Indian Logistics and Supply Chain Trends 2021 by Aditya Vazirani, CEO – Robinsons Global Logistics Solutions

MUMBAI: The pandemic and the lockdown that lasted for major part of 2020, proved to be testing times for various businesses including the logistics and supply chain sector of India which had a remarkable contribution in keeping the supply chain for essential items, functional, albeit with a few hurdles in the beginning. As per a recent report by Arthur D. Little India in collaboration with the CII, India’s Logistics and supply chain costs currently amount to a staggering 400 USD, up to 14% of the GDP, compared to the global average of 8%, raising a competitiveness gap of approximately USD 180 Billion.

Further, the challenges experienced by the sector during the pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for building a stronger and more relevant infrastructure that can not only withstand the unexpected disruptions of this scale but is also agile enough to help adopt and bounce back to efficiency almost immediately in the face of future conflicts.

Listed here are some of the key trends in the Indian Logistics and Supply Chain sector that are set to dominate 2021:

1. Emphasis on Cold Supply Chain: As per ‘Indian Cold Chain Industry Outlook 2022’, the Indian cold supply chain sector is set to grow at a CAGR of 17-18%, till 2022, due to demand for cold storage, primarily driven by the pharma sector, especially the vaccine supply chain in early 2021, followed by requirements from seafood, meat and similar industries. While growth will be driven by introduction of a government led COVID immunization program, the growing e-commerce market for FMCG, dairy, meat and fish, will also help prope the sector significantly, given the ongoing virus threat. At present, healthcare products hold a 3.6% share in the overall Indian cold chain market that is expected to grow around 6% by end of 2021 as per IMARC services.
2. Growth in 3PL and 4PL providers as Manufacturing grows: Agility, speed and mobility are set to be the key goals for a robust supply chain network and preference of 3 and 4PL service providers is going to set the tone for development, in 2021. While manufacturing has been one of the early adopters of 3PL and 4PL service providers, soon other sectors are also likely to benefit from outsourcing their supply chain management to experts, so they could focus on re-building and strengthening the core business, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic. Further, the evolution of these service providers into key partners, offering expert, end to end solutions ranging from documentation, tracking, warehousing, legal compliance and even kitting in some cases at competitive rates, has made them a lucrative choice for most businesses that are currently working on bouncing back from the financial crisis. The Indian 3PL market is expected to register a growth rate of over 11.5% during the forecast period of 2020-2025, with strong focus on value driven services that enhance customer satisfaction and delight.
3. Affordable Road transport: GoI plans to build massive road network in future, emphasis will be given to develop infrastructure like dedicated freight corridors, container freight stations etc. India needs to come up with intermodal and multimodal transport system to reduce the transportation and storage cost which in today’s time is relatively high. Unfortunately, current poor road infrastructure decreases the maximum distance that can be covered by the heavy transport vehicles on highways. To combat such challenges, Government of India has decided to cut down on the current logistics cost of India’s GDP in next two years with help of Ministries of Railways, Transport, Shipping and Aviation in order to achieve this goal.
4. Sustainable practices will be implemented: Green logistics is going to be the key aspect of the supply chain evolution in the year 2021. Sustainable practices have already become a norm amongst international logistics and supply chain players as well as businesses. They view the green supply chains as responsible and sometimes even a mandatory criteria when selecting a logistics partner. With the influx of international manufacturing and e-commerce players, the Indian green Logistics and supply chain is set to get a boost, thanks to encouraging business opportunities for those adopting sustainable practices. Apart from protecting the environment and helping the society overall, sustainable practices are also becoming cost-effective, thanks to the fast paced technology evolution in the sector and are becoming instrumental in gaining consumer loyalty and endorsement for the socially and environmentally responsible millennial population. From adopting eco-friendly business models that follow environmentally conscious choices to e-commerce giants opting for zero plastic packaging or reducing packaging waste through recycling, to a more sophisticated use of solar panels for cold storage and temperature regulation A gradual shift of electronic trucks for transportation, recycling waste and systematic disposal of the chemical and other harmful waste, etc., are soon becoming popular green practices among Indian logistics and supply chain players.
5. Adoption of Technology: This is another major trend that is set to make considerable impact on the sector. With businesses adopting the emerging technologies like AI, ML, Big Data etc., supply chain industry is no exception to adapting automation in processes and operations. Embracing artificial intelligence has only eased the making of processes more efficient, advantageous and dependable. Technology such as internet of things (IoT) helps maintain a transparent supply chain network, in turn helping to bring visibility, build customer loyalty and trust. From modern WMS and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) to AI driven robotics and use of data analytics, technology adoption is going to be at the center of the growth and development of the Indian logistics and Supply Chain sector, in 2021.

Given the goals and growth opportunities envisioned by the government: from making India a global manufacturing hub to focus on strengthening the local businesses with ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, ‘Vocal for Local’ and the ‘Start Up India’ powered by a wide spread technology adoption, there is an urgent need to identify and address the existing vulnerabilities at the core of Logistics and Supply chain networks that are the backbone of a strong economy.