Aramex, a world leader when it comes to complete logistics and transportation services, has introduced Aramex Data Centre Logistics in order to handle time-critical shipments, initially in the GCC and Southeast Asia as well as Taiwan and also the US South.
It is worth noting that AI data centres rely on some of the most challenging freight shipments in logistics, from Abu Dhabi and Riyadh to Johor, Texas, and Louisiana. Transformers and chillers typically take at least a year from order to site and need to be delivered in tandem with construction.
Next are the AI racks as the halls pass over. A rack in a crate weighs somewhere around 1.75 metric tons and is valued at several million dollars. It is export controlled and can be broken in transit without leaving a stamp on the crate.
In today’s times, these deliveries are usually split between different carriers, customs agents, and heavy-haul companies, as well as installers, with no one responsible for the entire journey. A single late or broken shipment can delay a data centre’s “go-live” day.
Aramex says its Aramex Data Centre Logistics will oversee the entire journey. It includes the following –
Construction – Transformers, switchgear, and generators, as well as chillers with heavy and oversized loads, were monitored from purchase order and supplied in phase with the build schedule
Assessment – AI racks and network equipment from the factories in Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and the US, as well as Europe via charter or secure road, fully compliant with customs and export restrictions.
Within the data center – White Glove service from the loading dock to removing the boxes and positioning in the data hall.
Aftermarket – Spare parts, substitutes, and returnable items when the facility is up and running.
Each AI rack follows one recorded process, with sealed-in sensors monitoring shocks, tilt, and humidity, and temperature from the manufacturing facility to a signed transfer at the data centre.
The logistics major stated that the service leverages Aramex’s over four decades of expertise in freight forwarding, clearance by customs, and project transportation.
Aramex operates the largest logistics network in the GCC, with over 7,000 employees and its own terminals, storage facilities, trucks, and customs teams in each market.
Aramex teams work in partnership with the manufacturing facilities that manufacture the equipment in Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, the US, and Europe, so one organization is responsible for the shipment at both points of the journey.
Amadou Diallo, the Group CEO, said, “A data centre is only as fast as its slowest delivery. The companies building AI capacity work to dates that cannot move, with equipment made on one continent and installed on another. Moving that cargo across borders, on time and intact, is exactly what Aramex is built for. Data Center Logistics puts that strength behind one of the most demanding build-outs of our time and marks an important step in Aramex’s growth as a global logistics company.”
