We all have been ordering services and good with a few taps via number of e-commerce and m-commerce platforms. More and more consumers are trying to buy through these commerce channels from different parts of the country. The demand is getting complex with ever increasing products, channels and consumers, and complexity can only be simplified using technology, says Amit Verma, Executive VP – Product Development at DreamOrbit,a specialist transportation technology company.
In an conversation with EC’s Rashi Varshney, he further told about India’s logistics sector and DreamOrbit’s futrure plans.
Edited Excerpts
What are the technology trends you are observing in logistics industry in India?
India’s logistics sector is set for accelerated transformation keeping in purview the growing demands from the market and rapid technological transformations.
Business Intelligence and Predictive Analytics: These buzzwords have been there for a while, but there has been limited adoption to these technologies in Logistics.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): This technology helps organizations exchange business information, files, documents electronically; therefore enabling information flow in real-time with minimalistic human intervention.
Big Data & Social Supply Chain: The need of the hour is to integrate “Big Data Aggregators” – the social media networks and other community websites with the enterprise systems. The businesses are becoming social and technology will aid to leverage actionable insights for the business.
Mobility &IoT in SCM: For a highly unpredictable sector, mobility and IoT bridges the time gap between “cause and effect.” While mobility saves time by making business operate in real-time. IoT helps the organization strengthen governance and administration.
RFID: Automating labor intensive process like inventory and warehouse management using technologies like RFID and Barcode helps organization become efficient and effective.
Cloud Solutions for Supply Chain: In scenarios, where real-time execution, social integration with customers and 100% availability is a necessity, cloud solutions fit the bill accurately. Small players and big enterprises both can leverage the advantages of Cloud Computing
Could you please tell us DreamOrbit’s offerings aligned with the trends you mentioned?
Logistics and Supply chain industry is highly fragmented in terms of the services it provides, to the countries it serves in. DreamOrbit follows a 3-step solution approach to develop SCM and Logistics Solution. Our team identifies the business processes unique to an organization and industry in general, then works on POC (Proof-of-concept), tests the prototype with the control group and finally develops a complete solution, integrating it with the existing IT system.
How easily DreamOrbit’s solutions seep in with the legacy systems organizations are using?
Our solution approach takes into account the dependency of new solution on the existing legacy systems. The system integration is driven by business need and our team guides the decision-makers on case to case basis. In some cases, legacy system integration is not necessary at all. We develop a new application and shut down the old system altogether. We have also carried on projects where selected parts of legacy applications are modernized or the complete application is re-engineered on a new technology stack.
We first build a business case that addresses a particular requirement and develop future-proof solution architecture. Later different integration scenarios are developed that are least disruptive to existing environment and is forwarded for acceptance to leadership team. Once we have finalized on the holistic solution architecture, our team starts working on cleansing data and transferring the functionality to the new solutions.
How enterprise mobility streamlines supply chain management?
The suppliers work on slim margin and have too many competitors. And then there is constant pressure of exceeding customer expectations. The day-to-day operation challenges add on to this pressure. In such scenario, automating your business process using a reliable technology is the only solution therefore; mobility is a boon to this volatile SCM industry.
Mobility solution can streamline almost every business function. Like, mobility solution in warehousing gives real-time access into inventory and the related functions of reconciling incoming shipments, cross-docking and sorting, order fulfillment, return management etc are executed instantly, leading to-reduced handing cost and time, less dock-to-dock stock cycle time and minimized human errors.
Moreover, all the assets and resources involved in transporting can be leveraged in real-time with the help of mobility solution in transporting.
Lastly, mobility solution in labor management gives visibility in workforce availability and productivity. The management and resource planning is easier and the performance metrics can be tracked with accuracy.
What are the current challenges in logistics market? And how enterprises can overcome them?
Indian Logistics market is up for huge change as number of macro trends are going to shape this industry in the coming years. DreamOrbit has carefully analyzed each of this impact and has synthesized solution approach that would help organizations stay prepared for these changes.
First challenge is transforming supply chain model, the manufacturers/suppliers are connected to their consumers either directly or indirectly through ecommerce aggregators. On the other hand, many of the tier-2 and tier-3 cities are evolving as consumers. The upcoming Supply Chain model has transformed and the enterprises would need automation, leaner distribution process and highly cooperative 3PL/4PL strategic partners.
Also, global markets are focused on Indian market for both its manufacturing capability and consumption capacity. The challenge for the local and hyper local players would be to deliver services with international standards. The serious logistics companies need to start investing in smart logistics solution, SCM ERP and advanced predictive analytics.
What is unique about Indian market? How your company is exploiting it?
India is at once experiencing steady GDP growth and significant shift in trade patterns and customer behavior. There are new kinds of supply chain demands, opportunities and challenges, not only on the hyper-local logistics but on global supply chains too.
DreamOrbit has been addressing the “Need of Flexibility” in this space; as the consumer is demanding multiple products that have to be delivered at multiple locations, using multiple transportation modes at different times. In such a scenario, the suppliers can only adapt if their operations are organized and information cycle completes within a minute.
What are your strategies in pipeline for next three years?
Become a technology partner of choice for the Logistics Industry. We’re working on a SaaS based solution for small to medium logistics providers, and an advanced BI solution for transportation. Both of these would be ready to market early next year, and help us customer acquisition in different geographies.
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