INDIA AUTOMOTIVE LOGISTICS MARKET
INTRODUCTION
The automotive supply chain and logistics industry has undergone a period of significant change over the recent past and in the coming years may become unrecognizable, driven by trends. These trends include the likely widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) with all the attendant disruption which this will have on engine production and spare parts logistics, to name just two key areas.
Logistics is the collection of activities associated with acquiring, moving, storing, and delivering supply chain commodities (i.e., products in all stages of manufacture, service, and information). Logistics encompasses the business functions of transportation, distribution, warehousing, material handling and inventory management, and interfaces closely with manufacturing.
For the products such as automobiles, which feature multiple products, technologies, and processes the supply chain becomes more complicated. The Indian Automotive Logistics market operates on the complexity of the chain, spanning from automotive dealers back through multiple levels or tiers of suppliers. The automotive company’s supplier network includes the thousands of firms that provide items ranging from raw materials, such as steel and plastics, to complex assemblies, such as transmissions, brakes, and engines.
Automotive logistics is the entity flow of automotive producer’s raw materials, components, vehicle, and spare parts on steps of automotive purchase, production, and sales. Automotive logistics include inbound logistics of raw materials and components, garage logistics of production process, sales logistics of vehicle and spare parts logistics, that is including object purchasing, transportation, storage, loading and unloading, distribution processing delivery and information processing.
INDIA AUTOMOTIVE LOGISTICS MARKET DYNAMICS
The Indian auto industry is a major contributor to the Indian economy and has pipped Germany in becoming the 4th largest auto market in the world with sales increasing year-on-year. Two-wheelers dominate the industry and make up a considerable percent share in the domestic automobile sales. The automotive logistics industry has evolved much faster in India compared to other sectors.
As globalization, technology advancements and increasing levels of outsourcing continue to drive the logistics services market globally, historically functional, and fragmented activities of transportation and warehousing have evolved into integrated logistics management.
Automotive Logistics is an important composing part of automotive enterprises, and also is a logistic activity with an overly complex degree in the logistics industry. Compared to other logistic activities, Automotive Logistics have characteristics of capital-intensive, technology intensive and knowledge intensive.
Today’s Indian Automotive logistics market environment is characterized by increasing complexity and a number of important parameters shaping the global environment. The speed of change of these parameters breath-taking and is driving increasing complexity in the logistics ecosystem.
The erstwhile factors for competitiveness based on “cheap labour, favourable exchange rates and concessional duty structures” are no longer relevant and therefore incorporating supply chain practices are imperative to meet the challenges of a dynamic system. Pune is hailed as the Detroit of India and Chakan is one of India’s largest homes for global automotive players. Over 60 percent of APM Terminals’ customers at Chakan are part of the automotive industry.
In the Indian automotive industry, business environmental factors and Government policies affect supply chain competitiveness to a large degree followed by cost advantage and buyer-supplier relationship. Labour and cost of raw materials are nearly the same across the auto component manufacturing sector; thus these factors do not contribute to any competitive advantage.
INDIA AUTOMOTIVE LOGISTICS MARKET SEGMENTATION
The Indian Market of Automotive Logistics can be segmented into following categories for further analysis.
By Usage Organization Type
- Medium Scale Enterprise
- Small Scale Enterprise
- Micro Scale Enterprise
- Startups
- Large / Multinational Organizations
- Professional Collaborated Enterprise / Group
By End Use Application
- Lubricants and Chemical Technology
- Manufacturing
- Technology and Engineering Services
By Activity Type
- Warehousing
- Transportation
- Inbound
- Outbound
- Reverse Logistics
- Aftermarket Logistics
By Transportation Type
- Maritime
- Roadways
- Airways
- Railways
By Regional Classification
- Western Region – India
- Eastern Region – India
- Southern Region – India
- Northern Region – India
RECENT TRENDS IN INDIA AUTOMOTIVE LOGISTICS MARKET
In recent years, Logistics 4.0 technologies have emerged as increasingly important tools in the automotive logistics sector, with a growing number of OEMs, tier suppliers and logistics providers exploring the potential benefits of their deployment: improved operational efficiency, accuracy and visibility, optimized inventory management and enhanced human workforce capabilities.
With the help of the Internet of Things (IoT) – the networked connection of physical objects to enable real-time data visualization – and the automation of logistics flows, Seat has been able to speed up and connect all its processes and elements. There has been a recent introduction of the automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to automate in-house logistics flows, made use of artificial vision to ensure quality and security and implemented collaborative robot technology for logistics picking.
As for outbound processes, RFID has helped the OEM to automate its loading validation processes, increasing the productivity and efficiency of its compounds. Once at the consumption point, the use of artificial vision systems enables to make quality and security validations, automating the complete line feeding process. The drone technology is appearing as a new solution to use our airspace to automate in-house processes and deliveries
Augmented reality (AR) is creating a new dimension between the physical and digital world, providing assistance in picking parts and technologies for bionic enhancement such as exoskeletons and advanced wearable technologies. These have the potential to expand the current physical barriers, which will support material handling.
Some of the other key technologies underpinning Logistics 4.0 systems of the Indian Automotive Logistics Market includes industrial WLAN, RFID, RTLS (indoor GPS) and DMC (Data Matrix Code) for precise positioning as well as free navigation (ANS+), PLS (Proximity Laser Scanner) automation controllers, AI modules, camera reader systems, controls software and system packs.
RFID is also a powerful technology to automate inventory and indoor tracking processes. A passive tag is attached to the container or element you want to track, and it is detected by specific antennas when passing through the gates.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
The automotive industry is the world’s largest single manufacturing activity. The common practice in the automotive supply chain for most of the automotive companies is that every chain is mainly tied to forecasts. The vehicle manufacturers must match supplies with demands from the first chain, raw material suppliers, to the last chain, car buyers.
Adani Logistics Limited (ALL) is the most diversified end-to-end logistics service provider in the country with presence across all major markets with expertise in handling varied customers across segments like Retail, Industrial, Container, Bulk, Break-Bulk, Liquids, Auto and Grain Handling.
ALL has developed and operates inland container depots at Patli and Kila Raipur and multi-modal logistics parks (MMLP) at Kishangarh, Malur and Kanech. It Operates 1 BCA-CBM rake (JV with NYK Logistics) for rail transportation of automobiles. It Specializes in the rail movement of finished cars in containers using patented equipment designed especially for a large automobile customer.
Mahindra Logistics has been one of the largest market holders in the Third Part based Automotive Logistics supply within India Automotive logistics market. TML has recently adopted the Warehouse Management System and Transport Management Systems which automates the warehouse operations across all the warehouses.
WMS and TMS helps transform conventional warehouses by improving efficiency and productivity of operations within the warehouse. WMS automates receiving, put away, picking, kitting and shipping in warehouses and supports inventory cycle count planning and execution.
Telematics has been integrated so as to enable end-to-end Visibility for Control Tower to Support SCM & EM Line of business. The Control Tower Operations (CTO) is our core mechanism for communicating timely delivery of all movements, goods and passengers. This helps in keeping an eagle eye on the vehicles fleet.
TML has also brought upon the ALYTE Management System which focuses more upon the end-to-end Visibility for EM Operations, the main purpose of the Alyte is to push trips to drivers and avoid the hassle of manual trip sheets and digitally capture these trip details. It enables centrally controlled and monitored operations, End to end employee transport management system with routing & unified GPS integration.
TVS Logistics is one of the major contributors to the Indian Automotive logistics market wherein the most recent technological advancement has been the product development integration of the TVS SCS Vision Technology, which uses the human eye as the basis of its functioning. Just as the human eye associates and learns over the years by taking in input repeatedly and analysing it, we have worked to convert this functioning to a digital process using technology.
Vision technology is used in areas of human capital management, warehouse operations management, automation of label reading, eliminating manual validation solutions using cognitive intelligence and advanced neural network models. Advanced concepts such as facial recognition, label reading, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) recognition, and drone technology are incorporated to achieve a highly innovative supply chain model.
COMPANIES PROFILED
- KWE India
- Adani Logistics Company
- Future Supply Chain Solutions
- VRL Logistics India
- TCI Express
- Pallia Trans Logistics Pvt Ltd
- Tiger Logistics India Limited
- IVC Logistics Limited
- TVS Logistics India Limited
- BLG Parekh Logistics
