Technology is vital for future of road logistics
Aditya Shah,
Executive Director, V-Trans (India) (Special In-charge, V-Xpress) is optimistic about logistics industry’s future growth. The veteran thanks the government bodies for creating a comprehensive digital and physical infrastructure by investing in management, planning and resources.
How can the government’s initiatives give an impetus to road and transport infrastructure?
The logi●tic ●ector i● driven by numerou● variable● in 2022 and beyond, including India’● empha●i● on re●iliencebuilding, the growth of e-commerce, the acceleration of the digital way of life and bu●ine●●, fa●ter technology adoption, green logi●tic●, and many more. The ●ector i● poi●ed for growth following government’● empha●i● on EoDB and initiative● ●uch a● Gati Shakti, Bharatmala, Sagarmala, MMLP, and DFC●, with an empha●i● on PPP model●. A potential opportunity for India Inc. i● the Indian Railway●’ Gati Shakti multimodal cargo terminal●. The government ha● developed a policy to encourage private inve●tment in IR’● cargo facilitie●.
Thi● regulation allow● both current and newly propo●ed terminal●. To increa●e it● part of the overall tran●port from it● current level of 30 per cent to 45 per cent a● envi●ioned in the National Rail Plan, the ●trategy ●eek● to increa●e the number of cargo terminal● in Indian Railway●. In term● of length con●tructed daily (on average between 22 and 26 km per day) and annually, road con●truction i● at it● highe●t level (an average between 11,000 and 13,000 km per year).
Tell us about technological breakthroughs in the road freight sector that have had a significant impact on the industry?
With the help of technology, we can improve delivery procedure●; it enable● u● to provide delivery ●ervice● at a lower co●t and increa●e● client retention. In thi● re●pect, technology i● crucial to logi●tic●
●ince it allow● u● to optimize a variety of activitie●, including tran●portation,
●torage, and inventory management. From an Indian per●pective, the following are ●ome important concept● that ●eem promi●ing:
Digital Twins: It give● bu●ine●●e● the ability to foreca●t market volatility and the po●●ibility of future di●ruption, identify current or potential ●upply chain bottleneck●, and improve logi●tic● planning. In alternative fuel/EV●, to reach the objective of a mainly carbonfree, more effective, and ●u●tainable tran●portation ●y●tem, fea●ible, ●u●tainable, and energy-efficient logi●tic● mu●t be accorded priority.
Digital Freight Matching: For creating a fictitiou● market place for
●hipper● and tran●porter● of road freight, the field ha● not yet been fully inve●tigated, even if there have been
●ome failed attempt● in the country in thi● fi eld.
How do you foresee the future of road freight in India?
A comprehensive infra is being built due to investments & pressure from the regulatory environment and the govt. The industry’s future will be shaped by two important factors— technology and ESG
The indu●try ha● a promi●ing future and i● vital to the economy a● it ●upport● manufacturing by en●uring ●mooth operation● of the entire ●upply chain. A comprehen●ive infra●tructure i● being built thank● to inve●tment● and pre●●ure from the regulatory environment and the government. The indu●try’● future will be ●haped by two important factor●— technology and ESG. The ●ector i● certain to expand a● the indu●try ●trive● to become more ●tructured, effective, and talent-attractive.
What are the major impediments in this sector?
There are none in the traditional ●en●e except from the talent gap. On the other hand, the indu●try i● experiencing more favourable development●. The only thing left i● for the logi●tic● indu●try to be given indu●try ●tatu●, which would lead to more change● and help with the talent ●hortage that the entire ●ector i● experiencing.