Information Technology and Digital Tools in Logistics
This domain tests the purpose of core logistics systems, data-capture technologies, integration methods and the Indian digital public platforms named in recent policy. Questions ask what a system does and, more often, what it does not do.
Systems and data capture
- ERP: single transactional backbone across finance, procurement and operations.
- WMS: bin locations, put-away rules, picking waves, FEFO and cycle counts inside a warehouse.
- TMS: rate management, load planning, carrier selection, freight audit and track-and-trace.
- OMS/YMS/APS: order orchestration, yard movements, advanced scheduling.
- Barcode: cheap, line-of-sight, one tag per item. RFID: bulk reads without line of sight, suitable for pallets and asset tracking. GPS/telematics and ePOD give real-time visibility; IoT sensors monitor temperature and shock.
Integration and Indian platforms
EDI handles structured partner-to-partner documents; APIs allow real-time, event-driven integration. A control tower consolidates multi-partner data for exception management. Indian platforms: GSTN with e-way bill and e-invoice (IRN), ICEGATE for customs, ULIP as an API-based data exchange gateway, PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for infrastructure planning, FASTag/NETC for tolling, VAHAN-SARATHI for vehicles and GeM for public procurement.
Worked example
A WMS costs ₹9,00,000 and cuts inventory by ₹20,00,000. At an 18% annual carrying cost the saving is ₹3,60,000 per year, so payback is 9,00,000 / 3,60,000 = 2.5 years. Reason: justify technology by the cash and cost it releases, not by feature lists alone.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating an ERP as a warehouse management system.
- Calling ULIP a transport marketplace; it is a data-exchange gateway.
- Claiming blockchain proves goods are genuine; it only secures the record, so bad input stays bad.
- Ignoring data quality, cybersecurity and change-management costs in implementation answers.