One of the fastest growing and most exciting cross-border eCommerce markets is India.
Delegates attending the recent Air Cargo India event in Mumbai heard forecasts suggesting the country could achieve 10 million tons of cargo handled each year by 2030.
India currently moves around 3.5 million tons of air cargo annually, but the belief is that the continuing explosion in domestic and cross-border eCommerce transactions will be transformative and enable the country to hit or even exceed the 10 million forecast.
According to Sanjiv Edward, CEO – Cargo & Logistics at GMR Group, which operates out of Delhi, Hyderabad and Manohar (Goa) airports: “This is India’s time for growth. Maybe 10m is less ambitious, maybe 12m is the right number.”
Ramesh Mamidala, head of cargo for Air India, also believes the growth targets are achievable, but cautioned: “Everybody has to scale up their capabilities to ensure the country achieves that number… we are really excited.”
One of the main reasons for the current optimism is the growth levels already being recorded from India’s tier one cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Alongside this, India’s so-called tier 2 and tier 3 cities are also growing rapidly and will play an important contributory role in enabling the country to achieve its air cargo ambitions.
A recurring theme at the recent Air Cargo India event was the urgent requirement to improve customs processes to allow for a more efficient flow of goods, while the need to enhance collaboration across the air cargo supply chain was also identified by many delegates.
The air cargo sector in India recognises the need to increase its digitalisation competency if it is to compete effectively with other major eCommerce hubs around the world, notably Dubai and Singapore. Central to this objective is the need for the country’s customs processes to become more streamlined.
Hurricane Commerce’s exclusive reseller in India, Time Express, is already in active discussions with many companies and organisations which see scaling in cross-border eCommerce as a pivotal aspect of their own growth strategies.
Hurricane’s AI tech helps ensure that the data provided to customs authorities is complete and accurate and fully compliant with the increasingly stringent global regulations.
The company’s core products cover the critical areas of product classification (including HS code allocation), duty and tax calculation, prohibited and restricted goods screening and denied parties screening.
To meet the ever-increasing security threats, authorities around the world are actively enhancing their cargo security programs. This International Air Transport Association (IATA) regime is known as PLACI (Pre-Loading Advance Cargo Information).
Aimed at the safety of people and goods, these security programs take a risk management approach based on the provision of Advance Electronic Data (AED).
The importing country and transit countries that have a program require AED to assess whether an intervention is needed and if so, what type of appropriate actions should be taken based on the assessment results (e.g. immediate withdrawal of the shipment from the supply chain, additional inspection or information).
Some PLACI programs, such as the European Union’s Import Control System 2 (ICS2), are demanding specific data elements such as a mandatory HS Code.
The current PLACI programs include:
- United States (US) – ACAS (Air Cargo Advance Screening)
- European Union (EU) – Import Control System (ICS2)
- Canada (CA) – PACT (Pre-load Air Cargo Targeting)
- United Kingdom (UK) – PreDICT (Pre-Load Data Informed Cargo Targeting)
- United Arab Emirates (UAE) – National Advance Information Center (NAIC)
Historically, the data for cargo shipments has not always been timely or accurate. There are now many cases of a lack of the right data resulting in shipments being held or rejected.
If you are a business in India or the MENA region and would like more information about Hurricane’s AI tech and the value it can add to your cross-border capabilities, contact peter.pereira@hurricanemena.com
For more general enquiries, please email info@hurricanecommerce.com
