589: Military Logistics Lessons for Modern Supply Chains
In today’s episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, Kevin chats with Ravindra Pandey. Pandey is a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the Indian Army and a recent MBA graduate from Hult International Business School. Together, they explore the intersection of military logistics and modern supply chain management. Drawing from two decades of service and leadership within India’s vast defense network, Pandey shares insights into military warehousing, transportation logistics, and the emerging logistics landscape in India. The conversation dives into the real-world experiences of moving critical rations to implementing warehouse automation in government research facilities. It ends with a forward-looking perspective on sustainability and innovation in supply chains.
Behind the Front Lines: Military Logistics at Scale
From the battlefield to the border, military logistics is all about timing, precision, and planning. As Ravindra explains, “Military is like a self-sufficient organization… You have everything needed to survive on Earth.” That means not only weapons, ammunition, food, water, maintenance equipment, and bedding, but each has unique storage, transport, and handling challenges.
Logistics in the Indian Army isn’t limited to just one function. Officers manage everything from HR and strategy to supply chain coordination. Ravindra’s entry into logistics came unexpectedly, after a bike accident left him temporarily unfit for active duty. He found himself reassigned to supply chain operations. “That’s where I actually formally got introduced to supply chain… and started looking after the warehousing of everything.”
Handling logistics for over a thousand troops meant planning multi-modal transportation across vast and remote areas. Supplies moved by rail and truck in tiered stages, from central depots to field-level transshipment points. “If there’s an emergency, military trucks go straight to the last location.” Ravindra notes, “Civil trucks can’t go beyond certain limits, so transshipment is necessary.”
Warehouse Transformation: From Manual Chaos to RFID Order
Despite the army’s reputation for precision, some backend systems Ravindra encountered were anything but. “When I reached DRDO [India’s Defense Research and Development Organization], their warehousing was in worse shape than what I saw in the military,” he explains.
Processes were slow, manual, and vulnerable to inefficiencies. Deliveries took months to fulfill, causing costly delays in development projects. Ravindra spearheaded a warehouse modernization project, introducing WMS, barcoding, and RFID scanning to overhaul operations. “Something which used to take a month to fulfill started happening within a week,” he says.
The transformation wasn’t easy. The facility was unionized and staffed by long-serving employees resistant to change. Rather than replacing them, Ravindra introduced younger, tech-savvy hires and encouraged collaboration. “After a couple of days, when they got used to this, they were really happy… they were getting more free time,” he shares. The new model eventually scaled to 52 other DRDO locations.
This success continued when he returned to the army, where he implemented similar improvements using portable scanning tools and barcode systems—even within resource-constrained, remote military depots.
India’s Supply Chain Surge: A Nation on the Move
Ravindra also reflects on India’s broader supply chain evolution. With its massive population and fast-growing economy, India is becoming a global manufacturing and logistics hub. “There’s an upward trend for the growth of e-commerce in India and omnichannel retail,” he notes.
Pre-COVID, India was predominantly a brick-and-mortar market. The pandemic changed that. “Even the poorest of the poor prefer buying online now,” Ravindra observes. This shift spurred demand for modern warehousing and last-mile delivery infrastructure. Grade A warehouses are emerging rapidly, especially near urban centers.
Government initiatives are pushing automation and sustainability. India has mandated aggressive emission standards and is pushing for widespread EV adoption within a few years. “The transport minister said that in the next four or five years, most vehicles will have to shift to EVs,” says Ravindra. Tech adoption is also growing—IoT, AI, and blockchain are making inroads into warehouse operations and real-time tracking.
Interestingly, India’s supply chain model blends traditional and modern elements. During the pandemic, local corner shops—many with everything needed for their surrounding neighborhoods—became last-mile partners for e-commerce giants. “They got registered with Amazon and started fulfilling online orders. The Amazon vehicle would just pick it up and deliver it within one kilometer,” he explains.
Key Takeaways on Military Logistics
- DRDO warehouses transitioned from manual processes to RFID-enabled WMS under Ravindra’s leadership, cutting fulfillment times from months to days.
- India’s shift toward e-commerce and manufacturing has fueled demand for Grade A warehousing and last-mile infrastructure.
- Government mandates are accelerating EV adoption and sustainability compliance in logistics.
- Local shops in India are powering faster e-commerce fulfillment by integrating with platforms like Amazon for hyper-local delivery.
Listen to the episode and leave your thoughts in the comments.
Guest Information
To connect with Ravindra on LinkedIn, click here.
For more information about military logistics, check out the podcasts below.
581: A Global Logistics Strategy Rooted in Optionality
