DHL Global Forwarding, a leading international provider of air, sea and road freight services, has been selected by Strata Manufacturing, the advanced composite aero structures manufacturing company wholly-owned by Mubadala Investment Company, to provide Fourth Party Logistics (4PL) services spanning its entire supply chain.

The five-year agreement aims to minimise Strata Manufacturing’s shipment times along its global supply chains, with DHL Global Forwarding taking responsibility for all warehousing, freight and customs clearance of aero-structures produced at its facility in the Nibras Al Ain Aerospace Park, said a statement from the company.

The partnership will see DHL Global Forwarding set up a 2,500-sq-m warehouse in Abu Dhabi for storage and consolidation of all Strata shipments, equipped with high-volume racking, as well as fully-managed kitting, packing and dispatch process to support the company’s growing capacity requirements, it said.

Amadou Diallo, chief executive officer, DHL Global Forwarding Middle East and Africa, said: “We are excited to partner with Strata Manufacturing to support its growth strategies.”

“With the aviation industry expecting positive growth, Strata’s growth horizons for its wing components and tail assemblies continue to look optimistic,” he added.

Under the agreement, DHL Global Forwarding will also provide end-to-end control tower services spanning the movement of shipments, from manufacturing facilities in Al Ain to storage in the new Abu Dhabi warehouse and DHL’s European warehouses, which serve as global hubs for overseas distribution, he added.

Strata Manufacturing CEO Ismail Ali Abdulla said: “Our company has established itself as a strong global player in the aero-structures manufacturing sector and we require world-class logistics capabilities to ensure our technology and manufacturing best practices reach our international customers at speed and without compromise.”

“DHL’s global freight network and warehousing infrastructure, coupled with its expertise in handling the sensitivities of aerospace products, will support our goals for further international growth,” he added.

The fully-managed supply chain will support both time-critical ‘aircraft on ground’ needs – where planes require immediate support with replacement components – as well as consolidated outbound shipments to Strata’s overseas customers; Airbus and Boeing, which are two of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world.

Kapil Grover, newly-appointment country manager for DHL Global Forwarding in Abu Dhabi, said: “I am settling in well to my new role in Abu Dhabi and looking forward to working with my team to take our partnership with Strata to new heights. We are committed to continuous innovation to meet Strata’s business requirements.”

“Our successful testing and adoption of ground-breaking practices, such as the Kanban approach developed to manage aerospace inventory shipment based on demand and supply, is testament of our deep knowledge of this industry,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service