Page 30 - ITLN November - December 2024

Spotlight
Last-mile
logistics

hostile border with the Chinese. Military Tech enabling e-commerce
posture is completely dependent upon in last mile
logistics and supply chain. If you cannot For example, Nikhil Agarwal, President
get goods to the forward post then of CJ Darcl Logistics, noted that with
you're risking the lives of the jawans out the surge in e-commerce, last-mile
there in the cold,” he added. delivery has gained a spotlight for the
While his drones are actively customers who want their shipments
deployed in military activities, Satapathy delivered as soon as possible (ASAP)
is looking forward to using those drones which wasn’t the case a decade back.
for commercial operations which can “With contract logistics gaining
happen only after the implementation importance across the supply chain,
of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) it becomes imperative for the service
regulations in India. provider to ensure the entire process
stays seamless for the customer and
Cold chain pharma in rural last mile the organisation,” he said.
Beyond the difficult terrains, there are Data enables us to With its pan India network of
many other nuances in the rural last optimise routes, and vendors and a fleet of over 8 lakh
mile of India. For instance, Phloton, identify potential hazards vehicles, CJ Darcl is a multimodal
a smart, active cooling cold chain like poor road conditions logistics solutions provider catering
container, is trying to bridge gaps in in advance based on its to road/Full Truck Load (FTL), rail, air
the temperature-controlled healthcare prior data. It helps us and shipping/coastal transportation.
delivery, particularly of vaccines, in the Agarwal noted that their
Indian last mile. in improving the overall technological capabilities play a key
Phloton is the flagship product safety and make our role in managing pan-India operations
of a Bengaluru-based technology deliveries more efficient and enhancing customers' experience.
firm Enhanced Innovations. Ankita going ahead. For instance, CJ Darcl uses, among
Mittal, CEO of Enhanced Innovations, many other technologies, a Driver
who is still waiting for approval Nikhil Agarwal Fatigue Monitoring System (DFMS)
from the Central Drugs Standard CJ Darcl Logistics that utilises AI-enabled devices to
Control Organisation (CDSCO) for her capture video footage of the entire
product, is hopeful that Phloton will Coming back to the urban terrain, delivery journey.
soon help government healthcare the last mile of logistics has become a “This data enables us to optimise
institutions to carry vaccines to even very important piece of routes, and identify potential hazards
the remotest villages in the country the supply chain like poor road conditions in advance
by reducing wastage. after the invention based on its prior data. It helps us
“Phloton can maintain temperature- of e-commerce and its improve the overall safety and make our
sensitive medications between 2-6°C significance has grown deliveries more efficient going ahead,”
for up to 10 hours, using a battery ever since. said Agarwal.
with an embedded solar panel for Last-mile logistics also comes with
off-grid areas. We aim to address a lot of challenges and it demands
vaccine waste innovative solutions to overcome them.
and improve Sandeep Kulkarni, Chief Operating
vaccine efficacy, Officer, Allcargo Gati, pointed out that
particularly in due to factors like traffic congestion and
remote areas. urban density, last-mile delivery has
We plan to offer become a pivotal yet challenging aspect
Phloton via a of supply chain operations.
lease model to He also reported that Allcargo
keep costs low for Gati has embraced data-driven route
healthcare systems, optimisation solutions that enable
with additional faster and more precise deliveries.
revenue from “By integrating technology,
pharmaceutical our teams can identify optimal
companies,” routes, track deliveries in
she informed. real-time, and enhance
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November - December 2024 www.itln.in