1. TECHNOLOGY30 CARGOTALK DECEMBER 2014
Tagging the tech to logistics
With an aim to streamline and
fast track cargo movement both at sea
and on land, the Centre is preparing
a system to oversee and trace all
movement of containers in real time.
The government would soon put in place a
new tracking project, which is being developed
under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor
with the help of Japan-based NEC Corporation
to ensure timely delivery of consignments.
Different departments and Ministries
including the Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of
Road, Transport & Shipping and Ministry of
Railways are working together to finalise
the project.
speaks to industry veterans to find
out, to what extent this software will help in
timely delivery of consignments and enable
tracking and viewing of the movement of
containers from ports to ICDs.
For speedy freight movement and timely delivery of consignments, the Government has come up with a Logistics Data
Bank (LDB) project to keep an eye on containers. However, the industry feels there is a need to look upon lack of
adequate infrastructure as the primary reason for poor transits and high dwell times for import and export consignments.
CT BUREAU
Anil Kumar Gupta
Chairman and Managing Director, CONCOR
The LDB project is a good concept for providing better
information to all stakeholders regarding container tracking.
CONCOR currently has ‘on-line’ integration with Freight
Operation Information system (FOIS) of Indian Railways, which
provides information about enroute status of containers from
port to ICD and vice versa.With RFID tags, the position will
become more real time.We have also developed a very suc-
cessful SMS-based query system, which can track and trace
individual units.The information provided through this software
can be used for internal processing and also helps customers
take timely delivery of consignments.
Vivek Sharma
Chief Executive Officer, Adani Logistics
Theprojectisinanadvancedstageofimplementationdevel-
oped under DMIC. It will provide real time tracking of containers
across the logistics chain through installation of RFID tags and
integration of software of different service providers.It will enable
importers, exporters and other stakeholders to view bottlenecks
and develop strategies for overall development of the sector apart
from helping the customer reduce lead time and transactional cost
and give him more visibility while helping optimise the operations.
ThissoftwarewillworkonrealtimetrackingthroughinstallingRFID
tags that will help track the container once it reaches the port, after
which the logistics company’s transport desk can track in real time
andreconfiguretheseRFIDtagswhenevertheycarryanewcargo.
Manish Puri
Managing Director, APL IndiaLinx
The project will require a high level of coordination
between various stakeholders to get it implemented. At
present, the stakeholders who would need to be involved,
i.e., shipping lines, ports, customs, CTOs, road carriers,
Indian railways and ICDs are all working on different IT plat-
forms .There is no standard format for such data exchange
tohappen.Improvedtransparencyandinformationisalways
helpful, but the primary reason for poor transits and high
dwell times for import and export consignments does not
stemfromlackofinformationbutduetothelackofadequate
infrastructure at different‘choke points’in the supply chain.
Amit Chaudhri
Chief Executive Officer, Kribhco Infrastructure
We need to understand that the core issue is tracking
of containers or else expeditious delivery or clearance of
containers.If we talk about tracking, an operator-wise sys-
tem already exists to trace and track containers and
Container Corporation is a pioneer in this field.For expedi-
tious delivery of containers, the coordinated and consoli-
dated efforts of the custodians, Customs, shipping lines,
importers,etc.wouldberequired.Thevitalissueisnottrans-
portation, but the dwell time of containers at the ICDs/ CFSs
that prevent timely delivery of containers.
4G to address connectivity issues of E-commerce
The issues affecting E-commerce can be resolved using 4G services; also India Post is being
seen as a vital link in the growth of E-commerce.
“Logistics and connectivity issues
affecting E-commerce in the
country could be addressed with the
launch of high speed 4G mobile
services,” said Ravi Shankar
Prasad, Communications and
IT Minister.
Prasad met Flipkart co-founder
and CEO, Sachin Bansal, and
assured him that the government will
provide full support in resolving
issues related to logistics and con-
nectivity. “Bansal talked about cer-
tain hurdles including connectivity
and logistics issue that could be
addressed with the arrival of 4G
when connectivity becomes richer,”
Prasad said.
Bharti Airtel and Aircel are
offering 4G services in select circles.
The minister said it is a very proud
moment that young, fresh IIT
graduates like Sachin have chosen
the path of innovation and
established a very successful com-
pany like Flipkart.
“The company has around two
crore customers and Flipkart is
employing about 15,000 people,
about 900 engineers for innovation
and research.These are very excit-
ing and shining examples of new
India and Prime Minister Narendra
Modi wants to promote this new
India in a big way,” Prasad said.
Asked about his views on FDI
in E-commerce, Bansal said the
government is the best judge to look
into the matter.
Speaking about the postal
department’s performance, Bansal
said, “In the last six months we
have seen lot of improvement in
the India postal services and we
have started using these more and
more. We hope to see more
improvement over time and
also more roll out of 4G, looking
forward to that.”
Post offices are viewed by
some experts as an important link
for the growth of E-commerce.
Ravi Shankar Prasad
Communications and IT Minister
Govt. of India