uday r sharma In a rapidly changing commercial and social environment, some organisations are born agile, some achieve agility, and some have agility thrust upon them. In response, a new organisational form is emerging that exhibits a transparent business model to suppliers, investors, and consumers and allows to move forward and exceed the expectations of those relationships. In a riveting conversation, Uday R Sharma, COO, Spoton Logistics explains Upamanyu Borah, how the five trademarks- Strategy, Structure, Process, People and Technology have enabled them to balance stability and dynamism and thrive in an era of unprecedented opportunity.
Quick decision making while remaining flexible and agile will go a long way
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ow has the pandemic changed the nature of your logistics system and processes? Is it restraining you from serving your customers effectively? The pandemic had impacted servicelevel agreements (SLAs) for a brief period due to factors well beyond our control. As lockdowns ease out and normalcy slowly returns, we are getting back to pre-COVID operation levels. On a positive note, the pandemic has reinforced our belief in driving business efficiency and agility through technology-centric operations. Consequently, planned investments in artificial intelligence (AI), augmented learning, warehouse automation and robotics, and predictive analytics have now been accelerated. This is providing a compelling edge to our operations 36 |
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The pandemic also exposed certain operational dependencies and performance variables that impacted SLAs adversely. Weaving in these scenarios into our AI engine will help better plan for future disruptions.
What were the best- and worstcase scenarios, and how was the business equipped to cope with the volatilities? The months of March and April were the most disruptive in terms of service
We now have 5000+ active customers base but still pay great attention to highly personalised relationships with each one of them.
delivery. The confusion created due to sudden enforcement of lockdown, stoppage of truck movement and resultant plight of unskilled labour hit us hard. Our worst case scenario was not being able to predict fulfilment of SLAs to clients during the first few weeks of the lockdown. Our ground teams kept on working tirelessly behind the scenes. They coordinated with the concerned authorities to expedite permits to pickup/deliver essential goods, provided relief to stranded drivers, ensured safety of stranded consignments, and assisted pickup/delivery partners in reconnecting disrupted networks.
Looking down the road, what do you think are the trends influencing 3PL services in India? Where do you see significant gaps between what
