It will serve as a hub for the dissemination, advocacy, and practises of sustainable supply chains.
In partnership with IIM-Bangalore, Transport Corporation of India Ltd. (TCI Group) has announced the opening of a new supply chain sustainability lab. The lab is located on the IIM campus. The lab will concentrate on supply chain management, according to TCI, and will be a centre of excellence for sustainable supply chain practices, advocacy, and dissemination. The business offers supply chain management and integrated multimodal logistics services. The TCI-IIMB supply chain sustainability lab also intends to publish white papers on sustainable supply chain management issues and perform research in areas like decarbonisation, circular economy, and sustainable procurement.
Famous heart surgeon Devi Shetty and TCI Group Chairman D. P. Agarwal, who is also the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of IIM Bangalore, officially opened the facility. The first-of-its-kind supply chain sustainability Lab was developed by TCI in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, according to Vineet Agarwal, managing director of TCI, who spoke during the facility's opening. Agarwal released the beta version of the multilingual TEMT GHG Measurement Tool, allowing the domestic logistics and supply chain ecosystem to use it at the grassroots level. Road, rail, aviation, and sea forms of transportation are all covered by the instrument.
"Sustainability in supply chain is a subject about which we have not thought so much about in India. So somewhere, we had to start. There may be a lot of things that could be done in terms of sustainability and the idea of this lab is to really take that forward," Agarwal told PTI.
According to him, TCI's endeavours to support a culture of collaborative growth and thought leadership now include the lab's setup.
"We believe that this lab will build a community of solvers, by combining research with industry expertise," Agarwal added.
He claimed that TCI has extensive knowledge of all transportation methods and is aware of the nation's current supply chain and logistics trends, all of which would be used to help the company develop solutions for its clients. Additionally, the facility will provide consulting services on mapping, measurement, mitigation, and management of carbon-related issues. Additionally, it aims to offer certification and assessment services, like supplier sustainability evaluation. According to TCI, it has already started research projects, white papers, and case studies and is collaborating with other organisations.
"Evolution is being made in almost all sectors. Our idea of launching the TCI-IIMB lab is to create sustainable solutions for organisations and supply chains that will lead to large-scale adoption and subsequent benefits," Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director of IIM Bangalore, said.
According to Krishnan, the facility will also assist in the dissemination of knowledge about sustainable supply chain management, conduct research to identify and replicate effective supply chain management strategies, and collaborate and coordinate with other organisations that have comparable goals both inside and outside the nation.
(With inputs from PTI)