Preamble:
The Objective of this note is to provide a brief introduction to the business and the Express Industry; use the note as a platform to share the thoughts of the business on the new paradigms; the vision of the organization and the way forward; the need thereof to grow the organization.
The business:
The business is positioned in the market as a mid size Domestic, last mile Multi Modal Distribution and Third Party Logistics Company. The organization has made rapid strides since inception ending the last fiscal with a top line of around 8 Crores with sustained growth since formation as a profitable, liability free organization. Over 90% of the revenue is generated by and through the Delhi Center leaving an untapped huge potential that can be made captive from the other centers as part of the expansion and restructuring strategy requiring investments. Besides the Express product, the business has also worked with Kingfisher as a Business Associate generating loads as part of the arrangement aggregating as high as 300 tons a month from just one center in Delhi right from the first month of operations. The company leverages the experience to network with carriers creating a win-win for valued customer and the Airlines. The business looks upon the service needs of key customers as customized projects and not mere physical distribution requirements, leading to customer satisfaction and very high retention levels with customer confidence in the brand.
The Company has a workforce of over 60 people onboard who are professionals from the Logistics Industry with hands on experience covering operations and related activities. The Company has 6 centers across the country and delivers to 50 destinations with an extended reach to pan India locations through Interline arrangements. The organization was formed by professionals from the Logistics Industry with an experience of over three decades in the Industry.
Express Industry & The Business:
Today the size of the Logistics Industry in India is pegged at 48,000 Crores of which the Express segment accounts for 15,000 Crores with about 50% operated by the unorganized sector and remaining by the organized sector comprising of mid size companies and large organizations having a strong National presence. The Express industry is a fragmented industry with a large number of players. However, there has been considerable consolidation of the industry over the years with the.
Large organized players. The larger players have wide networks with presence in National and International locations. The medium size players have a regional focus with limited presence across other regions. Express is the fastest growing segment of the Logistics Industry with projected growth rate of 17% YOY for the next three years.
While general economic growth and rising needs are taken as the main drives of growth it is also evident that an untapped area is that of creating a „value proposition. The founders of the business have rich experience in handing projects or rather handing a service with the paradigm of a project. This has created a level of advisory expectation from customers which can be positioned as strength to create a niche in the larger Express segment. Though “Lead Logistics providers (LLPs) are commonly associated with large 3PL organizations or high technology outfits, a dimension of the same skill sets is being mirrored in the needs of the Express segment as well. The business was quick to react to the situation and mapped the market opportunity with affirmative feedback. These services are linked to the special needs of various customer segments that do not have a need for hardcore 3PL and Infrastructure advisory but a latent need to lean upon an Express organization not with the prescriptive – “do this for me, but rather what should we do? How do we manage this? What do you advise? The Company plans to create a major operating space with this opportunity that is coming alive with the needs of the e-Commerce segment and many projects that need to be customized with Integrated Express & Logistics Solutions besides restructuring supply chains in line with the GST regime in the offing.
A Brave New India:
India has undergone a major shift in the way businesses are conducted and the economic order has been redefined with a brave new India of Innovative start ups and the e-Commerce marketplace making unprecedented waves, along with the introduction of GST in the offing in the near future. The current scenario necessitates a Logistics practice that is in sync with the changing times to create value for the customer. Added to this is the growth of the Digital and Social media platforms that have led to exponential increase in volumes of the e-Commerce marketplace with transactions leading to a situation in which multiplication of capacities by the Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) and the Users (Jabong, Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal etc) have fallen miserably short of the ever growing transactions that multiply with amoebic fervor without any solution in sight leading to a fall in service levels. The time is ripe for Disruptive Innovation.
This new frontier of DI cannot be fathomed by large Express set ups who do not have their ears to the ground to understand the realities and neither the agility to adapt to grass root structures and lack the flexibility to bring about fast changes that can ease the situation. It seems that the critical learning and solutions to the “capacity and service” issues will come from the mid size players ability to observe, interpret, reinvent, innovate and execute with speed to market. The business is a strong contender to drive this change.
The business Vision:
Centric to the company's vision is the fact that organizations have to be sensitive to the needs of customers and the key to the sensitivity door is through the understanding of different market segments. Therefore it calls for an intense familiarity of the segments and an integrated approach to arriving at the most appropriate solutions. The company was fast to recognize that scaling up operations would involve not mere enhancement of physical capacities of the supply chain at all levels whether it be the first point pick up, line haul connectivity or deliveries. It would rather mean creating a value chain that is part of the customized solution for varied customers and projects with a positive outcome in the last mile delivery. Recognizing this, the company has devoted considerable time in the recent past to understand and analyze the market dynamics.
The Express segment is in the midst of huge opportunities triggered by the unprecedented growth of e-Commerce and the forthcoming introduction of GST. This growth in the last few years has already placed many players in the One Billion plus top line related to Gross Market Value. It is evident that online retail is one of the fastest growing segments. It is also the most challenging as it requires well planned operations and a well defined delivery system considering the wide range of products; need for speed to market and the fact that these are most sensitive deliveries in the B2C category never experienced before. The business understands that last mile distribution and Logistics in e-tailing has become the critical backbone of the fulfillment network and the principal driver that can win customer‟s mind-space. Though most service providers are still caught grappling with issues around demand (Transactions) and supply (last mile distribution) capacities, the company believes that the days are not far when consumers will start opting for preferred brands to deliver their purchases. The company plans to play a lead role in this space.
Supply Chain and the overall network design comprising of Fiscal costs pertaining to tax structures and tax havens etc. have remained a key determinant of supply chains in India, with manufacturing bases and distribution networks engineered and positioned to harness fiscal benefits. The availability of differential tax structures across geographies has remained one of the key decisional elements for structuring the supply chains. With that consideration, the.
Goods and Service Tax (GST) stands as an inflexion point in India‟s fiscal landscape. It marks the transition from an existing origin based taxation regime to a destination based taxation regime. The introduction of GST is expected to remove the cascading effect of taxes by moving to a common tax base, subsuming various state and central taxes, which will significantly impact the procurement patterns, supply chains and distribution networks of manufacturing and trading firms. The company is aware of this reality and strategically geared up to position Express Supply Chain solutions for the post GST regime. The company's vision envisages growth with value addition as the basic model, no less than intent towards disruptive innovation.
Action Imperatives:
The company recognizes the fact that funding is pivotal to achieving the Vision of the Organization. There are primarily three focus areas that require capital: Up scaling and Enhancement of the Company Network & Operations; Introduction of new Technology Platforms and creating economies of scale with purchase of capacities with Airlines and other Carriers. Investments in these areas with Innovative strategies are expected to result in:
1. A competitive edge over competition.
2. Revamped Operations Infrastructure.
3. Aggressive Brand Positioning.
4. Enhanced Service levels.
5. Customized development of profitable verticals.
6. Service level agreement (SLA) compliance with e-Commerce marketplace players.
7. Strategic Alliances / partnerships with e-commerce players.
8. Innovative Solutions across segments.
9. Better cash flows.
10. Better skill sets with focus on HR.
Based upon projections it is estimated that the company can touch the 50 Crore mark in three years post restructuring, sustaining and growing the top line YOY with better margins.