Amateurs do tactics, experts do logistics!

Joe Sestak

One fine day a visit to the Logistics department was as thrilling as a science fiction movie. When I entered, I was taken aback as everything sparkled in all its glorious fervor unlike the traditional Logistics department. I could not believe my eyes that I was standing in a warehouse as it was devoid of any kind of noise and was a completely automated plant. I continued to walk inside and was astonished to discover the revolutionization of the Logistics department. I kept gazing at the development which took place over the years and realized how different is Logistics today compared to 10 years back when I went for an industrial visit during my graduation days. I have always been passionate to learn about Industry 4.0 and here I got a golden opportunity to witness the cusp of Industry 4.0 with the Logistics which was one of its kind!  I was amused to  see the use of the internet of things(IOT) for checking the stock data, robots assembling, sorting and stacking the cargos and  the best part was employees were working hands free using smart glasses. Oh, What an amazing sight it was! After the visit, I was sure that this Industry is the next big thing and was inquisitive to research even more about this Industry and here I share the insights of my research….

Rise above all – The Sky is still too high

This makes the Logistics Industry the next even bigger thing! The prevalent global survival crisis caused by Corona Pandemic has shot up the E-Commerce market with a sharp impact on buying behaviour in the consumers. These behavioural changes go a long way bringing about a complete turnaround in how people go shopping. The E Commerce giants have been forced to adapt the new normal and to embrace a robust Logistics to leverage the situation. Logistics has always been a backbone of competitive advantage in the E Commerce business. In the past, the key players of e commerce like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal and Walmart have competed by promising early deliveries to their customers. All this has become possible due to modernization in logistics by integrating drones, augmented reality, smart glasses for touchless picking, packing, shipping and advanced robotics that helped immensely reduce the cost with increased customer satisfaction. Covid-19 crisis has compelled the logistics solutions firms to realize the need of efficient logisticians that are adept in planning amidst the uncertain times and  that help formalize a well-throughout logistics network.

The Sunshine Industry shines brighter than ever

Global Logistics & Supply Chain Industry due to COVID-19 has been estimated to grow exponentially to USD 3,215 Billion by 2021 from its current level of USD 2,734 Billion in 2020 Similarly according to the report by Transparency Market Research the Logistics & Supply Chain Industry might touch USD 15522.02 Billion by 2023. The Indian logistics and supply chain sector is expected to reach USD 215 Billion by the end of 2020. The government is involved in bringing a lot more investment, develop essential infrastructure and amend the  policies to make the sector more organized. Niti Ayog also has an ambitious plan to bring down the logistics cost which will save billions of rupees for Indian economy. The startups and technology driven companies are coming into India’s logistics space and are now challenging the traditional and existing logistics players. This has pushed the traditional players to do a lot of investments in infrastructure development, training, technology improvement & upgradation, trying to match the global standards.

The glare of its own- Logistics and Supply Chain

Though the logistics industry is not a new one but due to changes in infrastructure and the GST being implemented in the right direction, it is bound to reach new heights. Here are the 10 potential reasons which make Logistics deemed to be a sunshine industry of India:

• Implementation of GST in India has paved the way for faster adoption of technology and triggered consolidation in the Logistics sector.
• Government has granted infrastructure status to the logistics sector, which means logistics companies can now get access to cheaper capital. This will bring down the overall cost of the logistics companies.
• Better and easy access to capital and GST will pave the way to bigger and larger automated warehouses. This means that the number of warehouses may come down.
• Skilled manpower is required to manage the modern logistics facilities and network to provide service level to its customers.
• The B2B logistics and third party logistics is growing at a rate of 20 to 30 percent annually.
• A new department of logistics has been set up under the ministry of commerce to coordinate various departments and bring in much needed infrastructure development focus by the government.
• A plethora of tech based startups has emerged in Indian Logistics space bringing in innovation and taking the processes to a new level.
• Automation is inevitable in the logistics sector. This will bring in lot of tech based smaller and larger solution providers into this sector
• Research and development will increase, which will eventually bring down the cost and facilitate job creation.
• Massive investment is being initiated both by the central and state governments in infrastructure development. Also, projects such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Dedicated Freight Corridor, Make in India, etc will transform the face of logistics sector.

India lands in top 2 in Logistics Sector Performance (2020)

Logistics Sector Performance of  Top 50 Countries in the year 2020, revealed the below mentioned 10 countries are rated best in the world in terms of number of opportunities in the country wherein India stands at second position. The Index ranked the countries with reference to the factors which make them lucrative to freight forwarders, logistics providers, shipping lines, distributors and air cargo carriers.

Logistics Sector Performance of Top 10 Countries in the year 2020

Logistics  Industry– The largest job creator by 2022

The rapid reliance on e-commerce has made the logistics industry to be a lucrative career opportunity which will be the largest job creator by 2022 (IBEF report, 2020). According to the research, 3 million jobs are expected to be created and around 13.9 million people are expected to get absorbed in the logistics sector by the year 2022. It is expected that Road freight will have 1.89 million new jobs, rail freight and air freight will 40,000 jobs each, and waterways will have 450,000 jobs followed by 120,000 jobs in warehousing. The Courier services, the 2^nd fastest growing sub sector, will create 60,000 jobs while packaging a potential sub sector will need 40,000 employees by the year 2022.

Collaboration with Industry players is the key

Logistics & Supply Chain Sector looks for precise and quick decision making skills in its manpower. Thus, this has led to  which in association with the leading industry player of  logistics and supply chain sector helps the budding managers to be Industry ready and employable by  practicing the concepts of logistics and supply chain management. “MMS – Logistics and Supply Chain Management” offered by  Ganpat University in association with Safeducate (the educational wing of Safexpress)  is an opportunity to realize the true potential in the field of Logistics and Supply Chain Management. This unique two years programme  is a perfect blend of Academia and Industry, one of its kind course with 100% pre- placement offer and an unique opportunity to earn in the second year of the course with a stipend. In order to make candidates Industry ready the educational leader in logistics management has adopted a highly practice driven, on-the-job model to train the budding managers.

Logistics is a vital department for all the Industries thus a master’s degree in Logistics can help the candidate eligible to get placed in all the Industries. The candidate can make a career in e-Commerce, Aviation (Cargo), Warehousing, Shipping lines, Manufacturing, Port operators and ICDs, Cargo terminal operators Freight forwarding. Safeducate our education partner for the course takes pride in being associated with some renowned Companies  like Amazon, FedEx, Flipkart, Future Group, Gati, Varuna, DTDC, Blue Dart, Delhivery, Safexpress. The candidate can also pursue his entrepreneurial instincts with this degree. With the emergence of e commerce, tech based logistics ventures are gaining popularity and have managed to procure as high as $6.25 Billion with just eight deals in 2019. 

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