Express Logistics, which is sliding its way up the hill on the back of the ever-evolving and growing e-commerce industry, is valued at approx. $4.5 billion. Known for delivering important documents or small parcels in the earlier days, the segment has now spread its wings to a vast variety of shipments and houses the B2B and B2C domains.
Covering this very eye-catchy segment of the industry, Logistics Insider, on Monday in a virtual event, unveiled a Knowledge Report on the topic ‘Indian Express Logistics Industry 2022’ by Aviral Consulting in association with Logistics Insider, Indian Chamber of Commerce & Apptmyz.
Authored by Mr. Vikash Khatri, Founder, of Aviral Consulting, the report that covers all the everything from the background of express logistics segment to its growth drivers to tech trends, the government support to future outlook, during the unveiling, was discussed to length in a freewheeling discussion held between two industry experts, Mr. Khatri and Mr. Rohan Mittal, Chief Financial Officer, RIVIGO Services Pvt Ltd..
The event was graced by the presence of Mr. Ashok Kunverji Shah, Chairman, V-Trans (India) Ltd, an industry veteran, and chief guest for the event, who presented a keynote addressed to the audience during the unveiling, called the report ‘one-of-a-kind’ and applauded the efforts that were put into making it insightful. He said, “The report covers every aspect of the express logistics segment and can be an in-hand guidance manual for the industry-making it useful for not only the logistics providers but also the user.”
Sharing his view on the growth of the segment, Mr. Shah said, “The express logistics, a concept which was first born in the ’90s has come a long way. However, the industry still houses a majority of unorganized players. Moving ahead it is clear that only the organized players will thrive, as they will be quick to adapt to the changes in consumer behavior and preference, which is pushing an exceptional growth for the segment alongside, infrastructure development and government support.”
Drawing the attention towards the hype that the segment has gained in the past few years Mr. Khatri commenced the freewheeling session by acknowledging the importance of GST as an enabler for the segment and highlighted that the express logistics segment in the last 5 years has been growing at an exceptional CAGR of 15-17%.
Mr. Mittal during the session spoke on ‘tech as an enabler’ for the express logistics industry and called the new age tech logistics companies as the horizons and goal setters in terms of defining tech logistics. He said, “Tech logistics is the future and many organizations are already embracing it. The advantage of that is visible, not only in terms of the way consigners material is moving but also at times in a way gross margins are increasing.”
Technology is not replacing the logistics industry but bringing inefficiency. Express has several internal and external touchpoints, and leveraging tech has to a great extent reduced damage, shortage, pilferage, Mr. Khatri said, adding to Mr. Mittal’s’ address.
Speaking on the growth in the number of players the industry has seen, Mr. Mittal’s reply to Mr. Khatri weighs the growth of the Indian market in comparison to China and answers the real question i.e. ‘Is there anything new they are bringing to the table?’
“If we look at guidance towards the developed economies, we will see that typically the legacies organizations have innovated, stayed ahead of the curve, heavily invested in talent, network, and tech and therefore grown from strength to strength. The real transition also happened in the developed economies when the B2C gathered momentum, leading to the emergence of new B2C organizations, which also start doing B2B and naturally became a competitor. (which can be seen as the second wave of competitors). India has not been any different, we have our legacy companies who started the express movement in the country who are still present, and we have the new age organizations. What we have seen is a third wave where specialized organizations are taking flight,”
The experts also indulged in a discussion about the comparison between express and traditional transport, their coexistence, the organized vs unorganized sectors of the segment, Co-loading as a means, M&A, and the Future Outlook among many.
View the full Unveiling event here. And, get your your copy of the report on “Indian Express Logistics Industry 2022”
