Strong focus on boosting investments will further strengthen the country's warehousing/logistics capabilities.

Suresh Kumar R

- Chief Executive Officer - India, Allcargo Logistics

In this present uncertain situation, where do you see maximum opportunity within the larger logistic space?

We at Allcargo are optimistic that the present uncertain situation will pass quickly and believe that the Indian economy will bounce back strongly. Of the many ongoing initiatives, the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) projects, one of the largest rail infrastructure projects in the country, will be a game-changer for the container logistics segment. With the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) & Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) expected to be completed by December 2021 and announcement of additional DFCs, rail container transportation will be highly efficient with the deployment of electrified, double-stack high speed rail trains. These infra development projects will be pivotal to decongesting already saturated freight corridors with unduly high line capacity utilizations. It will enable the shift of bulk and Full Truck Load (FTL) towards containerization and facilitate the seamless movement of containerized cargo like steel & food grains along newly built trunk routes.

With the Covid pandemic in India accelerating the pace of e-commerce transactions, the demand for in-city warehouses is likely to gain traction. Multi-level warehouses within or adjacent to city limits built or near large customer clusters will help in minimizing transportation costs and facilitating faster delivery timelines.

How do you ensure speedy, resilient and efficient supply-chain operations? Have we moved to an era where it has become imperative for warehousing/logistic firms to show deftness in offering out-of-the-box solutions?

Maximizing automation, predictability and flexibility into operational models is the key to ensure speedy, resilient and efficient supply chain operations. Predictive analytics, implementation of industry 4.0 tools like automation, IoT, AI and robotics are assisting supply chain players in optimization of assets, demand forecasting, and better management of inventory risks. Improving the digital competencies of supply chains will help in pre-empting potential disruptions and improving the agility in responding to emerging crisis situations.

Transformation initiatives are largely out-of-the-box solutions and accelerate the evolution of effective supply chain management helping companies gain cost and scale benefits and enhance customer experience.  

Given the country's distinct set of challenges, what do you believe are the areas where investments should be targeted in order to strengthen the country's warehousing / logistic chain?

Building on the many progressive initiatives over the years, we believe strong focus on boosting investments - public and private sectors will further strengthen the country's warehousing/logistics capabilities. In the public sector, the priorities would be to accelerate the pace of infrastructure projects, fast-pace the completion of Dedicated Freight Corridors and continue upgradation of the National Highways Network. In tandem with the efforts for upgrading the haulage capabilities is the need for building of warehousing competitiveness by setting up a robust Pan-India warehousing infrastructure. Policy interventions in the form of speeding up environmental clearances and allocating land banks for setting up large logistics parks and Grade-A warehouses is pivotal to positioning Indian logistics on a high-speed growth curve. In the private sector domain, the onus would be in investing in and adopting the latest digital, analytics and automation technologies, up-skilling resources and have an unwavering commitment on superior customer experience.

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