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ASIAN BUSINESS
Japan’s benchmark stock index powered higher again
Tuesday, extending a rally sparked last week after the Bank of Japan announced
a bold program to revive the country’s moribund economy. Other Asian stock
markets were modestly higher.
The head of Japan’s central bank, Haruhiko Kuroda,
on Thursday delivered on promises to take aggressive action to shake Japan from
nearly two decades of growth-crippling deflation. He unveiled plans to pump
huge amounts of money into the economy via government bond purchases and pursue
a 2 percent inflation target in order to spark lending and spending.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.5 percent to
13,260.04, extending gains for a fifth straight session, as the yen traded at
its weakest since May 2009.
With Japan’s monetary battle plan now laid out,
investors are turning to quarterly earnings reports from major U.S. companies.
The reporting season began in earnest late Monday when Alcoa, a major maker of
aluminum, turned in a mixed report. Its earnings were ahead of expectations but
its revenue missed forecasts.
Later this week, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase
announce their first-quarter performance. Investors are expecting strong earnings
in 2013.
‘‘If the banks can show credit growth over this
period, then we may actually start to see real confidence returning to US
markets,’’ said Evan Lucas of IG Markets.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8 percent to 21,890.51.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.3 percent to 4,967.70. Benchmarks in
mainland China, Singapore, and Indonesia also rose.
South Korea’s Kospi went against the trend, dropping
0.4 percent to 1,910.09 as tension brewed on the Korean Peninsula amid joint
U.S.-South Korean military drills. Pyongyang recalled all its workers from the
Kaesong industrial complex, which is managed by South Koreans and staffed by
North Korean workers.
Lack of awareness about non-tariff barriers among
traders of the South Asian region is creating problems in enhancing intra-SAARC
trade and commerce, a government official has said.
"Lack of awareness about Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) is creating lot of problems. Stakeholders like business associations should organise seminars to make traders aware of the procedures followed by each countries. The move would help in increasing trade," Director in the Commerce Ministry Indira Murthy today said at a seminar here.
She was addressing representatives from South Asian countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The seminar on 'Participatory Approach to Address NTBs in Regional Trade' was organised by CUTS.
Murthy said the government is working to resolve all matters related with non-trade barriers to boost trade among South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
"There is a sub-group who are looking at the issues related with land custom stations. Negotiations are on to remove them (NTBs)," she said.
She added that the governments are engaged to remove barriers related with infrastructure and facilitates at customs stations like testing laboratories.
The Director informed that India is not only spending money on developing infrastructure but also organising outreach programmes in the neighbouring countries informing traders about paper work and different procedures.
She said that SAARC members should focus on issues such as energy cooperation, Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and work closely to increase trade instead of competing with each other.
"Regional integration is the need of the hour. Why can't we have such agreement (ESMA) within the SAARC region," she said.
"Lack of awareness about Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) is creating lot of problems. Stakeholders like business associations should organise seminars to make traders aware of the procedures followed by each countries. The move would help in increasing trade," Director in the Commerce Ministry Indira Murthy today said at a seminar here.
She was addressing representatives from South Asian countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The seminar on 'Participatory Approach to Address NTBs in Regional Trade' was organised by CUTS.
Murthy said the government is working to resolve all matters related with non-trade barriers to boost trade among South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
"There is a sub-group who are looking at the issues related with land custom stations. Negotiations are on to remove them (NTBs)," she said.
She added that the governments are engaged to remove barriers related with infrastructure and facilitates at customs stations like testing laboratories.
The Director informed that India is not only spending money on developing infrastructure but also organising outreach programmes in the neighbouring countries informing traders about paper work and different procedures.
She said that SAARC members should focus on issues such as energy cooperation, Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and work closely to increase trade instead of competing with each other.
"Regional integration is the need of the hour. Why can't we have such agreement (ESMA) within the SAARC region," she said.
ASIAN MANAGEMENT
Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management
(DeAWM), the investment
management division of Deutsche Bank, has launched five new Asia-focused
exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Hong Kong. The launch includes the territory’s
first ETFs to offer exposure to equity markets in Singapore, Bangladesh and
Pakistan.
The other two ETFs provide exposure to Philippines
equities and Asian (excluding Japan) high-dividend-yielding stocks.
DeAWM is the largest ETF provider in Hong Kong by
number of funds, with a total of 35 products listed on the Stock Exchange of
Hong Kong
The ETFs are linked to MSCI Investable
Market (IM) Indices. These indices target approximately 99% of
each market’s free-float-adjusted market capitalisation and cover all
investable large, mid and small-cap securities, subject to minimum
investability and size criteria.
BANKING
European Finance Ministers are looking to make
progress on the creation of a single supervisor to watch over banks — a task
officials say has assumed even greater urgency since a banking crisis in Cyprus
stoked renewed fears over the region’s debt crisis.
The meeting of the 27 Finance Ministers of the
European Union countries in the Irish capital is the first since the chaos of
the Cyprus bailout, which resulted in big bank depositors suffering big losses
and the imposition of capital controls for the first time since the Euro was
established in 1999. The meeting also takes place amid renewed market worries over
Europe’s debt problems, particularly the size of other banking sectors, notably
that of Slovenia’s.
Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he
expected the Finance Ministers to endorse a plan for a central authority for
Europe’s banks that has been developed in Brussels by national representatives
to the EU.
“I think the big breakthrough today will be that we
have now got a political agreement on the single supervisory mechanism,” Mr.
Noonan said on his way to the meetings on Friday. After that, he said, Ireland,
which currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU, will begin
working to develop a policy on bank resolution.
The
plan is to give the European Central Bank central oversight of all European
banks, accompanied by a common bank resolution mechanism and a joint bailout
fund. But the plan won’t take effect before next year, as Mr. Noonan
acknowledged Friday.
With fees earned from facilitating tax collections
doubling, IDBI Bank plans to step up its focus on government business.
In fiscal 2012-13 (FY13), the public sector bank
earned Rs 60 crore fee income (Rs 30 crore in FY12) from government business,
which includes facilitating collection of direct and indirect (Central) taxes,
State sales tax and treasury business.
Direct tax includes corporate and personal
income-tax while indirect tax includes Customs duty, excise duty and service
tax.
IDBI Bank facilitated central tax collections
aggregating Rs 1,42,776 crore in FY13 against Rs 1,12,543 crore in FY12,
registering a 27 per cent growth. As per the revised budget numbers, the
central tax collection in FY13 amounted to Rs 10,35,381 crore.
The bank also mopped up Rs 16,198 crore in FY13 for
14 States by way of sales tax/value-added tax against Rs 12,125 crore in FY12.
According to Viney Kumar, Executive Director, “We
are proactively encouraging our customers to pay their taxes through us. This
is part of our cross-sell activity.
“We want to leverage our technology as much as
possible to facilitate e-payments to the Central and State Governments. Even
non-IDBI customers can pay their taxes through us.”
Government business presents two-fold advantage for
banks. While banks earn fee income, the funds collected also improve their
overall low-cost CASA (current account, savings account) deposits, albeit only
for a day.
“Any banking relationship is not just an asset
relationship. It has to be seen holistically as asset plus liability plus
whatever other cross-sell opportunities that a commercial bank can tap,” said
Kumar.
The IDBI official pointed out that there was an over
200 per cent jump in Customs duty collection in FY13 to Rs 22,000 crore from Rs
7,000 crore a year ago.
“We introduced a system of multiple challan
(receipt) payment facility for Customs duty through a single e-payment
transaction (you can upload multiple challans in one go instead of uploading
one by one). This facility helped push up Customs duty collection,” said Kumar.
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
Today, SendHub launched its Android application, upgrading the
business communication app to allow unlimited calls and added new features
including call forwarding, call transfer, shared groups, and auto attendant.
SendHub graduated from Silicon Valley incubator Y
Combinator a year ago with a $2 million check
in its pocket — a sizeable amount to get the SMS-based product off the ground.
The company billed itself as an SMS service for organizations and has morphed
into a social business phone system.
The system works on a variety of devices and
includes features such as VoIP calling and voicemail services as well as free
SMS and calling. The company also offers simple text messaging and mobile
marketing features, allowing business and organizations to broadcast messages
to colleagues and customers through group text.
“Email is not really that medium anymore, it’s just
such an overburdened channel. Social media is even worse. It’s often
impractical to call people. So that leaves SMS. And nobody has really made SMS
serious — and that’s what we do,” SendHub cofounder Ash Rust told
VentureBeat last year.
SendHub joins other social business services like Yammer striving to
engage and connect the workplace through social tools as networks like Facebook
and Twitter permeate our personal lives.
However, some analysts are skeptical of the benefits
of standalone social business software. Unproductive noise has begun to fill up
the business network, writes
entrepreneur Alastair Mitchell, and “useful business conversations that the
platform was purchased to foster were made obsolete.”
But with a variety of devices and ways to connect,
the growing social business software community could help simplify
collaboration in the workspace through idea sharing, file exchange, and
integrated communication. The SendHub Android application is the startup’s next
step in creating a simple, fast, and reliable communications platform for
organizations that want an easier and more social way of staying connected.
Comtrol
Corporation, a leading manufacturer of industrial device communication
products, today announces the official partnership with Axis Communications.
“The Axis Technology Partner Program is designed to
bring to market the ‘best of class’ solutions for channel partners and their
customers,” says Vince Ricco, Business Development Manager, TPP, Axis
Communications, Inc. “We are excited to formally welcome Comtrol to the program
and look forward to collaborating with such an interesting partner to offer
true problem solving technology solutions that go beyond common capabilities.”
Axis is the global market leader in innovative
network video products for retail, transportation, critical infrastructure,
perimeter security and public surveillance applications. As a member of the
Axis TPP, Comtrol will continue to improve product compatibility with Axis to
increase successful product integration and enhance end user experience.
Comtrol will also continue to participate in any joint marketing activities,
education, and development opportunities to further both companies’ success
within the security market. “Our customers have come to expect the very best in
reliable networking solutions for the past thirty years,” says Bradford Beale,
President of Comtrol, “We are pleased to be involved in Axis’ Technology
Partner Program. Our ruggedized line of RocketLinx™ Power over Ethernet
switches has proven to complement the physical security solutions that Axis and
its partners provide in North America, South America and Europe.”
INDIA BUSINESS
Indian companies invested $1.88 billion (around Rs
10,260 crore today) in other countries last month, up from $1.65 billion in
February, according to the Reserve Bank of India. Companies committed the money
by the way of equity, loans and issuing guarantees to their wholly-owned
subsidiaries and joint ventures in foreign countries.
The majority of money was invested in the form of guarantees. Companies issued guarantees worth $1.46 billion, while they had equity contribution of $217 million and gave loans worth $201 million.
Major companies that invested in foreign countries include Escorts Ltd, Videocon Industries Ltd, ILF&S Group and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Videocon Group, in two different transactions, issued guarantees worth $853 million in its subsidiary Videocon Hydrocarbons Holdings Ltd. This company, which is into mining and agricultural activities, is located in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Sea. ILF&S gave guarantees worth $105 million to its subsidiary ITNL International Pte Ltd in the US.
Glenmark invested six different countries in March. Its biggest transaction among the six was the $60.58 million investment it made in its subsidiary Glenmark Holdings SA, located in Switzerland. Out of the $60.58 million, $57 million was in the form of guarantees, while it gave a loan of $3.58 million to this company. Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Russia and Venezuela are the other countries where Glenmark invested during the month.
The majority of money was invested in the form of guarantees. Companies issued guarantees worth $1.46 billion, while they had equity contribution of $217 million and gave loans worth $201 million.
Major companies that invested in foreign countries include Escorts Ltd, Videocon Industries Ltd, ILF&S Group and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Videocon Group, in two different transactions, issued guarantees worth $853 million in its subsidiary Videocon Hydrocarbons Holdings Ltd. This company, which is into mining and agricultural activities, is located in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Sea. ILF&S gave guarantees worth $105 million to its subsidiary ITNL International Pte Ltd in the US.
Glenmark invested six different countries in March. Its biggest transaction among the six was the $60.58 million investment it made in its subsidiary Glenmark Holdings SA, located in Switzerland. Out of the $60.58 million, $57 million was in the form of guarantees, while it gave a loan of $3.58 million to this company. Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Russia and Venezuela are the other countries where Glenmark invested during the month.
Apple is stepping up its efforts to attract Indian
businesspeople and targeting enterprises implementing Bring Your Own Device
(BYOD) as it attempts to increase its share of the Indian smartphone market.
Canadian cell phone maker BlackBerry, which entered
the Indian market about nine years ago, has sold more BlackBerry phones in
India compared to any other country. Following the launch of its new line of
BlackBerry 10 devices it is expecting to penetrate the market even more.
But while celebrating its new flagship, the company has threats to worry about.
One of its biggest rivals, Apple, is attempting to
increase its Indian market share with a subtle shift in its strategy.
After selling iPhones for more than four years in India, a new distribution
model comes into play which is helping Apple push sales of iPhones harder in
India.
It has now expanded its sales through a number of
distributors and premium resellers. “In terms of installed base, currently
BlackBerry leads Apple in India. However, the rate of growth is much stronger
for Apple than BlackBerry,” said Katyayan Gupta, mobility analyst at Forrester.
This is the result of extensive marketing and payment plans which makes it more
affordable.
As a result, iPhone shipments have increased
significantly in the second half of 2012. Between October and December last
year, Indian shipments have almost tripled from 90,000 units in the previous
quarter to 250,000 units, making iPhone the second largest smartphone in terms
of revenue and the fifth largest by volume in India.
“Apple is primarily growing in the enterprise
segment because of the BYOD trend. The scope of a business smartphone has
changed from company-buying-and-giving-to-employee, to
employee-buying-and-getting-into-organization. This is where consumers have
made a choice to go for Apple,” Gupta said. In India, 88% of director-and-above
level executive employees choose the smartphones that they use at work and
below this level, 80% of the employees enjoy the same freedom.
INDIAN
MANAGEMENT
Even as the slowdown in the domestic economy
continues to take its toll on car companies, global auto majors are
increasingly turning to local managerial expertise to prepare for the next wave
of growth in the Indian market.
In a major change of guard in its Indian operations, Italian car maker Fiat last week appointed Nagesh Basavanhalli as president and managing director of Fiat and Chrysler India. Basavanhalli, who earlier headed the group’s technical centre out of Chennai, succeeds Enrico Atanasio who is set to assume responsibilities for the company in the Asia-Pacific region.
Fiat stated the change was as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen its business position in India. The company - with two products on offer in its portfolio in India – registered a decline of 56 per cent to sell a mere 6,471 units in the India market between April and December last fiscal.
Basavanhalli’s appointment comes at a time when in a major product offensive Fiat is set to unleash nine new products badged under the Jeep, Abarth and home brands over the next three years in the Indian market.
It is not Atanasio alone who has in recent times relinquished charge to a local executive. In December last year, Ford India appointed Joginder Singh as president and managing director to step in in place of Australian Michael Boneham.
In Ford again, Vinay Piparsania was brought in from the Group’s operations in Philippines as executive director (marketing, sales & service) in place of Nigel Wark. In Renault too, Britisher Len Curran made way for Sumit Sawhney as head of sales & marketing at the French car maker.
“Automobile companies examine their strategies continuously and explore possibilities of shifts in top management to innovate in sales and marketing. Global auto majors are appointing executives with deep local knowledge to connect better with Indian consumers”, says Abdul Majeed, partner and leader (automotive practice), Pricewaterhousecoopers.
In a major change of guard in its Indian operations, Italian car maker Fiat last week appointed Nagesh Basavanhalli as president and managing director of Fiat and Chrysler India. Basavanhalli, who earlier headed the group’s technical centre out of Chennai, succeeds Enrico Atanasio who is set to assume responsibilities for the company in the Asia-Pacific region.
Fiat stated the change was as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen its business position in India. The company - with two products on offer in its portfolio in India – registered a decline of 56 per cent to sell a mere 6,471 units in the India market between April and December last fiscal.
Basavanhalli’s appointment comes at a time when in a major product offensive Fiat is set to unleash nine new products badged under the Jeep, Abarth and home brands over the next three years in the Indian market.
It is not Atanasio alone who has in recent times relinquished charge to a local executive. In December last year, Ford India appointed Joginder Singh as president and managing director to step in in place of Australian Michael Boneham.
In Ford again, Vinay Piparsania was brought in from the Group’s operations in Philippines as executive director (marketing, sales & service) in place of Nigel Wark. In Renault too, Britisher Len Curran made way for Sumit Sawhney as head of sales & marketing at the French car maker.
“Automobile companies examine their strategies continuously and explore possibilities of shifts in top management to innovate in sales and marketing. Global auto majors are appointing executives with deep local knowledge to connect better with Indian consumers”, says Abdul Majeed, partner and leader (automotive practice), Pricewaterhousecoopers.
Indian outsourcer Infosys saw its profit drop even
as revenue grew in the first quarter, as margins were hit by staff salary
increases, and investments and acquisitions by the company in new technology
areas and markets.
The company's CEO and managing director S.D.
Shibulal told analysts on Friday that the company had a "soft
quarter."
Infosys said it continues to be hit by an uneven
economic recovery and slow decision-making by customers in its main market in
the U.S. A decline in prices as customers focus on cost-cutting, and the
weakening of the Indian rupee against the U.S. dollar also affected margins.
Revenue was US$1.9 billion for the quarter, up 9.4
percent from the same quarter last year, according to IFRS (International
Financial Reporting Standards). Net profit fell by about 4 percent year-on-year
to $444 million. Revenue growth in rupees was higher at 18 percent, while net
profit grew 3.4 percent, reflecting the weakening of the rupee against the
dollar.
Infosys' revenue for its fiscal year ended March 31
was $7.4 billion, up by about 6 percent from a year earlier, while net profit
was flat at a little over $1.7 billion.
The company acquired Lodestone Holding, a management
consultancy firm in Zurich specialized in SAP software, in the fourth quarter
of last year as it tries to build up its presence in Europe, a market that is
increasingly driven by the ability to deliver services from locations within
the continent.
But margins from the Lodestone business will
continue to be single-digit until Infosys moves some of the work offshore to
low-cost locations in India, Shibulal told a TV channel. In the meantime, the
company takes a charge each quarter towards payment for the acquisition, he
said.
Infosys' results for the quarter were not in line
with forecasts by National Association of Software and Services Companies, an
Indian IT services trade body, which had estimated 10 percent growth in revenue
from services exports in the Indian fiscal year ended March 31.
INSURANCE
Germany on Thursday pressed India to hike the
foreign equity cap in the insurance sector and reduce tariffs on import of
automobiles as a prelude to the much-awaited India-EU Free Trade Agreement even
as the two countries signed six pacts including one under which a German loan
of Euro one billion (Rs 7,000 crore) will be provided for a green energy
corridor in India.
After talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that India and the EU have not yet
overcome "all the difficulties" in reaching an agreement to conclude
the FTA.
India is pressing Germany, the biggest economy in
Europe, to provide a "strong political thrust" for inking of
broad-based Bilateral Investment and Trade Agreement (BITA) with the 27-nation
European block. Merkel, who jointly co-chaired the second round of
Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) with Singh, however, minced no words
when she said that the increase in the insurance cap by India was
"undeniably" an important issue apart from resolution of issues such
as tariff rate quota on imports of German cars, Services and Intellectual Property
Rights. "We want progress in the signing of the EU-India free trade
agreement. We are in a situation where it seems as if we can get there. We have
not yet overcome all the difficulties," Merkel told reporters while
appreciating Indian side to be "accommodating" in paving the way for
inking of the pact.
Singh on his part said that he and Merkel were
agreed on the "importance" of an early conclusion of a
"balanced" India-EU FTA. "We agreed on the importance of an
early conclusion of a balanced India-EU Broad Based Trade and Investment
Agreement," he added.
Aircraft lease rentals for Indian carriers will go
up, as leasing companies might opt for a re-possession risk insurance on planes
leased to local companies, said Uday Nayak, chairman of Veling, a
Mauritius-based leasing company.
Re-possession risk insurance covers against loss due to non- recovery of aircraft from the lessee. Its need is being felt after airport operators and the service tax department held in custody Kingfisher’s planes upon termination of lease terms.
Recently civil aviation secretary K N Srivastava directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to release Kingfisher planes which were de-registered from the records due to a lease rental default. The government directive came in the wake of petitions filed by lessors and aviation finance companies, including ILFC and DVB, demanding release of their planes. Wary of the Indian government's actions and worried over the heightened risk of business in this country, leasing companies are considering an insurance cover against such actions.
"We will have to consider it (re-possession insurance) if we lease planes to Indian carriers,'' said Nayak. Veling had leased two ATR-72s to Kingfisher and terminated both leases. One of the planes flew out from Bangalore today, after five months of negotiations with the GVK group, AAI, the aviation regulator and the tax department
"Till now, we never considered India as a risk but recent developments have made us rethink. There will be higher finance costs for us as well, as those banks willing to finance aircraft for lease into India will be cautious. This will mean higher lease rentals for airlines,'' he said.
Re-possession risk insurance covers against loss due to non- recovery of aircraft from the lessee. Its need is being felt after airport operators and the service tax department held in custody Kingfisher’s planes upon termination of lease terms.
Recently civil aviation secretary K N Srivastava directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to release Kingfisher planes which were de-registered from the records due to a lease rental default. The government directive came in the wake of petitions filed by lessors and aviation finance companies, including ILFC and DVB, demanding release of their planes. Wary of the Indian government's actions and worried over the heightened risk of business in this country, leasing companies are considering an insurance cover against such actions.
"We will have to consider it (re-possession insurance) if we lease planes to Indian carriers,'' said Nayak. Veling had leased two ATR-72s to Kingfisher and terminated both leases. One of the planes flew out from Bangalore today, after five months of negotiations with the GVK group, AAI, the aviation regulator and the tax department
"Till now, we never considered India as a risk but recent developments have made us rethink. There will be higher finance costs for us as well, as those banks willing to finance aircraft for lease into India will be cautious. This will mean higher lease rentals for airlines,'' he said.
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
China and Australia on Wednesday started direct
trading of their currencies, dealers said, in a move seen as a boost to
business ties and international use of the Chinese yuan.
The move allows the Australian
dollar and the yuan
to be directly swapped without using the US dollar as
an intermediary currency, making foreign trade settlement more convenient and
cutting transaction costs. The Australian dollar was quoted at 6.5118 yuan at
midday Wednesday on China's national foreign exchange market.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard
announced the move in a speech on Monday while on an official visit to China.
China, the world's number two economy, is Australia's
largest trading partner according to Canberra, spending billions on resources
it needs to fuel its growth, while Australia is China's seventh largest
partner.
The China Foreign Exchange Trade System said late
Tuesday that direct trading would "promote bilateral trade and investment
between China and Australia".
China's foreign
exchange market started direct trading between the yuan and Japanese yen in
June last year, while the US dollar is also directly traded with the Chinese
currency.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, one of the
market makers for the new trade, called the move a "milestone",
saying it would push forward convertibility of the yuan, according to a
research report.
But Zhang Jianping, a researcher at China's
Institute of International Economic Research, called for more government
efforts to make the yuan a global currency by reaching more such agreements
with trading partners.
LOGISTICS
Californian based Fox Head, Inc. owns the action
sports apparel and clothing brand, Fox, which is rapidly expanding its reach in
the European market. Menlo Worldwide Logistics (Menlo) has recently established
a new distribution centre for the company at its Eersel, (Netherlands)
Logistics Centre. During the last three decades, Fox has become an
international leader in the youth lifestyle clothing market making the best
motocross products money can buy. With multi-channel retail distribution
demands the Fox brand features fast-moving product lines that include
protective gear and apparel for activity pursuits such as motocross, surfing,
BMX and mountain-biking. Fox Head, Inc. is headquartered in Irvine, CA,
with additional offices in Morgan
Hill, CA, Calgary, Canada, and Barcelona, Spain. The Fox brand is the most
recognized and best-selling brand of motocross apparel in the world today.
After a review of their supply
chain requirements Fox have now relocated their European distribution hub
from the UK to Menlo's Eersel Logistics Centre.
Menlo, the global logistics subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW),
will provide transport management services for inbound product and distribution
to the Fox dealer network; inventory and warehousing management and order
fulfilment and dispatch. The facility will utilize Fox's voice
recognition technology.
Robby Dhesi, Fox's Vice President of Operations emphasizes
the importance of the voice picking system to supply chain efficiency,
"Menlo's flexibility and willingness to adopt our in-house voice
recognition system for order fulfilment was critical to our decision to move to
Eersel. We have been impressed with the improvements in the speed of
order filling when utilizing the system in our US and European
operations," he said. "In addition, Menlo's process-driven approach
to creating savings, their lean philosophy and Lean continuous improvement
programs are consistent with the Fox culture."
DHL has announced it is the official logistics
partner of the 2013 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, taking
responsibility for various aspects including the transportation of racing cars,
fuel, pit and TV equipment.
“Not a single wheel could turn in Formula One without logistics. No cars, engines or fuel would ever reach the race venues around the world. The drivers would not even have a driving suit in which to tear around the circuit,” said Nour Suliman chief executive of DHL Express Mena.
Over 30 tonnes of cargo per racing team has had to be quickly dispatched on the 6,833 km journey from Shanghai, where the previous race was held, to the Bahrain International Circuit, so that it would arrive in time for construction of the teams’ pits. During the course of the year, a team’s racing cars will be transported over 160,000 kilometres between the 19 Grand Prix venues.
“DHL is extremely well equipped for this race against time, a point that is reinforced by its backing of the DHL Fastest Lap Award. There are countless reasons why last minute deliveries become necessary, but the aim is always the same – to get to the track on time,” added Suliman.
DHL has an extra services team standing by to meet the special requirements of teams, organisers and sponsors, the statement said. Deliveries to and from the track can be made within 24 hours by express flights. An on-board courier accompanies any urgent package throughout the journey, expedites clearance through customs and can even take it by helicopter directly to the paddock.
“Not a single wheel could turn in Formula One without logistics. No cars, engines or fuel would ever reach the race venues around the world. The drivers would not even have a driving suit in which to tear around the circuit,” said Nour Suliman chief executive of DHL Express Mena.
Over 30 tonnes of cargo per racing team has had to be quickly dispatched on the 6,833 km journey from Shanghai, where the previous race was held, to the Bahrain International Circuit, so that it would arrive in time for construction of the teams’ pits. During the course of the year, a team’s racing cars will be transported over 160,000 kilometres between the 19 Grand Prix venues.
“DHL is extremely well equipped for this race against time, a point that is reinforced by its backing of the DHL Fastest Lap Award. There are countless reasons why last minute deliveries become necessary, but the aim is always the same – to get to the track on time,” added Suliman.
DHL has an extra services team standing by to meet the special requirements of teams, organisers and sponsors, the statement said. Deliveries to and from the track can be made within 24 hours by express flights. An on-board courier accompanies any urgent package throughout the journey, expedites clearance through customs and can even take it by helicopter directly to the paddock.
MANAGEMENT
Microsoft has released the latest version of its
Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) suite of IT management tools, an upgrade that
deepens its ability to manage Windows 8 PC deployments.
MDOP 2013, available now via download for the
company’s Software Assurance licensing program subscribers, boosts the
product’s BitLocker administration capabilities and group policy management
features for Windows 8, Microsoft said
on Wednesday.
With the product’s previous upgrade, MDOP 1012, released
in November of last year, Microsoft introduced Windows 8 support for three
of the suite’s components: Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V),
Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) 5.0, and Diagnostics and Recovery
Toolset (DaRT) 8.0.
In MDOP 2013, the Microsoft BitLocker Administration
and Monitoring (MBAM) tool gets a big upgrade to version 2.0, including Windows
8 support.
However, IDC analyst Al Gillen doesn’t see the
Windows 8 support as a big attraction for the mostly large enterprises that
subscribe to Software Assurance and use MDOP, because they haven’t widely
deployed the new OS on their PCs.
“Given the adoption of Win8 in enterprise accounts,
I don’t think that’s going to be the lead feature for a lot of customers
today,” Gillen said. “The Windows 8 support in MDOP is probably not super
critical for them.”
However, Microsoft is anticipating future demand, as
it should. “Microsoft couldn’t possibly say: ‘We haven’t updated MDOP for
Windows 8 because no one is using Windows 8 yet.’ They couldn’t send that
message out. The correct presumption is that customers will over time move to
Windows 8 and to the [Windows] versions that follow it,” Gillen said.
MBAM 2.0 features a new Self Service Portal for end
users, integration with System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007 and
2012, reporting enhancements, and simplified provisioning for Windows 8.
RETAIL
India’s
factory output slowed to 0.6% in February from 2.4% in January, signalling that
economic recovery has yet to take firm root. Retail inflation, however,
moderated in March for the first time in four months, though it remained in
double digits.
The
numbers encouraged some economists to maintain their forecast for a further cut
in interest rates by the central bank at its next monetary policy review due on
3 May.
Data
released by the Central Statistics Office showed consumer price inflation
slowed to its lowest level in four months at 10.39% in March from 10.91% a
month ago on the back of softening food prices.
Planning
Commission deputy chairman Montek
Singh Ahluwalia drew comfort from the fact that industrial production
didn’t contract.
“I’m glad
it’s not negative, it’s very low, not anything that one can point to as
indicating a robust return of growth,” he said.
In
February, mining contracted 8.1%, reflecting continued regulatory hurdles,
while manufacturing showed signs of a revival with a growth of 2.2%. However,
electricity production, which has been registering robust growth, contracted
for the first time in seven years by 3.2%, indicating that the myriad
constraints faced by the sector may be eroding its health.
In the
April-February period, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) slowed to 0.9%
from 3.5% a year ago.
In
February, while volatile capital goods grew 9.5%, signifying a swelling of
investment demand in the economy, basic goods and intermediate goods contracted
1.8% and 0.7%, respectively. Consumer durables shrank 2.7%, indicating weak
discretionary demand, while the consumer non-durables sector grew 2.9%.
In the
fiscal year ended 31 March, car sales fell 6.7%, the first drop in 12 years.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers lobby group expects car sales to
pick up by 3-5% in 2013-14.
While
economic activity remains weak, the better-than-expected reading of IIP
supports the view of a gradual recovery in activity and the appearance of
“green shoots” in the data, said Tushar
Poddar, managing director and chief India economist at Goldman
Sachs .
Wal-Mart
WMT +1.46%
is now a member of the National Retail Federation (NRF), according to
representatives for the Bentonville, Ark., company and the business group. The
addition of Wal-Mart to NRF’s ranks will bring some serious clout to the trade
association, which has sought to raise its profile in Washington.
Brooke Buchanan, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said the
retailer decided to join NRF this year.
There’s a long back-story to the relationship
between the world’s biggest retailer and the world’s biggest retail federation.
It dates to the early
days of Sam Walton’s founding of the chain:
In the late 1960s, Sam Walton, Wal-Mart’s founder,
tried to join the NRF but was rebuffed because “the department store owners
didn’t want to mix with a discounter,” one retail source said. So in 1969,
WalMart and 20 other companies co-founded the Mass Retailing Institute, which
later became RILA. The
group, based in Arlington, Va., represents some of the country’s largest
retailers, among them Wal-Mart, Safeway, and Lowe’s. Wal-Mart never did become
an NRF member.
In 2009 the NRF agreed in principle to a merger with
the Wal-Mart supported Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), but the
talks later broke down and the deal was scrapped. There was much talk that
disagreements over issues including healthcare policy played their part in the
failure. As Internet Retailer reported:
On June 30, six days after NRF and RILA called off
the merger, Wal-Mart released a public letter to President Barack Obama
supporting a requirement that all but the smallest companies offer health
insurance to their employees, a position that ran counter to the views of most
corporations.
SUPPLY CHAIN
The
Pakistan State Oil (PSO) will set up a technologically advanced refinery as
part of efforts to develop a self-reliant energy supply chain for the country.
The
facility having a capacity of 40,000 Barrels Per Day (BPD) will be constructed
on about 400 acres of land in district Kohat - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The
company's spokesperson said the facility which would be fully commissioned by
2016-17 is being set up as a part of the new vision company to make a leading
public sector company with the determination to secure Pakistan's energy supply
chain.
The
official said the PSO has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (GoKP) for establishment of a
state-of-the-art oil refinery in the province.
As per
this MoU, the project will be set-up through a public private partnership and
will utilize crude oil from nearby indigenous supply sources for production of
POL products conforming to Euro IV standards.
The
spokesperson said establishment of this refinery will help improve the overall
availability of POL products across the country as well as result in sizeable
foreign exchange savings for the nation.
It shall
also increase PSO's operational base through diversification in the midstream
segment and lower distribution cost in the related supply envelopes.
In
addition to these benefits, this refinery will also help in creating job
opportunities for local populace as well as professionals from various
technical backgrounds.
It is also
expected that substantial foreign direct investment will also take place as a
result of this project.
The
project will serve as the foundation for future initiatives and suggested to
continue efforts to do more for future progress and prosperity of Pakistan.
_________________________________________________________________
Source of
Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on 15th and 16th Apr 2013
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Compilation
Sabita Sahu
Sabita Sahu
Junior Librarian
Concept, Layout and
Editing
Syamaghana Mohanty
Chief Librarian
Chief Librarian
Information and
Documentation Division, Chanakya Central Library
Asian School of
Business Management
Shiksha Vihar Bhola,
Barang Khurda Road,
Chandaka
Bhubaneswar-754012
Tel:0674-2374832, 2374833
E-mail:library@asbm.ac.in, chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.inSabita Sahu :Junior Librarian and Syamaghana Mohanty : Chief Librarian, Knowledge and Information Services Unit, Chanakya Central Library, Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneswar. chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.in ; www.asbm.ac.in
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