Back in 2003, when Gati deployed a real-time enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool called the Gati Enterprise Management System or GEMS to run its operations, it was considered an innovative move in the logistics industry.
Now, GS Ravi Kumar, chief information officer of Allcargo Group of Companies, which provides express logistics and supply chain solutions, said the company is ready to launch GEMS 2.0, the first module of the advanced version of the tool, in the coming year.
“Tech Mahindra will enable Gati to custom develop GEMS 2.0 from scratch over the next 18-24 months, covering the entire first, middle and last mile operations. The first module of GEMS 2.0 will be available in approximately 12 months roll out,” he said.
“When Gati first deployed the tool, it was 7-8 years ahead of the industry. Now we need to extend it with a more advanced version.”
Gati announced its partnership with Tech Mahindra in August this year to transform the tool into a more digital, scalable and agile cloud-based application to enable operational excellence and the highest level of customer experience.
GEMS 2.0 is designed to be a customer-first, cloud-first and mobile-first offering that leverages multi-level artificial intelligence and machine learning automation to improve the ease of doing business.
“We want to change the entire IT landscape of Gati to make it more modular, scalable and introduce the latest architecture. The main advantages of GEMS 2.0 are ease of doing business for customers, increased productivity and business and customer satisfaction,” said Kumar.
When asked about the widespread use of digital technology in the country’s logistics industry, he noted that over the past four to five years, digital technology has impacted all businesses, including logistics.
“However, there is still a lot of room for improvement and India will make huge strides in logistics automation in the coming years. Digital dominance includes the use of social, mobile analytics, cloud and IoT, which have made great strides in the logistics sector . I think IoT and analytics have greater potential in this industry.”
There is also a lot of room for development in the automation of logistics operations.
He added that the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIPS) will help manufacturers, shippers and other industries streamline and optimize logistics and costs.
