The logistics market in India is estimated to be Rs. 260,000 crores and constitutes 13% of the GDP (as compared to an average of 10% in other developing countries). The global logistics industry is valued at US$ 3.5 trillion. Global Market Analysis firm Datamonitor’s "India Logistics Outlook 2007" report estimates the Indian logistics industry at over US$ 125 billion. The sector currently employs over 40 million people globally.

Burgeoning trade, increased geographical distribution of incomes and markets, better than expected performance of the manufacturing sector and an explosive growth in the third party logistics segment has contributed to the phenomenal growth of the Indian Logistics and Supply Chain sector. In the Indian scenario, there is an impressive growth of container traffic of over 15% per annum over the last five years.

Many large Indian corporate such as Tata and Reliance Industries have started providing in-house logistics services and, sensing market growth, have started providing services to other corporates as well. PSUs have come up with Joint Service Organizations to felicitate in-house logistics activities (IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, ONGC, GAIL, CONCOR, etc.). Large express cargo and courier companies such as Transport Corporation of India (TCI) and Blue Dart have also started logistics operations. These companies enjoy the advantage of already having a large asset base and an all-India distribution network. Indian shippers are also gradually becoming more aware of the benefits of logistics outsourcing. They are now realizing that customer service and delivery performance are equally important as cost to remain competitive in the global economy. With the 100% FDI regime, most of the large logistics MNCs have presence in the country, primarily in the freight management business. These MNCs have also started acquiring local distribution companies to strengthen operations locally to derive integrated benefits.

Investment boost in infrastructure development by the Government has brought the Logistics sector in focus. Some examples are:

• The Golden Quadrilateral Project, East-West and North-South corridors (connecting four major metros)
• Free Trade and Warehousing Zones (FTWZ) in line with Special Economic Zones (SEZ) with 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and public-private partnerships (PPP) in infrastructure development

Technological changes in the logistics industry have led to a sharp increase in trained workforce in all areas of the sector. The industry would need 4.2 lakh skilled people in the ‘Senior Resource Category’ in warehouse management by 2015. Currently, the India logistics industry has only 14,000 Warehouse Managers but will require approximately 35,000. The key sectors where logistics and supply chain related opportunities are abundant are Automotive, Technology, Retail, Consumer, Healthcare, Industrial and Chemical. The following types of organizations provide suitable employment opportunities:

• Indian & Foreign Logistics firms
• Manufacturing companies across verticals
• Public/Private Ports
• Third Party Logistics firms
• Retail companies
• Transportation companies
• Pharmaceutical organisations
• Freight Forwarders
• Government Agencies like the armed forces, etc.
• Shipping and Liner companies
• Importers and Sourcing organisations
• IT companies
• Management Consulting firms

UPES offers the following programs in this sector:

 

Undergraduate	Postgraduate
College of Management & Economics Studies
BBA (Logistics)	MBA (Logistics & Supply Chain Management)

A sample career path in the Logistics division of a Manufacturing company is illustrated below:

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