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INDUSTRY FACT FILE · LOGISTICS, WAREHOUSING & SUPPLY CHAINS

Main Products and Services in Logistics, Warehousing and Supply Chains

What India's 3PLs, couriers, forwarders, fleets, warehouses and platforms sell and deliver, the transport, warehouse, partner and government systems behind each service, and where those systems create cybersecurity and compliance exposure.

In this document

1. How logistics companies earn their money

2. Products and services by operator type

3. The operations layer: TMS, WMS, automation and fleets

4. The integration layer: partner APIs, EDI, government platforms and apps

5. The systems behind the products and services

6. Trends that change the attack surface

7. Mapping operations to Codec Networks engagements

1. How logistics companies earn their money

Revenue stream	How it works	Security relevance
Freight and transport services	Line-haul, FTL, PTL and express transport charged per shipment, weight or trip	TMS and telematics availability; load and route data; FASTag and fuel cards
Warehousing and fulfilment	Storage, handling, pick-pack and value-added services charged per pallet, order or square foot	WMS and automation uptime; inventory integrity; shipper data
Freight forwarding and customs brokerage	Booking, documentation and customs clearance for imports and exports	Carrier and customs integrations; filing credentials; demurrage exposure
Last-mile and express delivery	Parcel delivery for marketplaces, D2C brands and B2B, incl. COD and returns	Rider apps, OTP delivery, consignee data, COD reconciliation
Supply-chain platforms and services	Visibility, control towers, freight marketplaces and fleet SaaS sold as subscriptions	Multi-tenant cloud security; API trust; customer assurance
Cold chain and specialised logistics	Temperature-controlled, hazardous and project cargo at premium rates	Monitoring integrity; compliance records; specialised fleets

2. Products and services by operator type

Operator type	Main products and services	Key systems
3PL and 4PL providers	Integrated transport, warehousing, control towers and managed supply chains	Multi-client WMS and TMS, control-tower platforms, shipper EDI and APIs
Express and courier companies	Parcel pickup, sortation, line-haul and last-mile delivery, returns	Sortation automation, tracking platforms, rider apps, merchant APIs
Freight forwarders and customs brokers	Ocean and air bookings, documentation, customs clearance, trade finance support	Freight management systems, ICEGATE filing, carrier portals, email-heavy workflows
Trucking and fleet operators	FTL and PTL transport, specialised and hazardous cargo	Telematics, FASTag, fuel cards, driver apps, load boards
Warehouse and fulfilment operators	Storage, fulfilment, bonded warehousing, value-added services	WMS, AS/RS, sorters, scanners, yard systems, building management
Cold storage and cold chain	Temperature-controlled storage and transport	Temperature monitoring and IoT, refrigeration controls, compliance records

3. The operations layer: TMS, WMS, automation and fleets

A logistics operation is run by a small number of platforms that everything depends on. The transport management system plans loads, assigns vehicles and tracks shipments; the warehouse management system receives, stores, picks and ships; and in modern hubs the WMS drives automation—conveyors and sorters controlled by PLCs, automated storage and retrieval systems, scanners, dimensioning systems and increasingly robots. Yard management, dock scheduling and building management systems complete the site. On the road, telematics units, FASTag, fuel cards and driver apps turn every vehicle into a connected endpoint reporting location, speed and status to a cloud platform that can often also send commands.

Much of this estate is operated under pressure and by partners. Sorters and AS/RS are maintained by automation vendors with remote access; telematics is bought from fleet-technology providers; and many operators run TMS and WMS as multi-tenant SaaS. Hubs cannot stop for maintenance windows in peak season, networks that began in a single depot have grown flat across sites, and the same credentials often reach office IT, WMS and PLCs.

4. The integration layer: partner APIs, EDI, government platforms and apps

Above the operations sits the integration layer that makes logistics a network business. EDI and APIs connect shippers, carriers, marketplaces, customs brokers and government platforms—the e-way bill system, ICEGATE, ULIP, FASTag and VAHAN. Customer portals and tracking pages expose shipment status to consignees; merchant APIs let marketplaces and D2C brands book and track; and rider and driver apps carry OTPs, addresses and cash-on-delivery data. Billing, settlement and freight-payment workflows run largely on email and ERP, which is why business email compromise is the sector's most common fraud.

Supply-chain SaaS adds concentration risk. One provider's platform may run planning, warehousing or visibility for hundreds of customers; when Blue Yonder was hit by ransomware in November 2024, retailers on two continents reverted to manual scheduling and warehouse processes. For Indian operators, the integration layer is both the growth engine and the widest door.

Highest-risk moments

Peak seasons when hubs run at capacity and change freezes are bypassed, onboarding of new shippers, merchants and carriers with API keys, automation upgrades and vendor remote sessions, email-driven payment changes, customs and e-way bill credential sharing, telematics platform rollouts and the migration of TMS or WMS to cloud or SaaS are where logistics incidents typically begin or escalate.

5. The systems behind the products and services

Title: Figure 2: Where cyber risk sits across the logistics value chain. - Description: Figure 2: Where cyber risk sits across the logistics value chain.

Figure 2: Where cyber risk sits across the logistics value chain.

Product / service	Systems that deliver it	Key cyber and compliance touchpoints
Booking and documents	Customer portals, EDI, rate engines, e-way bill and document systems	Portal and API testing, document integrity, access reviews
Line-haul and fleet	TMS, telematics platforms, driver apps, FASTag, fuel cards	Fleet and IoT assessment, platform authentication, data minimisation
Warehouse and hub	WMS, AS/RS, sorters, PLCs, scanners, yard and building systems	OT assessment, segmentation, vendor access brokering, OT monitoring
Customs and compliance	ICEGATE filings, GST systems, bonded warehouse records, licences	Credential controls, filing monitoring, DPDP for personal data
Last mile and delivery	Rider apps, routing, PUDO systems, OTP and COD workflows	App testing, consignee data protection, scam monitoring
Billing and settlement	ERP, invoicing, freight payment and partner settlement	BEC controls, payment verification, mailbox monitoring, SOC

6. Trends that change the attack surface

Trend	What is changing	Security implication
Digital public infrastructure	ULIP, e-way bill, FASTag and ICEGATE integrations deepen	Government API credentials and integrations become critical assets
Warehouse automation and robotics	AS/RS, sorters, AMRs and dimensioning in Grade A hubs	OT security and vendor access move into logistics
Telematics and connected fleets	Tracking, remote commands, driver scoring and fuel integration on every vehicle	Fleet IoT becomes a target for theft and disruption
Supply-chain SaaS and control towers	TMS, WMS and visibility consumed as multi-tenant services	Concentration risk; customer assurance and provider due diligence
E-commerce and quick-commerce volumes	Peaks of millions of parcels a day with OTP delivery and COD	Consignee data at scale; scams that exploit real shipment data
Shipper and regulatory formalisation	Questionnaires, NIS2 flow-down, CERT-In audits, DPDP	Evidence-based assurance replaces informal practice

7. Mapping operations to Codec Networks engagements

If the company operates…	Recommended starting engagement
Trucks, telematics or driver apps	Fleet and IoT security assessment; platform access and remote-command controls
Portals, merchant or carrier APIs and EDI	Partner API and portal testing; key scoping, rate limiting and monitoring
Automated warehouses, sorters or AS/RS	Warehouse OT assessment, segmentation design, vendor access brokering
Freight payments and invoice-heavy email workflows	BEC controls, payment verification procedures, mailbox monitoring, simulation
Multi-client TMS and WMS or supply-chain SaaS	Cloud posture and tenant isolation review, secure SDLC, customer assurance reports
Consignee, driver and rider personal data	DPDP programme, data minimisation, scam monitoring

Talk to Codec Networks

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Email: mktg@codecnetworks.com Web: www.codecnetworks.com

Note: Descriptions are general and based on public information available as of October 2026. Systems and exposures differ by operator and site.