Category Archives: Supply Chain

“few years back, logistics, supply-chain and cold chain were all fragmented sectors. but with pandemic, suddenly the supply-chains and the cold chains have become the differentiators. There is a paradigm shift from being treated as cost centers to product differentiators. Cold chain had always existed and pandemic has only reinforced it’s importance. With phase change technology being introduced, it has become quiet convenient to transport the products while maintaining it’s temperature.” said Udit Mangal, VP, business Development, Pluss Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

“Past few years, cold chain sector has gained significant importance. There has been a tremendous growth in this sector. Pandemic has only highlighted the importance of a robust cold chain supply chain required in India. It is not only required for the pharma and agriculture but for all the perishable goods. Since India is not only fast becoming the pharmaceuticals hub in the world, it is also looked upon as the capital for the vaccine production. For this cold chain in India has to catch up fast. Keeping this in mind we have been rigorously working in getting latest technologies to cold chain in India.” said Swarup Bose, Founder and CEO, Celcius

CargoTalk is organising a digital conclave today from 11.00-12.00 pm. The virtual conclave is about Cool Chain and how it is revolutionising the supply chain. The conclave will have eminent speakers from across the industry. With the focus on Cool chain in the new normal world, the summit will discuss the significant role played by it in the transportation of the vaccine nd other pharmaceutical essentials. In just a few months, the cold chain industry has become a focal point across the globe to do business. The industries across have well adopted to the changing dynamics of transportation of the temperature sensitive essentials in the supply-chain interactions and of their internal operations. Esteemed speakers will include Fabrice Panza, Manager,Global Cool chain solutions, Etihad Cargo, Swarup Bose, Founder and CEO, Celcius, Udit Mangal, VP, Buisness Development, Pluss Advanced Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

DHL Supply Chain launches its latest offering – the India Fulfilment Network (IFN), in Bangalore. This first-of-its-kind service will be rolled out to benefit the growing number of small and medium retail businesses that have seen a shift in their business models to online marketplaces, largely spurred by movement restrictions caused by the ongoing pandemic. DHL will invest more than INR 25 crores to further scale this network across major metros and state capitals in the country over the next 12 months. Even before the pandemic, the opportunity in the e-commerce market in India has been evident and is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 27%i by 2024, with a large number of sellers in various categories showing a keen interest in shifting to an omni-channel model. The ecommerce boom during the Covid-19 pandemic has further boosted online retail transactions across India, especially with government-imposed social distancing protocols and a resultant decline in customers at brick and mortal shops. Relatedly, the expansion of e-commerce and 3PL sectors is also fueling demand for warehousing, which is expected to increase at 160%.

Urban logistics spaces in India are expected to exceed 7 million sq. ft by 2022, as demand surges, JLL said it its report ‘India Urban Logistics – Are dark stores revolutionising the sector?’ released today. The urban logistics industry in India is at a very nascent and fragmented fringe state now and is on the cusp of going mainstream. Demand will be supported by freight congestion currently impacting cities and communities and mitigate the associated environmental impact of vehicles on these locations. According to JLL, urban logistics will help address these infrastructure, community, and environmental concerns, while via the efficient movement and transport of goods in urban areas through last-mile storage spaces. Furthermore, urban logistics is expected to expand significantly beyond 2022, as the increasing trend of faster goods distribution and e-commerce penetration increases nationwide. “Urban logistics will play a more front-and-centre role in the metropolitan economies of India as consumers become more tethered to the convenience, transparency and hygiene benefits of online purchasing throughout and post-Covid. The surge in e-commerce has led to increased storage space and logistic delivery capabilities, thereby giving owners and developers a clear opportunity to capitalise on the demand, which we believe will easily exceed 7 million sq. ft by 2022,” said Radha Dhir, CEO and Country Head, India, JLL.

The warehousing sector’s meteoric rise to prominence in India was spurred by the introduction of GST leading to consolidation and the central government’s decision to grant ‘infrastructure status’ to the logistics sector including warehousing. Furthermore, with 100% FDI permitted in warehousing and logistics alongside maturated state-level warehousing policies, the sector has been seeing rapid institutionalization and subsequent inflow of major investments. The investments grew from USD 675 million during 2014-2016 to USD 2.3 billion from FY 2017-2019 in the top 8 cities of India. In 2020, the pandemic reinforced a structural shift in consumer preferences – accelerating the penetration of online sales even in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, thus giving a huge boost to the sector. Any e-commerce operation needs a strong and robust supply chain network, of which, modern warehousing forms a critical component. As global e-commerce companies rapidly look to expand in their battle for retail supremacy, investments in infrastructure like warehousing; especially well located, modern, compliant with very high construction quality; will remain a top priority. In a previous report, we have also estimated that e-commerce companies themselves will require at the very least 25 million sq. ft. of Grade-A warehousing stock in 2025 across the country which in 2020 was 9.3 million square feet.

E-commerce giant Amazon, on Tuesday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Industries and Mines Department, Government of Gujarat with an aim to help drive e-commerce exports from the state, an official release stated. Under the signed MoU, Amazon will train and onboard MSMEs from the state on Amazon Global Selling and enable them to sell their unique Made in India products to millions of Amazon customers across 200-odd countries and territories. This will allow the home-grown businesses to get access to the global market. They will benefit from Amazon’s distribution capabilities and global footprint to scale rapidly and build sustainable export businesses. The e-commerce giant will host training, webinars and workshops for exporters from key MSME clusters like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bharuch and Rajkot and others.

Supply Chain tech-based startup, Elixia Tech Solutions Ltd, has secured USD 1 million in its Pre-Series A funding led by RVCF and other angel investors. With this investment, Elixia Tech is planning to scale up its presence in both domestic and international markets. Elixia Tech had introduced its first product in Vehicle Telematics space, followed by a completely digital and efficient suite of supply chain solutions, under the umbrella of Supply Chain Control Tower. It provides interlinked softbots for all segments of logistics, warehouse and inventory that control supply chain planning and execution to reduce costs and bring visibility for goods in-transit and provide actionable business intelligence using Machine Learning. Announcing the investment, Elixia Tech’s Founder, Sanket Sheth added, “This is a very important milestone. While supply chains have evolved from on-ground manual operations to something as advanced as digital twins, majority of companies are still stuck somewhere in between. With the world going through the impact of external changes, it has now become even more imperative to bring in real-time visibility, optimization & transparency in the supply chain. Thus, I believe that now is the right time and the right place to get the right products to make waves in the Indian as well as Global Logistics Market.”

E-commerce platforms like Amazon India, Flipkart and Zomato, ahead of the festive season, have begun adding new members to their blue-collar arsenal. As the pandemic-era curbs have fuelled strong growth in online ordering, the e-commerce giants are luring them with joining and performance-linked bonuses to efficiently meet consumer demand. This festive season, the e-commerce companies and logistics operators are expecting a sales estimated to rise as much as 15% more than the pre-pandemic festive season in 2019, said Nilabh Kapoor, business head, OLX People, a recruitment service provider. “With businesses recovering in most parts, hiring of temporary workers has seen 3-4X growth in the recent past and is expected to double during the festive season to keep up with rising demand across platforms,” Kapoor said.

Safexpress, India’s largest supply chain & logistics company has launched its ultra-modern Logistics Park in Siliguri. This state-of-the-art facility is strategically located in Gadheaganj, Near NH – 27. On this occasion, senior dignitaries from Safexpress including Rubal Jain, Managing Director, S.K Jain- Vice President, Rakesh Pareek, General Manager, West Bengal & Sikkim, Nilotpal Saha, Area Manager- Siliguri, Ashish Pathak, Area Manager – West Bengal North & Sikkim, Vivekanand Atri, Operation Head – Siliguri and including others were present. Better known as the “Gateway of Northeast India”, Siliguri has been a thriving hub for Agricultural products and Pharmaceutical products. Siliguri is located closer to Nepal, Bhutan & Bangladesh borders and is crucial from supply chain & logistics perspective. This new Logistics Park will serve as a nodal point for logistics and to provide for the transitional connective facility with all Indian states, especially with nearby districts and manufacturing hubs.