NLP – A Logistics Transformation !!
What UPI systems did for the payments environment, possibly NLP will do similar revolutions for the Logistics industry. The national logistics policy will establish a single window e-logistics market platform and will emphasis on various elements of developments, including skills development, competitiveness, digitization & employment for MSMEs.
NLP’s primary objective is to create a robust, trusted, cost effective integrated tech ecosystem for logistics industry for nation’s rapid growth through empowering smooth logistics movements within & too at the global trades. The policy from central government regulated by commerce & Industry Ministry, will increase nation’s ability to compete at a globally and boost the international competitiveness and channelize opportunities for Indian organizations to develop into a logistics Superpower.
In this blog we will understand in details about:
- The primary objective of NLP & its Major focus areas
- Why the Policy is important for the Industry & the most importantly for the Nation
- The Unified Logistics interface platform – An ecosystem to revolutionise the movements.
The primary objective of NLP & It’s Major focus areas:
The ultimate goal of NLP is to bring a comprehensive solution to the logistics industry through achieving the major economic levers – Cost, Competitiveness & Digitization.
- NLP’s goal is to lower the logistics cost significantly. Currently the cost of logistics contributes to approx. 14% of the GDP, and this aims to reduce less than 10% despite the highly unstructured nature of India’s logistics industry.
- The policy aims to make the India Products & Services more competitive while promoting economic growth & expanding the base of Job Possibilities. The policy establishes, multi-dimensional jurisdiction, cross sectoral framework for growth of entire logistics ecosystem, in order to address the issues of high cost & efficiency. Tech leadership is the base at which the Policy aims to make all the difference.
The major focus areas of NLP :
The policy will be implemented through a comprehensive logistics action plan. The mentioned below are the major 8 dimensions of focus which will give a overall strategy for the implementation of the Policy.
Major targets that are set under the policy are to have a benchmark in the logistics cost asper global standards and be among the top 25 countries by 2030. And in parallel build a decision support system that is data driven for logistics ecosystem.
Why National Logistics policy is so imperative?
Our nations spends approx. 14% of the GDP on logistics cost, but when we compare to other countries like Japan, Germany etc., it’s around 9% of their GDP on Logistics. And these countries are highly known for their infrastructural developments, technology & speed of the goods movements.
Apart from that, the logistics industry is worth $200 billion and is supported by over various 20 government agencies, 40+ Partner Government Agencies (PGA) with collaborations, 37 export promotion councils who governs the global trades, over 10,000+ commodities, and a large number of certificates. Additionally, it involves interdependent IT ecosystems, banks, insurance companies &financial bodies. The concerned Ministry of Commerce and Industry stated that more than 22 million people in India depend on the logistics industry for their livelihood – and this is huge in numbers.
Improving the sector will enable a 10% reduction in indirect logistics costs, which will result in an increase of 5 to 8% in exports. India falls significantly behind countries such as the United States and China, which are placed 14th and 26th, respectively, in the 2018 World Bank Logistics Index for logistics costs. The Logistics Performance Index places Germany at the top and India at the 44th rank. And thus there is requirement in the transformation for the Logistics Industry to reduce the cost, ease of making the movement flows & to be governed by the Tech leadership.
Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP)
Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) has been identified as a promising initiative that has been conceptualized to provide an integrated platform that can be used effectively by stakeholders to enhance efficiency, utilize technology, and lower the cost of logistics in India. This initiative aims to achieve an “Atmanirbhar Bharat” in the logistics sector.
The platform was chosen as one of the seven initiatives under the “Technology Commons” initiative, which leverages technology in specifically identified priority areas by developing world-class products and services.
The major levers that the platform will be based on re – The Integration Layer, Governance layer & the Presentation Layer. The clearly states the strategy & the design is kept in mind understanding the basic aspects as “Collaboration”, “Monitoring” & “Visibility”. Something what UPI payments did for the payment industry, similarly ULIP will do for the Logistics Industry. ULIP would connect together all relevant ministries under one platform and provide the logistics players the facilities to perform an efficient operations while having a smooth flow of goods around the country & beyond.
What we can conclude?
Our nation is hugely spending on the logistics because of unstructured mechanism of management, either in terms of Infrastructure, policy or technology. To reduce the logistics costs significantly for domestic as a well as for Global trade – a transformation is required and Thus NLP is the solution. Reduced logistics costs, with increased efficiency across various sectors will promote entrepreneurship & value creations across the value chain.
National Logistics Policy would lower logistics costs, boost international trade, help India become “Atmanirbhar” or self-sufficient, usher in wealth throughout the country, and open up new chances for our start-ups. The country’s farmers would benefit greatly from the program since it would enable them to market their products more quickly, cut down on waste, and avoid unnecessary delays, all of which would lower prices overall.
The National Logistics Policy is the obvious next to have a Transformation in the logistics Industry & the Nation is looking forward to utilise & hugely benefit from the Policy.
#Logistics #NLP
