Seeking a New Avatar?
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Corporate Reports BUSINESS INDIA u THE MAGAZINE OF THE CORPORATE WORLD Seeking a new avatar? Blue Dart seeks to undergo changes, including a larger Jani, Kushroo Dubash and Clyde Coo- penetration into the B2C segment per in 1983, the company had seen SAN steady growth in the 1990s and gradu- J ally become a formidable name in the AY AY document and courier segment, with B ORADE its dedicated freighter operation being its critical differentiator. For DHL , it turned out to be a prized acquisition, when it decided to up the ante in the Indian market (FedEx was also a seri- ous suitor) during the early part of the last decade after establishing its pres- ence in India in the late 1970s. And, given its strong brand presence, DHL decided not to dilute its identity and let it operate and flourish with its orig- inal brand character, while inte- grating it with the group’s overall presence in the coun- Khanna: try. And the way the com- venturing out of pany has grown since then comfort zone? has proved that the German logistics giant had taken a judicious decision. The company’s revenue has grown by over five times since then (from sub R400 crore to almost R3,000 ome December end and Blue €50 billion revenue group is trying to crore) and it has also developed a Dart, the undisputed leader of develop e-commerce-centric services robust ground express business to Cthe air express business in India, as its next stronghold, after post and supplement its domestic air cargo would probably have laid out a major parcel. strength. “BDEL has a leadership posi- foundation for its future design. The In India, a happening market of tion in the domestic air express seg- promised future scene encompasses a DHL , the mandate to harness e-com- ment (a market share of 47.7 per cent) slew of changes, the most important merce opportunities has been largely and a dominant presence in the pre- of them being a larger penetration given to Blue Dart. “The group is mium segment of the road transpor- into the B2C segment, to align with fully behind Blue Dart to expand our tation market (14.4 per cent). BDEL’s the e-commerce boom in the coun- e-commerce centric business in the integrated air and surface transporta- try. In simple terms, it means serving country,” confirmsM alcolm Monteiro, tion network continues to facilitate its a larger volume of retail customers, CEO, DHL eCommerce India. The DHL strong competitive position. The com- on a pan-Indian basis. Belonging to group’s presence in India is defined by pany’s extensive network (over 35,000 the global logistics giant DHL group of five clear verticals or companies – DHL locations in India) and established Germany (which acquired Blue Dart Global Forwarding, DHL Supply Chain, infrastructure act as entry barriers and in 2004), the company’s riding the DHL Express, Blue Dart and SmarT- give it a competitive advantage over its wave of e-commerce, however, is not rucking. The latter is the latest addi- industry peers. Moreover, BDEL is the a country-specific strategic change; tion to the group’s Indian fold, meant only company in the express courier it’s part of the larger group design to to establish a staggering advanced fleet industry in India to operate its own make the most of the new opportu- size of over 10,000 smart vehicles for aircraft fleet. The agency believes that nities emerging in the space globally. fast express road transportation, pow- BDEL will continue to be the preferred “E-commerce logistics is going to be a ered by Internet of Things technology logistics partner for institutional cus- $3.4 trillion business globally by 2020 (IoT) in the next 10 years. tomers,” noted credit agency India and it is a domain of strategic impor- Talk to any observer in the mar- Ratings & Research (a unit of Fitch tance for us,” Charles Brewer, CEO, DHL ket and he will tell you that the inor- group) maintained in a recent report eCommerce, told Business India in a ganic component of DHL’s empire in on the company, wherein a stable out- telephonic conversation from Singa- India is probably the most shining look was awarded. pore, while emphasising that the over feather in its cap. Founded by Tushar “We are close to achieving the $1 u 44 u OCTOBER 22-NOVEMBER 4, 2018 BUSINESS INDIA u THE MAGAZINE OF THE CORPORATE WORLD Corporate Reports billion revenue milestone in India in a cumulative sense,” discloses Malcolm. In a country where a clear billion dol- lar club is yet to emerge in the logistics space, despite immense potential and theories being spelt out with monoto- nous regularity, this is not a small feat. And here, Blue Dart, the only enlisted firm in DHL’s Indian stable, is making an immense contribution. Nothing surprising, the company remains the most visible face of the group in the market – at every outlet of the group companies, you will also find a con- scious co-branding drive, with Blue Dart’s name prominently mentioned. “They call India Blue Dart’s country in their promos,” says a senior indus- try representative. “This is an intel- ligent brand building drive. Despite belonging to a leading global player now, they are consistently telling their Brewer: e-com deliveries to be next major global vertical customers that they are rooted in India. It does lend emotional touch to vanguard of adopting advanced tech- service uses mobile technology in tan- their appeal.” nological applications. dem with specially designed lockers to “A major reason of the formidable ensure customers get all-day access to Formidable positioning positioning of companies like Blue their shipments from a safe, secure and Nearly 50 per cent and 15 per cent Dart is that they have been extremely convenient facility. Today, Blue Dart market share respectively in domestic receptive to the changing techno- has parcel lockers at 121 locations. air cargo and ground express itself tells logical wave and do not hesitate in Air Express cargo, however, still the formidable positioning of Blue Dart adopting what others may discard remains the major calling card of Blue in the Indian market. And, post-ac- considering it too futuristic,” says Dart and its most effective weapon for quisition, the company seems to have Kushal Nahata, CEO, Far Eye, a logistics its positioning in the markets offering found a new spring in its step. When tech start-up, which has also received nearly 500 tonnes capacity every night. it was acquired in 2004 (for R730- funding from DHL . On the technolog- And it’s a matter of a larger debate as odd crore by DHL for an overall 75 per ical advancement front, the company what has precisely helped the com- cent equity share), its topline was still claims to have digitised the entire pany to keep on ticking in a business short of R400 crore mark. But now it logistics chain, customised reports and which has turned out to be so difficult has swollen to nearly R2,800 crore. The automated performance updates, APIs, for others? It’s no secret to anybody addition of a well-oiled ground divi- 24x7 shipment visibility, online dash- that others like First Flight, Gati (in sion express (with a current fleet size boards for real time status, etc. association with Air India), Captain of about 2,000 outsourced vehicles) It is also offering multiple customer Gopinath’s Deccan 360, etc, had for- has further strengthened its presence, convenient payment options such as ayed in to the business. However, they giving it the opportunity of getting Cash on Delivery (CoD), digital pay- could not keep their ventures afloat the best of both the worlds – air and ment options including 15 digital for too long. “You can only survive in ground. It has gradually expanded its wallets, Mobile Point of Sale (MPoS) this business if you have captive cou- air fleet – presently operating six Boe- for debit and credit cards and United rier volume,” observes Akash Bansal, ing 757 freighters – responding to Payment Interface (UPI). In 2015, Blue head (logistics), Om Logistics. “If you the rising demand in the market and Dart became the first Indian company are relying on consignments to be pro- the company is seen as being in the to launch Parcel Lockers in India. This vided by others, then, the chances of failure are high. Blue Dart has primar- Financials (R crores ) ily been a courier and not a 3PL com- Year end 2015 2016 2017 2018 pany offering several sets of services. Total Income 2,292.98 2,582.49 2,708.69 2,813.39 With focus and determination, it has made the most of the opportunity in Total Expenditure 2,044.67 2,221.54 2,416.45 2,531.94 the air express business. The overall EBIDTA 248.31 361.28 292.24 281.45 impression in the minds of their cus- Profit Before Tax 193.56 289.92 217.06 211.78 tomers is that they are reliable”. Profit After Tax 126.84 189.98 139.57 142.10 One of the leading logistics play- Reserves 273.34 446.86 497.96 597.49 ers in the country, Om too had toyed u 45 u OCTOBER 22-NOVEMBER 4, 2018 Corporate Reports BUSINESS INDIA u THE MAGAZINE OF THE CORPORATE WORLD SAN e-commerce was identified as a sig- J AY AY nificant vertical for the future. And B ORADE we know for sure that India is going to be an important market with only 4 per cent of consumers buying online,” says Brewer, while adding that glob- ally the e-commerce division is serv- ing all major giants in the e-commerce or retail space like Amazon, Walmart and Alibaba in some Asian countries.