings so we can be ready for the future.”

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T e c h n o lo gy

A flying wonder

VIMANA Global’s breakthrough technology could potentially turn every journey into an autonomous flight very soon

By Mehak Srivastava

Tales of men mounting flying devices have existed since the beginning of human civilisation. Stories from ancient Arabia speak of flying carpets (Disney’s Aladdin personifies this in the form of a Magic Carpet), while Tibetan books of Tantyua and Kantyua, as well as translated texts from ancient Egypt and China mention visitors from ‘the other world’, i.e., space.

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The Indian sacred texts called Vedas speak of flying ships, or vimanas, which transported ‘gods’ from any place, to any place which they desired. A passage from Ramayana, a Vedic epic that dates back to the fourth/fifth century, B.C. goes something like this: “…chariot that resembles the sun, that aerial and excellent chariot going everywhere at will, resembling a bright cloud in the sky, and the king got in and the

excellent chariot rose up into the higher atmosphere.”

The extract clearly refers to some sort of a flying vehicle. Vimanas are also described in the Mahabharata, another ancient Indian text.

One really does need to take into account that these stories exist across several geographical areas, some thousands of miles apart, and have more or less the same concept of flight. Speculations on the matter continue,

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and unless someone is able to successfully travel back in time to unravel these mysteries, one would never be able to say for sure if flying machines really did exist or were just a figment of imagination.

In present day time, however, is a company that is inspired by these very concepts of ancient flights, and translates them for a modern day environment. Headquartered in California, and with offices in the United States, Middle East, India, Singapore, Malaysia, and Russia, VIMANA Global claims to revolutionise the airspace market with its urban air mobility solution, combining blockchain with current airspace technology, and then some.

“There are blockchain companies, and then there are airspace companies. VIMANA is the first blockchain aerospace company,” proudly declares CEO Evgeni Borisov.

“We’re doing for aerospace what bitcoin did for the blockchain in 2008. We digitlised the airspace and protocoled the system operations with our knowledge.”

A dominant player in the $1tn blockchain airspace market, VIMANA has designed a breakthrough technology, patented and filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, that allows the company to combine capabilities of an airplane, helicopter, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on a single platform, and use blockchain technology to operate its aircraft and enable blockchain applications in the air at the same time. VIMANA’s fleet of vertical take-off and landing autonomous aerial vehicles (VTOL AAVs) are a marvel of aerospace engineering, designed to be localised by smart cities, like Dubai, via licensing deals, to enable local mass production. VIMANA is one of only a handful of aerospace companies in the world that have a flying VTOL AAV prototype that was purpose built for urban use or use as an air taxi, air limo, or as a dual-purpose passenger and cargo air vehicle.

Borisov continues: “In 2015, we got a task from a mining company to create a flying radar for severe conditions, to get seismic data from a gold mine. We involved our crew to create a solution, and suddenly realised that we had found the holy grail of vertical take-off and landing autonomous aerial vehicle industry. We started developing our project then, and once we launched prototype 1, we set up our company in US, and now we’re going to start another company in Europe.”

Evgeni Borisov and the other co-founders come with plenty of corporate, engineering, and venture experience. Borisov himself has more than 15 years of corporate executive

experience, including working as marketing director of Toshiba and Phillips. VIMANA is funded with millions of dollars raised from angel investors.

“One of the biggest mistakes in aircraft crashes is human error,” remarks Borisov. “If we delete the human error factor out of this equation, the whole system becomes robust.

Nowadays, 5% of the people are capable of being pilots, doing math with their heads and with skilled hands. Our technology employs airspace for 95% of the remaining population, i.e., the passengers.”

In December 2017, Vimana Global announced that it closed a multi-million angel round and kicked off its token generation event (TGE) by opening its white list to qualified entities. The company’s goal is to fund blockchain airspace international development and to assign value to using blockchain airspace.

Vimana’s TGE seeks to attract $35mn via the token sale.

“I love the idea of colonising Mars, I love the vivid idea of it,” says Borisov. “But before colonising Mars, we have a space left which is completely inhabited, sort of like an eighth continent—and that’s airspace.”

Borisov recognises the need for smart cities to enact better transportation systems for rapidly expanding populations. He remarks that in cities like Moscow, where sometimes the drive to the airport takes longer than the actual flight to your destination, there is

simply no space left for expanding the already overburdened road transport system. This is where a technology like VTOL comes into play. VTOL aircrafts can take off, hover, and land vertically, much like a helicopter. VTOL finds favour in today’s landscape given that they can land and take off from anywhere, without requiring too much rework of the existing space.

German VTOL company, Lilium, has already tested a prototype of its five-seat VTOL jet, which will reach speeds of up to 300 km/h.

Intel-backed Volocopter—which was previously in talks with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and carried out unmanned test flights in Dubai—had its US debut at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 with its 18-rotor air taxi prototype known as the Volocopter VC200. Airbus too announced the first successful, full-scale test flight of its single passenger, self-piloted, electric VTOL aircraft called Vahana.

So, what makes VIMANA stand out from its competition? Borisov answers: “It’s not only about the breakthrough VTOL, it’s about the next-gen airspace. We’re bringing the airspace to the next league by providing a decentralised air traffic management (ATM), which does not disrupt any of the existing air traffic management systems.” Smart cities like Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore, and Mumbai are expected to deploy a localised version of VIMANA Universe solution, which consists of VIMANA

Evgeni Borisov, CEO & founder, VIMANA Global

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Kirill Nikolaev, board member, VIMANA Global

Network, VIMANA partner network, and VIMANA Ecosystem. The VIMANA Network consists of terrestrial and airborne nodes that are initially placed within VIMANA Take Off and Landing Areas (TOLAs) and onboard of VIMANA AAVs. VIMANA Network runs a customised high performance version of blockchain protocol and is seamlessly interconnected with terrestrial blockchain.

Borisov continues: “Large scale economies requires a specific kind of machine—and I’m not belittling the competitors, because I personally respect anyone who’s making effort in the improvement of airspace, but the point is to make a large-scale economy model. We need to develop the VTOL, which is going to be applicable in the existing environment, no matter the ground space. And as soon the tech is about VTOL, the machine needs to be efficient in terms of physics of the air.

“Jumping to the tech part, many companies are kind of praying for the magic battery. We have designed a scheme which is always going to be on the top of performance curve, because we efficiently employ the physics of the air and 95% of our flight is like an airplane.”

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In recent news, VIMANA partnered with SolarCoin, a cryptocurrency designed to support solar electricity generation; a rewards system recognises solar electricity producers, reimbursing them with digital coins at a rate of 1 SolarCoin per 1MW hour of solar energy produced.

Through the partnership, VIMANA and SolarCoin plan to deploy fuel stations around smart cities that encompass the blockchain network.

This will enable the use of alternative energy power sources for VIMANA AAVs. VIMANA has also teamed up with WISeKey, a digital information security company, to increase the level of security for their blockchain platform.

Token-as-a-Service (TaaS), a Singaporebased first-ever tokenised closed-end fund dedicated to blockchain assets, will go towards enabling VIMANA Global to roll out its VTOL vehicles. TaaS contributed to VIMANA Global the amount of 2071 ETH, equivalent to $2mn(T).

“One of the main features of our breakthrough aerodynamic scheme is that it is really, easily scalable,” claims Borisov. “I cannot disclose more, but for the African, Sub-Saharan

countries, we’re jumping into a partnership with a big project. Many countries with a great potential are understaffed with pilots and underequipped with aerial vehicles. One of the biggest issues with those countries then becomes cross-border logistics. These countries may not have pilots or proper roads, but they still have huge potential for cross-country commodity exchange.”

Borisov believes that Africa is a huge nascent market, in terms of human resource, as well as natural resource.

“That’s why we’re putting the emphasis on countries which have more potential than just the regular [developed] countries. In developed countries, there’s not much do much because it is severely regulated and well-developed.

But the potential is coming from the MENA, firstly because majority of the people live there, and the road infrastructure is not sufficient to support their logistics boom. Plus, they are more flexible in adopting new technologies, like ours, to jump to the next league.”

VIMANA is currently in talks with RTA to potentially introduce their solutions in the emirate.

Kirill Nikolaev, board member at VIMANA, remarks: “Things are still developing, we haven’t laid down the complete framework of any collaboration. We’re on the same page with RTA, but we’ll make official announcements soon.” VIMANA has been discussing cooperation opportunities with RTA since November 2017, following VIMANA’s introduction within the Arab Future Cities Summit in October 2017.

RTA previously launched a prototype supplied by Volocopter, a two-seater autonomous air taxi (AAT), capable of transporting people without human intervention or a pilot. There was no follow up on further collaborations between RTA and Volocopter, with VIMANA possibly emerging as the technically superior answer to UAE’s vision of flying vehicles.

Nikolaev adds: “Right now, we’re still negotiating things (with RTA). We both see things absolutely the same. We’re not trying to jump into the train which is not about us. Currently, we want to be a train which gives opportunity to different governments to jump onto. We’re also deeply in a relationship with different countries in this region. Dubai is of course our favourite place to start operations from 2020, not with full-sized machines, but with test prototypes at least.”

“We truly believe that the airspace industry doesn’t have borders,” says Borisov. “But it needs to have the rules, which need to be encultured and adopted by all participants, because this is what enables airspace to become one big global transport system.”

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Interview

Walid Khoury, managing director of ALS Logistic Solutions, discusses the company’s service offering, technology impact, and upcoming projects

Tell us about the services offered

by ALS Logistic Solutions.

Today ALS Logistic Solutions is one of the leading automation solution providers of material handling, cargo, and car park systems. With more than 20 years of experience, ALS has proven its expertise in ergonomic space-saving solutions for warehouses and parking areas.

ALS global experience ensures a reliable network of suppliers, providing world-class engineering and IT solutions for our clients worldwide. With offices in Dubai, Germany, Malaysia, and Singapore, ALS has gained loyalty from the major players in the logistics market.

Future-proof solutions, customised approach, perennial experience, attention to details, and narrow focus on innovative automation makes ALS trusted by professionals.

Automation is creating headlines in almost all business sectors today; your thoughts on this?

In the age of progress and innovation, the modern world is searching for solutions that maximise efficiency and boost profits. And logistics is not an exception. Robotics, Internet of Things, drones, driverless vehicles, autonomous vessels, consumerisation of sensor technologies, and move toward 5G wireless communications illustrate the need of prompt and reliable logistic service.

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To automate or not to automate, is not a question anymore, even though automation requires significant investments.”

At ALS, we specialise in the automation of materials handling systems, air cargo centres, and car parks. As a specialised designer of these solutions, we know the value of accuracy and engineering proficiency because when it comes to automation, every millisecond matters; when it comes to operations, improved results speak louder than any promised sales statements.

To automate or not to automate, is not a question anymore, even though automation requires significant investments. It has become an essential aspect, to conduct research, evaluate the potential and predict the results – consultancy will minimise and almost exclude the risks of mistakes. It is always a good idea to learn from case studies, ask advice and apply

the knowledge to your field with the help of reputed solution providers.

What kind of technology does ALS employ in its product offerings?

Robotics, automated cranes, conveyors and driverless technology is the main drive in ALS equipment. We rely on reducing the manpower needed for warehouse, storage, and retrieval handling whether it is for small boxes, pharma product, large airline containers or cars. The reason for this is to maximise the area usage inside the facility and reduce dependencies on human driven movements which is slow and unsafe in some cases.

Do you have industry collaborations with other experts?

Absolutely. We have partners that are major suppliers in their fields and we use their products to integrate with our technology to offer the clients the latest market trends.

The aviation and logistics markets are fast on development and innovation and it requires holistic approach from suppliers to be able to offer the clients the latest technology. Also, we will soon announce a new partnership with the world leader ground support equipment supplier in the world, to be their technical base for support and services in the Middle East. We’ll save the

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announcement for the second half of the year, and ask you to stay tuned in with our social media channels.

Who are some of your key clients?

ALS is proud of every project and client relationship. Timely delivery and customer satisfaction is what has led ALS to evolve as one of the top material handling contractors/service providers. Some of our well renowned clients are Emirates Airline, Dubai Duty Free, DNATA, Abu Dhabi International Airport, WFS, DANZAS, DHL, FedEx, Kuwait Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Baku International Airport, Panalpina etc., to name a few. ALS Logistic Solutions is active in the local market since many years, with installations in nearly every airport in the Middle East.

What are your major projects for 2018?

ALS expects 2018 to bring influential projects worldwide. There is ongoing expansion of OSR Shuttle System for Dubai Duty Free Warehouse; ongoing installation of an automated car parking system in Dubai for One Zabeel; automated pharma warehouse for Al Dawaa in Riyadh; ongoing installation of automated car parking system in Dubai for Al Tadawi Hospital; commissioning of fully automated cargo terminals in Muscat and Salalah; supply and installation of cargo terminal for SATS in Dammam; installation of ASRS for WFS/BFS in Bangkok, ULD handling System for WFS Frankfurt; and modification of conveyor system for Fedex, Dubai, just to name a few.

Event review

On the right track Middle East Rail 2018 discusses GCC Railway Network, technology trends, and conveys a general attitude of positivity for the global rail industry

By Mehak Srivastava

T

he 12th edition of Middle East Rail saw over 290 regional and international railway operators, suppliers, and contractors come together to discuss the latest industry trends and showcase their best solutions and innovations. The exhibition took place between March 12 – 13, 2018, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The event was held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, UAE, in partnership with the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and the Federal Transport Authority – Land and Maritime.

During his keynote speech, Sheikh Mansour said that the UAE had established itself as a global player in the transport infrastructure sector – a sector that plays an important role in any nation’s progress. He also expressed his pleasure at the growth in the number of participants at this year’s event, as well as the keen interest shown by key decision-makers in the railway industry.

He then highlighted the fact that the UAE government had developed a clear vision, as well as a carefully-planned strategy, to play a leadership role in the field of rail transport infrastructure. This will be achieved through regional and international collaborations, developing and re-shaping policies, and enacting laws to promote efficiency as well as safety in this vital sector, he said.

The previous edition of Middle East Rail saw key focus on the financing options for GCC Railway, a $200bn potential megaproject connecting the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. Approved by the states in 2009, the original completion date for the rail network was pledged as 2018; Saudi Arabia was the only country at the moment to have any rail infrastructure. The deadline was later pushed to 2021. UAE completed the 264km stage one of its Etihad Rail network, connecting the Shah-Habshan-Ruwais route, in 2014.

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However, by 2016, work had slowed down or come to a complete halt in Oman, UAE, and Qatar. In January 2016, Etihad Rail officially announced that it had suspended tendering for phase two of the national rail network. This stage involved the construction of a 628km-line from Ghweifat on the Saudi border to the Omani frontier near Al Ain, with links to the UAE’s three principal ports—Khalifa, Jebel Ali, and Mussafah.

UAE’s Minister for Infrastructure Development Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, commented on the halting of phase two, saying that it “was logical because you simply cannot build your part and wait for others to start”.

In February 2018, the UAE Cabinet approved a new Federal Railway Law that provides a regulatory framework for future development of railways. The new law is expected to pave the

way for private sector participation in railway projects in the emirates. Both UAE and Oman are currently focusing on developing their internal rail networks.

Dr Abdullah Salem al-Kathiri, director general of the Federal Authority for Transport Land and Marine announced at a press conference at the Middle East Rail 2018 that all six GCC countries are moving forward with national rail plans which include links to neighbouring states.

In attendance at the 2018 show were a number of key exhibitors, including Indian Railways (who showcased $140bn worth of current and future rail projects that the Indian government is building to upgrade country’s urban transportation network), Serco, Alstom, Greenbrier Companies, Siemens, CREC, CRRC, AECOM, Progress Rail, and Department for International Trade UK.

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Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister for Infrastructure Development

I have never seen so much support for a technology in this sector.”

Harj Dhaliwal, Hyperloop One

The provider of the Dubai Tram and the leader of the ExpoLink consortium for Route 2020 project of the Red Line extension of Dubai Metro, Alstom, highlighted eight new technologies with the power to transform mobility in the Middle East now – or in the very near future.

Among the solutions Alstom presented on its booth, are Alstom’s Urban Integrated solutions; Citadis Range; Mastria, the orchestration of all public transport modes from rail to road; Ecodesign: sustainability in mobility from manufacturing to recycling; Aptis: the premium passenger experience inspired from the tram, HealthHub and more.

Harj Dhaliwal, managing director Middle East & India - Hyperloop One, discussed the fundamentals of the hyperloop technology, the ultra-high-speed ground transportation system proposed in 2013 by Elon Musk. The UAE Innovation Month in February 2018 saw the first concept model of the Hyperloop commuter pod.

“The core components of hyperloop technology have been around for a long time, nearly

five or six decades. What we’re doing now is bringing together the various components like vacuum, levitation, propulsion, altogether, enabling us to create a brand-new form of transport for the 21st century.”

Hyperloop technology, explains Dhaliwal, is a cross-over of different sectors. It learns not just from the rail industry, but also from aerospace, space, and high-speed rail, bringing it all together in a new, consolidated form of transport, aimed at changing the way transport is perceived forever. During the unveiling of the Hyperloop’s concept model in Dubai, Abdul Reda Abu Al Hassan, executive director of Rail Planning and Project Development at RTA, said the project is expected to be operational within the next five years. People were especially excited by the fact that travel time between Dubai and Abu Dhabi could potentially be cut down to 12 minutes.

“Why I really enjoy hyperloop is because everybody is so excited by it,” remarks Dhaliwal.

“Everybody wants it. I’ve never worked in an organisation where the public are willing you

to get a project done so fast—and this is coming from someone who’s worked in transportation all his life. Most projects tend to have protesters, asking us to get rid of it. I have never seen so much support for a technology in this sector.”

Dhaliwal claims it is difficult to put a date on when the hyperloop will precisely be open to the masses, but he believes in seven years from now, from the proof of concept (PoC) mode, a concept facility will be up and running somewhere in the world—perhaps even in Dubai.

Early this year, Virgin Hyperloop One founder Richard Branson unveiled plans to implement a hyperloop system in India, connecting Pune and Mumbai, with a goal of cutting down the travel time between the two cities to 25 minutes. “India is an amazing story for us. We’ve established our base here in the Middle East, and we’ll continue to push our growth here. But we’re also keenly looking at other areas in the world, and India is a fantastic opportunity area, which we really started to focus on in Q3-Q4 of 2017. We carried out our global challenge event, and built off that.

“In July-August onwards, we started seriously engaging with governments and state governments. We started to talk to those states that were prominent in our global challenge event.

We basically said—where would you want the hyperloop? So via that competition, we were able to narrow it down to where we should focus our resources.

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Event review

My job allows me to go events in most places around the world, and the Middle East strikes me as one of the most innovative and aspirational areas to work in.”

Steve Cockerell, Bentley Systems “We signed an MoU with Andhra Pradesh, as well as Bangalore (Karnataka), and with Maharashtra. We then engaged these states by carrying out preliminary feasibility engineering studies, and started looking for potential in their corridors.

“The state government in Maharashtra was very proactive, and wanted to explore the opportunity between Mumbai and Pune very, very quickly. Pune-Mumbai is one of the densest corridors in India, and so from a transportation perspective, it’s very important.”

The six-lane Mumbai-Pune Expressway is one of the most saturated toll-highways, clocking in journey times of nearly three to four hours on a single trip. Dhaliwal adds that with the rising, strong middle-class economy, which is very focused on technology, Mumbai-Pune becomes the ideal transport hub.

The proposed hyperloop route will eventually support 150 million passenger trips annually, saving more than 90 million hours of travel

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time. The system, boasting the capability to travel up to 1,000km/h, will also have the potential for the rapid movement of palletised freight and light cargo, creating a robust backbone for on-demand deliveries, supply chains, and nextgeneration logistics.

Steve Cockerell, industry marketing director—road and rail, Bentley Systems, discussed the presence of the American-based software development company at the event.

“We are here both as exhibitors, as well as the sponsors of the networking club. We’ve been involved with Middle East Rail from the very first year that it was held, seeing it grow from the 80 delegates and five exhibitors to the grand spectacle it is today.

“This year, we’re here on the third occasion under the British pavilion, in the InTech area.

We have a very strong presence in the UK, which is our rail heartland, where our solutions grew from green shoots to the mature solutions that you see today.

“The region (Middle East) continues to be a vibrant and exciting area. My job allows me to go to events in most places around the world, and the Middle East strikes me as one of the most innovative and aspirational areas to work in.”

In October 2017, Bentley Systems introduced the OpenRail solution, which incorporates OpenRail ConceptStation and OpenRail Designer. The former offers rail, electrification, tunnel, and bridge design capabilities, helping rail engineers and designers rapidly determine optimal conceptual designs with real-world data and cost analysis. OpenRail Designer, on the other hand, provides comprehensive and detailed modeling of rail metro, light rail, commuter rail, or high-speed rail design.

“OpenRail builds on 30+ years of proven ability and accomplishment in the rail market for Bentley,” remarks Cockerell. “Mainly during the design or construction phase, but also into operations and maintenance. OpenRail brings all of that together.”

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The client avoids the hassle of dealing with four or five separate companies, since we can do the entire project for them on our side.”

Steve Hall, XRail Cockerell’s presentation at the show covered the finer aspects of OpenRail, highlighting how information is at the heart of it. The organisations involved in designing, building, and operating rail infrastructure are dealing with more and more data every day; it’s the same in society. Cockerell says: “Our solution is focused on managing that information, and providing the right tools to create the designs and information required to build the roads, railway, bridges, stations, so forth.

“Most importantly, we are able hand over all the information to the owner, so they can use it as the basis for making more informed decisions during the operations and maintenance phase.”

Cockerell mentions that companies in the region, such as Dubai RTA, are using the ProjectWise solution offering (a part of OpenRail) for design collaboration.

“A lot of the supply chain here, the consultants and contractors, are using our OpenRail Design technology, which has come from Bent-

ley Rail Track and Power Rail Track. OpenRail is the latest evolution on that journey.”

XRail Group offers full-turnkey project solutions for the rail sector, from design, installation, testing, commissioning, and maintaining the project for the client. The UK-based company has worked on the London Underground network, given the expertise it holds in the form of engineers well versed with the London Underground infrastructure, as well the Thales TBTC System.

Steve Hall, S&T manager at XRail, remarks: “We’ve started to move into the Middle East; we’ve done some work in Dubai already, on the Dubai Metro, and we have some significant more work to come in the region.”

In 2016, XRail was awarded a key contract by AECOM, to undertake the installation and testing of a remote conditioning monitoring system for Dubai Metro. The system was based on prior studies to help estimate the future patronage and trends for the system between 2016 and 2020.

Commenting on the company’s presence the event, Hall says: “We do shows not just in Dubai, but also in the UK and other parts of the world. And while we may not be showcasing anything specific this year at Middle East Rail, we’re here to meet our clients, for whom we provide the full package.

“A lot of companies will either do the installation for you, or the testing, or design— we do it all. The client avoids the hassle of dealing with four or five separate companies, since we can do the entire project for them on our side.”

Middle East Rail has helped shaped the regional rail industry for over a decade through knowledge sharing, educating the market, and facilitating influential meetings. The show serves as a platform for industry experts to identify problems, propose solutions, collaborate and harness innovative technologies in the railway sector.

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Viewpoint

To tech or not to tech Ralf W. Seifert and Richard Markoff consider the managerial implications of technological innovations, answering three key questions

A

recent survey by IMD business school asked supply chain leaders across Europe to select from a diverse list of 20 hot topics what would be their biggest supply chain drivers in 2020. They were also asked to rank their company’s readiness to exploit these drivers.

The top five supply chain drivers for which the implementation gap was the largest touched on Big Data, digitalisation, Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence, all pillars of Industry 4.0 along with automation, 3D printing and other digital innovations. These are exciting new technologies, but the survey shows that the current reality of supply chains is that, notable exceptions aside, the majority of companies are still not ready to use them.

This is the true challenge of Industry 4.0: even as technological advances continue apace, and early adopters reap the benefits of those technologies that fit their business context, executives at most companies are bewildered by the array of technologies and capabilities already available and do not always see an obvious entry point. Even after they have selected an innovation avenue, the business case is not easy to establish. And for those companies that do select an Industry 4.0 innovation, justify the economic case, and get to implementation, there are still unique barriers to change that must be overcome. Taken together, this is a three-part problem that companies looking

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A business case is more compelling when it is possible to pilot a new technology in a small, controlled environment before scaling up company-wide.” to innovate through Industry 4.0 need to solve: How will companies build paths to firstly select, secondly justify and thirdly leverage the functionalities available to them? Each of the challenges is worth a closer look.

Finding the right industry 4.0 fit It isn’t always clear for supply chain leaders which Industry 4.0 innovation initiatives to adopt. Industry 4.0 offers a host of exciting technologies, with a rich landscape of options and vendors attractive to senior management, but with high complexity risks for those closer to operations, who see a dizzying array of vendors and options. Adding to the puzzle, there are ‘internal’ and ‘external’ business drivers that

might dictate which innovations have the greatest potential benefit and warrant prioritisation.

The external market forces that pull supply chains towards Industry 4.0 solutions could be linked to mass customisation, agility in the face of ever more variable demand, using Big Data to understand and predict consumer behavior, and cloud collaboration networks with suppliers and customers.

There are prominent examples that show the potential of Industry 4.0. One is the use of 3D printing to produce customised hearing aids within hours, leading the way to wider use of 3D printing in medical devices such as titanium knees or spinal prosthetics. The potential is high enough that the FDA just released guidance that establishes the path to regulatory approval for 3D printed medical devices. FMCG companies are now using predictive analytics fed by big data to understand how consumers may react to new product launches in order to better size demand plans.

These are exciting opportunities that extend beyond supply chain and must be part of an overall definition of business strategy led by the CEO, wherein supply chain is one of many important actors in the conversation but that Industry 4.0 helps make possible. For example, investing in cloud-based order management tools that make it possible to leverage stores, warehouses and even third-party stocks to optimally

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fulfil ecommerce orders is a task for supply chains to solve. Even decisions on the configuration of the physical network are now dependent on the ecommerce order fulfilment strategy.

However, the decision to use stores to fulfil ecommerce orders, either with stock or via clickand-collect, is clearly part of an overall business strategy. The business strategy must position the priorities of ecommerce, store traffic and order lead time, and weigh staff training and complexity. Supply chains have a voice in the discussion to be sure, and the discussion must be had before rushing to implementation.

Going further upstream, deploying automation to increase the agility of line changeovers makes more sense if the business strategy is to have a larger product portfolio with smaller volumes and more promotional activity. The industrial strategy is a function of the business strategy, not the other way around. For example, Adidas is innovating in the shoe market by deploying 3D printing to support a strategy of offering customised insoles and limited-edition models. Their competitor Nike has announced an automation program that is remaking their geographical production footprint and bringing increased agility to their supply chain.

In terms of internal business drivers, automation, transparent S&OP planning suites, connected production sensors, predictive maintenance and shop floor augmented reality can have immediate benefits for safety, quality, and efficiency.

These solutions are interesting because of internal performance ambitions, rather than external market influences, and they are more independent of the overall business strategy.

They may seem to lie purely within the domain of supply chain and operations, but in fact are often multidisciplinary. Even something like demand sensing, using Big Data and predictive analytics to ‘sense’ short-term trends in consumer demand, is best done with the collaboration of commercial and category management teams. Without their support, accessing, understanding, and leveraging the data will be difficult for the supply chain to achieve.

Once the challenge of identifying and prioritising the most compelling possibilities of Industry 4.0 has been addressed, the next step is justifying the economic business case.

Calculating a business case Adopting an Industry 4.0 technology, be it in response to internal or external business drivers, requires a uniquely challenging economic justification, since it goes beyond straightforward return on investment scenarios.

This is partly because many Industry 4.0 technologies have not yet been widely deployed, and there may be reluctance to be the

Ralf Seifert is professor of Operations Management at IMD. He directs IMD’s new Digital Supply Chain Management program, which addresses both traditional supply chain strategy and implementation issues as well as digitalisation trends and new technologies.

Richard Markoff is a supply chain researcher, consultant, coach, and lecturer. He has worked in supply chain for L’Oréal for 22 years, in Canada, US, and France, spanning the entire value chain from manufacturing to customer collaboration.

first adopter. New technology solutions are often met with skepticism, which can raise the bar for the return on investment as there are few demonstrable business cases available for comparison. When the proposed technology is truly cutting-edge, the risks of failure are higher and the economic case is held up to greater scrutiny. Not every company has leaders ready to champion and sponsor innovation in the face of uncertain or less tangible outcomes.

One FMCG company we spoke to was an early adopter of AGVs – automated guided vehicles that replace driver-piloted forklifts. The pilot project showed a best-case payback of five years – just long enough for the project to be halted in its tracks for lack of a compelling return. However, the head of operations pushed forward, seeing the less tangible but critical value that investing in AGVs would represent. This would send a clear message that the company placed importance on safety, cleanliness, and innovation. Today AGVs are widely deployed worldwide and their contribution is not questioned. How many companies have similarly visionary leaders ready to take risks on Industry 4.0? Indeed, most of the Industry 4.0 success stories we have encountered reached implementation through management’s conviction that their company had to be an innovation leader rather than an ironclad economic justification.

When Industry 4.0 solutions are due to external forces, this adds a layer of complexity.

Supply chain managers are more used to justifying investments that provide efficiency or are

required to meet a stated, projected demand.

When the investments are part of a shift in business strategy, both the top and bottom lines in the economic model are moving, clouding the question even further. This is an opportunity for supply chain managers. They may now have a voice in shaping business strategy, rather than being uniquely a function of it.

An essential element to consider is scalability. A business case is more compelling when it is possible to pilot a new technology in a small, controlled environment before scaling up company-wide. Where possible, this can limit the size of the investment, but might discourage innovations that require high upfront fixed costs regardless of scale, such as a collaboration platform.

Overcoming barriers to implementation Any technology deployment will inevitably encounter barriers to implementation. There are the usual hurdles of employee engagement, skepticism and fear of being unable to adapt that cannot be ignored. But Industry 4.0 entails other dimensions of implementation challenges.

The potential lack of a clear business case might undermine the motivation of key implementation actors, especially if the transverse nature of the transformation undermines their economic incentives (our research on this will be published in a forthcoming article in The European Business Review). For example, factory managers purely motivated around cost and efficiency may resist Industry 4.0 initiatives that promote connectivity, transparency and agility.

With so many companies looking to implement their Industry 4.0 strategy, finding qualified talent is becoming a problem. Similarly, the skill levels of current employees might not be adequate, raising the required training effort.

From a technology perspective, increased connectivity and cloud projects mean that issues like cybersecurity and data ownership must be addressed. Business continuity plans may no longer be suitable with the emergence of new risk points and overall system threats.

What’s next?

Industry 4.0 advocates would do well to focus not only on the technology but also on the managerial implications. The technology is exciting and will undoubtedly change operations in the years to come. But for companies that are looking to participate in and benefit from Industry 4.0 must prioritise projects that are consistent with an external business strategy, identify what the true benefits are, and understand how ready they are to make the change happen.

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Ta l k i n g p o i n t

Ti m e f o r uptime

Ford Trucks on investing in talent and technology for its aftersales operation

F

ord Trucks always aims to provide premium and well-rounded support when it comes to its after sales service. Uptime is the first priority of Ford Trucks, so it is regarded as highly important to keep the trucks on road for as long as they are required.

At the heart of the company’s partnership with its customers is a commitment to ensuring they feel the Ford Trucks’ difference not only by boosting their operations through its cutting-edge products but also via the service and many support benefits they receive after their purchase.

Globally, this seamless support is delivered

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by Ford Trucks’ network of more than 82 dealer locations on important international routes in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Russia and CIS countries. All the service centres are equipped with latest technology diagnostics and special tools to do the required job in an efficient way.

In the Middle East, Ford Trucks aftersales services are represented by mobile services and a wide network of service centres in KSA, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait by official Ford Trucks Dealers. This ensures Ford Trucks and its dealers can serve regional customers with a complete support

programme, including vital on-the-spot repairs that are dedicated to maximising fleet operator and owner uptime.

Ford Trucks is also investing into the region, adding to its extensive workshop locations with the inauguration of further facilities in the UAE, KSA, and elsewhere. Only original Ford Trucks parts, which are manufactured to genuine specifications, are authorised to be used for any required services at its workshops.

This means clients can always be assured that they will fit and function as intended under the guarantee of Ford Trucks quality.

Securing spare parts can be a major is-

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A p r i l 2018

sue for the region’s fleets and Ford Trucks is setting new standards in availability for its clients. 95% of the parts are available at the manufacturer’s warehouse and, thanks to Ford Trucks’ operation system, it is possible to send any required item to its dealer workshops within 48 hours.

Understanding the needs of fleets is central to Ford Trucks’ approach to market and the Ford Academy invests in continuous trainee programmes to enhance its comprehensive range of support services. All Ford Trucks technical teams and parts personnel have been carefully trained to meet the company’s meticulous standards in order to ensure every individual receives as high level of service. Ford Trucks is furthermore closely monitoring the operations at the service centres of its dealers in order to analyse their productivity and efficiency. Through the customer satisfaction index (CSI) programme which has been established across the GCC markets, Ford Trucks dealers have dedicated teams to get customers’ feedback and to measure their performance on a regular basis.

Efficiency and productivity are increasingly important to fleets in the region with many of them utilising telematics and Fleet Management Systems (FMS). Ford Trucks’ own uni-

versal infrastructure system can be seamlessly integrated with any fleet management system, but it can also equip its own sophisticated FMS - Filobil - which enables customers to follow each truck’s location, vehicle condition, fuel consumption, driver performance, and receive daily reports for critical up-to-date data on operational costs.

Filobil is designed to maximise fleet flexibility and Ford Trucks will work with clients to put together an FMS service payment plan that fits with their budgets. Ford Trucks also offers flexibility with preventive service contracts and

comprehensive service contracts which customers can again tailor depending upon their operating requirements.

Finally, with all information related to each truck, including components, service records, trucks chassis numbers, and other details linking each product stored in its detailed database from the day of procurement, Ford Trucks provides fleets wherever they are based in the region with reassurance through its two-year bumper-to-bumper unlimited kilometre guarantee on any purchased product from its range.

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Supplier News

Supplier News

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U p dat i n g yo u o n t h e r e g i o n ’ s s u p p l i e r s

Bin Quraya Rental receives delivery of Genie boom lifts

Saudi Arabian heavy equipment rental company, Bin Quraya, a company member of the Bin Quraya Group, invested in 10 40m Genie Xtra Capacity (XC) boom lifts, to seek the right access solution to support the needs of petrol project specialist customer, Aramco.

The machines were supplied by Saudi Arabianbased authorised Genie Distributors, Middle East Development Co. (Medco).

For Aramco’s steel erectors, electricians, welders, pipe and millwright fitters, whose work involves the use of heavy tools and materials, these heavier capacity machines will provide the ability to work more efficiently and productively. All the 10 SX-125 XC booms were delivered this January.

Hamad Bin Quraya said: “When we invest, we are looking for equipment with an excellent reputation in the market backed by a local distributor that understands our needs, that we can consider as a true business partner.

With Genie and Medco, we have both. In addition to the reliability and quality that these products are known for, Medco has a great track 52 | Logistics News ME | April 2018

record for its holistic vision of after-sales service.”

Genie Xtra Capacity booms are designed to work in applications that require higher capacities. Like all models of the Genie XC family, the Genie SX-125 XC boom features a dual envelope design offering an unrestricted platform capacity of 300kg and a restricted capacity of 454kg.

Gary Cooke, Genie regional sales manager, Terex AWP, for the Middle East at Terex Equipment Middle East, said: “Offering a third more capacity than standard, our XC booms combine the latest new generation technologies to raise more people, more tools and more materials to increase productivity, and make work in applications that require higher capacities faster and easier.

“Even though Bin Quraya’s Genie SX-125 XC booms are painted orange, which is the company’s corporate colour, they are still Genie blue at heart! This implies that they are engineered to support our customers’ business by keeping their cost of ownership low, which is exactly what forwardlooking companies like Bin Quraya are looking for.”

CEVA opens new multi-user facility in Penang CEVA Logistics, one of the world’s largest supply chain management companies, has officially opened a new multi-user facility in Penang, Malaysia.

Situated within the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone Phase IV, the 6503.2sqm facility is only 10 minutes away from the Penang International Airport and 10 minutes from the Penang Bridge, connecting the island to mainland Malaysia.

This new multi-user warehouse is said to deliver cost efficiency and flexibility through an optimised layout design and improved infrastructure to serve customers. It includes a combination of temperature-controlled and ambient storage space, conducive and modern office space for in-plant customers, advanced materials handling equipment, advanced RF warehouse management system and customs sta-

tioned on-site to facilitate on-time clearance.

This is also an integrated hub that will house under one roof CEVA’s contract logistics and freight management teams for Malaysia, as well as its global supply chain solutions control tower teams who support its 24x7 largest customers globally.

Elaine Low, executive vice president South East Asia at CEVA Logistics, remarked: “CEVA continues to invest in its customer needs in Malaysia. This new facility, which has doubled our footprint in Penang, will continue to support our growth needs and positions us for future expansion in the market. With its strategic location in the northern part of Malaysia, coupled with the air cargo hub at Bayan Lepas airport, it aims to cater to a wide range of logistics and warehousing services and offer even greater value and benefits to our customers.” www.cbnme.com

M a r c h 2 018

FAMCO launches ‘safety edition’ Volvo FH truck Al-Futtaim Auto & Machinery Company (FAMCO) launched the latest edition of the Volvo Trucks advanced safety features in the UAE, unveiling the FH trucks at the FAMCO premises in Dubai.

The introduction of the advanced safety features is in line with the UAE Vision 2021 to work towards providing a sustainable future and Volvo Trucks’ commitment to match customer needs.

“We are extremely pleased to launch Volvo Trucks safety features in the UAE,” said Vladimir Knezevic, managing director of FAMCO UAE. “The Safety Edition Volvo FH truck with safety features was built with one thing in mind: the driver. The truck contains numerous world’s first innovations which will assist in safe driving, fast loading and fatigue reduction, thus increases productivity.”

Commenting on the Volvo Trucks advanced safety features, Jan-Erik Thoren, managing director of Volvo Trucks Middle East, said, “Our engineers are

responsible for some of the world’s most important safety innovations and we have continued on this tradition with the launch of this safety edition in the UAE.” The truck comes with safety features such as the headway support system, which reduces risk of accidents and collisions by alerting the driver at the risk of collision with the vehicle ahead; lane change support, where a radar system is designed to aid drivers and prevent accidents, and is activated whenever the driver uses turn signals, altering the driver if an obstruction is detected on the truck’s side.

Further features include electronic stability program (ESP), which reduces the risk of skidding and rolling over; lane keeping support, where by at speeds over 60 km/h, the system monitors the truck’s position on the road. When it detects the truck drifting or swaying outside of its lane, a warning alerts the driver so that they can resume control.

Driver alert support is an extension of Volvo’s

lane keeping support, which monitors driver behaviour and steering wheel movements. If the truck begins to sway or drift, a warning system alerts the driver and suggests taking a break if the behaviour continues. The tyre pressure monitoring makes it possible for the driver to supervise the tyre pressure through the driver information display.

A correct tyre pressure gives an optimal use of the tyre and leads to increased lifetime and decreased fuel consumption.

From a safety point of view, a controlled tyre pressure results in detection of leakage and preventing blowouts.

Further, Volvo dynamic steering reduces steering force up to 85%. It obtains a predetermined steering feel, independent of load and tires, and contributes to a more relaxed driving through improved directional stability, Lastly, an airbag is mounted in the steering wheel’s centre module and will be released in case of a head-on collision with a heavy or solid object.

KGL receives new US military operations support contract Kuwait & Gulf Link Transport (KGL), an international logistics firm based in Kuwait, announced that the US Army has awarded a new contract to support heavy line haul operations for the US military throughout the Middle East.

Under the terms of the contract, the second of its kind awarded to KGL, the company will provide commercial services that include personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and non-personnel services necessary to perform commercial line haul, heavy lift, and personnel transportation services in support of the 1st Sustainment Command (Theater).

KGL shall provide commercial line haul transportation for the movement of equipment, cargo, and personnel throughout the US Central Command (Centcom) area of responsibility (AOR).

KGL is one of four vendors on the contract, and the value for KGL is estimated to be approximately $200mn, with a maximum contract value not to exceed $547mn for a duration of 60 months.

KGL previously signed a contract with the US Army, valued to be $690mn, and not to exceed $1.38bn for a duration of 60 months.

Sam Khatib, chief business development officer, KGL, said: “We are proud to have worked with the US military in the Middle East for more than two decades, solving complex logistics challenges for missions across the region. This new contract is a testament to our important partnership, and we look forward to continuing our work with the US Army to provide this critical support for its operations in the Middle East.”

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Save the date

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The key exhibitions, conferences, and seminars coming up this month

April

9-12

April

25-26

Modex 2018 Atlanta, USA MODEX is a one-of-a-kind manufacturing and supply chain industry event where solution providers and powerful buyers come to meet, network, and get deals done face-toface. Buyers come from over 110 countries around the world, looking for ways to increase the speed, efficiency, and performance of their supply chains. MODEX 2018 will include over 850 exhibits from leading solution providers and a comprehensive educational conference of over 100 sessions, focusing on best-in-class solutions for manufacturing and supply chain operations. The exhibits will represent all segments of the material handling, logistics, and transportation industry, from traditional, manual equipment to computerised, automated systems and smart supply chain technologies.

ChemLogistics Mumbai, India ChemLogistics India 2018 is an international exhibition on chemical warehousing, transportation, and logistics. The exhibition will take place alongside the 14th edition of the highly successful Chemspec India, an exhibition for the fine and specialty chemicals industry. The main exhibit sectors at ChemLogistics are automation and control systems, consultancy, freight forwarding, logistics information systems and technologies, materials for storage, material handling, ports and terminals, quality and safety equipment, transportation vehicles and accessories, warehouse and infrastructure, and more.

Other co-located events are ChemProTech India 2018, International Exhibition on Chemical Processing Technology, Equipment’s & Supply, and HPIC India 2018, an exhibition on ingredients for Home, Personal & Institutional Care.

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April

17-19

May

1-3

Middle East Pharma Cold Chain Congress Dubai, UAE The Middle East Pharma Cold Chain Congress is a platform for the pharmaceutical industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region which gathers all the industry stakeholders to discuss ongoing and future challenges and come up with solutions to address these issues. This year, the focus is on regional pharmaceutical companies facing challenges such as globalisation of the pharmaceutical supply chain, developing GDP regulations updates, and maintaining global compliance for temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals across different countries with varying regulations.

This year’s congress places emphasis on overcoming these challenges with the most effective strategies including regulatory compliance, integrating cold chain management, selecting the appropriate partners, maintaining supply chain integrity, achieving real time traceability, and more.

Automechanika Dubai Dubai, UAE Automechanika is the world’s biggest trade fair for the automotive service industry, with visitors and exhibitors from industries such as automotive sport, workshop equipment, tyres and batteries, parts and components, electronics and systems, repair and maintenance, accessories and customising, etc. The Dubai edition is the most sought-after event in this part of the world, with industry experts proclaiming it to be the perfect time to explore new products, find new suppliers, connect with new distributors and wholesalers, while comparing product alternatives. The number of official country pavilions taking part this year is 25, which includes the world’s largest German pavilion for the automotive aftermarket industry. www.cbnme.com

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