India is anticipated to become the world's third largest economy by FY28, with a projected GDP of $5 trillion. This significant leap from ranking 10th a decade ago has largely been driven by the export of services. However, over the last few years, there has been a concerted effort by the Government of India (GoI) to bolster the manufacturing sector and increase merchandize exports. Through initiatives such as Make in India and Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for 14 varied sectors, the GoI aims to raise the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP from approximately 16 percent at present to more than 20 percent in the next 2-3 years.

To achieve high-volume merchandize exports and capitalize on the global shift in supply chains, India must compete with other export hubs like China in terms of price, quality, and efficiency — not only in manufacturing, but also in logistics, which typically accounts for 10-20 percent of cost of manufactured goods. At the same time, domestic consumption patterns are evolving, with customers expecting a variety of SKU options, affordable yet expedited deliveries, enhanced tracking and free returns. A strong and efficient logistics ecosystem is crucial to meet growing customer aspirations.

In this endeavour and with the target to improve India’s ranking in the Global Logistics Performance Index from current 38th to the Top 25 by 2030, GoI launched the National Logistics Policy (NLP) in 2022. One of the key objectives of the NLP is to modernise the logistics ecosystem through greater adoption of information and communication technology, upgraded infrastructure, use of drones, automation, innovation, green logistics, international best practices and facilitate integration with global value chain. Crucially, the NLP has backed the development of the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) to link diverse trade stakeholders such as shippers, ports, shipping lines, cargo terminals, transporters, government agencies etc., to enable seamless transactions.

Technology-led logistics operations and automation are expected to enhance efficiencies and customer experience in both domestic and global markets, adding significant value to businesses and the economy. This is expected to result in the rapid adoption of automation in the logistics sector in the next 5-10 years. Automation is being adopted across industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, oil and gas, chemicals, e-commerce, and FMCG for numerous logistics functions, right from simple data entry, to automated complex workflows, robotic storage and retrieval systems, intelligent transportation management, and proactive decision making.

This year conference with theme “Technology-led Logistics: A strategic business differentiator” will centre around the evolving logistics landscape in India with a specific focus on current and potential future state of technology and automation, case studies on benefits realised and the need for an ecosystem to drive strong ROI from automation.