Logistics has been performed since the beginning of the civilization. However,
in the today's World, where there is realization of global village and borderless
world, implementation of the most exciting and challenging operational areas of
business is furnished by logistics. Business logistics is the planning, organizing and
controlling of all move-store activities that facilitate product flow from the point of raw
material acquisition to final consumption (Muthiah, 2001).
Intermediaries have an important role to play in the shipping industry.
They provide various vital services to shipping lines as well as shippers and are
an important link between the two. Intermediaries exist because they improve
the efficiency of marketing channels (Wood et
al., 2002). These days, intermediaries have global operations and because of their specialized infrastructure and
superior contacts, many organizations outsource a variety of services to these
intermediaries (Paul and Aserkar, 2009).
Indore is a developing city, where the export turnover is very high. There
are about 50 Customs House Agents (CHAs) and shipping agent lines working for
the export industry. The tremendous industrial growth in and around city and
the emergence of Madhya Pradesh as a major cargo hub called for more facilities
like Container Freight Stations (CFSs), better roads, and importantly, good
rail connectivity, especially from Indore and Pithampur. According to Exim Newsletter (2008), Western India, logistics at Indore is bridging the distance to the
gateway ports. Infrastructure, connectivity, cost and time and efficiency should be
combined to bring about trade facilitation. It has been stated that the problem of
infrastructure was never an easy target for a landlocked city like Indore. The problems
of infrastructure and connectivity and time efficient transit from the region could
be solved by providing various facilities at the Inland Container Depot (ICD). |
