Ashwani Kumar, Business, IT Transformation and
Logistics Expert
Enterprises in the logistics space have been increasingly using information and communication technology (ICT) systems to drive operational efficiencies. These solutions have become critical for tracking shipments and gaining end-to-end visibility. Technologies like internet of things (IoT) and cloud are gaining traction amongst logistics companies for ensuring effective communication with consumers as well as within the organisation. Going forward, the industry is expected to step up its ICT investments for the adoption of technologies like augmented reality, which would optimise the collection, warehouse planning and freight transportation processes. Enterprises in this space talk about their IT strategies, emerging technology trends and future plans for upgrading their ICT infrastructure….
How are telecom and technology solutions helping improve performance and efficiency in the logistics sector? What are the key technology solutions being used?
Technology and telecom combined form a key element of empowerment for today’s businesses. They provide a platform to bring in business efficiency and cost savings. Technology and telecom solutions are playing a big role in cargo management and customer relationship management (CRM) in the logistics industry. Some of the technology solutions used by the industry are GPS, RFID and optical character recognition.
What is your company’s IT blueprint?
At the WAN side, we have firewalls and routers as customer premises equipment. We also have last-mile connectivity on Wi-Max and radio frequency. As far as enterprise-level applications are concerned, we have the cloud federation service (CFS) Mag 3.0 and RFID-based HAWK system for operation and Infor SunSystems for finance. Moreover, a proprietary mobility application, which will be based on the Android and iOS operating systems and be supported with encryption, multilevel authorisation and secure payment facility, is being developed. Our security framework is based on the ISO 27001:2013 information security management standard. The main applications used for security include firewall consols, active directory-based authorisations and antivirus software.
What are the new IT initiatives taken by the company? What benefits have you derived from them and what challenges did you face in deploying these solutions?
Some of the new IT initiatives are a terminal operational system, a CRM system, and interface integration among major customers and the government system. These are helping us in automating the data, which, in turn, helps us in conducting data analytics. We did not face any problems in putting the technologies in place. We had a very clear vision, and proper education, training and counselling were imparted to the people involved.
“Technology and telecom solutions are playing a big role in cargo management and CRM in the logistics industry.” Ashwani Kumar
What has been the impact on the IT requirements of the logistics industry due to the boom in the e-commerce sector?
In the e-commerce and logistics industries, the highest cost is incurred in transportation. Not having visibility on cargo can be a major issue. So, unless the logistics industry is driven by technology and develops technologies at par with the e-commerce sector, it will be ruled out by the market.
What is the level of adoption of applications such as CRM, SCM and sales force automation in the logistics industry? What is the outlook for the adoption of new technologies like IoT, cloud and big data analytics?
The adoption of CRM, SCM and sales force automation solutions is dependent on three factors – usability, adoptability and the benefits that a user derives from these solutions. Currently, we have 100 per cent adoption of these solutions. The adoption of IoT, cloud and big data analytics is very important. However, their adoption also depends on the organisation’s trust in the technology. When an organisation has adopted IoT and big data analytics, it has to ensure that there are engines on the cloud that can act as an interface to several things. The adoption of new technologies also depends on the complexity of the IT architecture, company policy and data security. If these are deployed within the enterprise’s architecture, it is easy to deploy, but if these are deployed on a different level of infrastructure like the cloud, it may be difficult.
Going forward, the logistics industry needs a single integrated platform. We are competitors but we must think about the end-customer as well. If we develop a forum where the customers can get all the information, they can choose the best alternative.
