Indian businesses redesigning supply chain to capture new growth opportunities: Report

Mumbai: Indian businesses are actively redesigning their supply chains to strengthen resilience and capture new growth opportunities, with supplier diversification, strategic inventory and digitalisation emerging as key priorities, according to a report.

The report by global logistics giant DP World, titled "The India Country Report 2026", surveyed 451 senior supply chain and logistics executives.

It also stated that the next phase of India's trade growth will be defined by resilience, connectivity and the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing global trade environment.


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By investing in integrated infrastructure, digital capabilities and trade facilitation, India can strengthen its businesses' competitiveness and unlock new opportunities across emerging global trade corridors, it stated.

According to the report, Indian businesses are placing greater emphasis on resilience than their global counterparts.

"Supplier diversification is the leading priority, followed by increasing inventory and friend-shoring. Technology adoption and entry into new markets are also key drivers, with more than half of Indian businesses having fully digitalised customer-facing services, compared with fewer than four in ten globally," it said.

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Moreover, AI is already improving route optimisation, documentation and customs efficiency, strengthening supply-chain resilience, DP World said in its report, adding that India's evolving trade landscape is reinforcing this shift.

Noting that the PLI scheme is strengthening domestic manufacturing, while expanding trade relationships are creating new sourcing and market opportunities, the report stated that since 2022, India has concluded trade agreements with the UAE, Australia, the UK, EFTA states, Oman, New Zealand, and the European Union, with negotiations underway with the GCC and Israel.

FTAs emerged as the top policy priority for further trade growth, cited by nearly half of executives, ahead of digitalisation and trade facilitation.

Access to trade finance is also stronger in India, with 57 per cent reporting reasonable availability, compared with 39 per cent globally, as per the findings.

As businesses diversify sourcing and expand into new markets, positioning inventory closer to customers is becoming increasingly important, it said.

"India's trade story is entering a new phase, with businesses redesigning their supply chains to build resilience and unlock growth. Diversified sourcing, strategic inventory, digitalisation and access to new markets are becoming increasingly important in navigating disruption," said Rizwan Soomar, CEO & MD, Subcontinent, Central Asia, Levant and Egypt, DP World.

As trade volumes grow, 46 per cent of logistics executives identify road networks as a priority, while businesses are increasingly turning to multimodal solutions including rail and coastal shipping, it said.

DP World's integrated trade and logistics network in India spans ports, warehousing, freight forwarding and multimodal connectivity.