Healthcare Logistics in India
Market Structure, Infrastructure Gaps, & Investment Opportunities
- $1.1BHealthcare Logistics Market* (2025)
- $33.7BHealthcare Exports (FY25)
- 11-12%Healthcare Logistics CAGR
Note: *Domestic In-land Healthcare Logistics Market
Healthcare logistics is the business of managing the supply chain that delivers medicines, vaccines, equipment, and other medical supplies from manufacturers to hospitals, clinics, and patients. In a vast country like India, this involves complex coordination of storage, cold chain maintenance, transportation, and inventory management across diverse terrains.
Healthcare products are temperature-sensitive, high-value, and highly regulated. A minor failure in storage or transit can result in batch loss, compliance issues, or patient risk. As therapies become more complex, logistics becomes core.
Healthcare products are temperature-sensitive, high-value, and highly regulated. A minor failure in storage or transit can result in batch loss, compliance issues, or patient risk. As therapies become more complex, logistics becomes core.
India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) reaches ~27M infants and 30M pregnant women annually, requiring the seamless movement of over 200M vaccine doses through a network of 29,000+ cold chain points to ensure potency and timely delivery.
1
Market Overview & Sizing
“
India accounts for 4.1% of the global healthcare logistics market & is the fastest-growing market in the Asia-Pacific region
Healthcare logistics includes the storage, handling, and movement of pharmaceutical and medical products across factories, warehouses, distributors, hospitals, pharmacies, and export gateways.
Unlike general logistics, services must meet strict temperature control, documentation, and compliance standards.
Unlike general logistics, services must meet strict temperature control, documentation, and compliance standards.
- $1.1B
Current Market Size (FY25)
- $1.9B
Projected Market Size (FY30P)
- 11-12%
CAGR through FY30
$406M(Transport) + $676M(Warehousing)
Logistics Segments Key Insights
- 70%NON-COLD CHAIN
Largest Segment by Revenue
- 30%COLD CHAINFast Growing, 11% CAGR
2
Market Drivers & Structural Tailwinds
1. Export Acceleration
India is a core pharma and vaccine supplier to global healthcare customers.
Export logistics requires validated packaging, temperature control, and strict audit trails. This increases spend per shipment and favors specialized providers over general freight operators. As exports scale, logistics complexity and value per ton also rise.
Export logistics requires validated packaging, temperature control, and strict audit trails. This increases spend per shipment and favors specialized providers over general freight operators. As exports scale, logistics complexity and value per ton also rise.
-
India Market Data & Trends- $33.7B annual exports, ~60% shipped by air
- India ranks as the world's largest generic medicine exporter and preferred CDMO partner for global firms
- Bulk drugs, APIs, and high-value generics exported to the U.S., UAE, Brazil, and emerging markets
Implication
Export-focused operators that can provide integrated, multimodal solutions with compliance support are structurally advantaged, particularly:
- -1-Dedicated cold chain for biosimilars & mAbs (monoclonal antibodies)
- -2-U.S. FDA-compliant packaging and conditioning services
- -3-Integrated ocean-air-rail solutions for time-sensitive, high-value shipments
$2.0B Market Size (FY24E)
2. Cold Chain is Becoming Standard
"~50% of all new medicines in the next 5 years will need temperature-controlled logistics"
The cold chain is moving from a niche to a baseline.
Biologics, vaccines, insulin, and specialty therapies require 2-8°C or lower ranges.
-
India Cold Chain Market Size: $2.0B in FY24ECold Chain Drivers:- Cold chain logistics: Biologics, vaccines, insulin, specialty drugs require 2-8°C or controlled temperatures
- Multimodal services via road, rail, air, ocean
- Value-added services: packaging, conditioning, real-time tracking, & GDP-compliance
Yet, the cold chain infrastructure is still tight
- ~40KReefer Trucks
- <5KDeep-freeze Capicity
- >65%Pharma-grade capacity shortage across tiers
- <20%GDP-compliant logistic capicity
3. Fragmentation to Consolidation
The sector remains highly fragmented, with many small regional operators and uneven service standards
For pharma companies, this creates operational risk and audit complexity. As regulation tightens, large manufacturers are reducing vendors and preferring 2-3 national partners.
For pharma companies, this creates operational risk and audit complexity. As regulation tightens, large manufacturers are reducing vendors and preferring 2-3 national partners.
-
Market Data- ~80% of the healthcare logistics sector remains unorganized
- 100+ regional cold-chain & 3LP operators
- Uneven standards across the network.
Consolidation Drivers:
- Fragmented 3PL landscape~100-150 independent cold chain operators and regional 3PLs across India
- Infrastructure upgradesPharma Express, Dedicated Freight Corridors & airport cargo corridors enabling pan-India, multimodal solutions
- Regulatory standardizationGDP compliance, temperature monitoring, and blockchain traceability
- Technology integrationReal-time visibility, IoT monitoring, and AI route optimization
4. Logistics Infrastructure & Policy enablement
The Indian healthcare logistics system has historically been road-dominated (~65-70%).
Government initiatives (PM Gati Shakti, National Logistics Policy) are catalyzing a multimodal shift from road-dominated (60-70%) to balanced road-rail-air-ocean networks, improving cost-time efficiency for healthcare.
Government initiatives (PM Gati Shakti, National Logistics Policy) are catalyzing a multimodal shift from road-dominated (60-70%) to balanced road-rail-air-ocean networks, improving cost-time efficiency for healthcare.
-
Policy Support- PM Gati Shakti framework improving multimodal connectivity across hubs
- CDSCO guidelines harmonizing storage and transit conditions
Infrastructure Developments & Economic Impact
- Rail
- Pharma Express: Dedicated temperature-controlled freight service, Hyderabad-Delhi partnership (launched Feb 2024) with TCI Express, Allcargo Logistics
- Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs): Eastern and Western DFCs enabling faster, cost-effective rail movement of pharma
- Air
- Air cargo terminals in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad upgraded with pharma-specific corridors
- End-to-end cold chain monitoring coordinated by Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) and AAICLAS
- Economic Impact
Multimodal transport (rail + road) -
- Cuts 15-25% pharma export logistics costs
- Improves transit time for high-value, low-volume drugs compared to air-only routes
5. E-commerce & Direct-To-Patient (DTP) Distribution
Distribution is also shifting closer to the consumer. E-pharmacy and DTP drug sales are emerging channels, creating demand for last-mile logistics, telemedicine integration, and cold chain to consumer homes
-
Market Trends- DTP sales combining telemedicine + digital platforms, requiring rapid fulfillment and temperature control
- ~$0.7BE-pharmacy Market, Growing at 9.6% CAGR (FY23-30)
- $1.5KLast-mile Healthcare Logistics, Growing at 14% CAGR
- ~30-50%Logistics Costs Sit in the Last Mile
Implication
Focused last-mile and home-delivery capabilities can become defensible sub-segments within healthcare logistics.
- Last-mile logistics for e-pharmacy
Specialized cold chain delivery to end consumers (passive containers, insulated packaging)
- Telemedicine Integration
Logistics platforms connected to e-pharmacy and teleconsultation ecosyste,s
- Economic Impacts
Reverse logistics and sustainability (reusable packaging) for DTP channels
3
Conclusion
India’s healthcare logistics market combines three attractive characteristics:
Steady Growth
Healthcare logistics growing faster than general logistics
(11-12% vs. 9% CAGR)
Limited Compliant Capicity
<20% GDP-Compliant Healthcare Capacity
High Fragmentation
>80% market is unorganised
100+ regional cold-chain & 3LP operators
If you are a founder or investor in the Indian healthcare logistics market and would like to have a chat – please reach out to me at chandra@pharma-pro.in
Send me the full report
Reference:
- Pharmarack, Changing Dynamics of Indian Pharma Supply Chain, 2024
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry (2025)
- Strategic maturity in India’s pharma air cargo ecosystem, 2025
- Crisil Intelligence, Industry report on logistics market in India Final Report, 2025
- IBEF, Pharmaceutical Exports from India, 2025
- A&M, Growth in the biopharma cold chain market, 2025
- MOHFW, Cold chain and logistics management, 2025
- DHL, DELIVERING NEXT LEVEL HEALTHCARE White Paper, 2025 - Cold Chain Logistics Trends
- LEK Consulting, Last-Mile Logistics in Healthcare report, 2025
- Market size, Export data - pharmapro analysis & industry research reports. Forecast based on industry CAGRs
Related articles
Healthy Ageing Market India Analysis
Explore the healthy ageing market in India. Opportunities in geriatric care, wellness, and related services.
Clinical Nutrition Market in India
Explore the growing clinical nutrition market in India. Insights into trends, opportunities, and challenges.
Mastering the Investor Pitch
A guide for healthcare founders on how to communicate clinical impact and business value to investors
India Aesthetic Dermatology Market 2025: Investment Guide & Analysis
Complete investor guide to India's aesthetic dermatology market. Market size, growth trends, key players, and investment opportunities in cosmetic dermatology sector.