Control Tower: Unifying Supply Chain

Leader: Apurva Mankad, Founder and CEO, WebXpress

In a country as complex as India, many things will go wrong every day resulting in delays of shipments. WebXpress helps customers to invest in Control Tower to monitor GPS data from vehicle in real time

India is fast recognising that the key to a thriving manufacturing sector lies in world-class logistics infrastructure. The Central government has started LEADS -- Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) programme to help compare statewise performance. 

Logistics is witnessing massive changes in India, driven by the government as well as the private sector. The Central government recently unveiled the National Logistics Policy to institute a framework to reduce logistics costs.

“We understand the complexities thanks to advances in technology such as APIs, IoT and Cloud – it has become easier to connect multiple systems and bring transparency,” Apurva Mankad, Founder and CEO, WebXpress said. 

Giving an example of the use of technology in logistics, Mankad says that by using geo-fences and GPS data they can accurately tell when a vehicle arrived at a customer location. Thus, any delay can clearly be accurately attributed and relevant partner or team can be held accountable, he adds.

WebXpress combines the collective wisdom of over 80 supply chain companies across eight countries and more than 20,000 users. WebXpress works with a vision to deploy technology for sustainable and capital efficient logistics industry.

India has some of the largest wait time for vehicles at factories and warehouses whether for loading or unloading. In fact, many companies literally use vehicles on road as ‘inventory’ storage while customer is convinced to take delivery.

“Technology can monitor excessive waiting time of a vehicle and raise an alert. A scorecard can identify facilities that have maximum delays to help optimise operations,” says Mankad.

It is estimated that more than 50 per cent of vehicles in India are waiting for a driver at any point of time. This means that customers do get required vehicles at the right time. Technology can help transporters predict the arrival time of vehicles at destination, explains Mankad. 

Under the Gati Shakti Master Plan the government is fast-tracking building of multi-modal logistics parks. Also, it has created a Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) to connect all stakeholders for visibility across the logistics chain. 

Expressing his belief in the newly launched initiatives, Mankad says, “Such initiatives will bolster the overall logistics practices in the country and create a very conducive environment for attracting more and more manufacturing investment to India.”