Meet ‘the new kid’ on the aspirational career block today – logistics

With the increasing complexity of sourcing material for businesses and distribution of products, logistics evolved as a business concept in the 1950s. With time, an increasingly globalized supply chain warranted that the right item in the right quantity reaches the destination at the right time for the right price. The objective of logistic work is the management of project life cycles, supply chains, and the ensuing efficiencies.

Logistics today has become a boardroom matter of review, and companies now expect personnel at all levels to get involved at various levels of the supply chain process. In the ever-growing world of competition, effective logistics and supply chain management can be a key differentiator and a USP.

Aspirations vary across generations, societies, and individuals. The logistics industry encapsulates aspirations across generations, individuals, and societies. Fuelled by multi-billion dollar investments on one hand and opportunities galore on the other, this industry shall be the biggest attraction for people looking for jobs with social security, catering to the aspirations of individuals at all levels of the employment pyramid.

The logistics industry, active on the massive scaling of operations with boundaryless trading across geographies via new maritime and trade routes, gives immense opportunities to cater to the aspirations of professionals, technocrats, and nations to explore new growth trajectory and regional dominance.

The seven logistics sub-sectors – namely, road freight, rail freight, warehousing, waterways, air freight, packaging, and courier services – are going to increase the employment numbers in India from 10.9 million currently to 13.9 million by 2022. The growth drivers for this segment shall be the public investment to the tune of $100 billion. The recently accorded “Infrastructure Subsector” status to logistics by the Government of India in 2017 facilitated flow of low cost with longer tenure credit. GST implementation brought in more structure to formalize the sector. An apparent shift in consumer behaviour shall create a market on the demand side with new and better players evolving and gaining market from the supply side. This shall contribute to a positive churning of the sector.

A large part of the Indian population is with the unorganized sector (82 percent) and looking at employment opportunities that will formally employ them with a social security cover. As per a global employment survey of 2018, the following sunrise industries, viz. logistics, e-commerce, Big Data, and fintech, are going to be the most sought-after employment destinations in the coming years. With such prolific investment, changing domestic consumption patterns, government reforms, and GST implementation, the logistics industry will become far more systematic and better managed, leading to an aspirational career option in the coming years.

In order to accomplish and realize the potential of this sector, managing the talent, their skill, and social security shall be a major challenge for all employers.

A career in logistics is going to be highly satisfying and rewarding. The sheer joy and experience of being an integral part in the product’s lifecycle – from the time it is manufactured till it is allocated, distributed, and delivered to the end consumers – can be quite exciting. Job aspirants across education and skill levels have an opportunity in the logistics industry. For the hard-working, innovative, and productive individual, promotions are commonplace. Though traditionally careers in logistics have been occupied by men, women are now foraying into logistics, especially for key account management and customer service.

People with a logistics background find a place in almost every industry. This enables greater opportunities and dynamism compared to other professions since roles in desired industries can be taken without any additional qualification. Candidates with comprehensive and integrated knowledge of logistics are considered strong in the job market.

A career in logistics brings with it challenges, responsibilities, growth opportunities, travel opportunities, and an attractive remuneration. As the economy further matures, this sector is bound to become more sophisticated. With the advent of e-commerce showing no signs of slowing down, and the development of logistics parks, free-trade warehousing zones, dedicated freight corridors, port modernization, and container freight stations, logistics is going to be further exciting and efficient, thereby making it an aspirational option when deciding a career.

Kunal Banerji is the Chief Human Resource Officer at Apollo LogiSolutions (ALS).

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)