CHAPTER 6: RECOMMENDATIONS

BENEFITS OF FREIGHT VILLAGES FOR FIRMS ALONG DELHI

MUMBAI INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR

AREA BENEFITS
Many transport and warehousing companies are small and cannot afford
specialized IT software for operations management. Freight villages make
IT Solutions possible shared investments in these types of electronic and information
infrastructure at a lower cost.

New
Warehousing capacity and modern equipment can attract world-class companies
Transport and have a positive impact on the growth of domestic freight movements.
Flows

Individual transportation and warehousing firms are not attractive to world-class

Supply chain manufacturing and trading firms due to low levels of service and warehouse
management capacity. Operating in a freight village can significantly improve service quality
and freight capacity issues.

Additional The localized freight activities at a freight village stand to be attractive to

Services external service providers and entrepreneurs who can improve on-site amenities.

Pooling investments in transportation, warehousing, IT, knowledge, and other

Cost Sharing infrastructure provides a cost-effective way for companies to gain a competitive
advantage.

A decrease in the number of transportation links in the supply chain alongside

Economies of an increase in their quality can provide firms operating within a freight village a
scale competitive and reliability advantage and allow them to secure long-term
tenders for manufacturing, freight, and logistics operations.

As a freight village becomes established and successful, operating within one

Quality stand to be seen as a seal of quality for firms that can be an effective marketing
element.

Larger transport firms have the possibility to retain the best managers who
Knowledge control their operations and activities. In a freight village, this expertise can be
pooled in the management company, which allows smaller firms to benefit.

Joint Companies within a freight village can offer joint marketing, which can be an
Marketing advantage for smaller firms.
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSIONS:

Freight villages have been dually characterized as generators of economic

activity versus a more passive role as part of transport infrastructure. If
anything, many of the potential economic benefits of freight villages are jobs-
neutral and have more to do with greater operational efficiencies which
enhance profitability. Nevertheless, the view of a freight village as part of
effective transport infrastructure though should not be trivialized as effective
infrastructure is a very worthy objective, particularly in congested contexts.

This report has conducted considerable research on what a Freight Village is

and what has been learned about the concept from experiences around the
world. Meanwhile, this chapter has examined freight clusters along Delhi-
Mumbai Industrial Corridor at a fairly high level and has paid attention to how
these clusters have fared in the recent difficult economic times. It has offered
some general conclusions about how the freight village concept might apply in
this context in some fairly specific cases. One significant finding is that most
freight clusters in the stretch are not well-suited or suited to be developed as
freight villages or at least there is not much urgency to do so. In many of these
cases, the private sector can likely determine most of what needs to be done
although indirect policy measures may assist. The above are suggestions which
will further advance our understanding of freight villages and their potential
along Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.