In the last decade, two enabling factors have begun to transform the logistics landscape in India. Better roads have reduced transit times. Technology is starting to play a role too
If you’re on any of India’s national highways, the sight of an overloaded truck travelling at a sedate pace is pretty common. Truckers seldom cover more than 300 km a day, compared to more than 1,000 km a day in the West, at speeds no more than 25 km an hour. Even today, a truck travelling from Delhi to Kolkata—a distance of about 1,500 km—has to cross five state border check-posts and ends up taking upwards of four days. For decades, these inefficiencies were taken for granted every time goods had to be moved from one place to another across the country.
(This story appears in the 13 April, 2012 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)