ULIP is the UPI moment for the logistics sector: Gati’s MD & CEO
MUMBAI : More than one year after the launch of the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), the data and single window platform for the logistics sector, is helping streamline operations on the ground, aided by better road infrastructure, bigger trucks and technology.
In an interview Mr. Pirojshaw Sarkari, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Gati Ltd, outlined that the platform as well as the warehousing and related standards unveiled last year is helping the sector to bring the cost down.
“..post-covid of course, we have come back to much higher levels than pre-covid. The government intervention, including the unified logistics platform (Unified Logistics Interface Platform), are enabling us to really bring in efficiencies and in turn reduce cost of logistics,” he said.
“As a country, we are envisaging the second UPI (Unified Payments Interface); the first was for finance, the second is for logistics. Just like UPI has enabled the entire banking system … and we are one of the best in the world now, I think the Unified Logistics Interface Platform is also clearly moving to make (Indian) logistics one of the best in the world,” he said.
Launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, as part of the National Logistics Policy in September last year, which aims to bring down India’s logistics cost to single digits as percentage of gross domestic product, ULIP enables logistics users to monitor cargo movement, consignment tracking, inventory management as well as to get secure access to the information related to logistics and resources available with various ministries.
Gati, part of Allcargo Logistics Ltd, is primarily focused on express logistics services and last week launched its new surface transhipment centre in Bengaluru.
“So we had identified eight transhipment centers as a first phase, of which Farukh Nagar, which is Delhi, then Nagpur, which is central India, Bombay, Guwahati, these have been completed and now this is the fifth one which is Bangalore and Bangalore will definitely benefit all the customers who originate from South India to have better service for them…” said Sarkari.
The company has decided to undertake an asset-light strategy for operating the centres, with the facilities having been leased for five to seven years.
The company also undertakes air express (cargo) business, which according to Sarkari is expected to benefit from the large aircraft orders that carriers such as IndiGo and Air India have placed with foreign manufacturers to expand their network.
“We are today doing domestic air cargo (operations). There is enough capacity in the market with a lot of these passenger airlines having belly space as they keep expanding their network. So, for us, we use the belly space on the passenger airlines,” said Sarkari.
“We are very happy that capacity has really increased in the last one year and we look forward to all the large orders that both IndiGo and Air India have placed with the respective manufacturers,” he added.
The air express business contributes 4-5% of the total revenues, with rest mostly coming from road surface express business.
Source : ET Infra