Nimish Saraf, CEO – Alliance Commercial Transport, reveals his strategy and big plans to expand not just nationally but also in the international arena and redefine professionalism and business ethics in ODC movement as a responsible transporter. Sarada Vishnubhatla reports.
It is a company that is known for its ethical business practices. It is one where the team and their CEO walk the extra mile to resolve their customers’ problems. Founded 40 years ago by Kailash Chandra Agarwal, Alliance Commercial Transport (ACT) is a strong and reliable ODC mover and also owns construction equipment rental business vertical. ACT was nurtured by Agarwal from being a small business with two trailers to a robust company over the years.
Today, it is looking at expanding to become a national brand with international footprints under the strong leadership of Nimish Saraf who took up the reins of ACT in 2014 at the demise of his father-in-law, Agarwal. Aided by his wife, Prerana Saraf, an MBA in Finance and Bachelor in Economics (Hons.), as the CFO of ACT, Saraf is full of vision and strategy to steer ACT towards success.
Nimish Saraf, CEO – Alliance Commercial Transport explains: “I have been on ground zero since 2014 taking risks, resolving impossible issues and building up on the reliability factor that ACT has always delivered to its discerning customers. Today, our clients know that any job that ACT undertakes will get executed in a consummate manner. We know that in the ODC movement many unexpected developments may happen when on the road and we succeed in resolving them because we excel at easing the obstacles.”
An IT engineer and an MBA in marketing, Saraf anticipates unique issues that come with ODC movement, despite his zero experience in logistics. Yet it has not deterred him in diving fully into the business and achieving success besides building up their client base.
He recounts an especially difficult assignment that he executed in 2019: “We were to transport six vehicles carrying over dimensional cargo from Hyderabad to a cement factory being built on the border of Maharashtra and Telangana. We realized that there is a village in Telangana on the way which had such narrow lanes that even a 6-wheeler could not have passed. It was critical for us to reach the destination on time or our client would have suffered a major loss of time and money. Lack of another route forced us to remove a few houses to create a broad enough pathway for the cargo movement, only after getting necessary permissions from the village sarpanch and other authorities besides the house owners. We had to shut down all the electrical lines after necessary permissions. We paid the compensation to the villagers out of our own pocket. It was a humongous and time-consuming task and we were under tremendous pressure. It was a job without much profit margin yet we executed it successfully and on time.”
On Time Every Time
ACT today has carved a niche for itself in carrying out daunting tasks in the ODC movement on time every time and at the most competitive rates.
Saraf elaborates on another successful delivery emphasizing the point: “A Dutch company contacted us to deliver a cargo which had odd dimensions – it was 19 feet in height and 22 feet in width, weighing 50 tons. We quoted an economical fee yet they hung back initially. For the next 3 weeks or so, they scouted for more suitable transporters, some of which were big names in the segment. Yet none agreed because of the incorrect dimensions and the difficulties in ferrying it. Soon, they realized that ACT was the only company in India which was still agreeing to move it. So, after 25 days, they came back to us. They were surprised that despite being at an advantage where we could command our price, we did not charge them a single dime more than the original quote. And as usual, we delivered the cargo on time.”
ACT’s fleet of 25 mechanical trailers, which includes low bed and semi-low bed trailers, are equipped with GPS trackers, and they offer real-time reporting of the cargo to the customers, informing them know the route being taken ahead of the movement – though not in the complex ODC but in small consignments.
Priding itself on their absolute commitment towards their customers, timely placement of vehicles and proper reporting to the clients, Team ACT is proactive first and foremost. Because customer delight is probably the only lubricant that smoothens the business wheels in the ultimate sure-fire way, as Saraf knows.
Saraf elaborates: “We collect the information from our clients beforehand from the workshops, before we get an RFP, we understand the status of the particular consignment. We invest in our relationships with our clients. And believe me, not every client is the same as the last one, yet we do not compromise on our ethics. We are confident that whatever the rates be, we can work at those rates. We pay our vendors on time, whatever is hired from the open market say vehicles, we pay them also on time. This is non-negotiable for us at ACT.”
Accentuating Professionalism
In a segment where transporters are only gearing up to become more organized, technologically adept and deliver services professionally – this is one aspect that sets ACT apart. Saraf feels that the transporters in India still are ‘rough in the way they deal with clients’ and do not focus enough on the logistics.
“We do things differently; we focus on the quality of work and the maintenance. Even if our margins are in the negative, we try to create a positive one out of it. If before, under my father-in-law’s reign, we had fewer clients with whom we were doing maximum business and doing well, I have changed it a bit and expanded our client base. Neither did he ever nor I believe in taking on more clients than we can handle and not do justice to our service and delivery. We have always had a personalized, tailor-made approach. Now, we have gone a step ahead and are projecting ourselves as a one-stop solution,” he adds. And he sites this professionalism to be the reason why he nailed the Entrepreneur of the Year award by Indian Oil Corporation in 2019. Earlier in 2016, Saraf had earned the National Runner-Up – Youth Transport Personality award at the Mahindra Transport Excellence Awards.
Today, he has the distinction of being the ‘Recommended Transporter by Indian Banks’ Association’, besides being a member of the Executive Committee of the Calcutta Goods Transport Association (CGTA), All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), Bharat Chamber of Commerce (BCC), and the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI).
Saraf is grateful for the recognition and says: “ACT has already had a good image in the market because of the work done by my father-in-law in the last 40 years. If initially it was known as his baby, today everyone in the market knows that Nimish Saraf is taking it forward.”
Roadmap Ahead
The market for ODC movers has become increasingly tough with the competition becoming such that transporters are ‘undercutting rates to secure jobs’.
Saraf feels: “Such low rates may only work for those who do not hire vehicles from the market, have no EMIs and whose maintenance costs are not high. But it is not sustainable for others, especially for those who give quality service despite the margins.”
But ACT is holding on to its ground strong and steady. It’s construction equipment rental business works synchronously with the ODC mover business and the combo is paying off well and has been adding to the bottom line in a robust manner.
He shares: “We have heavy cranes that are of 40-, 75- and 100-ton capacity, concrete boom placers and also have scaffolding equipment. So, when we transport ODCs to the job sites, we see a need for these equipment too. Both sides of the business complement each other well. And the clients find it easy to work with us as a one-stop-shop.”
Talking about business panning out in the current COVID-19 situation, Saraf says: “By March 2021, we may see some movement and in the second quarter, we may see proper traction. ACT is already working with major EPC organizations on prestigious projects, including the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), IIT projects near Hyderabad, a few highway projects in eastern India, then with the state government in Odisha, for the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) among others. Many of the construction sites have also deployed our equipment. So, the going is already good.”
Two projects under the East-West Economic Corridor which is an economic development program – The South Asian Growth Quadrangle project – BBIN which is Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal initiative – and the India, Myanmar, Thailand Trilateral Highway project under India’s Look East Policy – are ones awaited for and transportation to begin, Saraf plans to become part of those big projects – through EPC partners – that will come up in these countries, and also in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam towards which India has already extended its reach.
Strategy Ahead
Saraf is hoping to touch 100 crores turnover in the next 5 years. He wishes to make ACT technologically advanced, make it completely digital, professionally managed and system-driven with minimal human intervention.
He shares: “My only job 5 years down the line should be to talk to my clients and ask them about their health and well-being. Most of our business anyways happens through e-auctions and we are already transacting digitally. There is complete transparency and we are hands-on and on ground zero when there are any situations arising on the road. My aim is to minimize human errors and open proper communication channels within and outside the company. My vision is to make ACT a nationally recognized company. Then I wish to expand the construction equipment rental vertical and procure new and bigger machines with capacity of 250 tons and more to replenish the existing fleet.”
Saraf is rightfully proud in having created liquidity which enables him to take on challenges and invest at extremely low margins whenever the market revives. He says: “I can survive and work the jobs which others may not want to step in. If it is survival of the fittest that is going on, then I have been making myself fitter. And currently, the challenge is that the margins will be squeezed, and I am geared up to face that challenge.” And he gives the credit to his CFO, Prerana. His zealous marketing ideas are tempered by Prerana’s strict financial tenets which has helped ACT in the long run in terms of healthy usage of funds, never defaulting on bank loan repayments and from over leveraging themselves. If today ACT is the most sought after by banks inviting them to draw loans, the credit entirely goes to Nimish and Prerana Saraf and their strategy to keep ACT in the black for a long time to come!