Since the beginning of November, Lufthansa Cargo has introduced weekly A321 freighter flights to Evenes Airport in northern Norway. A joint project between the Norwegian salmon producer and exporter Nordlaks, the freight forwarder Salmosped and Lufthansa Cargo delivers the freshest fish and seafood to global markets.

Evenes Airport is located near the city of Harstad/Narvik and is part of the province of Troms og Finnmark in Norway. Located north of the Arctic Circle, this region is considered the gateway to the Lofoten Islands, making it a very important market for fish and seafood. The area around Evenes Airport is home to a number of salmon producers. Both the catch of wild salmon and the income from salmon farming are growing steadily. In 2021 alone, more than one million tons of salmon were exported from Norway.

“Efficient logistics is key. Customers in Asia expect to receive fresh products of high quality. We are very satisfied that we can develop new and innovative solutions together with partners like Lufthansa Cargo and Salmosped to serve our customers”, says Eirik Nikolaisen, Chief Commercial Officer Nordlaks.

In view of the high demand for Norwegian fishery products, the direct A321 freighter connection will enable the shortest delivery times to the respective global markets. Transporting fish and seafood as premium products requires compliance with the highest quality standards for customers as well as authorities. Complementing the quality service promise, Lufthansa Cargo’s new connection also offers a novelty of transporting fresh produce from Norway directly to the Frankfurt hub and from there on to numerous destinations within the international freighter and passenger network of Lufthansa Group Airlines.

“I am pleased about this air cargo product innovation. Thanks to the flexibility of the A321 freighter, we are able to build a customized supply chain solution for individual customers. We are not only helping to ensure that fish and seafood from Norway reach their destinations around the world even faster, but also in the best and freshest quality. In some cases, we are cutting the delivery times from four to six days to less than 24 hours thanks to the direct connection via our Frankfurt hub”, emphasizes Ashwin Bhat, Chief Commercial Officer at Lufthansa Cargo.

The JV Conti Seafrigo Antwerp has acquired a concession on the Nieuwe Westweg, near the Bevrijdingsdok in the port of Antwerp. The joint venture between the Conti-Lines Group and Seafrigo will build a sustainable frozen food warehouse with space for more than 40,000 pallets on the approximately 6-hectare site. This investment further strengthens the “cold chain” segment in Port of Antwerp-Bruges.

Maritime growth

The concession will be the location for a brand new, state-of-the-art food logistics platform. Seafrigo Antwerp NV will be responsible for its operation and the processing and storage of a wide range of refrigerated and frozen perishables. ​ The development of a frozen warehouse will allow the CSA alliance to expand its maritime network through strong international partnerships. Also, the warehouse offers essential added value for the Antwerp cold chain segment given the very high utilisation rate in the temperature-controlled warehouses and the high current market demand.

Innovative ambitions

The 25 m high-rise warehouse will be equipped with a brand new IT system that – combined with inspections via drones – will ensure higher overall safety and efficiency on the shop floor. Sustainability is also a high priority for the parties involved. In addition to using solar panels and heat pumps, hydrogen-powered vehicles are being examined. We are also looking at whether waste heat can be used to heat our own buildings. In addition, the new building meets the “very good” label of the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) principles.

William Demoor, Vice President Customer Relations Port of Antwerp-Bruges said, “This new investment will provide great added value within the cold chain segment of Port of Antwerp-Bruges. With their clear ambitions for sustainability, Antwerp Cold Stores Seafrigo’s strategy is fully in line with our own long-term vision.”

LogiNext, a delivery automation platform helping fast food restaurant chains manage their delivery services has announced the addition of McDonald’s Philippines to its 1-click Carrier Integration Marketplace. As part of this new partnership, McDonald’s last-mile delivery provider, GrabExpress will also be onboarded onto their platform.

This one-of-a-kind partnership will now enable McDonald’s to automatically send delivery orders placed via its McDelivery app and web portal to the GrabExpress platform, to be delivered via a GrabExpress delivery rider.

LogiNext’s Carrier Integration Marketplace is a single click, no-code solution for brands like McDonalds to seamlessly integrate their delivery operations with some of the top delivery and technology providers across industries like Food & Beverage, Courier & Parcel and Transportation.

“The Carrier Integration Marketplace is a huge thing because it’s a win-win for everyone. Brands get easy access to carriers of their choice, and carriers (which could be food aggregator apps, delivery networks etc) can monetize their capabilities better. We’re super excited about adding GrabExpress to our marketplace given their reach and salience. This will enable other LogiNext clients to also access GrabExpress last-mile delivery services. We’re scaling up the marketplace aggressively so that more and more brands can take advantage of it,” says Dhaval Thanki, VP of APAC & MEA at LogiNext.

“McDelivery has become a high growth sales channel especially the past couple of years. Strategic investments made prior to 2020 have allowed us to set a strong foundation for delivery like having a clear technology roadmap, that enables us to onboard systems to stay ahead of the curve. LogiNext’s integration with GrabExpress is aligned with McDonald’s mission of a frictionless customer experience across all channels, allowing us to serve making delicious feel-good moments anytime, anywhere easy for everyone. Through this technology platform, we’ll be able to deliver signature McDonald’s meals faster and more efficiently,” says Oliver Rabatan, AVP of Marketing and Channels Lead at McDonald’s Philippines.

With GrabExpress joining LogiNext’s 1-click Carrier Integration Marketplace, new and existing LogiNext clients can now easily integrate their delivery operations with GrabExpress’s last mile service through pre-built APIs. Overall, this partnership will enable McDonald’s to march ahead as a progressive tech-enabled brand and push the entire F&B industry towards increased efficiency so they can keep delivering a great end customer experience along with meeting business objectives.