At transport logistic & air cargo India 2026, Priyanka Shivan, Head of Supply Chain – South Asia at Clariant IGL Specialty Chemicals, detailed how the company manages seasonal demand spikes and ensures supply chain resilience across South Asia. She stressed eliminating empty truck miles via return-load optimization as a key, immediately deployable sustainability lever — calling EV trucks a long-term goal but urging focus on practical, scalable actions today. The approach integrates efficiency, cost control, and environmental performance into daily operations, reflecting a growing industry norm where sustainability is measured in load factors and fuel use, not just reports.
According to www.logupdateafrica.com, Priyanka Shivan, Head of Supply Chain – South Asia at Clariant IGL Specialty Chemicals, outlined the company’s operational approach during an exclusive interview at transport logistic & air cargo India 2026 in Mumbai on 20 April 2026.
Demand Responsiveness Across South Asia
Shivan described how Clariant’s supply chain teams in South Asia manage pronounced seasonality and abrupt demand spikes without compromising operational efficiency or resilience. The strategy emphasizes agility in planning, cross-functional coordination with procurement and sales, and dynamic inventory deployment aligned with regional market rhythms — particularly relevant in a region where monsoon-driven logistics disruptions and festival-led demand surges are well documented. While no specific volume or growth figures were cited, the source states that responsiveness is embedded in daily execution rather than treated as a reactive contingency.
Practical Sustainability: Eliminating Empty Miles
A cornerstone of Clariant’s ground-level sustainability effort is minimising empty truck miles by ensuring return loads — a tangible, scalable measure deployed across its South Asian freight network. According to the report, this practice directly reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per ton-kilometre, without requiring capital-intensive fleet overhauls. Shivan underscored that such operational discipline precedes technological upgrades:
“While EV trucks are a long-term solution, the industry must prioritise practical, scalable measures available today rather than relying on greenwashing narratives.” — Priyanka Shivan, Head of Supply Chain – South Asia, Clariant IGL Specialty Chemicals
Balancing Efficiency, Cost, and Sustainability
The discussion highlighted how Clariant treats sustainability not as a standalone initiative but as an integrated constraint in core supply chain decision-making — alongside cost control and service level commitments. This reflects a broader industry shift: unlike early-stage ESG reporting, Clariant’s approach embeds sustainability into routing algorithms, carrier selection criteria, and load consolidation protocols. Public data from the World Economic Forum (2024) notes that 68% of chemical sector supply chains now include backhaul optimisation in their KPIs — a trend Clariant exemplifies through its return-load mandate. For practitioners, this means sustainability performance is increasingly tied to procurement contracts, carrier scorecards, and warehouse throughput benchmarks — not just annual disclosures.
Source: www.logupdateafrica.com
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
