Best of Tech is the flagship research program by Coeus Age aimed at defining the technology road map in multiple industry sectors over the next 12 to 18 months. Best of Tech Talk is a platform for industry thought leaders to share their perspectives to add value to our research.
Coeus Age conducted Best of Tech Talk 2023 for the Logistics and Supply Chain sector on September 30, 2022. The virtual roundtable was presented by ETEK INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION.
The Indian Logistics and Supply Chain sector has really evolved during the pandemic. From being a support function, it has now emerged as a critical sector; key for the performance of the economy, especially for the sectors such as healthcare and pharma, agriculture, and food suppliers. Imagine the mammoth task of distribution of vaccines to every nook and corner of the country or transporting oxygen during the second wave of delta in 2021.
The need in the country is that of evolving a multi-modal integrated Logistics and Supply Chain Infrastructure, on the back of which India’s Amrit Kaal story shall be written. With a new policy, infrastructure development and digital technology use coming together, the sector has really started to transform.
Coeus Age is pleased to present the Research+Perspectives that were discussed at the Best of Tech Talks 2023 (Logistics and Supply Chain) Roundtable. Attended by Coeus Age analyst and four industry thought leaders, an all-rounded discussion happened.
grounded views – RESEARCH KEYNOTE BY DR KAPIL DEV SINGH
In his research keynote Dr Singh presented the position of Logistics and Supply Chain Sector on the DX Market Matrix, as relative to other industry sectors. DX Market Matrix by Coeus Age maps individual enterprises and industries on two dimensions – Depth of Tech Evolution, and Breadth of Enterprise Coverage by Digital. Logistics and Supply Chain sector is at the middle of of the placement, which suggests that few Logistics and Supply Chain Sector companies may be ahead as compared to many others.
Five distinct areas have been identified by Coeus Age research as the technology focus for Logistics and Supply Chain Sector for 2023 –
1. Creating End to End service platforms for the customers, partners, suppliers, and compliance
2. Supply chain integration with a central control tower to get information on a single dashboard, giving clear visibility into the end to end operations
3. Adopting autonomous and electric vehicles, automated fleet management, and automated warehouses for speed, agility, and sustainability
4. Redefining the data architecture and infrastructure, evolving an industry information exchange platform
5. Embedding AI/ ML/ Big Data Analytics for innovative use cases across the value chain
Coeus Age analysis estimates IT spending to grow by 7 to 9% over 2022 and 23 in the Logistics and Supply Chain sector.
#WOW – INDUSTRY KEYNOTE BY MR ROHIT RAMAN
In his speech Mr Rohit Raman asserted that Logistics and Supply Chain has been the savior during the pandemic, and this has also given boost to the sector’s prospects.
Key challenges have also emerged while the sector is transforming. Cyber Security is one of them. It becomes imperative for the players in this sector to assess their security posture on a regular basis.
The Logistics and Supply Chain systems are exposed to threats as they are open to multiple stakeholders. Meeting compliances is another imperative that is demanding better security.
Cyber Security is a necessity for business continuity and keeping business performance intact. Any snag has a direct impact on the profitability.
Logistics and Supply Chain sector is the backbone of the economy, especially for sectors like pharma and healthcare, agriculture, and food supplies, hence its continuity becomes all the more important.
#WOW – CIO PERSPECTIVE BY MR HARVINDER SINGH BANGA
Mr Harvinder Singh Banga presented his views on multiple aspects of digital driven logistics and supply chain.
He talked about the critical imperatives that are key in designing a modern logistics and supply chain. He also presented the new challenges that are inherent in building a modern logistics and supply chain and emergence of innovative startups in handling the challenges
He argued on the availability of real time data flow and ways in which it can be exploited to gain agility, efficiency and customer experience. Every asset today is giving data through sensors, and the ecosystem to define business use cases is getting stronger. The challenge now is plethora of data and how to make good use of it.
Mr Banga also highlighted upon the need for building and evolution of supply chain control tower to bring in visibility into the processes, give descriptive information and the capability to act on the information. The next evolution, according to him, is how data can provide predictive insights, and automate decisions. Bigger value will come by moving into prescriptive analytics that suggests and triggers course correcting processes.
#WOW – CIO PERSPECTIVE BY MR MEHERIAR PATEL
Mr Meheriar Patel stressed upon the shifts in India’s domestic consumption and its role in driving growth in the coming years and the role of Logistics and Supply Chain will be very critical. Technology will play a key role in all the domains of Loagitcs and and Supply chain – warehousing, last mile express logistics, and exports and imports.
He provides his insights on the new Logistics policy by the government of India and how it will redefine the Logistics and Supply Chain sector. It shall define a way forward to collaborative logistics and supply chain, and that will be a real game changer. It will also spur adoption of new technologies like AI/ ML/ RPA/ Blockchain.
According to Mr Patel, the industry is also gradually moving into a paper less environment. With Banking, eInvoicing, GST Submission etc. all supporting paperless working, there may be some aspects which are still manual like the customs clearance. But things will change pretty fast.
#WOW – CIO PERSPECTIVE BY MR BALVINDER SINGH BANGA
Mr Balvinder Singh Banga sees high growth in the Logistics and Supply Chain sector. But challenges are also emerging on account of rising costs and its impact on profit margins. The sector has to be agile and efficient to be able to cope with the ‘rising cost’ challenge.
He argued about the use of digital technologies in building a platform that can automate end to end operations. Newer customer demands are emerging, e.g. super efficient inventory management, that need a very strong data play and the use of innovative use cases with AI/ ML/ and Big Data Analytics. E.g., use of robotics in warehouse automation is catching up very fast.
Mr Banga talked about availability of data in the cloud across multiple stakeholders and how it can be leveraged in making critical decisions related to inventory, transportation, and route management.
SUMMING IT UP
The “Research + Perspectives” on Technology Road Map 2023 for the Logistics and Supply Chain Industry provides a holistic view. While the research identified five broad areas, the debate further elaborated on the specifics.
The Logistics and Supply Chain sector is embracing emerging technologies and working towards building transparent and intelligent operations. These are however falling in place in bits and pieces and at some point in the journey, the baseline IT architecture and infrastructure, applications and data layers will require an overhaul.
The Logistics and Supply Chain industry is at an inflection point today, readying itself for a massive transformation with
“a new policy environment unfolding; automation gaining pace by going both deep and broad; analytics evolving from being descriptive and predictive to even prescriptive; Big Data emerging as the driving force and third party data integrating together for critical decision making; electric vehicles, robotics, automation of warehouses being adopted; and AI/ ML/ IoT/ RPA becoming enterprise wide for innovative use cases across the supply chain”.
The new age is going to be that of collaborative platforms, where data and information can flow smoothly, to the right person at the right time, across enterprises who are part of the chain. Cloud based third party data sources can be integrated together for scenario planning and critical decision making. With the entire ecosystem becoming matured, the whole working will be paperless, thus helping sustainability in a big way.
Coeus Age believes that the Logistics and Supply Chain companies are gradually working on both baseline optimizing and new age transformative technologies aimed at addressing agility, efficiency and sustainability together. With the new policy getting operationalized, the whole momentum shall pick up.
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