Groupage operator
International Liner Agencies
(ILA) has introduced several
new inland ports to its service
offering from India, adding
flexibility on this growing
trade lane.
The launch of the new
hinterland destinations
in Ludhiana (Punjab),
Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Jaipur
(Rajasthan), Indore (Central
India) and Kanpur (North
India), coincided with a visit
to South Africa by Samir
Parekh, managing director of
ILA’s long-time Indian agent
International Liner Shipping
Agency (ILSA), improving
accessibility of cargo from
these markets..
ILSA’s groupage services
are focused on East and South
Africa and the Indian Ocean
Islands while its FCL offering
covers the Arabian Gulf,
Africa, Europe, Red Sea and
Colombo.
Regular visits by overseas
partners are vital to ILA’s
strategy, says national sales
and marketing director
Raymond Cutts. “It’s
important that our agents
understand the changing
face of the market in South
Africa and that our customers
appreciate at first hand the
issues in India.
“For example, historically
carriers have run direct
services into Durban,” says
Cutts. “They’ve now changed
their routing which means
that our service offering had
to be adjusted.”
ILA is committed to a
weekly sailing from Nava
Sheva and Delhi and is now
running direct containers
into Cape Town which
used to be a seasonal
arrangement, he added.
“The weekly Cape Town
option was launched in April
this year and we’re finding
growing support for this
direct service,” said Cutts.
While port congestion,
delays by suppliers, weather
conditions and the like all
impact the flow of cargo at
source in India, infrastructure
shortfalls and inefficiency
by both port and rail are the
challenges faced in South
Africa.
But Cutts believes that
challenges create opportunity
and it’s ILA’s ability to deal
with these challenges that
makes the difference in a
highly competitive market, he
told FTW.
“Information is vital,”
says Parekh, “We provide
accurate, up-to-date reports
from the moment the
booking is made, through
transhipment in Colombo
and onward transportation to
South Africa.”
“We push information
continually so that if there
is a problem, alternative
arrangements can be made to
mitigate any further delays,”
says Cutts.
According to both Parekh
and Cutts, volumes from
India are on an upward
trajectory, with a slightly
delayed peak season having
just kicked in.
“With our aggressive
sales strategy in place, we
are upbeat about continued
growth on the route,” said
Parekh.
CAPTION
'Several new hinterland designations introduced.'
