BLR Logistiks (I) Ltd., the well-known transportation service provider, is steadily expanding its horizons by offering international freight forwarding, warehousing and distribution and project logistics services so as to become an integrated logistics solutions provider to its clients.
Road transportation contributes to 80 per cent of the company business. Mr. Ashok Goyal, Managing Director, recalls: “My father started this company as a small trucking business in 1968, offering services between Bombay and Ludhiana. What started as a ‘one-man one-office’ set-up has now evolved to be a pan-India network with over 80 branch offices and a fleet of more than 400 vehicles. We have more than four decades of road transportation expertise. All our other service offerings capitalize on this strength as a certain amount of road transportation will be needed in any logistics transaction.”
In order to be a preferred vendor for its clients in this highly competitive industry with a large number of unorganized players, BLR has continuously focused on customer service. Mr. Ashesh Shukla, National Head – Fleet, observes: “We noticed that in India it was unfortunate that the customer was at the mercy of the road transportation service provider. There was no transparency in the communication and no commitment to adhere to delivery schedules. BLR decided to change this.”
The company started by installing GPS tracking systems in all its vehicles. A vehicle tracking unit was set up within the Fleet Department to effectively track and monitor the vehicles. BLR has now integrated this information on its website so that customers can track their consignment status in real time. For the vehicles it engages from the market, the company has put systems in place for tracking of the consignment status.
Mr. Ashok Goyal says: “We have deep-rooted relationships with market intermediaries who provide us vehicles as we have been doing business with some of them for the past 2 or 3 decades. This and the various policies that we have put in place enable us to maintain a high level of customer service for all our transactions.”
Before starting work for a new customer, the company executives visit the plant as well as the loading/unloading point to get a complete understanding of the requirement and to provide a solution which will best fit the business needs of the client. In some cases, the company has also customized its own fleet so that weight volume benefit could be given to the client.
Besides, 30-35 per cent of the business handled is EXIM cargo, so the company understands the main areas of importers and exporters and effectively addresses the same. Adherence to delivery schedules is of high priority, and one of the service offerings of BLR is to provide long haulage support to express cargo companies in a time-bound manner. The company has added 32 containerized vehicles to its fleet which are increasingly preferred by FMCG, pharmaceutical, packaging, ceramics and such sectors as they eliminate transit loss.
The company further ventured into the fast growing “Total Logistics Space” in mid-2004 with the goal of making transportation, logistics and shipping easier.
A dedicated team manages the international freight management services that include facilitation of air and ocean export and import. The global network of associates/agents enables BLR to do door-to-door forwarding of all international freight cargo. BLR is an IATA-certified agent and has established relations with airlines and shipping lines for international freight movement. It also offers customs clearance services.
With six lakh sq.ft. of warehousing space the company offers both general and bonded warehousing. Leading-edge information technology and connectivity offers real-time visibility to inventory. This combination of coverage and technology ensures seamless control over a global supply chain.
BLR has expertise in movement of over dimensional cargo (ODC) and in meeting project logistics requirements. Associated activities such as road surveys are also carried out. Materials management at project site is a new service offering added by the company recently.
BLR is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company and has been rated CRISL SME-1. GPS on own fleet and ERP system implementation emphasize the IT focus of the company which has been winning awards consistently for its efforts.
Mr. Ashok Goyal concludes by stating: “We live by our motto – Creating Value by Simplifying Supply Chains. Customers want to implement the Just-In-Time concept in their inventory management, and only those logistics companies which are multi-modal and multi-dimensional in their service offerings can survive in the long run. With its integrated trucking, freight forwarding and warehousing capabilities, BLR delivers value through innovation to its customers.”