Category Archives: Supply Chain

“In this Union Budget, an infrastructure push along with investment and consumption-led growth presented as the key priority areas for the government. This is quite expected that the government will do required developments for infrastructure and logistics sectors. PPP & ‘Make in India’ is always counted first on the fingertips of the government. As expected this Union Budget indicates that public investment does help in crowding in private investment. Sectors such as automobiles, cement, steel, paper, aluminium and fertilisers, which had the lowest capacity utilisation and were among the sectors that have been the ones hardest hit by demonetisation, are on a special focus by the government,” says “Announcements like total allocation of Rs 39,61,354 crore on infrastructure development, development of selected airports in Tier 2 & 3 cities on PPP mode, etc., will help the logistics industry to grow further. The government has shown its support investment directly by spending more on infrastructure, particularly roads and affordable housing. This will also help raise demand for core sectors such as steel and cement. Construction of roads and low-cost housing is highly labour intensive in India, which will also help generate employment in the economy,” he adds.

Samir J Shah, Chairman, FFFAI believes, “The recent bold steps from the government pertaining to fiscal discipline, restructuring of tax regime, capacity building through setting up of appropriate infrastructure and connectivity have further been strengthened by the Budge 2017-18 announcements. For instance, budgetary allocation of Rs 2,41,387 crore for multimodal transportation sector, increase of allocation for highways from Rs 57,976 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 64,900 crore for 2017-18, identifying 2,000 kms of coastal connectivity roads for construction and development, more emphasis on agro- based produces through NABARD and appropriate logistics facilities for them, emphasis on MSME sector, port connectivity, Greenfield ports, airports in Tier-II & Tier-III cities through PPP mode, logistics parks, etc would have long-term and significant effects on India’s manufacturing and merchandise trade.” “Remarkably, the finance minister has announced the government’s decision to set up 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes across the country. For these, Rs 1,700 crore has been allotted for FY 2017-18. This highlights the government’s firm commitments towards adding value to capacity building in a larger perspective. FFFAI, in its pre-Budget memorandum had urged the Finance Ministry to address the micro issues related customs clearance. We are optimistic that the finance minister’s commitments on ease of doing business would resolve those in the days to come,” he states.

Abhishek Chakraborty, Executive Director, DTDC Express, expects, “This budget will be crucial in terms of understanding and getting clarity on the implementation of the GST especially over the first two quarters in FY17-18. Strengthening of all IT related infrastructure and projects will be a key to extract the best out of the entire demonetisation drive. It will be great to have the government take concrete measures to ensure a secure IT infrastructure for rapid technology adoption to empower citizens to go digital. Lastly, measures that will increase operational efficiencies such as infrastructure development and boost trade is what we are hopeful for.’’

Prakash Tulsiani, Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, Allcargo Logistics, wishes, “While there is a wish list of reforms that the sector deserves, a few points need to be considered on priority. At the outset, GST implementation is key for ease in movement of goods in the domestic market, the benefits of which are well discussed in the recent past. Secondly, focus on provisioning for infrastructure development, including better transportation system that will improve business efficiencies, thereby benefiting the sector immensely. The government should also look at fast tracking approvals for new infrastructure projects to boost foreign investors’ confidence.” “The government should consider giving tax benefits for capital intensive infrastructure. The development of logistics parks across the country for speedy delivery is also the need of the hour. Logistics parks will help provide services and facilities to reduce costs, boost efficiency and improve the flow of both raw material procurement and finished goods. The sector is also in need of skilled labour. The government should look at allocating funds for education and skill development in this area as this will be of great help to all logistics players,” he continues. “With the current demonetisation move, the industry and the common man at large have high expectations of lowering tax rates and reviving positive sentiments in the economy. Besides, it would be interesting to see what the budget has in store to boost the manufacturing sector and pump up the rural economy. Reforms in this direction are a ready welcome for the logistics industry,” stresses Tulsiani.

Chander Agarwal, Managing Director, TCIEXPRESS, shares, “Timely implementation of GST would result in absorption of various taxes involved in transportation of goods and services and will increase efficiency in our operations. Last year, Rs 2.31 lakh crore was announced to be invested in infrastructure, which shows the importance of upgrading infrastructure. Hence, will look forward to some emphasis on improving the infrastructure this year as well as it is a boon not only for express delivery players but many industries. Thirdly, with the recent implementation of demonetisation, the industry is moving towards a digital and cashless mode of transaction. Hence, more incentives for every cashless transaction are expected. This will motivate increased adoption towards technology. Lastly, it will be interesting to look forward to more schemes under Make in India, Skill India, and Digital India initiatives.”

At the FFFAI convention, Stanley Lim, Chairman, FIATA Congress Committee & Past President FIATA, expressed the need of logistics cost to be cut down. He said, “No matter in which industry you are, you need logistics and in logistics we are talking about from farm to fork and the number of steps and the cost involved. Moreover, for globalisation one needs to involve all government agencies in one platform to facilitate trade. Hence, logistics cost needs to be cut down to make country’s import and export competitive. Once the number of steps will get cut down, security will be enhanced and there will be less human error.”

The Federation of Freight Forwarders Association in India (FFFAI) convention showcased the role and efforts undertaken by the government to elevate the industry. Ashish Pednekar, Chairman Elect, FFFAI & Convenor Kochi Convention, highlighted how the government has been taking initiative optimally. “The government is bringing lot of changes in the Exim trade and FFFAI is the important link. Change is eminent and we have to be with the change to take the industry to the next level. Moreover, with initiatives like ‘Make in India’ logistics has a very important role to play. Most importantly, now government has realised the significance of logistics industry and started taking the fraternity suggestions seriously,” he said.

While enumerating the necessity of skill required in the field of logistics, Shankar Shinde, Vice Chairman, FFFAI, opined at the 23rd convention of the Federation of Freight Forwarders Association in India (FFFAI): “We always try to convert challenges into opportunities. One of the most important challenge is skill. We are trying to focus onto skill development through this convention. Hence, we are looking for training and adapting international practices for better upliftment.  Our idea is to make logistics as a choice of first profession. For the next generation, the decision to become a logistician should not come by default, but, by choice.”

The FFFAI convention held in Kochi, saw eminent industry persons come and deliberate on crucial elements of the logistics sector. Highlighting the same, Samir J Shah, Chairman, FFFAI, said, “We are working on three important issues. One of the most important issues we are targeting is skill; we understand with technology, domain knowledge of the broker is going to become important. Secondly, our focus is on gender equalisation and thirdly, we are creating a platform where FFFAI member can adopt the changes that are coming in the future. The Indian custom broker is capable of doing everything. Hence, any importer or exporter does not need to go to anybody else; the entire supply chain will be looked after by them.”

The 23rd convention of the Federation of Freight Forwarders Association in India (FFFAI) was inaugurated on January 19, 2017, in the august presence of Venkatesh, Eminent Economist, William Demoor, Chief of Cabinet of Chairman, Port of Antwerp, Stanley Lim, Chairman, FIATA Congress Committee and Past President FIATA, V.J. Mathew, Legal Advisor to the Government of Kerala, Senior Advocate of High Court of Kerala, K.V. Thomas, PAC Chairman, MP, Erankulam, along with the logistics fraternity, in Kochi. The convention aims to build a platform for enhancing the logistics sector as a whole while highlighting necessary issues like skill development, supply chain, gender equalisation, among others.