CMA CGM Group, one of the world’s largest shipping and logistics firms, has embarked on a digitalisation drive led by e-commerce to achieve its growth targets in India, its third biggest market globally, a top executive said.
CMA CGM, which had been operational in India since 1984 and currently operated 14 direct weekly services to India, had already launched CMA CGM eSolutions, a 100% digital eco-system wherein a customer can book cargo online and track its progress, in a seamless manner.
More e-offerings are on the cards, the firm said.
“India is steadily moving towards becoming a digitally-empowered society and our alignment to the digital vision will help build a simpler and transparent business eco-system. Our e-commerce solutions allows our customers to get confirmed space onboard using very simple process in just few clicks,” said Ugo Vincent, MD, CMA CGM India.
Pilot phase
“Currently the service is in its pilot phase and is applicable on our India—Europe services.
“We look forward to the successful completion of the pilot to introduce the product on our other global trade lanes soon. Customer centricity is of utmost importance to us,” he said.
CMA CGM, headquartered in Marseille, France transported 21 million TEUs of cargo in over 500 ships calling more than 420 ports, in the year ending December, 31, 2018.
In India, the shipping group is focusing on breakbulk and project cargo to grow its business. It has a dedicated project cargo division which ships all types of cargo from delicate shipments to bulky and heavy equipment, including helicopters, aerobridges amongst others.
The group carried 900 such shipments in 2018 to global ports, mainly to African and South American countries.
“We have several decades of in-depth knowledge and experience of shipping oversized and heavy lift cargo. India is actually becoming a hub for such export cargo, especially heavy engineering and automotive sector. We are witnessing an increase in project cargo from India to Africa,” he added.
Currently the shipping line is calling on seven gateway ports and seven feeder ports of India. It is also providing intermodal solutions covering accessibility to and from more than 50 inland locations.
In 2017, CMA CGM partnered with India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone to jointly operate a container terminal at Adani’s Mundra port in Kutch, Gujarat.
For a cleaner environment, the company is investing in green shipping, it said.