Telematics: The Route to India’s Next-Gen Logistics

Logistics has never been more complex. From safety and sustainability standards to end customers demanding faster delivery times, today’s fleets face immense pressure. 

Not helping matters are untracked common unpowered assets like trailers, containers, and pallets, which can result in inefficient fleet utilisation, long idle times at hubs, bad route planning, pilferage, detention delays, and border holdups. The direct impact is higher costs and reduced reliability. Naturally, decision-makers are looking to improve operations through technology. 

Meanwhile, government efforts such as the National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity (PM Gati Shakti), the National Logistics Policy, and the rapidly expanding Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), aim to accelerate digital transformation with a view to elevating the entire logistics chain. 

However, technology is not a silver bullet. Instead, fleet managers must invest wisely, putting their resources into building a foundation of detailed, actionable information.

Systemic bottlenecks

With a network of inter-state ports, inland container depots (ICDs), and distribution hubs, fleet managers in India need to monitor assets across road, rail, air, and waterways. Integrating them is essential to improving last-mile connectivity and cost-efficiency. In essence, this was what 2021’s Logistics Efficiency Enhancement Programme (LEEP) aimed to address.

However, due to process fragmentation, fleet managers face challenges in acquiring detailed information on their logistics systems. In spite of updates to the AIS-140 mandate, which requires commercial vehicles to integrate global positioning systems (GPS), emergency buttons, and real-time data connectivity to a central command centre, many still lack end-to-end monitoring and tracking. 

That has led to many fleet managers being mired in bottlenecks, misplaced trailers, unverified handovers, and limited proof of movement. This has chafed fleet managers with a lack of control over operations while making it harder for them to fulfil commitments to customers, as highlighted in a report by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

The real-time visibility gap

While freight corridors, multimodal infrastructure, and digitalised planning frameworks have strengthened India’s logistics ecosystem, real-time visibility remains elusive. This is where telematics comes in. Picture a computer in each vehicle that observes and records everything from speed and idling to fuel consumption and tyre pressure. This data would be a godsend for fleet managers, who can use it to make better decisions based on how each asset is used. 

Better still, a powerful, scalable internet of things (IoT) platform that centralises device and data management, enables swift, accurate, and uninterrupted analyses of both powered and unpowered assets nationwide. The result is fleet management that can track movements in real time to refine routes or spot problems before they cause disruptions. In real terms, these benefits can provide impetus for the national objective of reducing logistics costs to 7.5% of GDP target by 2030.

Closing the loop via complete visibility

Powering transparency, efficiency, and sustainability will require complete visibility. Asset tracking solutions are the key here. With a full-stack, secure telematics ecosystem that is tailored to serve India’s mixed-asset logistics environment, fleet operators will be able to aggregate a vast amount of data from geographical locations and usage patterns. 

Systemic issues like unattended trailers, unpredictable dwell times, and the inability to verify cargo movement cost the Indian logistics sector billions annually. A tailored telematics solution can ease these issues.

For example, an asset tracking solution that tracks both powered and unpowered assets via low-energy IoT modules with a long-lasting battery reduces the friction that traditionally made it difficult to achieve end-to-end visibility. Supported by eSIM technology, such a solution will ensure reliable connectivity across regions and telecommunications networks.

A robust telematics ecosystem offers more than just precise location data, with elements like remote geofencing, diagnostics, tamper alerts, and utilisation analytics allowing fleet managers to delve deeper into asset behavior. With this level of end-to-end visibility, shippers, fleet owners, and warehouse teams can trace movements, handovers, and deviations within the logistics chain with full transparency and efficacy.

Visibility raises efficiency, safety, and sustainability

India’s fleet managers face a range of pressures. Growing expectations around efficiency, safety, and sustainability, not least from the PM Gati Shakti as well as stricter AIS-140 enforcement, make precise asset allocation indispensable.
The conundrum for organisations is how to ensure a profitable business case for asset tracking.

This hinges on two critical requirements: long-term operation with low maintenance costs, and real-time GPS tracking during movement. The way to achieve that is through a powerful, scalable IoT platform that embeds end-to-end tracking of any asset and logistics challenge anywhere.

Sachin Arora is the Head IoT and Connectivity at Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) India. Views expressed are the authors’ personal.