CARGOCONNECT-APRIL2026 - Flipbook - Page 42
SPECIAL FEATURE : FMCG SUPPLY CHAIN
Real-time tracking, AI-powered route
optimisation, and fleet management are
crucial for enhancing cold chain integrity.
Oganisations are adopting hyperlocal,
electrified, and data-driven solutions
that minimise both time-to-customer and
environmental impact, while the industry
is increasingly exploring transitions
toward PCM-based cooling alternatives
to reduce reliance on diesel-driven
refrigeration units.
KEYUR DOSHI
Head– SCM, Vadilal Industries
toward “degradable” packaging solutions alongside solar- and
wind-powered operations. He further emphasises that “targeted
incentive structure for adoption of green logistics and green energy
will go a long way in fast pacing the sustainability initiatives.”
Importantly, the relationship between speed and sustainability
itself is being fundamentally rede昀椀ned across instant commerce
supply chains. Agarwal captures this shift succinctly when he
states, “In 2026, ‘faster’ without ‘greener’ is actually slower.” He
further outlines how organisations are reframing operational
metrics by focussing on “distance saved not minute saved,”
electrifying high-frequency last-mile routes, and “measuring
carbon per order not per vehicle,” thereby making sustainability
measurable and execution-centric rather than aspirational.
Echoing Agarwal’s remarks and re昀氀ecting on intelligenceenabled execution sustainability, Manivannan asserts, “At ProConnect, we are building AI-enabled capabilities in a phased
manner while delivering high-velocity, e昀케cient supply chains
and strengthening capability through our COLTE partnership
to create a future-ready, scalable, and intelligent supply chain
ecosystem for our customers.”
Within cold-chain-intensive FMCG environments, electri昀椀cation
and material innovation are also reshaping temperature-controlled
transport models. Doshi explains that organisations are adopting
“hyperlocal, electri昀椀ed, and data-driven solutions that minimise
both time-to-customer and environmental impact,” while the
industry is increasingly exploring transitions toward PCMbased cooling alternatives to reduce reliance on diesel-driven
refrigeration units.
At the network-planning level, forecasting accuracy and route
consolidation are emerging as equally powerful sustainability
enablers. Nair notes that “the most meaningful gains come from
better planning, fewer emergency movements, and reduced waste,”
adding that improved forecasting, packaging optimisation, and
reusable crate deployment are already helping reduce delivery
frequency and emissions across distributed supply operations.
MARCHING TOWARDS THE INTELLIGENT
REVOLUTION
MFCs located closer to consumption
clusters are reducing last-mile delivery
times, while real-time tracking and route
optimisation tools are enabling logistics
operators to dynamically respond to
order volumes and traffic conditions.
Edge computing is accelerating the
processing of operational data generated
across fulfilment nodes, enabling
faster execution responsiveness across
distribution networks.
PRAVIN BHOJ
VP– Supply Chain and Operations, Swiss Beauty
42 | CARGOCONNECT APRIL 2026
Across India’s rapidly evolving instant commerce landscape,
FMCG supply chains are undergoing a structural rede昀椀nition
that extends far beyond faster delivery commitments. Predictive
intelligence is transforming shelf availability into a proactively
engineered capability, micro-ful昀椀lment networks are reshaping
proximity-led execution architectures, direct-to-retail pathways are
strengthening real-time demand responsiveness, and ESG-aligned
logistics models are reinforcing sustainability as a performance
advantage rather than a compliance obligation. Together, these
shifts are converging to create supply chain ecosystems that are
not only faster, but more adaptive, distributed, and decision-aware
across every operational layer.
As these capabilities mature, the competitive frontier in
FMCG logistics is steadily moving from isolated speed gains
toward synchronised execution intelligence, where forecasting
precision, ful昀椀lment proximity, routing optimisation, and greener
mobility strategies function as integrated levers of reliability
and scale. In this emerging operating paradigm, the supply
chains that will de昀椀ne leadership in the instant commerce era
will be those capable of aligning responsiveness with resilience,
proximity with predictability, and velocity with sustainability,
henceforth delivering not just products faster, but ful昀椀lment
certainty engineered for the complexities of India’s next-generation
consumption landscape.
