Overview of Integrated Transportation Management in India

Managing Movement Across India’s Expanding Freight Ecosystem

The movement of goods across India involves a growing cobweb of decisions, systems, and checkpoints. For instance, enterprises manage dispatches that cross industrial corridors, remote districts, multi-tier distribution points, and city access restrictions. These movements are shaped by a mix of digital infrastructure, state-level logistics reforms, and operational constraints on the ground.

To tame these pain points, government programmes such as PM Gati Shakti and the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) have introduced a clearer structure to multimodal transport planning. With over 1,600 data fields integrated across ministries and departments under ULIP, visibility and standardisation are improving.

Meanwhile, the National Logistics Policy is encouraging businesses to shift from isolated transport operations to unified, interoperable networks. Several expressways and freight corridors initiated under the Bharatmala and Sagarmala schemes are reaching functional milestones this year. The target of reducing logistics cost to 9–10% of GDP remains a guiding priority, supported by regulatory incentives and infrastructure acceleration.

Integrated Transportation Management in India has now become a central component of supply chain resilience, operational efficiency, and growth strategy. It offers logistics heads a method to manage complexity through coordination, rather than relying solely on expansion.

What Integrated Transportation Management Means in India Today

Integrated Transportation Management refers to the structured coordination of all freight movement processes across planning, execution, visibility, billing, and collaboration. It brings together digital systems and operational workflows under a common transportation logic.

In India, this model often relies on the SAP Digital Supply Chain (DSC) solutions  stack, especially:

• SAP Transportation Management (TM) for carrier planning, rate simulation, tendering, and real-time execution.
• SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) for synchronising inbound/outbound movement, yard coordination, and load preparation.
• SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) for integrating analytics, workflow extensions, AI modules, and system interoperability.
• SAP Business Network for Logistics for multi-party collaboration between manufacturers, logistics service providers, freight forwarders, and authorities.

In 2025, these systems are being deployed to support advanced logistics operations such as:

• Real-time freight simulation that incorporates route congestion, carrier availability, and regulatory data.
• AI-based carrier selection with cost and performance scoring engines.
• Dynamic route optimisation through integration with IoT-based fleet data.
• Live shipment tracking through shared visibility portals.

These capabilities help enterprises adapt to the scale and pace of logistics in India, where a single shipment may involve regional carriers, changing modalities, warehouse transits, and compliance documentation across multiple systems.

India-Specific Challenges Driving the Shift to Integration

Several logistical challenges specific to India have shaped the rise of integrated transportation models:

• Fragmented freight ecosystem: A significant portion of India’s freight still moves through unorganised transporters. According to FICCI’s 2024 logistics report, over 65% of road freight transactions involve small fleet operators or brokers.
• Cost fluctuations: Freight rates vary widely due to route constraints, state taxes, fuel price cycles, and seasonal disruptions. Lack of digital contracts and predictive rate visibility increases uncertainty.
• Inconsistent visibility: Many logistics operations still rely on manual updates, spreadsheets, or unlinked transport apps. Delayed data inflow leads to missed SLAs and buffer cost buildup.Multiple dispatch tiers: In sectors like FMCG, pharma, and electronics, a single delivery often spans three or more levels—from primary movement to regional redistribution to last-mile handoff.
• Intermodal coordination delays: Indian Railways, port terminals, and ICDs operate with independent systems. In the absence of unified scheduling, containers remain idle or delayed during modal transitions.

A 2025 NITI Aayog assessment of India’s logistics competitiveness highlighted gaps in system integration and multimodal governance as key bottlenecks in reducing turnaround time and enhancing throughput.

Enterprise-Level Use Cases: Digital Integration in Practice

Across manufacturing, distribution, and logistics operations, enterprises in India are now deploying integrated transportation frameworks with defined coordination points. Several practical use cases reflect this momentum:

1. Multimodal EV Logistics
   An electronics manufacturer in Bengaluru coordinates long-haul transport using conventional road carriers while managing regional distribution through electric vehicle fleets. SAP TM is integrated with telematics systems to allocate EV shipments based on battery levels, charging station proximity, and delivery schedules. BTP handles workflow extensions to automate charging slot bookings at third-party depots.
2. Cold Chain Synchronisation
   A pharma distributor operating from Bhiwandi links SAP EWM and TM to manage temperature-sensitive orders. Carrier assignment is performed only after confirmation of pre-cooling, real-time chamber temperature, and route validation. If conditions are outside threshold ranges, the dispatch is paused or rerouted. This ensures regulatory compliance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and reduces cold chain spoilage.
3. Port to Warehouse Routing
   Adani Logistics uses SAP TM in conjunction with port-side APIs to manage container clearance from the Mundra terminal. Arrival time predictions, customs approvals, and internal warehouse availability are synchronised into one scheduling module. BTP supports a digital twin environment to simulate unloading capacity and alert for bottlenecks.

These implementations help enterprises reduce friction across high-density logistics corridors and gain greater predictability in cost and throughput.

SAP-Based Models Supporting Transportation Integration in India

The SAP suite provides core components that enable Indian businesses to scale transportation management through structured integration:

• Freight cost simulation: SAP TM enables logistics planners to simulate transport cost scenarios across road, rail, and intermodal routes. Manufacturing firms in the NCR region are using this to compare spot contracts with rate agreements for high-volume corridors.
• Load consolidation logic: TM allows consolidation of full-truckload (FTL) and less-than-truckload (LTL) orders based on delivery location, product type, and carrier capacity. Retail supply chains deploying this logic have achieved higher vehicle fill rates and fewer mid-route reassignments.
• Carrier collaboration portals: SAP Business Network facilitates a standard platform for transport partners to access job assignments, confirm availability, upload documentation, and share live updates. This is especially relevant in India, where subcontracting and last-minute diversions are common.
• Order-to-cash automation: SAP TM and EWM are configured with finance modules to close the loop between dispatch, proof of delivery (POD), invoice generation, and freight reconciliation. Automotive component suppliers in Tamil Nadu have reduced invoice cycle time from 21 days to 6 days through this integration.

By linking planning, execution, and financial settlement under one stack, SAP-based models support governance, audit readiness, and agility across transportation chains.

Regulatory Alignment and Green Logistics Mandates

The policy environment in India is evolving toward digital traceability, emissions control, and compliance automation. Integrated transportation systems help enterprises stay aligned with these developments:

• Green Freight Corridors: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has identified 10 freight corridors with targeted emission-reduction goals. SAP TM modules now include emissions calculators that support carbon tracking and sustainable lane selection based on carrier type and route conditions.
• E-Way Bill Digitisation: SAP TM integrates directly with GSTN-compliant E-Way Bill APIs to auto-generate, validate, and track regulatory documents. This eliminates redundancy and ensures real-time compliance during inspections.
• Battery Waste and Reverse Logistics: Under the Battery Waste Management Rules (2022, amended 2024), companies managing EV or battery dispatches must track returns and recycling. Integrated TM-EWM workflows coordinate reverse pickups and processing handoffs with third-party recyclers.
• Port Community Integration: India’s major ports are now linked with the National Logistics Portal (Marine) for container movement data. Enterprises using SAP TM and BTP can consume this API feed to plan yard slots and reduce vessel berth delays.

These regulatory elements are no longer peripheral to logistics design. Enterprises that operate with integrated systems are better positioned to embed compliance into their dispatch planning and freight controls.

Strategic Viewpoint: Transportation Intelligence for Long-Term Resilience

Indian logistics is reaching a point where volume alone no longer defines performance. Enterprise leaders are placing greater emphasis on responsiveness, governance, and embedded intelligence.

• Planning visibility is becoming central to freight resilience. Enterprises use SAP TM simulations to model transport impact under varying fuel rates, monsoon disruptions, or port congestion.
• Exception management is being built directly into control towers. SAP BTP enables decision layers where high-risk shipments can be rerouted or escalated based on rule triggers.
• Carrier risk scoring is gaining traction. Enterprises evaluate carriers based on delay frequency, capacity adherence, and compliance record, feeding back into tendering decisions.
• Logistics control towers, constructed with SAP Analytics Cloud, are being deployed to consolidate insights across shipment health, carrier availability, cost accrual, and order priorities.

These models shift the focus from reactive dispatches to transportation intelligence. For businesses scaling across regions or product categories, this intelligence becomes a continuous layer of risk management and optimisation.

Integration as a Leadership Imperative in Indian Logistics

Integrated Transportation Management in India has become foundational for scale, speed, and reliability in a logistics ecosystem where gaps in visibility or coordination have direct business impact.

As policy reforms mature and infrastructure improves, enterprises face a new layer of responsibility: connecting internal systems, transport partners, warehouses, and regulators into a functional digital network.

SCM YUGA, SAP enabled Supply Chain solution implementation partner, supports enterprises through this transition. Our SAP-led implementation models are tailored to Indian logistics complexity, with a focus on execution efficiency, compliance alignment, and adaptive design. For business leaders building freight networks that can handle scale and variability, integration begins with architectural clarity.

Contact our experts today!