H.S. Malhotra Chairman and Managing Director, Tiger Logistics (India) Limited
Enterprises across business verticals are leveraging information and communications technology (ICT) to achieve greater efficiencies in their day-to-day operations. A robust IT and telecom infrastructure is required to communicate not only with customers but also within the organisation. To ensure effective communication, manage operations, improve productivity and increase efficiency, logistics enterprises are stepping up their investments in their ICT infrastructure. Leading enterprises in the logistics industry discuss their IT strategies, emerging technology trends and future plans for IT infrastructure upgradation…
What is the company’s telecom and IT blueprint? Please mention the wide area network (WAN) components, last mile access technologies, and enterprise, mobility, security and software applications?
Tiger Logistics (India) Limited is getting telecom support from Ace Technology for its logistics needs. For WAN, we are using leased lines from top internet service providers such as Bharti Airtel, Tata Communications and Spectranet. For data security, we are using the UTM Firewall solution from AnexGATE. We are getting VPN technologies through UTM Firewall and Microsoft. We are also using antivirus software from Symantec and Trend Micro for better protection and hassle-free services.
We have deployed the Logi-Sys ERP application from Softlink and the Zimbra Collaboration Server and for software applications we are using Microsoft’s server client technology.
What new IT initiatives has the company taken recently? What advantages has it derived and what were the implementation challenges faced by the company?
We have recently implemented Zimbra & Linux software applications. Zimbra connects users to their personal clouds with a smarter mailbox that integrates email, tasks, address book, calendar, files and enterprise applications. The biggest challenge is to find a balance between the company’s budget and its IT needs. Maintenance and management of IT infrastructure are equally demanding. Businesses run on IT, thus IT infrastructure needs to be responsive to their needs. To drive a profitable business, IT has to shed its role of a supporting system. We have come to realise that managing the IT infrastructure on a service model is the best solution. As our organisation is rapidly expanding its footprint in the market, the responsibility of the IT team has increased. As a result, we are continuously looking to improve our IT facilities to provide better management and services.
What is the level of adoption of applications such as customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management and sales force automation in the logistics industry?
At present, we are using Logi-Sys, which is an end-to-end cloud ERP software for the freight forwarding and logistics industry. Logi-Sys is an enterprise-level modular ERP software, which automates all the freight forwarding and logistics processes with plug-and-play ease. We have deployed it to manage our freight broker operations, both international and domestic, from receiving the sales inquiry to the balance sheet. The adoption of such applications is driven by the need to boost business agility and address escalating maintenance and administration costs.
What are the company’s plans regarding telecom and IT network upgrades?
In today’s economy, information is power and to keep ahead of competitors, Tiger Logistics has deployed solutions like a customer redressal system, mobile applications, GPS tracking and cloud computing to improve communications, logistics and inventory tracking. This helps enhance customer trust and brand loyalty. It is necessary to improve our IT infrastructure to get updated with global IT solutions. Tiger Logistics’s IT professionals are continuously working to develop new system applications and enhance existing ones. Our internal systems are built to provide efficiency and functionality to our staff and business associates. We always prefer to use genuine Windows, Microsoft and IBM products.
What are the key emerging technology trends in logistics enterprises? What are the upcoming communication technologies in this regard?
The growing complexity and dynamism of supply chains require advanced IT solutions. Client and partner master data management with integration capabilities and identity resolution tools, data cleansing, address validation, credit rating and auto-hierarchy assignment services are some of the solutions on the list. In the coming years, the key positive trends that are likely to influence the industry are the entry of global players, increase in the number of multimodal logistics service providers, and greater investments. These are predominantly driven by an increased focus on business intelligence and customer segmentation. Further, given the growing popularity of cloud computing across industries, logistics companies have started evaluating its potential and capitalising on its benefits. With regard to whether there is a case for cloud computing, logistics leaders need to take into account the rapidly evolving market scenarios driven by trade imbalances, capacity constraints, regulatory compliance, emerging integrators and new markets. Given the industry’s cautious attitude towards core processes and target areas, cloud computing would initially remain limited to horizontals such as CRM, campaigns and promotions, carrier bookings, rate enquiry, scheduling, inventory pool management and capacity procurement.
Telecom and data networks are highly complex, just like the demands of their manufacturers, suppliers and operators. In logistics, transportation alone is no longer enough. It is necessary to have precise knowledge about products and processes so that the supply chain can be optimised. In addition, forward and reverse logistics need to be merged with intelligent warehousing, inventory management and technical services. Such demands can be met by working with a reliable technology partner
