In today’s rapidly evolving global landscape, air cargo and logistics businesses face increasing challenges from economic volatility, regulatory shifts, and supply chain disruptions.
A special roundtable discussion titled “Navigating Macro Dynamics – Cross-Border Solutioning for Air Cargo & Logistics Businesses” was organised by Logistics Outlook along with DBS Bank that focused on addressing these complexities through innovative strategies, international collaboration, and advanced technology
The roundtable discussion was moderated by Prajakta Karnik, Editor, Logistics Outlook, and the panellists were Shesh Kulkarni, Managing Director India, Noatum Logistics, Jitendra Srivastava, CEO, Triton Logistics & Maritime, Venkatesh Iyer, Vice President – Commercial, Sharaf Cargo, Atif Al Rawahi, Regional Sales ISC, ME and GSA Contract Oman Air, Rajen Bhatia, Director, Tulsidas Khimji, Nirav Thakkar, Director, 24×7 Logistics, Mithilesh Shetty, Director, ISA Logistics, Keshav Tanna, Director, Links Forwarders, Shailesh Sharma, Director, D Wamadeo Logistic, Saswat Sarda, SVP & Head – Treasury Sales, DBS Bank, Ram Goenka SVP & Head – Assets DBS Bank India, Tushar Mathur, SVP & Head – MMR ,Channel Liabilities, DBS Bank and Rutveek Kapadia, VP Transaction Banking.
Opening the discussion, Prajakta Karnik, Editor, Logistics Outlook stated that the logistics industry, especially the air cargo sector is currently going through turbulent times. Geopolitical uncertainties, disruptions in supply chain have, and rising freight rates have highlight the need for agile, resilient, and digitally enabled logistics networks that can adapt to macroeconomic pressures while ensuring seamless, efficient cross-border trade and sustained business growth in a dynamic global environment.
Infrastructure bottlenecks
Rajen Bhatia, Director, Tulsidas Khimji highlighted multiple challenges facing the air cargo industry. He emphasised infrastructure limitations, particularly noting that Mumbai’s airport has remained largely unchanged since its inception in the 1970s, despite significant growth in cargo operations.
He pointed out critical bottlenecks within airport terminals and capacity constraints that hinder efficient cargo movement. Bhatia also discussed the impact of geopolitical situations on pricing, where airlines are struggling to maintain viable pricing levels while clients demand the lowest possible rates.
Additionally, he stressed that technological advancements and government initiatives, while present, have not effectively translated to improvements at the grassroots level. Bhatia further noted that intermediaries often bear the brunt of these challenges, and trade bodies are sometimes hesitant to robustly represent industry issues to the government.
Echoing similar views, Keshav Tanna, Director, Links Forwarders, emphasised the industry’s consistent call for improved infrastructure. While acknowledging ongoing development, he stressed the need for a mindset shift to ensure efficient operation. Tanna pointed out that infrastructure alone is not enough, but a more proactive approach is needed to ensure that infrastructure improvements are effectively utilised.
Regulatory hurdles
Tanna further pointed out India’s unique and problematic GST taxation on freight, which is considered counterproductive for export businesses. He said that the current system’s inconsistent tax rates and complex implementation creates unnecessary barriers for genuine exporters and importers. The proposed solution is a simplified, uniform 1 per cent GST rate that would ensure accountability while reducing administrative burdens. He added that India’s current freight taxation approach is inefficient and potentially harmful to international trade competitiveness.
Sharing his perspective, Bhatia remarked that while the Finance Ministry governs GST and Customs, intermediaries often end up unfairly penalised for issues beyond their control. He noted that they are frequently held accountable for actions they are not responsible for, leaving them isolated—caught between regulatory authorities on one side and clients on the other.
Echoing similar views, Nirav Thakkar, Director, 24×7 Logistics, highlighted the need for improved digitalisation in the transportation sector, particularly in cargo booking. He pointed out the current volatile scenario and the necessity of quick transportation, emphasising that even basic processes like cargo booking are not as digitised as they should be.
Need for mechanisation in cargo handling
Shailesh Sharma, Director, D Wamadeo Logistic, highlighted the critical logistics challenges in cargo handling, and emphasised the need for bonded facilities at airports to enable third-country exports. He stressed the importance of reducing human intervention in cargo operations, drawing inspiration from Amazon’s automated processes.
Sharma argued that Indian airports should become role models by implementing advanced machinery and minimising manual loading and unloading. He specifically pointed out issues with handling sensitive cargo, such as pharmaceutical and special cargo, where current systems fail to maintain proper environmental conditions during sample testing and transportation. He noted that for India to transform from a transshipment destination to a global cargo hub, it is important that these infrastructure and technological gaps are addressed.
Unpredictability of cargo transportation
Venkatesh Iyer, Vice President – Commercial, Sharaf Cargo, provided insights into the logistical challenges faced by exporters, agents, and airlines, focusing on the unpredictability of cargo transportation. He highlighted the frequent last-minute conversions from sea to air freight, which create significant planning difficulties and pricing pressures.
Iyer emphasised the lack of clarity from customers regarding their shipping trends, leading to sudden capacity demands that airlines struggle to meet. He described systemic challenges such as restricted space in cargo terminals and critical infrastructure failures, like a customs server being down for 36 hours, which forced freight rerouting and severely impacted time-sensitive shipments like perishables and pharmaceuticals.
Drawing from international practices, Iyer also mentioned the European approach where airlines can more efficiently deliver cargo directly to customer warehouses, noting the advantages of temperature-controlled delivery and reduced airport handling charges.
Need to address payments gap
Tanna identified a critical gap in the current logistics payment ecosystem, highlighting the lack of a comprehensive platform for financial transactions between freight forwarders, shipping lines, and airlines. Drawing a parallel to salary account systems, he proposed creating an integrated financial solution that would streamline payment processes across different service providers.
His suggestion focused on developing a centralised platform that could facilitate direct, transparent, and efficient monetary exchanges, potentially reducing administrative complexities. Tanna emphasised the potential benefits of such a system, including simplified payment tracking, reduced transactional friction, and improved financial communication across the logistics industry
Sharing the initiatives taken by DBS Bank to help logistics players, especially on the ocean front Saswat Sarda, SVP & Head – Treasury Sales, DBS Bank, he said that the bank has collaborated with Odex to revolutionise freight payment and documentation processes.
He explained their progressive approach, starting as a document aggregator and evolving into a comprehensive payment solution platform. The partnership has already introduced innovative features like Odex Pay Later, an unsecured loan program for freight forwarders with minimal documentation requirements.
Sarda outlined their advanced virtual account system, which allows multiple freight forwarders to consolidate payments to a single shipping line, reducing individual bank charges and improving payment reconciliation. He further said that the bank is also developing a tech-integrated platform where freight forwarders can log in, download documents, access live foreign exchange rates, and complete transactions seamlessly.
Sarda noted that the ultimate goal is to create a unified, efficient ecosystem that simplifies documentation, payment processing, and currency conversion for logistics professionals, addressing multiple pain points in the current fragmented system.
Rajen, meanwhile, urged the bank to create a payment gateway to simplify work for the industry players.
Cost of raising capital is a concern
Shesh Kulkarni, Managing Director India, Noatum Logistics highlighted the significant improvements in trade processes, noting how shipment lead times have dramatically reduced from 7-15 days to just a few hours. He emphasised the challenges of social profiling in India and the need for more comprehensive data collection. While he lauded the infrastructure projects like new roads and tunnels taking shape, he was critical of the country’s capital-raising ecosystem.
He highlighted that the high cost of raising capital in India is a major challenge, particularly for new entrepreneurs and businesses. He pointed out that accessing funds from both venture capitalists and banks remains difficult, with banks often considered prohibitively expensive, creating significant barriers to growth and innovation.
Speaking from the bank’s perspective Ram Goenka, Senior VP & Head–Assets, DBS Bank explained the lender’s approach to operational costs and financing challenges. He explained that banks’ cost of capital comprises deposit rates and operational expenses, with the primary strategy being to reduce operational costs through technological innovations. Recognising that lowering deposit rates could agitate customers, banks are focusing on FinTech initiatives and introducing new use cases to shrink operational expenses.
He highlighted that DBS is working effectively to minimise these costs, emphasising technology as the key lever for making banking more efficient. Goenka noted that by concentrating on reducing operational overhead rather than adjusting customer deposit rates, banks aim to create a more sustainable and competitive financial ecosystem. He underscored the banking sector’s ongoing digital transformation and its commitment to finding innovative solutions to financial challenges.
Disparity in capital accessing
Bhatia highlighted that there is a disparity in capital access, noting that while multinational companies can raise funds overseas, Indian firms face regulatory constraints. He further raised the issue of limited avenues for foreign currency financing and the influence of CRR rates. He further stated that government policies play a crucial role in shaping Indian companies’ ability to raise capital.
The panellists unanimously agreed that while India is benefitting from raising capital through the Japanese agency JICA for most of its large infrastructure projects at almost 0-1 per cent interest rate, freight forwarders do not have access to cheaper overseas funds.
Sharing his views, Mithilesh Shetty, Director, ISA Logistics, noted that as freight forwarders, despite their ongoing involvement, customer payments rarely arrive within the expected timeframe, leaving them with high costs, delayed receivables, and financial uncertainty driven by unpredictable market dynamics.
Kulkarni discussed the ambiguity in RBI guidelines and the need for someone to take the lead and champion new ideas.
Sharing his views, Rutveek Kapadia, VP Transaction Banking for West Region, DBS Bank said that the pace of customer payments locks in capital, and cost depends on deposit rates and operational efficiency. He noted that at DBS, the bank offers a factoring-like solution to finance receivables with some protection on payables. Though costlier than regular working capital, it expanded liquidity access beyond collateral limits, offering greater flexibility.
Adding to this, Bhatia pointed out the difficulties with current banking models, where banks assess turnover and make the companies pay on the whole turnover. He noted that the banks require the companies to pay premiums on the entire customer base, which makes financial services prohibitively expensive. Bhatia emphasised the need for more targeted solutions, such as insuring only select reliable clients instead of the entire portfolio.
He also raised concerns about the lack of data availability for proprietorship and partnership companies, and questioned the practicality of banking relationships, particularly given RBI’s regulations on banking with multiple institutions. Additionally, he noted the ongoing challenge of obtaining industry status for MSMEs, which remains a pending issue with the government.
Goenka, however, clarified that one can maintain credit limits with multiple banks simultaneously, but what the RBI prohibits is holding a current account without availing a credit limit. However, banks can co-exist under a multiple banking arrangement using the same collateral.
Sharing his views, Kapadia noted that while regulatory norms may appear restrictive, they aim to protect depositors and ensure responsible lending. He cautioned that non-banking finance options often come at a higher cost, making them less viable for the logistics sector. Highlighting government-backed schemes for exporters, he suggested extending such receivable financing facilities to service providers in the export ecosystem to boost industry growth and access to affordable credit.
The panellists unanimously opined that they should also get an industry status which will help them in raising capital at a lower cost.
Need for transparency
Shetty highlighted the persistent challenge of delayed payments and its impact on cash flow and receivables in the logistics sector. He proposed leveraging the government’s e-invoicing platform to create a monitored system that tracks payment timelines, improving transparency and predictability in cash flow. Highlighting the widespread issue of defaulters—who often continue business elsewhere unnoticed—he stressed the need for collective action within the logistics community to identify and report such cases.
Bhatia noted that legal restrictions prevent formal blacklisting via associations due to Competition Commission norms, he suggested using informal networks, such as peer groups and messaging platforms, to share information and protect stakeholders.
Recalling a past experience with Air France Cargo, Iyer cited how collective pressure from industry players once compelled defaulters to settle dues—an approach harder to replicate today. He emphasised the importance of proactive communication, internal reporting, and innovative peer-level strategies to tackle payment defaults and strengthen financial discipline across the industry.
Shetty also suggested that if all banks collaborated to route invoices through a central incubatory entity before reaching the end client, it could create a unified system that enhances receivable security, establishes safeguards for payables, and fosters greater accountability through shared banking relationships.
Sharing his views, Jitendra Srivastava, CEO, Triton Logistics & Maritime emphasised that instead of relying solely on regulation to manage business risks like payment defaults, the logistics industry must adopt a more collaborative and proactive approach.
He pointed out that lack of communication among peers allows defaulters to exploit the system, rotating among service providers without consequence. Srivastava urged the industry to move beyond reactive behaviour and address upcoming challenges like ESG compliance, cybersecurity, and sustainable practices. Highlighting the power of partnerships, he concluded that collaboration based on individual strengths can offer comprehensive solutions and drive collective growth.
India continues to be the focus for international players
Atif Al Rawahi, Regional Sales ISC, ME and GSA Contract Oman Air, noted that, while like many in the cargo sector, airlines are also facing mounting challenges—ranging from rate pressure and low capacity utilisation to shifting global trade routes and border constraints, he highlighted that there is a growing focus on India due to the surge in cargo opportunities.
Oman Air, he said, recently launched dedicated freighter services from Mumbai and Bengaluru, with Chennai operations to begin shortly. Supported by their partner Sharaf Cargo, the airline sees India as a booming and strategic market with strong passenger and cargo potential across 12 destinations.
He noted that the company is focused on customer satisfaction and operational stability, despite being a passenger airline. Regular rate reviews and consistent engagement with clients are helping ensure service reliability. Acknowledging the cargo customers’ need for transparency and real-time tracking, he said that the airline is working closely with partners across regions to implement a streamlined strategy and maintain high service standards.
Focus on sustainable funding & risk managment
Goenka highlighted DBS Bank’s strong commitment to sustainability, driven by its Singapore headquarters. The bank runs a global fund that supports entrepreneurs working on green initiatives, receiving nearly 50,000 applications annually and funding selected projects.
Additionally, DBS actively collaborates with industry players to promote sustainability financing, particularly in the highly polluting textile sector. With many vendors based in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, DBS has facilitated deals to help supply chains in these regions meet international sustainability
Sarda highlighted the importance of risk management in air cargo through financial hedging tools, particularly focusing on how airlines can mitigate volatility in fuel costs—one of their largest expenses.
He explained that many global carriers, like Singapore Airlines, actively hedge aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to stabilise freight rates. This practice provides cost predictability and helps airlines offer more consistent pricing to clients. He emphasised that shippers with large freight spends can also explore such tools, with banks offering support and access to international hedging markets.
Conclusion
The roundtable discussion underscored the urgent need for transformation in India’s air cargo and logistics ecosystem to address complex macroeconomic, infrastructural, and regulatory challenges. While opportunities abound—particularly with India emerging as a global logistics hub—participants emphasised that sustained growth hinges on robust cross-border collaboration, improved financial frameworks, technological integration, and proactive industry partnerships.
With global players like Oman Air expanding operations and banks like DBS driving sustainability and financial innovation, the way forward is clear: collaborative action, regulatory clarity, and a unified industry voice are key to navigating the evolving dynamics of global trade.