Re-evaluating Transport & Logistics Resilience in the Age of Covid

The COVID-19 pandemic has vastly disrupted global distribution and movement across countries as many countries shut their borders and limited travel and transportation to prevent and contain the spread of the virus. The increased border control and customs regulations have affected the transport and logistics industry as they struggle to meet last-minute fulfillments. This has resulted in a lot of uncertainty as supply chains in logistics and transport are hindered, although differently across air, sea and freight sectors. We must then address the impact of the pandemic and analyze the ways to recover and prosper. 

Addressing the impact of COVID-19 on transport and logistics

  • Analyzing the pain points

The first step to address the impact of the pandemic is to analyze the existing business plan and understand the strengths and pain points of the business model. It is essential for transport and logistics companies to evaluate what to enhance, strengthen and improve along with determining the allocation of resources. 

  • Understanding customer expectations

Once companies have conducted an evaluation of their current business model and evaluated their pain points, they must also understand the expectations of their customers and meet them. It is essential to understand the new demands of the customers and market patterns and trends to be able to deliver effectively. 

  • Introducing digital technologies

Digitizing transport and logistics using technologies like automation, robotics, augmented reality, etc. can improve and enhance the operations of the transport and logistics sector. These technologies support the sector by making processes efficient and effective – revolutionizing picking, packing and commissioning processes, transport planning and customer invoicing, etc. 

  • Restructuring the workforce

Restructuring the workforce can help the transport and logistics sector to realign their human resources where they are suited and needed best. Redistributing teams can help the sector achieve balance in the various departments such as operations, customer service, distribution, etc. 

While these efforts must be taken by the transport and logistics sector to recover from the impact of the COVID-19, this is not enough. Businesses must also prepare for the future and make transport and logistics resilient to be able to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing market landscape. 

How to make transport and logistics resilient 

  • Effective communication

Effective communication is key to make transport and logistics resilient. Businesses need to communicate with all their stakeholders – customers, suppliers and workforce – and work proactively with them to sustain and improve their business. 

  • Increasing flexibility 

When a business is met with obstacles, it must adapt itself and face the challenges by improving its strategies and revising its action plan. Companies must focus on reallocating and realigning their resources, inventories, capabilities and capacities to develop a resilient model. Collaboration with stakeholders and the introduction of new technologies are a few ways in which companies can adapt themselves to the changing market landscape. 

  • Striking a balance 

The correct balance between safety, service and cost must be achieved to strike the perfect balance. Focusing more or less on a factor can cause imbalance, potentially hampering the growth and operations of the sector. 

While these changes and strategies are essential to make transport and logistics resilient, these cannot be achieved without the guidance of the leaders of the industry. The leaders play an integral role in not only making decisions but also driving them.

Role of leaders in achieving business resilient

  • Championing 

Leaders must be at the forefront of championing changes in their business and operations, making transport and logistics resilient. Successful leadership involves promoting and achieving large scale or high impact changes in the organization. It is, thus, the responsibility of the leaders to influence and make decisions that have a large organizational impact.  

  • Strategic thinking 

Strategic thinking involves providing the vision and mission to the organization. Leaders must keep an eye on the KPIs, understand and address the pain points within the business and continuously improve and enhance the business and its operations. 

  • Communication

An organization might have to make significant changes to make itself resilient. So, it is essential for leaders to communicate the need to change and make operations resilient. This will keep everyone in the organization informed and more acceptable to change. All the stakeholders must be informed about their role in making transport and logistics resilient and how they can achieve the same. This promotes a healthy communication channel and clarity within the organization. 

Future of transport and logistics post COVID-19 

  • Leveraging technology 

Using the latest technologies and trends and leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning can help the industry to make operations more efficient and cut costs. Introducing technologies to transport and logistics can help businesses to manage people digitally, automate and streamline processes, etc. 

DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, for example, has developed IDEA, an AI algorithm that can significantly improve order-picking up processes from its warehouses. The algorithm helps in clustering orders logically, optimizing picking routes by the warehouse employees. IDEA has reduced the distance travelled by warehouse employees by up to 50% and improved productivity of individual DHL locations by 30% in its first commercial deployments. 

  • Improving collaboration

Encouraging collaboration across departments and industries can help the transport and logistics sector to scale up and capitalize on new opportunities. Establishing forums, committees and spaces for cross-industry collaboration can open up new avenues for the transport and logistics sector. 

  • Going green

As the world moves towards greener choices, it is essential for the transport and logistics industry to embrace change and adopt green practices and integrate environmental considerations while making decisions, distributing and storing goods. 

Green Logistics 2020 is an initiative by Alibaba to promote and implement eco-friendly practices of material recycling, green packaging, effective route planning, etc. Cainiao, the logistics arm of Alibaba is committed to the goal as nearly 100% of its products are biodegradable and nearly half of the paper packaging is tape-free. In 2020, Cainiao also used its self-developed packaging algorithms to sort products into appropriate sizes, minimizing waste from overpackaging for 12 million shipments. Consumers were also encouraged to recycle their packaging at Cainiao’s 80,000 recycling stations across China. 

Conclusion 

The future of transport and logistics is only possible when the sector becomes resilient. This will help the industry to tackle and overcome unforeseen challenges as it remains prepared for the same. The sector and its employees must collectively embrace and compose themselves for the future as they seize opportunities. 

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Arun Gupta

Partner at BOD Consulting | Independent Director & Board Member: Hemas Pharmaceuticals, Sri Lanka and Locuz Enterprise Solutions, India | Co-founder, Fortytwo Labs | Ex-Head eCommerce at DHL | Ex- Head Internet Services at Hughes Telecom | Leadership Development Program- The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth | Leadership Development Program- ISB | Post Graduation in Software Technology from NCST. 

With 38 years of professional experience, Arun has led many groundbreaking IT-driven ventures, shaping the industry and fostering technology adoption. His consulting practice has its foundations based on success as a CIO/CTO across various verticals, geographies, and businesses in mid-market, large enterprises, and Government entities.

Arun’s expertise lies in IT strategy alignment to business strategy & plan, project planning and management, identifying and creating business value from IT, technology team effectiveness, and business Intelligence and analytics. His domain expertise includes Retail, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, and logistics – though he has consulted across other verticals too.

He has garnered numerous industry awards and recognitions, including the Hall of Fame Awards by CIO Magazine and Information Week. Furthermore, Arun is a celebrated speaker globally and has a passion for photography and travelling.

Bhaskar Pramanik

Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | Ex-Microsoft, Oracle and Sun Microsystems | Advisory Member of Board of Schulich University, Canada and Bennett University, India | IIT Kanpur

Bhaskar Pramanik is an accomplished management leader and professional from the Technology Industry. He is currently appointed as a Senior Advisor at Rothschild & Co. and Board Member and Independent Director of TCNS Clothing Company Ltd. He is also on the Advisory Board of Schulich University, Canada, and Bennett University, India.

He has previously held National and Global Leadership positions in leading Multinational Technology Companies like Microsoft, Oracle & Sun Microsystems. He has worked in India, Singapore, and the US.

He recently retired from the Board of SBI, India’s largest bank. He has also been on the Executive Committee of NASSCOM and the National Committee of CII and AMCHAM. He regularly speaks at Industry and Leadership forums.

Sidharth Balakrishna

Senior Partner at BOD Consulting | Mentor-MIT Boston, Faster Capital & Tiger Hall| Ex-Essel (Zee) Group and Cairn India| Authored 6 books | IIM Calcutta | SRCC

Sidharth Balakrishna has 18+ years of experience in senior management roles across many noteworthy organisations including the Essel (Zee) Group, Cairn India, KPMG, and Shell. He holds a post-graduate diploma from IIM Calcutta and an Economics (Hons) degree from SRCC, Delhi University.

He is a mentor with MIT Boston (USA), Faster Capital (Dubai), and TigerHall (Singapore) and mentors startups with MassChallenge (Boston and Tel Aviv). He has authored six books and is an adjunct faculty at many leading management institutes.

Deepak Vats

Senior Partner at BOD Consulting | Managing Director, Corpspark Advisors | Ex-BCG and ITC | IIM Calcutta | IIT Kharagpur

Deepak Vats has 16+ years of experience in defining strategic direction for global corporate leaders and new-age start-ups. He holds a post-graduate diploma from IIM Calcutta and a B-Tech degree from IIT Kharagpur.

He is an expert in growth strategy, organisational transformation & new business build. He has previously worked with leading global & Indian corporates and is a Co-founder and incubator of multiple startups in the E-Commerce, SAAS and Technology domains.

Atul Takle

Senior Partner at BOD Consulting | Senior Advisor to PR24x7 and Bridgeweave Technologies | Ex-RPG group, Tata Consultancy Services and Accenture | JBIMS Mumbai | Sydenham

Atul Takle has 30+ years of experience in corporate communications and marketing. He holds a postgraduate degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai and a bachelor’s degree from Sydenham college in Mumbai.

He has worked with renowned organisations like RPG group, Tata Consultancy Services, Accenture in India, Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited and SKS Microfinance.
He is currently engaged as a Marketing Consultant to the Scindia School and NIIT University and is a Senior Advisor to PR24x7 & Bridgeweave Technologies.

Sandeep Das

Senior Partner at BOD Consulting | Ex-McKinsey & Co., Kantar Consulting and Interbrand | Delhi University

Sandeep Das has 20+ years of experience working with global brands across multiple geographies on brand, growth and corporate strategy. He holds a master’s degree in Business Economics and Marketing from Delhi University.

He has a successful track record of working in impactful, senior and high client-exposure roles in leading research organisations like McKinsey & Co., Kantar Consulting, Interbrand & Ipsos Strategy3.

Anjali Malhotra

Senior Partner at BOD Consulting | Founder, C-Xcel | Member of FICCI Wise Council | Director, Founder Institute | UCLA Anderson School of Management

Anjali Malhotra has 30+ years of corporate experience across industries like Media, FMCG, Retail and BFSI sectors. She holds a postgraduate degree in Business administration and Management from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

She is the founder of C-Xcel, a boutique advisory practice that helps B2C businesses to achieve greater success through Customer Centricity. She has built brands in highly competitive markets including early-stage businesses like Revlon, Dishtv and Aviva. Over the years, the industry has recognised her as Cx100, Digi 100, Top 10 CDO, Digitalist Thought Leader, Marketer of the year- Media & Entertainment and Best use of Technology in Marketing.

Saurabh Uboweja

Founder & Managing Partner at BOD Consulting | Board member-World Communication Forum Association | Adjunct faculty-EU Business School | Ex-Citibank | IIM Calcutta | NIT Bhopal

Saurabh Uboweja has 16+ years of experience in consulting, branding, leadership development and digital transformation. He holds a post-graduate diploma from IIM Calcutta and a B-Tech degree from NIT Bhopal.

Recognised as one of the 50 Most Influential Strategy Leaders by the World Marketing Congress two times, he serves as an advisor on the boards of both listed and non-listed firms. He is an adjunct faculty at many leading business schools including the EU Business School.

Ajay Kohli

Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | Chair and Regents Professor at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business | Among 100 most cited authors in the fields of Business and Economics combined in a decade | University of Pittsburgh | IIM Calcutta | IIT Kharagpur

Dr Ajay K. Kohli is Gary T. and Elizabeth R. Jones Chair and Regents Professor at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business. He previously taught at eminent institutions like Emory University, Harvard Business School & The University of Texas at Austin.

He holds a doctorate degree from the University of Pittsburgh, a post-graduate diploma from IIM Calcutta and a B-Tech degree from IIT Kharagpur.

He is among the 100 most cited authors in the fields of Business and Economics combined in a decade, and two of his articles are among the 10 most cited Journal of Marketing articles in the past 25 years. In 2017, he received the AMA-Irwin-McGraw-Hill Distinguished Marketing Educator Award and in 2016, he received the Paul D. Converse Award, termed “Marketing Hall of Fame” by Fortune.

Anil Kejriwal

Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | Founder-I2Cure Pte. Ltd | Board Advisor of Felix Realty | Chairman of the Board of Uttar Industrial Estate- Uttar Development Pvt. Ltd. | IIT Kanpur

Besides investing in several IT start-up companies globally, Anil Kejriwal is the founder of I2Cure Pte. Ltd a global Biotech Company that manufactures patented Molecular Iodine (I₂) products for the global market. The company aims to bring the first-ever range of Cosmeceutical, Pharmaceutical, and Veterinary products based on a breakthrough in Advanced Molecular Iodine (I₂) Science; to provide the world with a solution to deliver more than just short-term, superficial protection against germs and bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

Anil is a B.Tech from IIT Kanpur with over three decades of experience and serves as a Board Advisor of Felix Realty and Chairman of the Board of Uttar Industrial Estate- Uttar Development Pvt. Ltd.

Manoj Agarwal

Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | COO-Algonomy | Ex-Future Group India and Procter & Gamble | Chartered Accountant | Mumbai University

Manoj Agarwal is the Chief Operating Officer of Algonomy, a Bengaluru-based digital retail solutions company. A certified Chartered Accountant, he has over 20+ years of experience in global organisations, playing diverse roles with increasing responsibilities, including leading and managing high-performance groups to deliver impactful business results.

His expertise lies in Information Architecture and Strategy, Organization Design for productivity, Organisation Change Management, Data-Driven decision-making, Customer service model, Business Intelligence, Enterprise Performance Management & Financial Reporting and Consolidation.

    J Suresh

    Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | National Council Member of Retailers Association of India | Ex-HUL and Arvind Fashions Ltd. | IIM Bangalore

    J Suresh is a highly respected leader and key spokesperson in the Consumer and Retail Industry who is currently working as an Independent Consultant. In a career spanning over 4 decades, he has largely worked for Hindustan Unilever Ltd. & Arvind Fashions Ltd. He retired as the MD & CEO of Arvind Fashions Ltd in 2021. He holds a post-graduate diploma from IIM Bangalore.

    He serves as the National Council Member of the Retailers Association of India and in the past has been the Chairman of CII’s National Council on Retail & Chairman of India Fashion Forum.

    He has played a key role in mentoring & leadership development of his subordinates. Many of them have grown to be successful CEOs of many companies.

    Thomas Varghese

    Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | Business Head-Aditya Birla Group’s Textile Businesses | Ex-Chairman, CII – National Committee on Retail (2009-11) | Harvard Business School | IIT Delhi

    Thomas Varghese is the Business Head of Domestic Textiles, Overseas Spinning and Acrylic Fiber Businesses of The Aditya Birla Group’s Textile Businesses. In the last 21 years, he has held multiple positions in the group and helped Aditya Birla Retail emerge as one of India’s foremost Supermarket & Hypermarket Retailers as its MD & CEO.

    He holds an Advanced Management Program degree from Harvard Business School and Bachelor’s degree in Textile Sciences and Engineering from IIT Delhi.

    Apart from being the Chairman of the CII – National Committee on Retail for 3 years (2009-11) and a member of the Coca-Cola Retail Research Council for Eurasia & Africa, he has received many accolades including CEO of the Year by the Asian Retail Congress in Mumbai (2012), Most Admired Retail Professional of the Year at IRF (2010), Outstanding Business Leader by Aditya Birla Group (2004) and Distinguished Alumnus award of the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi (2002).

    Dr Raman Kumar

    Professor | Researches on Asset Pricing, Derivative Securities and Financial Markets | Served on over 50 dissertation committees | Ph.D.-University of Pittsburgh | PGDM-IIM Calcutta

    Raman Kumar is the R.V. and A.F. Oliver Professor of Investment Management in the Department of Finance, Insurance and Business Law at the R.B. Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech. He received his PGDM (MBA) from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. He teaches finance and economics courses in the undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, and PhD programs.
    His research work largely centres around Asset Pricing, Derivative Securities, Financial Markets, Market Microstructure, and Empirical Research Methods in Finance, with some of his works published in prestigious publications such as the Journal of Finance, Journal of Finance and Economics, and Journal of Corporate Finance. 

    He has served on over 50 dissertation committees as Chair, Co-chair or member for PhD students in the Departments of Finance, Accounting and Information Systems, Marketing, Management, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Economics, Building Construction, and Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech.
    Shubhendu Agrawal

    Shubhendu Agrawal

    Senior Partner at BOD Consulting | General Electric (USA), Nestlé, Tata Motors | IIM Calcutta | University of Pune

    Shubhendu Agrawal has 18+ years of experience in Strategy, Business Operations, Organisation Transformation, Process Design & Implementation and Commercial Excellence. He also has extensive experience in the end-to-end New Product Development cycle – from consumer insights to product adoption & growth. He holds a postgraduate diploma from IIM Calcutta and a B-Tech degree from the University of Pune.

    He is passionate about profitable growth & social impact and serves as an advisor/member on the boards of several social enterprises & non-profits.

    Kanika

    Kanika Mathur

    Senior Partner, BOD Consulting | Founder, K-Trends | Ex COO APAC Mullen Lowe I Ex-Senior Vice President (Digital & Content Marketing), Dubai Tourism | Ex-Managing Director, Digitas | Ex-CMO, Harappa Education

    As a Marketing & Digital Transformation Strategist, Kanika Mathur has 30+ years of extensive interdisciplinary experience across Technology, CPG, Travel and Ed-tech. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts from Delhi University.

    Her professional career spans multiple industries and renowned organisations. She founded ‘Solutions Integrated Marketing Services’ in India. She set up Razorfish for the Publicis Groupe & shaped it into one of the country’s largest interactive agencies. As its first CMO, she also helped bolster the Harappa Education brand.

    Sumit Singla

    Sumit Singla

    Senior Partner, BOD Consulting | Independent HR Advisor at MSMEs | People Strategist, CompTeam | Guest Faculty Member, MDI | ex-Deloitte | ex-Accenture | ex-Aon

    With 18+ years of experience in the HR and Consulting domain, Sumit Singla has worked with various prominent organisations. He holds a Bachelor’s in Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh & a PG Diploma in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from XLRI Jamshedpur.

    He has teamed up with diverse clients on a variety of high-impact projects relating to HR transformation, organisation restructuring, M&A, and HR tech.

    Currently, he consults with micro, small & medium enterprises to intensify their HR capabilities, while also mentoring young professionals. He has authored a book that deals with workforce experience & also participates in speaking engagements, forums, and guest lectures at business schools.

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    Dr PV Ramana Murthy

    Expert Advisor at BOD Consulting | Managing Partner at Pinsight By PV | Adviser – Employment and Labour Law Practice at Economic Laws Practice | Board Member at Swadha Foundation | Ex Global CHRO, Indian Hotels Company Ltd | Ex Executive VP HR, Coca-Cola

    Dr Murthy boasts an extensive 35-year corporate career, during which he contributed to renowned Fortune 500 and Global organisations. Apart from being a Lawyer, he holds a Master’s Degree in Organisational Psychology from INSEAD, Singapore. Additionally, he earned his Ph.D. in Strategic Human Resource Management from Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Andhra Pradesh. 

    Beyond his legal background, he serves as an HR Advisor and Consultant, extending his expertise to Indian and multinational companies. His focus spans leadership development, culture transformation, and integrated talent management services. His recent collaborations include supporting organisations like Bosch, Tata Projects, Novo Nordisk, and Taj SATs.

    During his stint at Coca-Cola, Dr Murthy not only managed the global leadership development function for the Bottling Investment Group (BIG) but also facilitated impactful leadership development initiatives.

    Mukesh Mathur

    Senior Partner at BOD Consulting |Ex-Godrej & Boyce, Polaris Retail Infotech and Oracle India | IIM Calcutta | IIT Kanpur

    Mukesh Mathur has 40+ years of experience in sales, marketing, and general management with leading Indian Companies and MNCs. He holds a post-graduate diploma from IIM Calcutta and a B-Tech degree from IIT Kanpur.

    He is passionate about training managers in KAM, value selling, and negotiations. He has been in senior leadership positions in Godrej & Boyce, Polaris Retail Infotech, and Oracle India, successfully managing multiple product categories including consumer durables, office automation, banking equipment, industrial material handling, and service engineers.