Global Logistics—May 2010

Global Logistics—May 2010<br />

Netherlands Harvests Rail Efficiencies

Combining two of the country’s national pastimes, flowers and trade, the Dutch are taking an innovative approach to exporting floriculture. Last year the GreenRail project—a partnership between flower auctioneer FloraHolland, the VGB (Association of Wholesalers in Floricultural Products), rail operator HUPAC, and 4PL e-Logistics Control—began arranging transportation for products along conventional railway lines in Europe. On average, two to three containers are transported to Italy, Hungary, and Romania weekly, and new routes are planned for Poland and Switzerland.

The GreenRail initiative demonstrates that rail transportation is a suitable method for moving flowers long distances. Also, as its name implies, the rail piece is more sustainable. Trips longer than 350 miles reduce CO2 emissions by 50 percent and slash costs by almost 10 percent compared to road transport. It’s also reliable, with 96 percent of containers shipping on time.

Red Dragon Turns Green

Singapore investors have signed on to develop an Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) in Tianjin Eco-City, China, marking a landmark bilateral project between the two countries. With an estimated total investment of US $585 million over the next six years, the EIP is expected to be the base for global eco-businesses in the Bohai Rim, serving as an important stimulus in China’s progression toward clean technologies and sustainable urban growth.


Strategically located next to the major highways that link the Eco-City to Tianjin Port, Tianjin Airport, Tianjin City, and Beijing, the industrial park will be the first of its kind in China and comply with Eco-City’s green building evaluation standards—a system that draws from best practices in both Singapore and China.

Hamburg Gets a KLU

The Kühne School of Logistics and Management is spinning off an independent institution in Hamburg, Germany, focused purely on logistics. The Kühne Logistics University (KLU) will become part of the city’s cluster of logistics research institutes and develop two international non-consecutive Master’s programs, a Bachelor’s program, and a PhD fellowship over the next five years. Anchored in Hamburg, one of Europe’s premier port cities, KLU’s curriculum will focus on logistics and business management in the context of economic, technological, and international studies.

Brightpoint Explores Asia-Pacific with RIM

As a further signal that mobile communication technologies in Indonesia are maturing, and discretionary consumption is building, Brightpoint and Research In Motion (RIM) are partnering to expand the distribution of BlackBerry smartphones throughout the country. The 3PL will provide logistics and supply chain expertise, using its relationships with local distributors to help expand the company’s footprint. RIM has already made a similar foray into the Indian market, where the country’s dynamic workforce was an additional attraction as a location for manufacturing product.

School’s In for Singapore Shippers

The American Society of Transportation and Logistics (ASTL) is exporting its curriculum to Asia with the debut of the Singapore Shippers Academy. Developed in cooperation with the Singapore National Shippers’ Council—a domestic body representing cargo owners—the new school plans to bridge the global gap in continuous education and training while raising industry standards. The academy has selected ASTL’s Professional Designation in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and Certified in Transportation and Logistics programs as initial certification offerings.

Nippon Cargo Targets Pharma

Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) is putting the deep freeze on some of its cargo operations—and that’s a good thing. The Japanese carrier recently signed a lease agreement with Envirotainer to use its CLD containers for transporting pharma. The agreement supports NCA’s Pharmacare product, a priority service that offers specialized handling based on specific customer temperature requirements. Japan is the world’s second-largest pharma market, worth an estimated US $80 billion per year. But this is the first time an airline in the country has developed a specific service using Envirotainer containers.

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