With acceptance of tech at airports/ports across the world and regulatory push adding to the momentum, stakeholders with digital maturity are opting for freight corridors. Recent G20 will bridge the gap between developing and developed world, says Vineet Malhotra, Co-founder and Director, Kale Logistics Solutions.
Tell us about the recent and ongoing projects, and investments made by your company in upgrading technology?
In India, we are working with all major airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Guwahati, Goa, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru, and Cochin and will soon announce many other airports. Our CCS has been at the forefront of new innovative tech interventions such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain and Internet of Things. Our focus is to create a network of networks with local CCSs integrating national CCS, which will link regional CCSs thereby making it a large global network of airports/ports with seamless exchange of data and information.
Share with us your major expansion plans and projects in pipeline?
With our series B funding round, we are poised to expand in the European and North American markets. And in the coming months, we have some exciting news coming up from North America, Middle East, and Asia Pacific. Some of the largest airports and ports have chosen our solution and we are all set to go live. With this, our global footprint would increase, and we wish to tackle lack of awareness and other key challenges.
Do you think India has the right skill set to use and deploy tech and if the Indian business houses are ready to adopt 100 per cent digitalisation?
Contrarily, India is far more matured for technology adoption and the world is largely reliant on India to go digital. The best example to quote here would be India’s e-AWB ranking. Since the past nine years, we have seen a paradigm shift with Digital India initiative. Also, NLP, Sagarmala, Bharatmala and PMGS are some game changing initiatives that are rapidly pushing digitization in India. Therefore, in the next few years, we can expect 100 per cent digital adoption in the logistics industry.
What are the crucial areas of concern when it comes to deploying tech?
One area of concern would be data integrity. Our cargo community systems (CCSs) are integrated with multiple ERP systems and involve the airport/port complex stakeholders. In such a case, we must diligently verify and validate before making these integrations. Added to this, lack of acceptance in the initial stages needs to be addressed. In some mature markets, we see a widespread disregard for technology. Overcoming these blackspots will make our work seamless.
Digital freight corridors are the buzzword. Do you see it shaping up businesses in the coming years?
With acceptance of technology at all airports/ports worldwide and the regulatory push adding momentum to the same, now the stakeholders with digital maturity are thinking beyond and opting for freight corridors. The recent G20 announcement is a welcome measure, and it will bridge the gap between the developing and the developed world. With this, digital freight corridors are not mere buzzwords, but statements to be considered seriously.
