Logistics Challenges In India: What are they?

  • July 13, 2017
  • Blog

The logistics department, or in simple words, transportation is one of the most important factors that influence any industry. With the astonishing and constantly growing popularity of e-commerce platforms, the transportation of goods from one place to another has become a vast industry. Just like the global logistics industry, the one in India too is growing at an exponential rate and being constantly fed with an abundant workload. However, there are a few problems faced by the Indian logistics industry that are inhibiting its growth and keeping it from realizing its full potential.

In India, a whopping 10-15% of the cost of a product is generally attributed to the logistics. This percentage is quite high when compared to other countries. Hence, an in-depth analysis of the problems faced by shipping companies in India is crucial before attempting to revamp the industry and rid it of some of the major problems. Here are some of the major challenges faced by logistics in India:

Diversity of Customer Base

This might not seem like a major problem at first glance. But the vastness of India and the wide distribution of consumers is an important issue when it comes to logistics challenges in India. If companies want to win over the diverse populace of the country, they have to make plans to incorporate rural and semi-urban areas into their logistics strategies. Supply chain companies like 20Cube are invested in helping manufacturers deliver their goods to out of the way consumers with their expansive network.

Insufficient Infrastructure

In the recent past, a number of progressive steps have been taken to improve the infrastructure of transportation in the country. However, problems related to insufficient and inadequate infrastructure are far from over. Even today, there are several parts of the country, especially in the interiors that do not have proper roads. This poses a problem for logistics companies who are wary of employing their vehicles on such roads due to fear of increased wear and tear. The logistics teams that do work here have expensive packages, thus affecting the cost of the product.

Inadequate Technical Support

One of the major problems faced by the Indian logistics industry is their distance from technology. The scope of incorporating technical features in logistics is quite high. However, its full potential is barely touched upon in India. The lack of technical knowledge and general know-how is the main cause of this. Some possibilities are the addition of GPS in vehicles to help them find efficient routes, increased communication, and transparency between the transport service and logistics teams, and IT support in warehouse management.

20Cube Logistics is a technology-enabled logistics company which provides superior logistics services and also cater to different industries.

Studies have suggested that in modern times, the technical knowledge and training of the people involved in logistics is of crucial importance. This is an often overlooked aspect of the Indian industry. Most workers have the inadequate technical knowledge and hence find it difficult to understand the various different aspects of logistics such as return procedures, handling queries, reviewing delivery documents etc. Therefore, these are some of the critical areas in which logistics companies in India are currently striving for improvement.