Future of Workforce in Logistics | Dr. Christopher Arvinth on AI, Compliance & Growth

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]So this is a logic shaki podcast uh which we do regularly. In fact we do this podcast during these occasions of uh uh seminars also regularly we do podcast with various people uh industry people. So welcome to the podcast.

[00:00:16]>> Thank you so much. It's quite exciting and looking forward to this event and also excited about the podcast as well.

[00:00:23]>> So so how do you what is your feel about this event? Uh see for us this is becoming more and more relevant to be participating in an event of uh this scale and uh this magnitude that brings together everybody in logistics, e-commerce, quickcommerce both buyers and sellers.

[00:00:42]uh and we are a uh significantly human capital based company with a workforce of uh 35,000 plus employees spread across in India and Middle East and uh postco the fastest growing industry and sector for us as stalwart has been logistics e-commerce and more recently quick commerce uh and this is where the growth uh has been you know there was a time when manufacturing was peing there was a time when it was and it especi the industry to look out for has been logistics and e-commerce and that's also the reason why we here see actually I have seen a trend where um people dealing in manpower they have segmented themselves somebody dealing in security they remain in security somebody who's dealing in providing manpower somebody dealing in white collar they have segmented themselves and uh they specialize in that they create a niche out of it >> I see you are there in all the this thing So is it to expand fast or is it that you are uh what is the >> So right uh uh 2003 when we started off it was a pure security services company with manuarding as our core focus and as we uh traveled uh through the journey of expansion we realized that our strength lies in human resource management and understanding a B2B needs of the market uh from a business support perspective and we were working with stakeholders uh who were handling business support services which was supporting core operations. When we looked at what is the landscape like yes facility management was an adjacent area where we felt we could add value because uh there were a lot of synergies that's how our first diversification happened in facility management. uh then it was bordering closely to other human resources that are provided for example in logistics, pickers, packers, forklift operators, drivers. Uh this also became an allied area where we found synergies.

[00:02:43]So we got into staffing solutions and very recently we wanted to move up the value chain as well. uh so we wanted to go beyond skill to executive level uh hiring and that's how we started a white collar vertical. So you're now matching Adico and all those people and >> yes we compete on three segments on on the staffing solution HR solution we work I mean we compete with ADO Quest and team lease in security with SIS G4S and security in facility management with IPCs like JLCB and also with individual vertical players like Tenon UDS.

[00:03:21]So we compete on all these three segments and the most interesting u uh diversification which has happened for us the last two years is we wanted to get into a tech space in business support and we looked at AI in video surveillance as a growing opportunity where we could bring value to a system in terms of operational efficiency, workplace safety and security being enhanced and cost optimization in hiring manpower as well And that is uh the uh you know latest venture uh through a solution called Intellisense we for into that segment as well.

[00:03:59]>> See one of the major challenges industry has faced is compliances.

[00:04:03]Uh I think now it is more or less uh still in industrial sector and in commercial sector it is more or less now regulated.

[00:04:12]I I assume so. But still people find a way to you know uh manipulate that. So how do you find is this a challenge or it's uh uh how do you plan to overcome because there are a lot of local players who still manage to overcome that uh compliances. How do you manage it?

[00:04:28]>> There are uh pros and cons. uh the challenge is that when we are a fully compliant organization uh the comp believe I have seen big players >> right >> not only India somebody based out of Gulf >> they would still make it per piece so that they are clear in manpower they will take it per piece and they will ensure that whatever you do is your problem and still they are somehow defying those complaints and uh managing to keep the cost. So to convince them that you're not a big player, India is very strict about compliances. It's a client task. So how do what kind of challenge you face?

[00:05:07]>> It's it's a very tricky path to tread on because on one hand you're competing uh not on a very level playing field as you rightly said there are uh organizations who are able to cut corners and give a better price. At the same time uh one there is a statutory responsibility.

[00:05:23]Second there is a social responsibility.

[00:05:25]Third is we represent a client who's a principal employer who has an obligation as well. So if we drop the ball uh our client is impacted. So that's where the balance has to come in by building uh efficient cost structure uh with having technology enabled uh uh focus. Uh we are able to rationalize cost significantly compared to some of our competitors. At the same time we keep compliance as a key parameter for us because that's uh in the long run uh to make a sustainable business we have to follow the laws of the land. See especially in uh security business the norm is that uh it's 8 hours job but normally all security guard work for 12 hours and there they again do uh as per only 4 days you can do overtime or something like that but uh the cost is built without overtime and 12 hours is built and uh sometime people even don't pay that uh in fact I have been interacting with some uh you know um large number of people employed even regions society's RWS they don't follow any norms and uh there is no compliance I think so so how do you overcome these challenges >> so right the organized sector in this business is only 10% only 10% is organized sector 90% is a unorganized sector and that's uh uh you know uh enforcement in India is not easy with such a big population >> regular sector where it is uh standard companies is the norm is 12 hours and there again it's getting fruited and actually it is strictly not compliance but still it goes on.

[00:07:08]>> Yes. So in in uh guarding services um uh the the laws do permit over time uh as long as as you rightly said uh it is within the 48 hours uh of time. So that is where we'll need to build in relievers to give weekly off uh to employees. Uh so internally our mandate is that at least every 6 days 7th day becomes an off for an employee. Uh and uh we also ensure that the other leave annual leave uh and festival and national holidays typically security works on those days. We ensure that either a double wages is paid off for those days or we give them uh weekly I mean off on those days. But as you said sir um there is a challenge that the whole market is not complying with this.

[00:07:58]But the good news is that over the last one decade we are seeing an increasing level of compliance and organizations also evolving uh to meet uh compliances and those organization which was already compliant are now going one level above to governance that is no it's not enough if we pay minimum wages we need to pay fair wages. There are also certain clients who do that and we take great pleasure and pride working with clients who go above and beyond compliance in terms of governance because yeah that it should be fair wages and they should be taken care of. Uh they now what is happening is all the var uh and we have a typical season of seasons you know huge demand then dull then huge demand then dull and then uh they come in and then they have to stay somewhere outside. So those facilities have to be provided which they would not like to pay. They expect that service provider will there's no problem in providing but there's a cost involved to it which has to be taken care of that's how the fair wages fair wages will come but these are challenges which are really in this industry and I I'm sure these are getting improved day by day and all these big companies and e-commerce companies have while put the pressure on for deliveries and improvement but they have also been helpful in getting compliances so I'm sure it's good day for you and uh more and more industry your industry is going to get uh into uh regularized sector than unauthorized unregularized sector.

[00:09:22]So I think it's a much uh better days are ahead of for you.

[00:09:27]>> Definitely the recent uh new code uh new wage code implementation which happened from November 2025 is another big leap in that direction.

[00:09:36]>> It's a very interesting thing. Last last week we had a huge problem in UP because Hiana increased by 35% and they wanted increase which is fair enough asking for them but then it is going to what happened they did once the same thing happened in Delhi they increase the wages of 40%. And believe me all the industries government industries in Oakland and all that they all shifted to Bura and Nada. So it's a very tricky balance to really the disparity I think that's why the central government is now uh come up with a national floor wages.

[00:10:05]We are waiting for that to be published because of this disparity. You rightly pointed out Delhi is in the middle with Gorga and Naida either side. Delhi's wages are about 30% higher than the other states which makes it difficult to retain people in Gorga or Naida and for an entrepreneur it becomes more expensive to have a facility in in Delhi. But now this uh uh floor wages, national floor wages taking into consideration cost of living and the other uh related developments u the government intends to announce this for all states and as an employer or as a contractor we're expected to follow either the national floor wages or the state wages whichever is higher. This I think will become a will bring about certain amount of parity uh between employees drawing wages from one state and other state. there won't be a huge difference. This will go a long way once it's published. We are looking forward to it.

[00:11:01]>> Great. It was nice interacting with you.

[00:11:02]It's a very challenging. I'm really glad that such a team uh is building up such a big uh company. Uh I'm sure we will interact more in your course and uh lot of lot of it's a management role. So younger and experiencing you need a combination of both kind of people. So very interesting. Uh all the best and I'm sure we'll interact more in future events also in other events also and this is the third edition we'll meet again and all the best. Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure to be part of this podcast as well as to be part of logistics Shaki. It's our first experience and it's very exciting.

[00:11:41]Looking forward to making the most out of this.

[00:11:43]>> Thank you. Have a great day. Thank you.