The boom in e-commerce and Q-commerce has provided accelerated growth for the logistics sector. This steady march towards digitization has added to the economic welfare of the country but it has also opened up avenues of accelerated use of resources including non-renewable sources of energy and climate degradation. With thousands of vehicles in the application for the growing logistics sector, the industry is working towards greener solutions to work towards a sustainable future and suitable growth.
Reducing carbon emissions and optimizing energy and resource consumption is not an option anymore but a mandatory step if we are to ensure our planet’s survival. Working towards sustainable solutions not only helps in helping the planet but also creates opportunities for exciting partnerships.
Another key advantage of adopting an eco-friendly approach is the rapport it builds with the clientele. The consumer today is aware and appreciative of sustainable practices. They have become keener on giving their business to companies who are giving back to the planet. This is a very big incentive for retailers and logistics companies to adopt sustainable solutions.
Sustainability in the logistics sector is a combination of many evolving processes. A few of these are –
- Electric vehicles – Clean energy vehicles are the way forward to reduce the carbon footprint. Investing in and using more and more electric trucks, battery-operated bikes, e-scooter and CNG rickshaws reduces gas emissions. The transportation sector today is marked by developments in the EV sector. This rapid adaptation and investment in EVs are majorly to drive sustainability. Many companies are investing in the manufacturing of EVs. Logistics companies both incumbent and start-ups are actively working towards making their fleet greener to help reduce the carbon footprint.
- SaaS advancements: Hyperlocal has become the buzzword. Advancements in technologies like AI, blockchain and big data provide an inducement to the commerce sector to adapt to hyperlocal and help I reducing carbon emissions. Smaller areas to cover for last-mile deliveries ensure that resources are used in a sustainable fashion. Intelligent SaaS platforms provide perfect coordination between, multi-point picks ups and places of delivery while nailing end-to-end visibility. This further supports the growth of hyperlocal adding to greener delivery practices.
- Robotics and Drone deliveries: Robotics and drones are at the forefront of logistics deployment. With their versatile application like delirious in remote regions, defence, relief work etc, drones are set to help in building sustainable logistics eco-system. Besides this automation in the backend processes in supply chain management and last-mile and first-mile logistics delivery will further optimize operations. This will lead to lesser loss of energy due to human error and delays and speed up the process as well saving resources.
- Technological advancements – One of the major bottlenecks of logistics today is route optimization which often leads to excessive use of resources. Currently, once an order is placed and the customer enters their address, there is no algorithm to help the rider figure out the shortest route for delivery. This does lead to energy wastage and delays deliveries as well. Figuring out a way to optimize the route for delivery can save a massive amount of energy. Effective live order tracking and end-to-end visibility further aid in accessing and avoiding delivery cancellations, order fulfilment and inventory management. This shaves off any excess fuel consumption or energy and resource consumption due to unplanned deliveries, cancellations etc
- Eco-friendly packaging – Eco-friendly packaging including cardboard boxes, fabric packages, recycled plastic or biodegradable material is key to reducing waste and helps in waste management. Shifting to sustainable packaging is one of the fastest ways to aid sustainability and preserve the soil and the planet’s health.
- Micro warehouses – From first-mile delivery to last-mile, a product goes through a lot of steps before it is finally delivered to the end-user. Deliveries do use a major chunk of energy resources and fuel consumption. To help lessen the carbon footprint, setting up micro-warehouses in delivery strategic places will not only reduce the distance that the rider will have to cover but also reduce first-mile deliveries between cities. This in turn saves air-fuel consumption and reduce last-mile emissions by a significant margin.
As a sector that is industry-agnostic with wide applications worldwide, we must follow sustainable practices. We must realize that the measures we take to move towards sustainable development and eco-friendly processes will have a crucial impact on various industries and will help reduce the carbon footprint.
(The author is Mr. Sridhar Sayam, Director of CABT Elektra (An entity by Creativity at Best Technologies Pvt Ltd) and the views expressed in this article are his own)
