Gateway Knowledge Forum is a unique platform where key business, political and academic leaders, who bring diverse perspectives but a shared commitment to improve trade and business, are invited to debate and deliberate on the most pressing issues of our time.

Efficiency in Inland Logistics: New Pathways is the first event in a series of such knowledge forums. Striving to bring about the much needed changes in the sector, this one-day conference, organised by maritime gateway, will focus on issues related to freight transportation, cargo evacuation, emergence of logistics hubs importance of 3PL, contract logistics, business innovation and technology adaption. This forum will voice industries’ concerns and arrive at feasible suggestions and recommendations.

Time to move ahead
Inland logistics forms an important part of a supply chain, but has been constantly disregarded and often orphaned by the powers that be. This prolonged negligence has resulted in the attendant costs rising exorbitantly – amounting to more than 50 per cent of the total logistics costs. The time is ripe for a renaissance to take place to transform Indian logistics into a globally competitive sector. At the policy level, there is an urgent need to make freight transportation more trade-friendly. Dedicated exim and domestic freight policies can improve efficiency along the supply chain. The poor infrastructure setup in India has affected the industry severely in terms of increased time and costs. Cargo evacuation from ports to ICDs is still a tediously slow process.

Further to connectivity, enhancing efficiency in logistics services calls for a serious thought. Services of professional third-party service providers are largely underutilised leading to a need for introspection by both the users and service providers on the scope and benefits. Last, but not the least, logistics services providers need to be updated with latest technological innovations and advancements. Although this is happening at a rapid pace, much more needs to be done.

This one-day conference will consist of four focused and highly structured panel discussions on the following themes:

Session I: Policy Track

Theme: Freight Policy: Need for a new approach
In India, road and rail transport are the two most popular modes used for freight transport. But higher freight charges have left the trade uncompetitive in the global markets. It is unfortunate that there is no distinction between domestic and exim cargo in the existing policy set-up and calls for a new approach.

This session will discuss on issues like:

• Can we make rail and road transportation globally competitive?
• What are the issues faced by the rail/road operators?
• Do we need a fresh look at the existing freight policies to bring about the change?
• What are the policy interventions necessary for the change?
• =Can a dedicated Exim policy boost the trade?

Session II: Infrastructure Track

Theme: How to optimise cost and time?
Transportation costs are the one of the highest in India and much of this can be attributed to poor infrastructure setup. Much of the precious time is lost in transit, increasing the costs even further. Optimising costs and time will improve efficiencies.

This session will discuss on issues like:

• What are the lagging areas in connectivity infrastructure?
• How does bad infrastructure impact costs and time?
• What are the issues in cargo evacuation from ports to ICDs?
• What are the roles of various stakeholders like industry, trade and government?
• Will dedicated freight corridors and multimodal logistics parks be the solution?

Session III: Management Track I

Theme: 3PL in India: Waiting to be unleashed
Logistics outsourcing in India is still in its infancy and things are changing for the better as industries focus more on core competencies. With this growing trend, third-party logistics service providers need to widen their basket of offerings and customise their solutions to the local requirements so as to succeed in this market.

This session will discuss issues like:

• How can the present market for 3PL be improved?
• What are the promising industries for 3PL activities in India?
• Are the 3PLs ready to meet the expectations of the customers?
• How will the challenges faced by the 3PL providers be solved?
• What will be the outlook for this industry in the next five years?

Session IV: Management Track II

Theme: Supply chain strategies: Best practices
Integrated SCM is now at the epicentre of business transformation as the supply chains have become extraordinarily complex, spanning across continents. Senior executives are looking at improving the efficiencies in their supply chains through integration – internally and externally. Yesterday’s innovations have become today’s best practices and the evolution continues.

This session will discuss on issues like:

• Corporate capabilities in SCM and enterprise transformation
• What is the scope of integration in today’s supply chains?
• How efficient is our physical network management?
• Are we ready for the concept of extended organization?
• Leveraging on the information and knowledge networks

Session V: Innovation Track

Theme: Changing face of logistics hubs: Emerging scenario
The contours of logistics landscape characterised by inefficiency and high costs are beginning to change as the new-age logistics hubs are fast emerging. Multimodal logistics parks, FTWZs, mega dry ports etc. are paving way to innovations and new practices in cargo-handling and warehousing. Newer facilities and equipment meeting global standards are set to change the Indian logistics scenario.

This session will discuss on issues like:

• Multimodal logistics parks – Current scenario
• Segmentation in ICD/CFS: Are we ready?
• Cargo safety and security: State-ofthe-art solutions
• FTWZ – Game changers?
• Building new-generation warehouses

Session VI: Technology Track

Theme: EDI: Where are we?
Inland logistics is a fragmented yet highly competitive industry. While many players have been proactive in
adopting the innovations and advancements, there are many others who need to shift gears to be competitive in this industry.

This session will discuss on issues like:

• Is technology a business differentiator or a necessary evil?
• What are the avenues for technology adoption for a logistics service provider?
• Is the time ripe to shift from transaction-based systems to stakeholder-centric systems?
• Standalone systems or comprehensive solutions – What should be the focus?
• What are the challenges in technology implementation in logistics?

DO WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FURTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS ON SPEAKERS

Who should attend?
All stakeholders of inland logistics including:
- Road transport operators
- Container rail operators
- Multimodal transport operators
- Exporters and importers
- Freight forwarders
- Custom house agents
- Cargo consolidators,
- ICD and CFS operators
- 3PLs and 4PLs
- Warehousing service providers
- Shipping Lines
- Investment firms like private equity companies
- Industry consultants
- Associations and Trade Bodies
- Bureaucrats from Ministries of Railways, Shipping, Road Transport, Commerce and Finance
- Other stakeholders

Benefits of participation:

• Gain latest insights on inland transport and logistics from the opinions and viewpoints of industry experts and policy makers.
• Opportunity to interact with panelists and express your views on the pressing issues of the industry
• Participate in the review of the latest regulatory developments in India’s transport and logistics sector
• Gain insights on customer-centric logistics business models
• Interact and network with the industry colleagues & policy makers.
• Being in a confluence of who’s who in the industry, visibility matters
• Be a part of nation-building process

About Gateway Knowledge Forum®
Gateway Knowledge Forum provides a gateway to the vast expertise and wealth of knowledge through a series of discussions and facilitates the knowledge exchange and dialogue to help build better business processes. Successful organisations and businesses come together to transform individual ideas into collective knowledge.

• Contribute to sharing of information
• Create new knowledge needed for their businesses and workflows
• Share knowledge leading to innovation and growth

The Forum is designed to bring to the fore the best thinking, experience and expertise on cutting-edge approaches. Each Forum will showcase innovative business processes around the world. Through formal discussions with senior officials from government, representatives and members of business communities,
participants will gain an understanding of the key issues, problems, possible solutions and new approaches.

Finally, the Forum will collectively deliberate and come up with recommendations to concerned authorities to bring about necessary changes to the system. Further, participants can continue to communicate and share the new knowledge across their national, regional, and local networks to help build better businesses.