Several challengessuch aslabor shortages, cargo capacityconstraints, a manufacturing slowdown, order delays,and stuck shipmentsarose duringcountry-wide lockdownin India.Along with this,Indias real gross domestic product (GDP) is at its lowest in 6 years because of the COVID-19 standstill. It has further affectedconsumption and investmentadversely inIndian economy.

Thismanufacturing halthascausedadownward pressure on pricesof warehousing, freight, and logistics.Despite the obstacles,Indian logistics industry has shown resilience by resuming operations with help of digital tools.KSatyanarayana, Co-founder and Director atEcomExpressin conversation with SME futuresasserts thatlogistics will rebound in coming days and will play a dominant role in upliftment of Indian economy.

Edited Excerpts

India has made major strides in the logistics sectorduring last two decadesandit isnowa$200+ billionworth of industry.But,these are unprecedented times. Initially, the pandemic disrupted global supply chainandevenmovement of essential goods washalted. Due tothis,logisticsservices came toahalt. However,theindustrybounced backby quickly adopting the necessary protocols andbyresuming operations in no time.

Duringthe initial lockdown phase in late March and April, it was an opportunity for the logistics operators toaligntheirinfrastructure accordingtorequirements poised due tothecurrent crisis.Adding to it,adherence withstrict safety proceduresby government was also a necessity.This therebyensured business continuityforlogistics platforms.Personally, I feel there is a positive outlooknowfor post-COVID scenarioas we have enhanced our businessprocessesin many ways.

Also, people are hesitant to walk into physical storesdue to the fear of contracting virus and hencelogistics industry is growing.Till the time supply of non-essential goods started,our facilitiesgeared up for handling COVID-related protocols. We had almost 92 per cent of our employees reporting back to us. In June, we were fullyoperationaland Ifeelthatsituationisbetter than pre-COVID periodfor us now.

Absolutely, we can say that.The logistics sector has been provingto besaviourin current crisis for many. It has alsoplayed an important role in keepingtheeconomy running.People are restrictedtotheir homes doing their jobswhile sitting at home. Hence,we are seeing a complete transition in consumerbehaviourdue torisinghealth concerns.

Consumers are more inclined towards online shopping instead of going tomalls or big retail stores.They are opting for home deliveriesmore. Thus,I can say that our firm has beenproactive incontinuity of the supply chain.Asa stakeholder in logistics industry, we are working efficiently in taking care of our consumers needs. We are connected to themin every way todeliver all sorts of essential and non-essential goods.I believethat the crisis has presented an immense opportunity andwhile pursuing itgrowth isinevitable.

Technologynow-a-daysis the core ofanyindustrialoperationsirrespective ofsectors.COVID-19 has given an opportunity to companies to reshape their logistics operating model to increase effectiveness, efficiency and resilience.

Businesses are thus forced to innovate and adopt new digital tools faster than ever tominimisedisruptionsin current scenario. The players who embraced tech solutions were able tosurvivethe impactof pandemicand continue theirbusiness.

The tech tools help us to map and track the shipments or cargo andfollowsafety protocols.Entire workforce can communicate through these solutionsor apps.Digital services give real time supply chain visibility and helpsin runninglogistics operations smoothly.Industry embracing technology is just a silver lining in the current crisisand use of AI, machine learning andIoTis also on surge.

We have country wide reach.The complete life cycle of shipment from pick up to deliveryischannelizedthrough hub and spoke modelwhichis backed by technology. I mean to say every aspect of our operations is covered with tech tools, from pick topostdeliverystage.Thus,we are practicing contactless services for pickup, delivery and payment options such as scanning a QR code or signing a digital image.

For instance, we haveprovidedhandheld devicesto staffduring pick-up stage.People will know about the shipment informationthrough these API integrated devices. Thestageof each shipmentcan also bedeterminedand furthercourse ofactioncan be decided.Further, our staffhas tofeed informationat each stage. Itcan be aboutpick upof thepackage,customer information,orscanning.It can also be aboutbringing the package toprocessingcentre,distributioncentre,ortohub and then to delivery. We have a robust IT systemateach stage.

We have workforce presenceacrossIndia. Our entire human resource team dedicated itself towards connecting to staff wherever theywereduring this tough phase. They called eachoneof them time to time and updated records of their well-being.We also introduced family connectprogramme. In this, weconnected to family membersof our employeesand resolvedtheir health-related problems.

Wealsoassured them to pay their salaries and paymentson time. Notmuchproblems were posed for us due to migration of workforce sincewe believe in generating local employment.Majorityof people working in our company arenativesfromeach location.However,we had migrant workersin metro cities such as Delhi,Bengaluru,Suratetc.But,we were able tocomplete 65 per cent of shippingduringinitial lockdown phase when supply chain was highly disrupted.

Due to COVID-19situation operationsof industries from all sectorstook amassive hit.Entire supply chainsweredisruptedand drivers were stranded at checkpoints due to the lockdown.Hence,thevolume of inland logistics companies is likely to fall by 10-15 per cent. Also, companiescould take a longer time to recoveraccording to India rating.

India is however aconsumption-based economysincealmost 60 per cent of Indias GDP is determined by consumption.Thus, the country needs logistics more than evernow. The sectorwasthereforeplayinga significantrole in the manufacturing and supply of essential products such as FMCG, medicalequipments, masks, medicines, test kitsetceven during pandemic.

Ifirmlybelievethatlogistics industry has a larger role to playto connect manufacturers with suppliers and consumers.The industry also plays a pivotal roleincompletionof consumption cycleand its various phases such asproduction, demand, andsupplyetc.These phaseshenceneedefficient logistics infrastructure.

Further,government initiatives and reforms such as GST, Make-in-India,SagarmalaorBharatmalaprojects,self-reliantIndiainitiative etcwillpromote domestic production and manufacturingwhich thereby will lead to thegrowth oflogisticssector.Today, India has developed an excellent road and air infrastructure.

Oncethe situation gets back to the normalandsectors reopen,the freight capacitythatwehavecreatedinourexisting system willhelpinboosting thesupply of domestic manufactured products.Our role is to ensurethe supply to the last mile consumers wherever they are.Ibelieve logistics industryisvery significantto support the economic recovery.

With internet penetration in India, social sites have becomeprominent distribution channels for businesses showcasing their products. People are selling onWhatsApp, Facebook,Instagram,Pinterest, andYoutubethrough influencers and bloggers.For instance, Thailand operates 80 per cent onsociale-commerce platforms.Entrepreneurs are leveraging social media platforms for scaling up their businesses.

In otherwords,socialmediais another gateway of e-commerce.In India, socialmediacommerce has a potential to build a market worth of $70 billionwhich isjustthedouble of present e-commerce market.To attract consumers,merchants onsuchplatforms are incorporating facilities such as basic logisticsandgoodshipment processing.

Logistics operatorin turngenerate leadsthrough thisand weacquire connect to consumers through various channels.It also gives us chance to enhance customer experience and drive supply chain innovation.I believe social-mediacommerce has created anotheravenuefor logistics business and freight.Goingforward,we are going to see more entrepreneurs movingfrom web to social e-commerce platforms.This in turn is going to create immense market for us.

I believe the future of thissector isverybright.Till now, governmentis workingwellto develop better infrastructure of roadsandrailways for solving logistics issue.Announcementof Delhi-Bombay corridoris one such example.Even commerce ministry has created a logistics department.

There isthereforeanimmense opportunity for shipping and rivercargos and it can bethe bestway to attract more FDI in India.Local manufacturingaccelerated throughdifferent government initiatives will be a new business model for us. This will furtherhelp inoptimisingresources. These factors arewill propelgrowthofIndian logistics sector.

But,as an industry westillneed to work on few areassuch asimplementation of nationallogistics policywhich is still in draft.It isalsocritical to bring down the logistics costsas fuel chargesare rising indiscriminately.There is also a need to create more employment in the sector.Itwill need support from government and public sector.Lastly,companies hit by the pandemic require an easycredit toretain their normalcy.

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India is consumption based economy and it needs logistics more than ever now: K Satyanarayana, Ecom Express - SME Futures