Orchestrating intelligence together: India’s shift to shared, real-time logistics networks

India’s logistics backbone is entering a new phase shaped by collaboration, real-time intelligence, and shared visibility across partners. For years, the supply chain operated as a linear sequence where procurement, warehousing, transportation, and delivery each worked with limited context. That structure is giving way to a dynamic network where people, technology systems, delivery partners, marketplaces, and sellers make decisions together. These systems operate continuously, learning from every movement, forecasting demand shifts and coordinating actions across the ecosystem. 

This transition is timely. India’s logistics sector, currently valued at around $250 billion, is projected to cross $380 billion within two years. Growth at this pace must be supported by networks that respond instantly to variability across geographies and categories. As retail activity spreads across Tier II and III markets, the ability to orchestrate intelligence collectively has become essential to building predictable and resilient operations at scale. 

Why India is entering the age of collaborative logistics 

E-commerce in India is expected to reach $300 billion by 2030. Nearly 60% of new shoppers will come from smaller towns, creating strong demand for distributed fulfilment, hyperlocal capabilities, and consistent service levels across new consumption clusters. Warehousing capacity has crossed 533 million square feet by 2024, with large brands establishing presence closer to demand centres to reduce distances and increase speed. 

This growth introduces new layers of complexity. Fragmented data across partners affects decision quality. Unmapped delivery environments create routing instability. Operational risks multiply as networks scale, and the workforce needs to navigate rapid automation adoption and shifting skill requirements. These factors make it difficult for isolated systems to deliver predictable outcomes. A collaborative model offers a path forward. When teams share real-time context, AI systems integrate partner signals, and delivery networks build intelligence through local insight, the result is a supply chain capable of handling India’s diversity and scale. 

India’s warehousing industry is projected to reach ₹2,87,200 crore by 2027, reflecting increasing investment in infrastructure that acts as both storage and decision-making hubs. Fulfilment centres function as connected command environments where people, robotics, software, and partners contribute inputs that strengthen reliability. Last-mile delivery continues to represent a significant share of cost. Research estimates that it can account for up to 41% of overall supply chain expenditure. AI-led routing and partner inputs together help platforms navigate realities such as traffic, weather, peak surges, and local layouts. This combination produces better outcomes than any one system working alone. 

Reimagining demand 

Demand planning becomes stronger when insights flow across the ecosystem. Unified demand signals give retailers, marketplaces, and sellers a consolidated view of consumption patterns, promotional impact, and seasonality. AI merges data from multiple partners and external factors to make emerging trends visible sooner. This helps local hubs gain the ability to adjust in real time. Shared dashboards allow regional fulfilment nodes to modify routing, reassign inventory or calibrate staffing quickly. These tools support faster decisions across Tier II and III markets, where demand variability is common. 

Returns analysis improves when partners review patterns together. AI-supported insights help marketplaces and sellers refine product information, packaging and return-prevention strategies based on real customer behaviour. This strengthens reliability across the chain. Predictive analytics also provide early visibility into spikes and slowdowns. Procurement teams, fulfilment centres, and delivery partners can align capacity, inventory and scheduling in advance. This reduces last-minute disruption and stabilises operational flow. 

Fulfilment centres as the new collaboration engines 

Fulfilment centres play an important role in converting shared intelligence into accurate, consistent output. Herein, human and automation synergy helps drive performance. Robotics perform structured tasks like sorting and movement with speed and precision, while human teams manage complex exceptions, conduct quality checks and make contextual decisions. This balance supports reliable outcomes and maintains flexibility. 

Predictive maintenance contributes to continuity. AI monitors equipment health, workflow load and environmental conditions, reducing downtime and supporting smooth operations through both regular cycles and peak periods. Reverse logistics becomes more structured through shared assessment. AI-assisted classification helps teams identify recoverable items quickly, enabling faster reintegration into inventory and better recovery decisions for sellers. Unified operational dashboards also help bring partners together. With a shared view of capacity, movements, exceptions and constraints, brands, marketplaces and logistics providers align decisions and manage fulfilment environments more effectively. 

Strengthening the last mile through local insight and intelligent systems 

The last mile benefits significantly from the combined intelligence of routing systems and field teams. AI generates routing paths using real-time information, while delivery partners contribute local familiarity, provide updates on road conditions and share insights that improve accuracy. The system learns continuously from these inputs. 

Address accuracy is strengthened through co-created local details. Customers and delivery partners add landmarks and micro-location cues that help AI geolocation improve over time. This reduces delays and increases first-attempt success rates. Return-to-origin cases also require shared oversight. AI highlights irregular patterns, delivery teams validate observations on ground, and sellers adjust processes or packaging. This cooperative approach reduces friction and strengthens trust across the chain. 

A future built on shared intelligence 

India’s logistics transformation is driven by the belief that supply chains function best when decisions are shared. Collaboration is emerging as the organising principle of modern logistics. Shared visibility helps partners act confidently. Co-created intelligence strengthens service quality for sellers and customers. Real-time coordination helps India build a logistics network designed for scale, reliability and continuous improvement. 

India’s shift to collaborative logistics marks an important milestone for the sector. The ability to orchestrate intelligence together will define the strength of supply chains in the years ahead. It will support India’s digital commerce growth, empower millions of sellers and help build an ecosystem that stays resilient even as demand patterns evolve. 

(The author is SVP–supply chain innovation and seller experience, Flipkart. Views are personal.)