Air cargo to drive cross-border e-commerce
Consumer behaviour is changing globally. Customers, especially millennials, expect everything to be available at any time, any place, and from anywhere. Ashutosh Bajpai, Vice President and Head of Operations, DHL Express India, shares how the growth in cr
How has cross-border e-commerce grown in the past few years? The 21st Century Spice Trade Report, a study by DHL, reports that cross-border market is expected to grow by about 25 per cent annually until 2020. The growth will be almost twice the rate of domestic e-commerce. In 2020, it is expected to account for about $900 billion in terms of Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV), translating into a roughly 22 per cent share of the global e-commerce market. The Government of India has identified e-commerce and logistics as areas requiring special focus. Multi-stakeholder engagement is vital for ensuring the competitiveness of e-commerce exports and to support the express air cargo industry by building progressive automated processes from customs authorities. To facilitate the growth of cross-border e-commerce, air cargo will be a critical component.
How can India reduce the high logistics cost?
According to the Department of Commerce, the aim is to reduce the logistics cost from the present 14 per cent of GDP to less than 10 per cent by 2022. This can only be achieved if provisions are made towards bringing about efficiencies within the sector. Some of the reforms are already underway with the introduction of e-way bills that have reduced the manual paperwork involved in the movement of shipments. Similarly, the implementation of the Express Cargo Clearance System (ECCS) has now enabled movement towards paperless customs clearances, thereby leading to greater transparency, speed in clearance, and accuracy. Additionally, to ensure the quality of cross–border delivery experience of goods sold from India, logistics service providers need the help of every government agency to oversee and manage domestic transportation and customs clearance processes so that they can sharpen India’s competitive edge.
How can skill development help increase efficiencies?
It is of paramount importance that we focus on constantly training and enhancing the skill sets of our talent for success in current roles and future opportunities. At DHL Express, we implement initiatives that aim to not only train our people but also help them grow professionally. Our education assistance programme, Umang, has inspired hundreds of couriers to complete graduate and post-graduate studies after a hiatus. In addition to this, we are also running our flagship Certified International Specialist programme that inducts employees at all levels into understanding the industry, our business, and our values.
What are your views on the air cargo and logistics policy?
In recent years, several collaborative steps have been taken by the government, industry bodies, and industry players to advance the logistics sector in the country. While some of the reforms are already underway, we are looking forward to the development of the National Air Cargo Policy and the National Logistics Policy to help further the sector, in turn boosting other dependent sectors. It will be interesting to see how these policies get implemented in a timely
Multi-stakeholder engagement is vital for e-commerce exports and to support the express air cargo industry
manner to increase efficiency and quantum of domestic and international business. It is important to involve industry representatives to focus on high-priority and high-impact programmes aligned with the policy.
How does DHL Express ease logistics operations?
At DHL Express, we have always championed the growth of our business and the industry at large. As the pioneers of international time-definite express transportation, we have significantly contributed to international trade. The small and medium enterprises with small-size orders and those wanting to get international trade orders have relied on and trusted us for a long time. As business shifted towards just-in-time manufacturing, DHL Express eased logistics by supporting delivery of time-critical components to factories and distribution centres from all over the world. We are contributing to ease of doing business by listening to our global customers’ feedback to refine internal processes or share it with the industry as well as government agencies for regulatory and procedural reforms. In 2017, we announced that we had apportioned 45 million towards new upcountry developments, upgrading and expanding its infrastructure and bolstering its retail presence. Since then, we have added close to 20 new facilities in the metros and about 10 facilities in Tier-I and II cities.
What is your scale of operations?
We reach 220 countries and territories. In India, we serve 60,000 customers every year, covering 30,000 locations across the country. This is enabled through a network of 55 service centres, eight gateways, and over 600 service points. We also have a fleet of over 500 vehicles on the road with air-conditioned cabins, 19 dedicated weekly inter-continental flights, and 147 daily international and domestic commercial flights.