Schneider Electric, DHL launch multimodal shipping bridge from India

DHL Global Forwarding partnered with Schneider Electric to design and launch an industry-first multi-modal shipping model, using sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) to help improve the agility and reduce the environmental impact of its supply chain.

Together with Schneider Electric, DHL Global Forwarding has deployed two multi-modal shipping bridges - between Singapore and North America and between India and North America - to reduce Scope 3 carbon emissions from air freight. In total, Schneider Electric plans to design and execute eight global multi-modal bridges with its logistics partners that can be deployed on demand.

Schneider Electric estimates that these bridges, by using a combination of air and sea transport, will reduce the carbon emissions of these regional shipment lanes by up to 40% compared to normal air fulfillment. Since the start of the pilot in March 2023, both the Singapore to North America bridge and the India to North America bridge operated in partnership with DHL Global Forwarding, have seen up to 20% carbon emission reduction.

For many organizations, air freight is a core part of global supply chain delivery, despite the fact that it emits more carbon than sea freight. While SAF can reduce the carbon impact, they are significantly more expensive than conventional jet fuel. So using more sea freight, which is cheaper, produces savings which can be used to purchase SAF, further reducing carbon emissions.

Multi-modal shipping is widely used in the supply chain industry to support business continuity. However, it has not so far been used primarily to reduce a company's Scope 3 carbon emissions.

Schneider Electric and DHL Global Forwarding's new pilot schemes have allowed the two partners to test multi-modal shipping as a business-as-usual process on demand. Orders are delivered with agility and flexibility, either by air freight or multi-modal shipping, depending on capacity, air surges, margins, customer offers, and stock availability. Building on this end-to-end capability, the model is further enhanced with DHL Global Forwarding offering the use of SAF via its GoGreen Plus service, leading to deliveries generating up to 90 percent less carbon emissions and being and self-sustaining. This gives Schneider Electric the agility to plan, decide, procure, execute, and govern the model, achieving a more resilient and agile supply chain.

"Through our GoGreen Plus service, we provide our customers with sustainable transport solutions, including SAF. Our partnership with Schneider Electric is instrumental in driving positive change and making sustainable logistics a reality. At DHL, we have set a goal to reduce GHG emissions to 29 million tonnes CO2e by 2030. To achieve this, we are investing €7 billion in clean operations, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to a greener future," states Thomas George, Chief Commercial Officer, DHL Global Forwarding.

"At Schneider Electric, sustainability is at the core of our mission and it drives us to innovate for the future." said Mourad Tamoud, EVP Global Supply Chain at Schneider Electric. "We can't do this alone: partnerships with our supply chain ecosystem and strategic partners like DHL are essential. We hope others are inspired by these possibilities, so we can collectively reduce carbon emissions."

According to its net-zero roadmap, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, Schneider Electric has committed to be net-zero ready across its operations - with an absolute carbon reduction target of 25% across the entire value chain by 2030.