‘Transport and logistics must improve to global standards’ | Sunday Observer

‘Transport and logistics must improve to global standards’

23 September, 2018

Sri Lanka needs to improve its global standing in the transport and logistics sector. In the recent World Bank ‘Connect to Compete’ report, Sri Lanka has been ranked 94 out of 186 in the 2018 LPI ranking, which we must improve, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Chairperson Gayani De Alwis told guests at the launch of the ‘CILT International Conference 2018’ in Colombo last week.

Excerpts:

“We at CILT Sri Lanka understand the role a professional body should play to improve the logistics friendliness of our country. We are ready to work with other trade bodies and government agencies to support the government’s development agenda to improve the logistics and transport industry to boost our global ranking.

“We have seen new digital entrants such as Ali Baba, Airbnb, Uber and our own Pick Me and Kapruka challenging the established. Humans on average, touch the mobile 300 times a day, not only to make calls but to do many other things, such as paying bills, buying goods and tracking routes.

“In the world of IoT, our refrigerators will decide and order things by observing our consumption patterns. When you need something, one can order on line and it gets to your doorstep in a few minutes through drone delivery. We are seeing rail travel at 300 km/h.

“Yet in Sri Lanka we are still between an analog and a digital world experiencing the discomfort of the former and hoping for the latter. To stay relevant means we understand what is available, what scenarios are emerging and what we need to do for the change to happen.

“At CILT Sri Lanka, we want to ensure that our membership stays current and relevant and our members who are the leaders in the industry here are equally equipped to bring about the desired change. We can’t sit at the side, but need to be at the centre and embrace the change to transform ourselves through digitalization, which is a great equalizer for a small island nation such as Sri Lanka.

“The CILT International conference is our flagship event in the CILT calendar. “CILT as you know is the only chartered professional body in Sri Lanka for professionals engaged in transport, logistics and supply chain. We are celebrating 100 years next year. We have a global presence with over 34,000 members, in 34 countries. We cater to both passenger and freight transport and related infrastructure in land transport, maritime, aviation and supply chain and logistics.

“The main objective of CILT’s IC (international conference) is to bring together the logistics and transport fraternity to expose them to new developments in the industry through an expert panel of speakers and to provide networking opportunities. CILT always keeps abreast with the latest trends and addresses these through topical themes to create awareness among its membership at its IC.

“We are in times of great change as well as challenges. Digitally driven disruptions are changing our lives and the way we do business. Digital connectivity is transforming transport, logistics and supply chains. Hence, our theme for this year’s international conference, ‘Staying relevant in a digitally connected future’. “We can’t sit at the side, but need to be at the center and embrace the change to transform ourselves through digitalization, which is a great equalizer for a small island nation like SL. We must disrupt ourselves before we get disrupted,” the chairperson said. 

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