Logistics service provider DTDC Express Limited sets up regional hub in Guwahati

GUWAHATI: With Northeast India witnessing an e-commerce boom, logistics service provider DTDC Express Limited has set up regional hub in Guwahati.

The regional hub with dedicated transport will cater to Silchar in Barak Valley, Tinsukia, Bongaigaon, Lakhimpur, Tezpur in Assam, Aizawl in Mizoram, Dimapur in Nagaland, Shillong in Meghalaya.

Subasish Chakraborty, chairman and managing director, DTDC told ET, "Northeast India is a big market for logistics mover.Even consignments from China come to this region. With the regional hub in place, we will add eight more routes in the next one year. With these, we will have 16 dedicated routes."

Director of DTDC E-commerce logistics Ltd Sanjiv Kathuria said: "Based on our analysis, we found that inquiry for one lakh shipments are generated in e-trailer platform everyday but because of low penetration of logistics movement only 40,000 shipments get materialised." He added that the delivery in e-trailer platform in the Northeast is restricted to certain cities since logistics movers are often reluctant to operate in geographically difficult places.

"The e-trailer market in the Northeast is around Rs 350 crore per year. In the next couple of years, the size of e-commerce market of Northeast will cross ` . 1,000 crore," Kathuria said. "Northeast accounts for 5 to 6% of total e-commerce trade of the country," he added.

Another area hugely contributing to the logistics movement in Northeast India is pharmaceutical goods.