From Movers to Orchestrators: Inside the Next Era of 3PL

India’s third-party logistics sector is at an inflection point. Once defined by asset intensity and execution efficiency, 3PLs are being reimagined as strategic orchestrators of supply-chain intelligence. As manufacturing shifts closer to consumption, e-commerce compresses delivery windows, and sustainability moves from aspiration to mandate, logistics providers are no longer judged by how fast they move freight—but by how intelligently they connect networks, data, and decisions. Digital control towers, multimodal integration, predictive analytics, and customer-centric design are reshaping the industry’s DNA. In this next phase of growth, India’s 3PLs are navigating rising complexity, margin pressure, and heightened expectations, while simultaneously unlocking new value pools. This Cover Story examines how leading logistics players are responding—what they are investing in, what they are rethinking, and how they see their role evolving in a supply chain that now demands ORCHESTRATION OVER EXECUTION.

For decades, progress in India’s logistics sector was written into the landscape—roads stretching farther, warehouses rising higher, fleets growing denser. Today, transformation is unfolding more quietly, in the spaces where decisions are made—guided by data, informed by analytics, and executed across complex networks. As supply chains grow more interconnected and less predictable, advantage is moving beyond physical scale to the ability to sense, decide, and act with precision, while embedding sustainability into every choice. Scale still matters, but it no longer speaks first. Speed remains powerful, but only when paired with foresight, intelligence, and environmental responsibility. In this transition, 3PL leaders are stepping into a more deliberate role—shaping flow, aligning intent, reducing carbon impact, and turning complexity into coherence. What follows is a window into how India’s logistics players are learning to lead not just by moving goods, but by mastering the analytics, intelligence, and sustainability that move supply chains. Because in a world of constant motion, it is judgment—not momentum—that creates advantage.

What are the few “big bets” that can help 3PLs’ role in the logistics ecosystem over the next five years?

Ajit Jangle, MD, FM Logistic India: Our primary focus is on sustained investment in technology, digitalisation, and AI to create measurable value for customers. These investments are not about adopting technology for its own sake, but about improving visibility, decision-making, and responsiveness across the supply chain. Alongside this, we are strengthening our operational capabilities to ensure that technology-led solutions translate into real, on-ground execution excellence.

Deepak Kumar Goel, Chief of Last Mile Operations, Shadowfax: The first transformational bet is the shift toward an EV-Enabled Last-Mile Workforce. India’s delivery ecosystem is deeply dependent on gig workers who predominantly use petrol and diesel two-wheelers. As demand rises, this model becomes increasingly unsustainable—both environmentally and economically. EV adoption fundamentally resets this equation.

But the real opportunity is not just transitioning to electric vehicles; it is building the EV participation infrastructure around gig workers. When delivery partners can access vehicles through flexible leasing instead of upfront ownership, the talent pool expands dramatically. Today, hiring is restricted to individuals who already own a vehicle. Tomorrow, with accessible EV leasing models—daily, weekly, monthly—we unlock participation for thousands who are currently excluded simply because entry costs start at ?1 lakh or more. This is a structural redesign of supply—more inclusive, more stable, and far more scalable. EVs become not just a sustainability lever but a workforce-enablement tool.

The second major bet is Intelligence-Led Last-Mile Execution, anchored in deep address analytics. Address quality remains one of the biggest friction points in Indian logistics—ambiguous locations, inconsistent descriptions, and behavioural nuances that aren’t captured by traditional systems. Advancing address engines through geospatial intelligence, pattern recognition, and delivery behaviour data can dramatically reduce first-attempt failures, eliminate fake attempts, and improve predictability. As e-commerce volumes climb, accuracy—not speed—becomes the real differentiator. Building this layer of intelligence turns last-mile delivery from a reactive function into a precision system.

The third bet is on Next-Generation Network Design, especially leveraging new freight and logistics corridors being developed across the country. The industry has experimented with them in pockets, but the potential remains largely untapped. These corridors can fundamentally alter the cost–speed balance—reducing transit times, ironing out variability, and enabling more reliable mid-mile operations. The challenge, and the opportunity, lies in designing networks that are not only cost-efficient and scalable but dynamically aligned with emerging infrastructure. This is where the next wave of competitive advantage will come from.

Together, these represent a shift from incremental efficiency to structural transformation. They redefine how the ecosystem will scale, how costs will stabilize, and how experience will be delivered in a logistics environment that is becoming more digital, more distributed, and more demanding every year.

Sougata Mitra, Senior GM – Business Head, Pristine Value Logistics: A few big bets stand out as critical for 3PLs to elevate their role in the logistics ecosystem over the next five years—shifting from operational execution to strategic enablement, and from scale alone to intelligence and resilience. These include:

Building a Tech-Enabled, Predictive Supply Chain Ecosystem: We are investing in next-generation digital capabilities—advanced WMS/TMS platforms, IoT-enabled visibility, etc. Our goal is to shift from reactive operations to predictive, data-led logistics that deliver real-time transparency, improved accuracy, and faster decision-making for our customers.

Expanding Pan-India, Multi-Temperature Logistics Infrastructure: We are accelerating our footprint across the country with state-of-the-art ambient and cold chain facilities, supported by a multimodal transportation network. This infrastructure expansion, backed by strong compliance and quality systems, will allow us to serve new industries, deepen our offering in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and enable future-ready supply chains.

Dr. Vikash Khatri, Founder, Aviral Consulting Pvt. Ltd.: The Indian 3PL sector stands on the cusp of a transformative era, projected to witness strong double-digit growth in the coming years. The ecosystem is steadily evolving from an unorganized and fragmented structure toward a more formalized, technology-driven environment. In this new phase, leading players are expected to actively integrate sustainability and innovation into their operations.

Over the next five years, one of the key strategic priorities of 3PL should be a shift in modal mix through the adoption of multimodal transportation networks. Currently, around 65% of freight movement relies on road transport, while greater utilization of rail and coastal shipping can unlock significant cost efficiencies and environmental benefits. Ongoing infrastructure initiatives such as the Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) and Multi-Modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) will further enhance supply chain efficiency and connectivity. A second major area of focus for 3PL players should be strategic collaboration and advanced outsourcing models. By adding a consultative layer to their services, 3PLs can transition from being logistics providers to end-to-end solution partners, delivering enhanced value across clients’ supply chains. Finally, 3PL companies should invest in specialized offerings tailored to specific industry verticals, technologies, or networks. Such specialization will not only create differentiation but also strengthen customer trust and long-term partnerships.

How can companies balance the triangle of speed, cost, and resilience in a world where volatility is constant, and customer expectations keep rising?

Nikhil Agarwal, President, CJ Darcl Logistics Ltd.: India’s freight ecosystem navigates seasonal demand fluctuations, asymmetric return-load availability, and infrastructure that, although advancing, remains uneven across regions. Balancing equilibrium between speed, cost, and resilience involves an analytical and disciplined approach, monitoring network performance, using data to identify operational inefficiencies, and applying insights to improve service reliability, manage costs, and increase throughput.

At CJ Darcl, our technology stack supports this balance. Our AI-enabled dashcams offer behavioural insights to encourage safer and more efficient driving practices. Our Transport Management System (TMS) ensures end-to-end shipment visibility and real-time tracking, while our Warehouse Management System (WMS) manages inventory flows and operational accuracy. These digital systems create a data-driven framework that enables monitoring of each execution stage, managing disruptions, and providing logistics solutions for a agile and cost-managed supply chain.

Deepak Kumar Goel: There is no single equilibrium point between speed, cost, and resilience—it is a design choice rooted in customer understanding. Every supply chain must begin with a sharply defined service promise. Are you building a three-day delivery proposition? A next-day commitment? Or an ultra-fast 10-minute model? That clarity becomes the north star for the entire network.

Once the customer promise is set, it becomes the non-negotiable. If a next-day delivery from Delhi to Bengaluru is part of your service design, then the network must deliver on it—even if it means using air freight. Customers intuitively understand that speed carries a premium, and they are receptive to it when the experience is consistent. Conversely, when the promise allows a three-day window, the network can be optimized for cost through multimodal options without compromising the experience.

In essence, customer experience determines the boundaries; cost optimization happens within those boundaries. Within the chosen service tier, companies still have significant levers to optimize—load consolidation, intelligent routing, flight selection, density-based carrier negotiations, and network timing. These interventions can meaningfully lower cost while preserving the speed and reliability that customers expect.

Resilience, meanwhile, comes from precision and predictability, not from building excess buffers. When organizations rigorously design around the customer promise and dynamically optimize within that framework, they create supply chains that remain stable even when external volatility rises. Customer experience is the principle. Cost and resilience are the disciplines that follow.

Ajit Jangle: Speed, cost, and resilience are all essential elements of a strong value proposition. However, achieving higher speed and resilience often requires additional investment, which comes at a cost. The key lies in finding the right trade-off, aligned with customer expectations and their willingness to pay for enhanced capabilities. A balanced approach, rather than an absolute focus on any one parameter, delivers sustainable value.

Mahendra Pratap Singh, National Sales Head – Warehousing & Transport, Pristine Value Logistics: As a 3PL service provider for almost three decades, Pristine Value Logistics has provided their clients with best-in-class services, including contributions to clients:

• Reducing operational costs through network optimization, and route planning.
• Streamlining processes like inventory management, order fulfilment, and distribution services using global best practices.
• Deploying next-gen technologies like WMS, TMS, real-time tracking, automation, AI, and predictive analytics.
• Providing supply chain visibility and transparency through digital dashboards and data sharing with clients.
• Adopting green practices in warehousing infrastructure and operations
• Ensuring customer service on behalf of clients through On-Time In-Full Secured and Guaranteed (OTIF) services.
• Acting as a strategic partner instead of just a vendor.

As India’s supply chains become more digital, multimodal, and customer-driven, how will the role of a 3PL evolve from service provider to strategic orchestrator?

Deepak Kumar Goel: The evolution is already in motion—and it is redefining the industry’s value creation model. For D2C and mid-sized brands, building an end-to-end logistics capability internally is neither viable nor strategic. These brands rely on 3PLs not just for fulfillment but for growth enablement. Faster delivery directly boosts conversion rates, strengthens retention, reduces returns, and enhances brand equity. When a 3PL delivers same-day, 30-minute, or hyperlocal fulfillment, it becomes a co-driver of revenue, not merely a logistics handler.

For larger, more established enterprises with their own logistics infrastructure, the orchestration role manifests differently. Indian commerce experiences sharp seasonality, with demand spikes during festivals and promotional windows. These peaks can overwhelm even the most sophisticated captive networks. Here, a 3PL acts as a flexible surge enabler—absorbing seasonal volatility so that enterprises can maintain service levels and stay focused on growth, innovation, and customer engagement rather than operational bottlenecks.

This is why 3PLs are transitioning from execution partners to strategic orchestrators of agility—integrating capacity, technology, and real-time intelligence to enable brands to scale with confidence. They shape demand, smooth volatility, and strengthen the customer promise. In the years ahead, the most impactful 3PLs will not simply move goods; they will co-architect the growth journeys of the brands they serve.

Nikhil Agarwal: India’s supply chains are transitioning from linear, siloed operations to integrated, technology-enabled networks spanning transportation, storage, demand cycles, and end-to-end supply chain flows. With expectations for speed, visibility, and reliability, 3PLs shift from executing discrete services to orchestrating interconnected supply chain operations. This evolution requires synchronizing diverse logistics functions, reducing friction across touchpoints, and managing operations with accountability. Industry growth favours logistics partners that use real-time data, analyse demand–supply dynamics, and optimize modes or routes to manage risks and maintain continuity.

At CJ Darcl, with more than 39 years of operational excellence, we deliver a comprehensive suite of multimodal logistics solutions—including full truckload, rail, air cargo, coastal/shipping, project logistics, freight forwarding, warehousing, distribution, and value-added services. Our integrated service ecosystem, strengthened by advanced digital platforms, enables us to operate as strategic supply chain orchestrators. We take end-to-end ownership, ensuring agility, resilience, and performance across our clients’ logistics value chains.

Sougata Mitra: Firstly, as India’s supply chains rapidly shift toward digitization, multimodal integration, and customer-driven models, the role of a 3PL will expand far beyond execution. A modern 3PL will evolve into a strategic supply chain orchestrator—one that designs, integrates, and manages end-to-end logistics ecosystems. A 3PL will become the nerve centre, connecting warehousing, transport, and last-mile partners seamlessly. Secondly, the future 3PL will not only execute tasks but also anticipate needs. With control tower visibility, real-time tracking, predictive analytics, and AI-led planning, 3PLs will deliver insights that will help customers improve all- round KPIs, set better benchmarks, and be responsive to consumers.

Thirdly, 3PLs like us will take a more proactive role. We co-create solutions with our customers, build infrastructure, and ensure resilient operations. We have become a truly strategic partner that supports growth, ensures business continuity, and drives competitive advantage.

Ajit Jangle: Today, many service providers are still largely managing transactional activities. The real evolution lies in moving from transactions to value-added services, and eventually to true partnerships. For a 3PL to reach that stage, it must demonstrate strategic intent, the ability to execute consistently, and the willingness to invest. Only then can it offer customers solutions that are timely, cost-effective, and aligned with their long-term business goals.

In your view, where will the next wave of value creation emerge—contract logistics, 4PL, cross-border, shared logistics, or integrated supply chain orchestration?

Deepak Kumar Goel: The next wave of value creation will emerge most strongly in true 4PL-led orchestration—where logistics partners evolve from Execution Specialists to Business Performance Enablers. The industry is already moving beyond the traditional 3PL model of managing transportation and warehousing. The real value now lies in influencing growth outcomes for brands.

When logistics partners take ownership of the entire experience—speed, availability, reliability—they begin to shape customer retention, conversion, and demand patterns. Faster fulfillment consistently drives higher volumes, stronger repeat behavior, and better brand recall. As delivery timelines compress, the logistics partner becomes an active contributor to commercial growth rather than a cost center. Across segments, the future belongs to logistics partners that integrate: multi-node network design; speed-based service differentiation; demand surge cushioning; and intelligence-led coordination. 4PL is no longer a theoretical construct—it is becoming the core engine of value creation as logistics shifts from fulfilment to growth acceleration.

Nikhil Agarwal: Value creation arises from end-to-end integrated supply chain orchestration. Customers select logistics partners to manage the entire value chain, reducing coordination with multiple vendors. Integrated solutions that combine transportation, customs clearance, freight forwarding, warehousing, and value-added services allow logistics providers to take accountability and provide a seamless experience. This approach enables providers to analyze the value chain, respond to demand shifts, manage routing, control overstocking or stockouts, and meet sustainability goals. Using data-driven management of the supply chain, 3PLs and 4PLs that adopt integrated orchestration create value for their clients, acting as strategic partners.

Mahendra Pratap Singh: The next wave of value creation in logistics will not come from the convergence of contract logistics, 4PL capabilities, shared networks, and integrated orchestration. 3PL will become orchestrators who bring together infrastructure, technology, partners, and data into one unified ecosystem. We believe that the future will be shared to defray rising costs and sustainability pressures - shared assets, shared transportation, and multi-client consolidation. Secondly, traditional 3PL is evolving into super-specialized, tech-enabled operations, especially in sectors like healthcare, pharma, food, retail, and e-commerce. 3PLs will create value through combining infrastructure + digital + compliance + operational excellence.

Ajit Jangle: Integrated supply chain orchestration will create the most value. By improving visibility and coordination across material flows, documentation, information, and financial processes, it enhances performance across both domestic and international supply chains. This holistic integration enables better decision-making and stronger outcomes for customers.

Dr. Vikash Khatri: Historically, Indian 3PL providers have primarily operated as execution-focused service partners. However, transitioning into strategic collaborators demands deliberate action across three key dimensions — technology and automation, channel capabilities, and commercial models.

While technology adoption is inevitable in any industry, the transaction-intensive nature of logistics makes automation-driven innovation essential. Investments in Transportation Management Systems (TMS), Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS), and network optimization tools can significantly enhance efficiency and decision-making through predictive analytics.

To stay competitive, 3PLs must also build omnichannel capabilities—integrating service offerings across physical and digital channels—to deliver industry-specific solutions for sectors such as e-commerce, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and retail. On the commercial front, the focus should shift from traditional per-unit distance or per-unit weight pricing models to outcome-based contracts. These should link revenues to measurable client outcomes such as logistics cost reduction, on-time, in-full performance, inventory efficiency, and enhanced customer experience.

Which technology shifts—AI planning, digital twins, network intelligence, automation—will create the biggest competitive advantage in the next decade?

Deepak Kumar Goel: Three technological shifts will fundamentally reshape competitive advantage over the next decade.

AI-led demand and inventory intelligence: The first major shift is in how companies predict demand, build assortments, and place inventory. With quick commerce expanding, the question is no longer how to stock one lakh SKUs everywhere—it is how to identify the 5–10% of SKUs that drive 70–80% of immediate demand. AI- and ML-driven analytics will determine – what to stock in dark stores; how quickly to replenish; how to maintain freshness and relevance; and how to optimize churn to improve working capital. For both e-commerce players and 3PLs, this intelligence defines the speed and precision of fulfillment.

Deep address intelligence and geospatial mapping: India’s addressing framework is still highly unstructured, and this remains one of the biggest drivers of delivery failures and return rates. The next leap will come from creating machine-readable, hyper-granular location grids that map the country down to meter-level precision. This will transform first-attempt accuracy; return-to-origin rates; delivery productivity; and customer experience. As return rates drop, profitability and sector-wide efficiency will rise significantly. Address intelligence will likely be one of the biggest unlocks for India’s logistics economy.

EV ecosystem and charging infrastructure maturity: The third shift is the evolution of the EV ecosystem—not just vehicles, but the infrastructure that enables mass adoption. Costs are already stabilizing, but what the industry urgently needs is a widespread, reliable charging network. Once this infrastructure matures, EV adoption in last-mile logistics will accelerate exponentially, reducing costs, improving sustainability, and expanding participation for gig workers.

Nikhil Agarwal: These technologies shape a digitalized supply chain ecosystem, with the most significant competitive advantage from combining predictive intelligence and automation. Using historical patterns across freight capacity, fuel consumption, pricing volatility, and network performance, AI-driven forecasting equips logistics providers to respond to demand changes, improve asset utilisation, and use dynamic pricing strategies that support operational agility and profitability. In transportation, intelligent planning reduces empty miles—a costly inefficiency.

Automation manages routine workflows, removes manual bottlenecks, and improves process accuracy. At CJ Darcl, we support a digitalized workflow—from order creation and shipment planning to trip execution and vendor coordination—through our cloud-based Transport Management Platform, MoveX. Our driver ecosystem uses applications that enable drivers to report trip-related issues, manage expenses, and track settlements with limited human intervention. Integrating AI-powered analysis with automated execution enables precision—supporting decision-making alongside delivery performance.

Ajit Jangle: All these technologies are important in building a future-ready value proposition. However, AI will play a particularly significant role by automating repetitive tasks, improving efficiency, and enabling round-the-clock decision support. This not only reduces costs but also enhances responsiveness and consistency across operations.

Dr. Vikash Khatri: To stay competitive over the next decade, Indian 3PLs should prioritize investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital twins, and network intelligence to unlock automation and predictive decision-making across their networks. Among these, AI and machine learning must take precedence, enabling the automation of repetitive tasks and the continuous optimization of end-to-end supply chains. The emergence of “Agentic AI” – autonomous AI agents capable of independently executing complex, multi-step workflows – will quickly become a must-have capability for 3PLs seeking step-change gains in efficiency and service quality.

How are 3PLs evolving solutions to meet the changing expectations of users—especially around transparency, reliability, service flexibility, and end-to-end visibility?

Deepak Kumar Goel: Transparency and visibility have become the baseline expectation for today’s users. Real-time tracking, status updates, and transactional visibility—whether in quick commerce or e-commerce—are now hygiene features across most modern logistics networks. Customers expect to know where their shipment is at every step, and 3PLs have evolved rapidly to deliver that level of clarity both to end consumers and to enterprise clients.

The real gap now lies not in visibility but in experience management. The moment a customer sees a failed delivery attempt or an unexpected delay, dissatisfaction spikes—often disproportionately. This emotional friction is where the next wave of innovation is needed. 3PLs must shift from simply providing movement visibility to enabling proactive, empathetic, and context-rich communication, especially when exceptions occur. Customers want to understand why a delivery failed, what the next promise window is, and how quickly the issue will be resolved. Closing this communication gap—through intelligent alerts, seamless rescheduling, and personalized engagement—will be critical to elevating reliability and building trust.

Nikhil Agarwal: At CJ Darcl, technology supports our strategy to improve the customer experience. We invest in our cloud-based Transport Management System (TMS) and digital control towers, which combine real-time data from GPS and IoT sensors to offer clients a view of their consignments across the supply chain from first mile to last mile. This visibility supports operational reliability through disruption management and reinforces our safety practices through AI-enabled dashcams that monitor driver behaviour.

Using the expertise of our corporate promoter, South Korea’s CJ Logistics, we apply automation via their proprietary TES framework, providing smart warehouses with unmanned forklifts, robotics, and automated systems. This combination of real-time visibility, analytics, and automation delivers transparent and reliable solutions, meeting customer expectations.

Mahendra Pratap Singh: Customers expect greater transparency, higher reliability, flexible service models, and real-time end-to-end visibility. At Pristine Value Logistics, we are evolving our solutions in four keyways to stay ahead of these expectations:

• We are investing in advanced WMS, TMS, and IoT-enabled tracking systems that provide customers with a single, unified view of inventory, shipments, and exceptions.
• We have enhanced our operations with robust SOPs and quality frameworks, in-house compliance and safety audits, Data-driven performance monitoring etc.
• We have introduced flexible service points such as multi-client warehousing for quick scalability, customized distribution models based on industry needs, modular transport solutions across ambient and cold chain, and value-added services (kitting, labelling, repackaging).

In essence, we are evolving from being operators of logistics to being enablers of customer-driven logistics services. Our commitment is to deliver solutions that inspire trust, support growth, and elevate the user experience across every touchpoint.

Ajit Jangle: Solutions today can no longer be standardized. They are increasingly customised and play a critical role in value creation. At FM Logistic India, we strongly believe in co-creating solutions with customers. Traditional RFQs often provide limited insight, whereas meaningful innovation requires deeper collaboration. Through co-creation, we not only address current service expectations but also align with the customer’s three-to-five-year supply chain vision.

Dr. Vikash Khatri: To meet rising expectations around transparency, reliability, and speed, 3PLs must develop agile, end-to-end visibility platforms tailored to the needs of Q-commerce and modern, omni-channel supply chains. The rapid growth of Q-commerce has not only sharply compressed delivery timelines but also established new benchmarks for turnaround efficiency for other channels as well. Delivering on these expectations will require dynamic inventory management, strategically located warehouses, micro-fulfilment centres, and a scaled-up physical network underpinned by automation and advancements.

What role will sustainability play in future logistics models, especially around Scope 3 visibility, carbon efficiency, and the shift to green fleets?

Deepak Kumar Goel: Sustainability is no longer a peripheral theme; it is becoming a strategic imperative driven by environmental responsibility, cost economics, and long-term ecosystem health. The logistics sector contributes significantly to Scope 3 emissions, and as supply chains become more customer-driven and urbanized, the urgency to address carbon intensity is only increasing.

Green mobility—particularly EV-led last mile—sits at the center of this transition. It promises not just lower emissions but also long-term cost efficiency, reduced congestion, and a more sustainable operating model as demand scales. But adoption hinges on one foundational factor: infrastructure readiness. Without robust and reliable charging networks, India cannot mirror the rapid EV penetration seen in markets like Norway, where battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for approximately 95% of all new car sales in 2025.

The aspiration is clear; the ecosystem, however, still requires substantial investment. The industry is witnessing early momentum—especially in two-wheeler EVs—but scaling to a truly green fleet requires aligning infrastructure, policy support, cost structures, and operational readiness.

Ultimately, sustainability will shape the future of logistics not because it is fashionable, but because the cost of inaction—economically and environmentally—is far greater than the investment required to transition. Green fleets and carbon-efficient networks will move from being differentiators to being the defining backbone of next-generation logistics models.

Nikhil Agarwal: With policy support and customer alignment toward environmentally responsible operations, sustainability defines selection of logistics partners, evaluation of performance, and development of strategic relationships. The industry moves beyond speed and cost to include carbon visibility, greener transport modes, and supply chain models designed to reduce environmental impact. Logistics providers integrate sustainability into their digital and operational frameworks to provide traceable, compliant, and environmentally aware solutions.

At CJ Darcl, we follow a sustainability strategy that covers transportation, warehousing, and network design. Using our multimodal capabilities, we support clients to use road–rail and road–coastal combinations to lower their carbon footprint. We replace vehicles older than 10 years and transition our fleet from BS IV to BS VI standards to manage carbon efficiency. We test electric vehicles for short-haul movements and assess alternative fuel technologies for long-haul operations. These initiatives build resilient logistics ecosystems aligned with sustainability goals.

Ajit Jangle: Sustainability is no longer a buzzword; it is a business imperative. At FM Logistic, it is one of our top priorities. While sustainable solutions sometimes require higher upfront investment in infrastructure, they are strategic decisions that deliver long-term value. They also help us partner with customers who share a similar long-term, responsible approach to growth.

Dr. Vikash Khatri: Indian 3PLs are beginning to embed sustainability into the core of their operations, but robust measurement and management of Scope 3 emissions remain underdeveloped. Companies are increasingly deploying greener fleets, especially for first and last mile, and selectively introducing LNG trucks on specific long-haul routes, with hydrogen-fuelled vehicles a likely option in the longer term. At the same time, a stronger push toward shifting cargo from road to rail and coastal shipping is expected, as modal shift is one of the most powerful levers available to meaningfully reduce logistics-related carbon emissions.

What does the 3PL of 2030 look like—and what capabilities must today’s players build to get there?

Nikhil Agarwal: The logistics sector adopts advanced technologies, characterizing a 3PL by deep digital integration, real-time visibility, and AI-driven predictive intelligence. This digital framework operates with India’s expanding physical infrastructure, multimodal hubs, logistics parks, dedicated freight corridors, and warehousing ecosystems, enabling 3PL providers to scale and manage end-to-end supply chain networks. To compete, organisations build robust data architectures, expand their physical networks, and integrate sustainable practices into their operations. Compliance frameworks, safety standards, and predictable service levels form expectations for logistics enterprises.

Sougata Mitra: By 2030, the 3PL landscape will be defined by intelligence, integration, sustainability, and customer-centricity. The 3PL of the future will not just move goods—it will orchestrate networks, optimize decisions, and enable business transformation for its customers.

• In 2030 3PL will operate using AI, digital twins, advanced robotics, and autonomous mobility. Warehouses will be smart, self-regulating ecosystems, and transportation will be planned through predictive algorithms that eliminate inefficiencies before they occur.
• Integrated road–rail–air–sea networks will become the norm. The 3PL will function as a network integrator, managing multimodal flows to reduce cost, emissions, and lead time while offering superior reliability.
• The 3PL of 2030 will operate green warehouses, electric or alternative-fuel fleets, and carbon-transparent supply chains—positioning itself as a sustainability partner, not just a service provider.
• Will deliver integrated value through collaboration rather than ownership.

Ajit Jangle: The 3PL of 2030 will be a trusted partner rather than a service vendor. Getting there requires a clear journey of building operational excellence to earn trust, investing in technology to enhance visibility and speed, and having the intent to continuously invest in new capabilities. This combination of trust, technology, and long-term commitment will define the next generation of logistics players.