India launches national excellence awards for logistics industry

July 21, 2021: With a view to turning the spotlight on the logistics sector, the government of India on Monday announced the launch of the National Logistics Excellence Awards.

The framework of awards has been finalised in consultation with the logistics associations and forum user industry partners. The awards are in two categories, the first group includes logistics infrastructure/service providers and the second one is for various user industries. There was wide-scale appreciation from user industries for giving due recognition to various players involved in the logistics supply chain.

“The awards will highlight best practices including consolidation, process standardisation, technological upgrade, digital transformations, and sustainable practices,” the ministry of commerce & industry release reads.  

Pawan Agarwal, special secretary, logistics division, said, “Through these awards, we aim to turn the spotlight on logistics service providers who have attained operational excellence, adopted digitisation and technology, improved customer service and pursued sustainable practices, among other achievements.”

He further added that “For user industries, the awards will showcase efforts towards supply chain transformation, supplier ecosystem development, skill development, automation, and other similar endeavours”.

The awards will also be an opportunity to laud the extraordinary measures organisations have taken to address the deficiencies exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic including last-mile delivery start-ups, development of cold storage facilities, effective transportation of oxygen, and uninterrupted supply of essential goods and services to the needy.

While the Indian logistics sector has been growing at a CAGR of 10.5 percent, reaching approximately ₹215 billion in value in 2020, there are systemic, interconnected problems that must be addressed to enhance its efficiency. Comprehensive logistics costs amount to almost 14 percent of India’s GDP. Closing India’s competitiveness gap vis-à-vis the global average of 8 percent, would make the Indian logistics sector advanced, organised and efficient, on par with global peers with the ambition of being amongst the top 25 countries in the global Logistics Performance Index (LPI).

The industry participants and officers from line ministries welcomed the initiative to recognise the logistics sector which is playing an important role in economic development. An important outcome of the event will be a library of case studies on best practices in logistics, showcased as a Logistics Excellence Gallery under URL https://excellenceawardslogistics.gov.in  hosted at the website of the ministry of commerce and industry. Logistics service providers and end-user industries doing exceptional work in the field of logistics will be featured in the gallery.

Organisations will be invited to submit entries via the ministry of commerce and industry website. Shortlisted entrants will present their case to a national Jury panel, which will decide the winners. The panel will be chaired by the special secretary, logistics division, and will comprise senior representatives from line ministries, logistics and supply chain experts from leading academic and research institutions, and CXO-level professionals from user industries and service providers.

The winners will be announced on October 31, 2021. All case studies by finalists in the national jury round will be showcased in the logistics excellence gallery.