Active collaboration is the name of the game
When a cargo craze took wings, SpiceXpress didn’t leave any stone unturned in exploring every opportunity available, from launching the cargo-on-seat concept to providing end-to-end logistics services. Sanjiv Gupta, CEO, SpiceXpress, shares how the carrier has ensured that the country’s supply chain remains intact and what the future holds for air cargo industry.
Could you please share the vital trends that will shape the air cargo industry?
I will answer this with a few keywords, which are technological disruption, customer satisfaction, product innovation, cost competitiveness, and collaboration. The initial two batches of transportation of COVID-19 vaccine
have taught us that the industry has now come into collaboration mode. There is collaboration between carriers, custodians, forwarders, government agencies and manufacturers. And, I am sure better collaboration is here to stay in the air cargo industry. This is a mega-trend because the collaborative approach that we demonstrated in India is being witnessed globally as well.
How has COVID-19 impacted the air cargo supply chain of pharmaceuticals industry? What should be industry stakeholders’ strategy to ensure continuity of supply worldwide?
The pharmaceutical industry was already transporting cold chain cargo and vaccination pre-COVID-19. However, the ongoing pandemic has brought about a better sense of cognizance of the supply chain effort and has highlighted its importance. In my view, active collaboration is the name of the game. The industry stakeholders need to work with a collaborative strategy.
The entire COVID-19 vaccination effort cannot be undertaken without all stakeholders putting in their bit. Government agencies, ministries, handling agencies, freight forwarders, carriers, and custodians have to work even more closely to deliver the vaccination to the final point of inoculation. This is the time to collaborate with each other to achieve a seamless transportation experience for all rather than transporting in a competitive environment.
The initial two batches of transportation of COVID-19 vaccine have taught us that the industry has now come into collaboration mode. There is collaboration between carriers, custodians, forwarders, government agencies and manufacturers
The first two phases of vaccine movement within India and to neighbouring countries in the month of January was done exceptionally well because of a collaborative approach between all the stakeholders. This needs to be repeated for the next phases of vaccine transportation within India. I also see it being replicated for international movement.
What challenge do you see in the colossal task of moving vaccine worldwide?
The major challenges that we could foresee were of maintaining the product integrity by transporting at the right temperature. This came across as a challenge because we were initially not able to determine the exact temperature range required for stability of the vaccine. However, we have overcome this challenge by investing in the right areas and launching our product for temperature-controlled shipment – Spice Pharma Pro.
Spice Pharma Pro gives us the capability to transport temperature-sensitive cargo with 24x7 real-time tracking and temperature and humidity tracking. We are capable of transporting frozen (-40 degrees to 0 degrees), chilled (2 to 8 degrees) and controlled ambient (8 to 15 degrees and 15 to 25 degrees). With the experience that we have gained over the years, we are confident of being able to handle the vaccine movement without major foreseeable challenges.
Please share the strategies the airline has adopted to sail through this difficult time.
We believe in keeping our business simple. We have been actively listening to our customers and adapting to the needs of the market. SpiceXpress has always been customers’ preferred logistics service provider. When the international market demanded capacity for international transportation, we were quick to invest in, and deploy our Boeing 737 freighters.
The domestic market required smallercapacity aircraft and we were the first to convert our Bombardier Q400 aircraft to freighters to meet the need. When our