In the wake of the global pandemic, supply chain and logistics held the centre-stage along with medical practitioners and health workers. From distribution of medical necessities to facilitating the movement of other businesses, logistics players redesigned and customised solutions to meet existing demand.

In a constant endeavor to rethink supply chain solutions, the industry has been moving in the right direction. Leading players have embraced a combination of emerging trends and established strengths. Let’s have a look below at various trends and innovations that emerged in 2021 and will continue to grow in 2022:

• Paradigm shift in Consumer Behaviour

With COVID-19 precautionary measures like social distancing and self-isolation coming into the picture, e-commerce witnessed growth. The number of online shoppers grew at an unprecedented rate and is expected is to reach from today’s 80 million to 300 million real soon. In line with the global trend, Indian consumers have also started to rely on ‘door-step delivery’ way of living. Online grocery shopping has increased by 80%, giving rise to ‘direct to customer (D2C)’ brands. There has been an exponential growth in last mile deliveries and the industry has gone through an end-to end transformation in handling its operations.

• Push towards development of Modern Warehouses

Due to an increased share of essential goods storage given the risk of stock outs, hub-and-spoke delivery models have become more prevalent. This has led to a major push towards development of more modern warehouses with increased levels of technology deployment and automation. Adoption of WMS (warehouse management system), on-demand warehouses/fulfilment centers, end-to-end customised solutions, use of robotics, AI and ML in warehousing infrastructure for inventory management, planning and routing schedules have already seen applications in the industry.

• Tech Innovations

It is said that ‘Necessity is the mother of Invention’; this proved to be true when various tech innovations helped the logistics industry solve problems and continue to deliver amid the pandemic. From a long list of technology driven solutions - RFID tracking of deliveries, digitized platform to integrate supply chain, big data in distribution network design and intelligent transport systems are to name a few. Nevertheless, technology is just a very strong enabler and delivery has to happen through human intervention; making PHYGITAL a buzz word in today’s era.

• Green Logistics

We know that the world has been going through a major climate crisis and transportation sector is one of the major contributors to it. In order to answer the global call for sustainability, multimodal logistics is what is being pushed forward. More rail and coastal logistics would help reduce the overall carbon footprint. To know expert insights on this topic, read our latest edition of Logistics Focus magazine on ‘Renewable Energy: Impact on Logistics in India’ via below link:

http://cdn.tcil.in/website/tcil//publication/Logistics_Focus_Renewable_Energy_January_2022.pdf 

With the launch of significant government initiatives like ‘Gati Shakti’ Master Plan for multimodal connectivity in India, a smooth logistics infrastructure development is being worked upon. With a monetization and execution plan in-place, this surely is the right move towards creation of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. It will help in cutting down needless logistics cost and reduce turnaround time in 2022 and beyond. We, at TCI through our multimodal capabilities enabled to save 21,994 Tonnes of CO2 equivalent in terms of GHG emissions in the year 2020-21 and will continue to make efforts to reduce the carbon footprint.

• Emergence of Start-ups

With the advent of internet penetration in the country, logistics startups have grown their business manifold. It has opened up new avenues to meet supply chain demands. Thus, such existing supply chain solutions fill the gap between the retailers through their distributed logistics industry services. Hence, challenging the legacy companies in leading the market force.