CARGOCONNECT-AUGUST 2025 - Flipbook - Page 47
MORE THAN MILES : FEATURE
monitoring and traceability tools to circular economy
business models” each addressing a niche but pressing
requirement within the larger ecosystem, she points.
Achilles’ role, as Shetty explains, is to act as an enabler
in this ecosystem. “We o昀昀er trusted supplier assurance
and risk management solutions to help organisations
embed sustainability across their operations,” she says.
With a legacy spanning over three decades and a team
of over 100 professionals based in Mumbai, Achilles
brings both the infrastructure and insights necessary
to support compliance-driven, sustainable sourcing
strategies. The cumulative e昀昀ect, Shetty suggests, is not
just operational e昀케ciency but also the institutionalisation
of sustainability across logistics networks.
For Utkarsh Tripathi, COO and Co-founder of
Hexalog, the shift toward sustainability isn’t merely
philosophical—it’s operational. “Transitioning from
intent to genuine action means embedding sustainability deep into the logistics value chain,” he argues.
He points out that today’s logistics enterprises are
going well beyond symbolic gestures. Instead, they’re
implementing on-ground interventions such as 昀氀eet
electri昀椀cation, renewable energy-powered warehousing,
and AI-driven route optimisation to slash emissions and
costs simultaneously. These aren’t isolated steps but
rather components of a broader transformation toward
greener logistics practices. “The result is a tangible
reduction in environmental impact, strengthened
supply chain resilience, and a clear pathway toward
meaningful, planet-positive change,” Tripathi a昀케rms.
However, as the sector welcomes a growing number
of start-ups, concerns around overlap and market saturation do arise. But Harsh Vardhan Gupta, Co-founder
and CEO – India of MatchLog Solutions, offers a
counter-narrative. In his view, the sustainability space
within logistics is less about rivalry and more about
interoperable value. “The sustainability sector is wide
enough to accommodate collaborative innovation rather
than pure competition,” Gupta states. He emphasises
that logistics challenges, ranging from fragmented
infrastructure to lack of visibility, are too systemic
to be tackled by a single entity. “Start-ups that build
interoperable solutions or focus on speci昀椀c pain points
within this ecosystem can complement one another
and collectively move the industry forward,” he adds.
Gupta points out that effectiveness in sustainability is not measured by how many companies are
in the space, but by how scalable and outcome-driven
their models are. “What matters is not how many are
working on sustainability, but how e昀昀ectively their
models scale, reduce emissions, and align with both
market and policy momentum.” In his perspective,
the success of sustainability start-ups hinges not just
on innovation but also on their alignment with larger
logistical, regulatory, and environmental frameworks.
Collectively, the above perspectives highlight a key
insight: the Indian logistics sector is not too crowded for
sustainability start-ups—it’s too complex for anything but
a collaborative, diversi昀椀ed approach. From compliancedriven assurance models to on-ground operational
interventions and scalable tech platforms, each start-up
is contributing a vital piece to the sustainability puzzle.
ECO-DRIVEN INNOVATION: START-UPS
AND THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE
LOGISTICS
With logistics becoming central to India’s broader push toward
sustainable development and economic resilience, start-ups are
emerging as pivotal actors in redefining the future of freight
movement. These new-age ventures are not merely responding
to regulatory pressure or ESG mandates—they are actively reengineering the logistics value chain with digital intelligence,
environmental responsibility, and operational e昀케ciency at their core.
Shetty underscores the value startups bring in combining agility with
technological capability. “Start-ups
bring a fresh perspective to logistics by
India’s logistics sector is
developing agile, tech-enabled solutions
expanding rapidly, with
that improve operational e昀케ciency while
reducing environmental impact,” she
increasing government
says. Their contributions span a range
focus on ESG compliance
of innovations—from real-time route
and sustainability.
optimisation that cuts down fuel usage to
the deployment of low-emission vehicle
Start-ups leveraging
昀氀eets and precision-driven emissions
digital innovations and
tracking systems. These aren’t one-o昀昀
regional expertise are
e昀昀orts, but part of a broader shift toward
embedding sustainability as a measurvital in tackling complex,
able, core function of logistics. Shetty
fragmented supply
adds that their speed of deployment is a
chains, creating scalable,
key advantage: “Their ability to rapidly
pilot, re昀椀ne, and deploy solutions makes
localised solutions.
them key enablers in rethinking logistics
through a sustainability lens.”
This capacity for rapid innovation
is particularly crucial as logistics companies face both rising
customer expectations and tightening regulatory standards. By
enabling real-time, data-backed decisions, start-ups are helping
traditional players upgrade their systems without a complete
overhaul—thus speeding up the sector’s green transition.
Tripathi highlights how green freight is no longer a niche
concept, but a strategic lever that blends ecological intent with
commercial advantage. “Green freight is transforming logistics
beyond mere environmental considerations—it’s reshaping operational e昀케ciency, cutting costs, and enhancing brand reputation,”
he says. Tripathi explains that Indian start-ups are at the forefront
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