Remember the not-so-old scenario when many a times, customers used to complain that they have not received the consignment they ordered, while the supplier insisted the goods have been delivered? When transporters were contacted, they remained clueless on the status of the consignment. All this led to a lot of confusion and lessened the faith of customers in the logistics service provider.
There has been a sea change in the business scenario in India. Customer awareness is on the rise and is making them more time-sensitive and particular about delivery. Customers demand the right product at the right time, at the right quantity and at the right place. In such a scenario, availability of goods becomes an important issue.
Logistics involves the movement of materials?global and within the country?and requires a strong infrastructure of airports, seaports, communications and other related facilities. While technology is integral to logistics for critical information and sophisticated decision-support tools, until now in India, the movement of shipments was a customer?s nightmare, primarily due to the poor state of infrastructure.
Now, the entire logistics scenario is undergoing a sea change. International logistics companies like FedEx, UPS, TNT and DHL and homegrown companies like Blue Dart, First Courier and XPS Global, are offering customers the convenience of receiving proactive updates on the progress of their shipments. By simply logging onto the logistics company?s website and registering their bill numbers, customers get updated on their shipments, from pick up until delivery. Customer updates are provided via SMS, email or fax. They are automatically informed about their status of their shipments at every checkpoint, literally.
No wonder, IT is increasingly playing a major role in the world of logistics, of late in India as well. Prominent international players in the express delivery sector make use of IT in carrying out their business on a day-to-day basis. For instance, DHL offers ?Follow me Track??an innovative service that offer customers the convenience of receiving proactive updates on the progress of their shipments. By simply logging onto the DHL website and registering their bill numbers, customers get updated on their shipments.
Inspired by their tech prowess, Indian companies like Blue Dart and XPS too are adopting varied IT solutions to optimise their businesses, increase revenues and reduce operating costs.
For Blue Dart Express, an integrated air express carrier and logistics-services provider, technology plays a crucial role in streamlining operations when goods are shipped. Similar to the DHL offering, a Blue Dart customer is able to get real-time information on shipments by logging on to the Blue Dart site and entering his way bill number. The information is stored on a server, which the company?s systems access. The customer can get the status of the shipment by using a service called TrackDart. Other technologies that are used by Blue Dart to streamline and maximise its operational efficiencies include: tracking tools for B2B, B2C and C2C solutions like ShopTrack, PackTrack, ShipDart and ImageDart; pick-up and track web-based tools like TrackDart, InternetDart, MailDart and MobileDart.
More recently, XPS has introduced an innovative service called ?e-PoD??a web-based application?that facilitates online proof of delivery (PoD), thereby allowing customers to view the status of delivery. A web cam, which is fixed on a scanner, is used to upload the image of the PoD to the central server. After that, it is available for viewing by the customer.
Says K Prabhakar, president and CEO, XPS, ?Many a times, customers complain that they have not received the consignment they ordered, while the supplier believes the goods have been delivered. When transporters are contacted, they show the Net tracking results of the consignment. However, very often, customers maintain that they have not received the goods. In such a situation, an e-PoD solution helps in substantiating facts, thereby reassuring customers and reaffirming their confidence in the service providers.?
Quite clearly, when it comes to technology used in the logistics industry, Indian players/customers are becoming more demanding and have become a part of the global supply chain. Even smaller players have started participating and exporting in the international arena. And to compete globally, they have realised the importance of technology that helps them to fulfill their requirements and be competitive. On the other hand, logistics vendors have become technology-savvy and are ambitiously adopting advanced technology to outclass each other in customer service.
Says Rajiv Mittal, vice-president (corporate strategy), JK Technosoft, ?Of late, logistics companies have realised that IT helps them in reducing their dependence on the human element. By optimising their business, increasing revenues through CRM or reducing costs through SCM, IT continues to play a major role in the world of logistics.?
Some of the IT solutions that are prominent in logistics and related industry segments include vehicle scheduling, fleet and transportation management system, supply chain management, cargo information, trace and track solutions and web-based cargo booking engines
A look at some of the benefits of IT in this industry:
* Information-sharing and integration internally, as well as externally
* Migration towards a decentralised management system without any loss of information at any level
n Facilitation of faster and reliable delivery resulting in cost savings
* Access to data banks for information on the status of orders or accounts resulting in faster and less complex work, thereby increasing productivity
With the current state of logistics in India, both vendors and customers are increasingly setting into the global operations mode.
The only objective is to sustain and grow globally and technology is the key enabler for logistics companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors.