CWC showcases end-to-end integrated logistics solutions at launch on Konkan Railway network in Mangaluru

MANGALURU : With its own warehouses and presence in the rail transportation sector, the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) will offer end-to-end logistics solutions, from stuffing of consignment into containers to unpacking and delivering to customers, according to CWC Managing Director Santosh Sinha.

Talking to The Hindu on the sidelines of CWC launching its container freight train from Mangaluru to Morbi in Gujarat transporting polypropylene produced by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) on January 22, Mr. Sinha said CWC has the advantage of owning warehouses, unlike other container freight train operators. The corporation would leverage the advantage of having 741 warehouses across India to offer end-to-end integrated logistics solutions.

The launch of the freight train in Mangaluru marks a significant step in CWC’s expansion into integrated logistics services, demonstrating its capability in handling end-to-end multimodal transportation along with inventory management as a one-stop total supply chain solution provider, Mr. Sinha said.

To enhance capacity, CWC also would use containers as temporary warehouses, thereby eliminating costs on unloading, transporting to conventional warehouses, and re-loading the consignment. “This works cheaper as compared to conventional warehouses,” he said.

CWC Director (Marketing and Corporate Planning) Samuel Praveen Kumar said the pan-India Container Train Operator licence possessed by the corporation enables it to operate container freight trains anywhere in India. He said the corporation was acquiring rakes as a part of its expansion plan. The CWC has its own fleet of 10 BLSS rakes (Spine Cars) while another three were in the pipeline. While it was operating another 10 rakes on lease, four more were expected to be obtained on lease soon. It would thus have 27 BLSS rakes, each capable of transporting 98 TEU (20-foot-equivalent unit) containers.

Mr. Kumar said the departure of MRPL’s consignment to Morbi was the first penetration of CWC in Konkan Railway Corporation Limited network, and in this part of Karnataka. The corporation has rail-side warehouses at Thokur, Udupi and Verna (Goa), while one more would come up in Ratnagiri (Maharashtra). This infrastructure would add strength to the operations, he added.

Digitising warehouses
Director (Finance) Niraj Priyadarshi said the corporation was aggressively digitising its warehouses and has already covered nearly 217 foodgrain warehouses. Digitisation was underway for the remaining 500-odd warehouses, he added.