Speaking to The Financial Express, TCI executive director Vineet Agarwal said the portal will act as a one-stop shop both for logistics industry and consumers. The group plans to invest around Rs 7 crore on the portal in the first year of its operation, he added.

Agarwal said the portal will list the service providers of all modes of transport, warehouse companies, freight forwarding and custom clearing agents, including intermediaries such as insurance and finance companies, transportation and material handling equipment providers and consultants.

The portal will also host a directory of users of the services including FMCGs, white and brown good manufacturers, retails and industrial and engineering companies.

Logistics and tranportation companies will also be able to host their Websites on the portal, Agarwal said. Other services include load and freight exchanges, customised newsletters, tracking and tracing and software integration. Case studies relating to logistic needs of specific industries are also in the offing, Agarwal added.

Agarwal said the company is in talks with several service providers for a marketing and service alliance. To begin with, the site will target high-value segment such as air freight.

On the revenue stream to sustain the site, Agarwal said that apart from advertisement revenue, the site will offer several value-added services. He expects that once the e-commerce portion of the portal gets going, the site will break-even over the next two years. He said though the portal is currently India-specific, it may focus on the world market at a latter date.