B.D. Dhalla Transport Pvt. Ltd., established in 1963, has a fleet of around 130 vehicles, offering refrigerated transport, haulage (using containerized trucks), oil-field and express cargo delivery services for customers in the Western and Southern parts of the country. The Mumbai-based transporter’s fleet is made up of 60 per cent Tata Motors trucks, 35 per cent Bharat Benz vehicles and five per cent from Eicher.
In a free-wheeling chat with MOTORINDIA, Mr. Byram R. Dhalla, Director, B. D. Dhalla Transport, shares his views on the logistics sector and what it takes to scale greater heights in future.
Excerpts:
FY17 performance highlights
We had decent growth of about 15 per cent YoY in FY17. A major highlight for us during the year was better handling of driver shortage challenges which helped our business a lot.
Plans and outlook for FY18
We see the market being steady and expect it to remain the same way unless the monsoons fail or the GST roll-out presents some major unforeseen challenges.
GST impact on logistics sector
People have spoken of fewer warehouses and heavier movement between them and the point of manufacture. So a possible requirement for heavier trucks for the line-haul and smaller trucks for the ‘spokes’ is anticipated. The medium range of heavier vehicles such as 35 and 31 ton GVW sizes may see redundancy over the next few years.
Company’s GST-readiness
Lack of clarity so far on our role and responsibilities has led us to limit our efforts so far to provisional registration only. We are unsure of benefits (if any) to our industry.
Technology adoption
We are already reasonably ‘digitalized’ but foresee even greater reliance on hand-held devices for communication, tracking, fund & fuel management, toll payment, scheduling, etc., in the years going forward.
Tackling driver shortage
I do not believe the industry/government is doing anywhere close to enough to tackle this challenge. Better hardware (safer and more comfortable trucks), enhanced facilities on the highway, less interference from government agencies such as RTOs and others, improved pay scales, better en route facilities and better training could help tackle the shortage of truck drivers in the country.
Factors that would drive logistics sector growth
Better road infrastructure, higher focus on road safety, lesser corruption in all aspects of transporters’ interaction with government agencies.