Quick News : India finally looking to privatize their Airlines

According to media reports, the government is looking to sell 10-20 per cent of its holding in national carriers Air-India and Indian Airlines in their Initial Public Offer (IPO), Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said Monday.
…………………..
Despite its size, Air-India has an equity base of just Rs 1,500 million (US$34.1 million), while for Indian Airlines it is Rs 1,050 million, he said.

“Not only these two airlines, but all other airlines need to have healthy balance sheets before going for expansion. Therefore, we need to enhance the equity base.”

Speaking on the Indian aviation industry, he said it was still a long way from achieving maturity in terms of infrastructure, equity capital and flights.

Article can be found here.

For Shippers/Logistics Managers : Reverse Logistics

What is reverse logistics ? Reverse logistics refers to the handling of returned goods and deciding what to do with them. What used to be a simple process in the dark recesses of the company’s warehouse is now becoming an important aspect of all global businesses. By investigating and refining how your company handles returned goods, you can benefit financially as well as reduce the amount of product that ends up getting thrown away.

Here is an interesting article outlining valuable lessons that companies have learned through reverse logistics :

There are five valuable lessons for supply chain managers from the experience of the organisations described:

Managers recognise and measure the financial impact of reverse logistics on company performance. In several cases, companies have also been able to measure the impact on customer service and relationship management.

Companies now use reverse logistics capability to enhance competitive advantage. While reverse logistics may never be the focal point of a company’s overall strategy, managers are increasingly recognising that reverse logistics can fit into a company’s strategy to be a cost leader or to better serve customers. Managers who recognize the importance of the process to enhance profitability or develop stronger customer relationships stand to strengthen their companies’ competitive positions.

For reverse logistics systems to be successful, top management must guide and support the implementation. Only then will the strategic importance of the process be widely recognised. Each of the companies interviewed acknowledged that its system works only because it enjoys the full support of its executive team.

It is crucial to integrate all the functional areas that affect, or can be affected by, returned products. At several of the organisations surveyed, integration chiefly means creating tighter linkages between the marketing and logistics functions to ensure a smooth return process with prompt and correct credits for customers. Regardless of the scope of the necessary integration, each company recognised that reverse logistics spans several functional areas and cannot be managed in isolation.

The most successful companies systematically developed decision rules that consider the cost of return transportation, the cost of reprocessing or remanufacturing, and the resale price. Such guidelines allow companies to focus their return and processing efforts on items that can achieve a return while minimising the costs incurred by other products that will not generate any return.

Reverse logistics is a valid supply chain management discipline, but one whose full potential has yet to be realised by many managers.

You can read the whole article here.

For more information on reverse logistics, look here and here.

Tucson developing inland port/logistics center – jobs expected to follow

This is an interesting article about Arizona’s plans to further develop Southern Arizona’s logistics capabilities via increased rail and trucking connections to Los Angeles and other parts of the state.

This project, known as Puerto Nuevo, does not call for the dredging of the Santa Cruz River to bring ocean cargo to Tucson. Rather, Puerto Nuevo is an effort designed to take full advantage of southern Arizona’s strategic east-west position for rail and truck transportation coming from the Pacific Ocean ports and its strategic north-south position for rail and truck traffic to and from the states of northern Mexico.
…..
The most critical use for Puerto Nuevo, however, will be as a logistical area for the products coming from the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego and Hueneme. Another port connection is planned at Punta Colonet, about 150 miles south of the border near Ensenada, Baja California. Railroad tracks will likely be built from Punta Colonet to the Union Pacific line at Yuma that then connects at Tucson.

In undertaking its functions, Puerto Nuevo takes its cue from a motto of Logistics World magazine: “Logistics means having the right thing, at the right place, at the right time.” Puerto Nuevo will be a major source for logistics jobs in the southern parts of Tucson and Pima County. Most of these new jobs are judged to be perfect replacements for declining mining and manufacturing employment.

You can find the entire article here.

Philippines to boost flights for budget Asian Airlines from Clark Special Economic Zone

The Philippines has used the former US Clark Air Base as a special economic zone with its own airport. They opened up the airport to cargo flights in 2003 and passenger flights quickly followed. Now they plan to increase the current number of flights from 37 a week to 50 :

The Clark airport expects to nearly double the number of passengers to 40,000 next month from the present monthly average of 22,000, he added.

“Clark is the future of aviatio,” Mendoza said. “The increased activity is due to the government’s decision to open Clark skies to low-cost carriers.”

Families of overseas Filipino workers in nearby countries such as Singapore and Malaysia have been taking advantage of cheap airfares being offered by budget airlines operating from Clark, Mendoza said.

Mendoza said the new carriers were from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Express, a source said, will start operating initially chartered flights to and from the former military airbase.

Thai Air Asia is still following up on its request to launch a Bangkok-Macau-Clark route.

Two budget carriers — Malaysia’s AirAsia Berhad and Singapore’s Tiger Airways Ltd. — have been operating from Clark since April. They have increased flights to keep up with market demand.

« Previous Page — Next Page »