A country the size of a continent. Which, if it were Europe, would stretch from London to Moscow and from Sweden to Sicily. Which is also characterized by different tax systems and infrastructural problems. No wonder “Logistics” is one of the biggest challenges for every business in India. An assessment by the management consultancy Dr. Dr. who specializes in India. Wamser + Batra GmbH.

The size of the country makes sales in India a major challenge. Although the wealthy urban middle class is more or less concentrated in two dozen large cities, areas outside of the metropolises have also gained economic importance in recent years. End customers and many industrial companies are often found far inland - scattered across the entire subcontinent.

Special features due to geography, culture, infrastructure & bureaucracy

Therefore, from a sales perspective, it is next to impossible to serve India from a single location. In addition to the size of the country, the completely different cultures, languages ​​and mentalities in the various states as well as the infrastructural deficits in logistics and transport speak against this.

India still faces significant infrastructure problems, particularly in the transport of goods - even between the major economic centers of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Poor infrastructure is therefore one of the biggest obstacles to growth for the economy and costs one or two percent of the gross domestic product every year. Although India is considered a low-wage country, logistics costs in India are an above-average 13 to 14 percent of the value of the goods (compared to less than ten percent in developed markets).

The (new) government is making intensive efforts to implement this long-overdue modernization of the road and rail network as well as the ports - but it feels like they are decades behind." Because while in China you build first and then grow, in India it's exactly the opposite.

Mike D. Batra, Managing Director of Dr. Wamser + Batra GmbH and expert in sales development in India.

While in other countries you can rely on professional sales and logistics services everywhere, in India these structures are only being set up. Therefore, in the end you will hardly be able to avoid setting up your own structures and processes in those states in which you want/need to be present.

Another point that always causes problems when moving goods in India is the extensive Indian bureaucracy, for example customs duties and taxes within the country (between the states). It is therefore very important to precisely define all conditions and processes for the transport of goods and the respective payment modalities. All transports must therefore be planned precisely and, above all, in a timely manner, otherwise there can be high additional costs due to additional storage costs and lost time.

Professional processes for successful sales development in India

Dr. Wamser + Batra is planning optimized logistics processes for the Indian infrastructure together with German and European customers. In this way, we reduce organizational problems, transport damage and costs, increase the level of service and ensure that our customers in India can focus on their core processes.