Amit Maheshwari, CEO, Softlink Global shared his expectations from the upcoming budget and says, “I have clear expectations for the upcoming budget to support both the tech and logistics sectors. Specifically: Invest in infrastructure enhancements including improved roads, ports, and railways. Efficient infrastructure is the backbone enabling logistics operations and the wider economy. Incentivise adoption of modern technologies such as AI, IoT, and blockchain to increase supply chain transparency, boost efficiency. Introduce incentives for environmentally sustainable practices – electric vehicles, energy-efficient warehouses. This facilitates alignment with global climate goals. Fund skills training programs specialized for logistics and technology talent development. A competent workforce drives innovation and excellence. Simplify complex regulatory frameworks that hinder smooth logistics operations. Streamlining processes can facilitate easier compliance. Expand access to financing and tax benefits essential for SMEs to sustain and scale operations in the competitive logistics technology segment. Promote international trade by easing cross-border processes. Simplification leads to improved global competitiveness. Offer R&D incentives to stimulate continued innovation in logistics technology for ongoing evolution. The budget is a timely opportunity to enable logistics industry growth from a technology lens, bridging both spheres for higher efficiency, sustainability and global impact.”

Apollo Supply Chain, launched ‘alfa’, a comprehensive e-commerce fulfilment and shipping service for D2C brands. With strategically locating fulfilment centers across cities including Delhi NCR, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad, alfa aims to cut logistics cost, improve delivery speed and has plans to expand its network for even swifter and efficient logistics service. Highlights of alfa’s services • In-house operations expertise • Plug and Play Infrastructure • Pay-per-use fee structure • Same Day Delivery • PAN India coverage • Custom packaging • Return to Origin (RTO) reduction tools • Reverse pick-up quality control • Performance dashboard and analytics • Multi-carrier shipping support • Value-added services tailored to client needs In response to the prevailing issues encountered by Direct-to-Consumer brands in the e-commerce fulfilment space, alfa identifies and tackles key pain points to ensure a seamless experience for e-commerce customers. alfa addresses a major industry challenge related to limited control in fulfilment centres. These centres are often outsourced to third-party providers, leading to frequent breaches of order processing service level agreements (SLAs). alfa’s strategic solution involves in-house operations, providing superior control and ensuring adherence to industry standards.

Kami Viswanathan, President – MEISA, FedEx Express shares his expectations from the upcoming budget, “FedEx advocates for a strategic allocation towards infrastructure development for more efficient multimodal logistics. Additionally, we emphasize a focus on digitization in the logistics sector to accelerate speed and ease of doing business. Recognizing the impact of the National Logistics Policy and PM Gati Shakti National Master plan, alongside prioritizing road, sea, and rail cargo infrastructure, we see the expansion of airports as exciting avenues for growth. We urge a consistent budgetary emphasis on expanding airport infrastructure for cargo, strengthening regional airports and developing dedicated transhipment hubs to optimize belly and freight capacities. We underscore the importance of digitally advancing customs clearance processes through cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and big data. This approach promises improved risk management, compliance, efficiency, and analytics.” As India targets lowering of logistics costs and a top 25 global rank by 2030, we anticipate budget initiatives that will sustainably boost manufacturing and trade, particularly benefiting and incentivizing SMEs. We also anticipate initiatives towards greater trade facilitation and further fostering a business-friendly environment aligning with the USD 5 trillion economy goal.”

Kamesh Peri, CEO, Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India, says, “Achieving 10 Million MT any 2030 requires meticulous assessment of demand, capacity and infrastructure issues. Outside of traditional international and domestic traffic, focus on transhipment volumes is a must. Developing cargo hubs would be another significant enabler. Tier 2 and 3 cities will have to emerge as crucial players, housing dedicated cargo terminals. Further, developing a robust road feeder network to supplement air capacity gaps in certain regions needs to be considered. This intricate air-ground expressway will seamlessly connect Tier 2 and 3 with key cargo hubs. Admittedly challenges exist, Policy inertia sometimes stifles progress, so all the government bodies along with trade need to come together as one unit, indicating a cargo movement, streamlined participation and decision making.”

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) announced the news of its latest expansion, with the addition of Silk Way West Airlines, operated by Hercules Aviation (GSA). The carrier will be using B777 aircraft, boosting its capacity by 100 MMT on the DEL-GYD route. “This expansion not only signifies our commitment to excellence but also accelerates more efficient cargo movement between India and Azerbaijan,” DIAL’s LinkedIn post said.

The European Union’s new customs pre-arrival safety and security system – Import Control System 2 (ICS2) – will introduce a new process for entry of goods by maritime and inland waterways, road and rail in the EU as of 3 June 2024. This is the third phase or release of the implementation of the new system that will extend safety and security data reporting requirements to all modes of transport. Similar requirements already went into force for air transportation of goods. With this third release, maritime and inland waterways, road and rail carriers will also need to provide data on goods sent to or through the EU prior to their arrival, through a complete Entry Summary Declaration (ENS). This obligation also concerns postal and express carriers who transport goods using these modes of transport as well as other parties, such as logistics providers. In certain circumstances, final consignees established in the EU will also have to submit ENS data to ICS2. Traders are strongly advised to prepare in advance for Release 3 to avoid the risk of delays and non-compliance. Affected businesses will be required to make sure they collect accurate and complete data from their clients, update their IT systems and operational processes, and provide adequate training to their staff. From 11 December 2023, traders will also need to successfully complete a self-conformance test before connecting to ICS2, to verify their ability to access and exchange messages with customs authorities. EU Member States will grant authorisation, upon request, to the affected traders to gradually connect to ICS2 within a time-limited deployment window. Member States can grant the deployment window anytime within the following timeframes: from 3 June 2024 to …

CBRE South Asia’s latest report titled, ‘Tier-II Cities: The Time to Shine’ highlights that nearly 35 major domestic and global retail brands entered 14 tier-II cities in the Jan-Sep’23 period, indicating a surge in warehousing activity in these locations. These 14 cities include Chandigarh, Jaipur, Indore, Goa, Mangalore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi, Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar, Vizag, Mysore, and Coimbatore. As per the report, several domestic and international retail brands, including Croma, Armani Exchange, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Reliance Smart, Tanishq, H&M, Marks & Spencer, GAP, Starbucks, Pizza Express, Under Armour, among others, have expanded their retail footprint to tier-II cities in Jan-Sep’23 period. According to the report, the total retail stock in these 14 tier-II cities stood at 29 mn. sq. ft. as of Sep’23, with Jaipur, Lucknow, and Chandigarh each boasting retail stock ranging between 3 to 7 mn. sq. ft. The retail development in these cities has been a healthy mix of high streets and malls. The total retail supply recorded in these 14 cities has been ~2.4 mn. sq. ft. during Jul-Sep ’23. Top cities dominating supply addition during this period include Chandigarh, Jaipur and Lucknow. The total absorption across the 14 cities stood at 2.4 mn sq. ft. in Jul-Sep’23 period, led by Kochi, Jaipur, and Goa.

With an aim to maximize its freighter operations in 2024, IndiGo is tailoring its services to cater to the specific cargo needs, such as e-commerce, perishables, and time-sensitive items. The company is also focusing on enhancing the cargo terminal infrastructure in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, as well as evaluating the addition of more routes for China and Southeast Asia, to create air cargo-friendly routes, ensuring efficient and seamless transportation. IndiGo leverages its unique advantage by strategically deploying freighters on high-demand routes that complement its extensive domestic network. It provides belly cargo space in its fleet of 300+ aircraft along with three dedicated A321F freighters are key to achieving a target 10 million MT by 2030.

Mahendra Shah, Chairman and Managing Director, V-Trans (India) shares, “Attention of the current Government has been substantial on enhancing logistic and supply chain efficiency. We expect policymakers to support the same further and also take steps to reduce supply chain costs. Many measures taken to boost manufacturing have started showing results and an efficient supply chain will boost the cause further. In the forthcoming budget, we look forward to improved outlay for logistics Infrastructure. Regulatory and budgetary support for Fast-tracking multimodal logistics infrastructure projects is needed. In the last year, ULIP has already been operational, but the need of the hour is its faster adoption across the stakeholders. In the forthcoming budget, steps for easy usage of ULIP will help in waste reduction and improve interoperability in logistics. It is a sector that has a significant contribution to carbon emissions. We look ahead towards the initiatives for faster adoption of green logistics. Incentives and easier access to funds for the adoption of sustainable logistics can be a good option to move forward. Being a major player in road transportation, we would like to draw the attention of the Government towards issues related to drivers. The government needs to introduce some schemes in the logistics industry for drivers. Last but not least will be bringing petroleum products under the purview of GST. Fuel is the largest component of our expenses. Once the industry gets input credit benefit on fuel, it will be a major boost.”

IndoSpace has signed MoU with the Tamil Nadu Government to invest staggering INR 2000 crore to enhance the state’s industrial landscape and economic growth. This investment by IndoSpace is anticipated to generate 15,000 new jobs, providing a substantial boost to employment opportunities in the state. Rajesh Jaggi, Vice Chairman – Real Estate, Everstone Group, said: “Tamil Nadu continues to be a very important destination for us in developing industrial parks. It makes us proud that in providing world-class industrial logistics facilities to our clients, we are also able to contribute to enhancing the state’s industrial infrastructure. Signing this MoU is significant for us as it reaffirms the government’s trust in our capabilities. We are confident that this partnership will not only contribute to Tamil Nadu’s economic development but also work towards strengthening the overall economy for the nation.” IndoSpace has an existing land bank of approximately 600 acres in the region. With an expansive presence of 14 Grade A industrial and logistics parks strategically located around the main industrial hubs, IndoSpace has developed and leased around 13 mn. sq. ft. with a total investment of approximately INR 4000 crore in the state. This MOU with the Tamil Nadu Government is a part of the organisation’s continued commitment towards supporting industrial requirements and has led to the planning of an additional 5 mn. sq. ft. of land in the state.