The year was 1987. An automobile enthusiast in Assam opened his first very-own auto spare parts shop. He was skilled in fixing any problem in vehicles including overhauling a problematic engine and putting it back to work. Subsequently, he had an opportunity to enter the trucking business and pursued his interest by starting an LPG tanker service from Assam to West Bengal in 1988. During his very first transportation drive, the tanker ran into unexpected trouble when its safety valve at the top got knocked off while crossing a railway bridge, leading to an explosion. Chaos ensued, though the tanker company’s owner was let off at the end. The incident however posed serious problems to the businessman’s aspirations and left him without sufficient funds to continue his operations. These are key incidents which frame the initial business days of Mr. Roop Chand Baid, Founder & Mentor, Siddhi Vinayak Logistic Ltd. (SVLL), one of the leading transportation companies in the country today. From a challenging and morale-sapping start to his career to owning the largest truck fleet in the country, Mr. Baid has seen it all when it comes to logistics and transportation. We spoke exclusively to Mr. R.C. Baid and his son Mr. Deepak Baid, Director, SVLL, to trace the company’s journey so far and its plans for the future.
The serious challenges which confronted Mr. Baid in his early business days have proved to become the driving force behind his vision for the company. In his initial few years, he was blessed, though also challenged, with whatever experience a normal transporter would have had in say 20 to 25 years in the field. After the unfortunate tanker accident, Mr. Baid braved all hardships which followed and went on to start his own tanker business in 1989. By 2006, his fleet crossed a size of 450 LPG tankers, which is testimony to the fact that hard work and perseverance can make impossible possible even in today’s world.
It was in 2002 when SVLL was officially established, though another struggle followed during the floods in 2006 in Surat, where the company’s registered office is located. Overcoming the odds once again, SVLL maintained its steady rise in the Indian logistics sector with dedicated transport service for its customers. The company developed its first platform trailer in 2006 which opened up a new area of growth, buoyed by its policy of working only on fixed contracts with companies. By 2013, SVLL owned around 6,950 commercial vehicles in its fleet, the largest in the country. It was in the year of the floods (2006) when Mr. Deepak Baid decided to enter the business to support and sustain his father’s growing empire. Deepak’s wife Ankita, his elder brother Raj, and Mr. R.C. Baid’s younger brother are all part of the growing business today.
Forward-looking approach
SVLL provides services in different segments including transportation of bulk or packed LPG, cement, steel, ammunition and containers among other goods and is also a pioneer in the car, chassis and truck carrier segments. The company has a clear-cut strategy when it comes to delivering the best results to its customers and managing challenging situations such as the cyclicality of the market and also of different segments in particular. Speaking on SVLL’s contract-based partnership with its customers, Mr. Deepak Baid says: “All our vehicles operate on permanent contracts with customers and there are no temporary contracts. The volumes to be transported are decided in advance, but sometimes the demand from one customer goes down while it rises for another due to the cyclicality of different segments. During such times, we divert the idle vehicles contracted for a particular customer to jobs which call for more trips. In this way, we balance among the different jobs in hand, ensuring all our customers are satisfied at the end of the day and also reducing the idling time of our fleet.”
The company’s expertise in the chassis and vehicle carrier segments is yet to be fully utilized as the industry is presently going through a terrible phase. However, despite the slow market conditions, having to compete with the serious threat posed by unorganized players, SVLL has taken up the challenge by going for car, chassis and vehicle carriers from Lohr, a global leader in the field, and has already delivered 50 car carriers to Hyundai. The company expects the truck carrier business to revive when the actual truck sales pick up.
SVLL’s large fleet includes vehicles of almost all brands including Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, VECV, AMW, Mahindra, BharatBenz, MAN and Scania, among others. In 2012, the company placed the largest-ever single order for M&HCV trucks when it acquired 1,314 trucks from Tata Motors in one shot. Last year, SVLL began its ties with Swedish truck and bus maker Scania with a massive order of 100 heavy-duty trucks, a move which has taken its operations to an entirely new level.
The performance, comfort and safety of new-generation vehicles have greatly rewarded the fleet operator, resulting in huge savings after each trip and more importantly, has helped it retain its customers’ confidence and build long-term relationships. One of SVLL’s trial runs on a Scania truck, from Silvassa to Tuticorin, is said to have resulted in a 50 per cent reduction in the transmit time as compared to its other vehicles, operating on the same route, with the same load and with the same driver at the wheel. The vehicle also delivered an improved fuel efficiency of nearly five per cent vis-à-vis other vehicles in its fleet.
Sharing his views on the advantages delivered by new-gen vehicles, he states: “In terms of infrastructure, Indian roads have improved a lot in the last few years. But this development has been accompanied by increased demand from customers, which is why vehicles with better performance and comfort make a big difference. With superior, new-age vehicles, clocking 800 km per day is not a problem and if a non-air-conditioned vehicle takes six days for a trip, an air-conditioned vehicle could possibly do the trip in less than five days thanks to the superior comfort and driving environment it offers the driver. This gives the driver more time and earnings, saves time for us and most importantly the delivery speed also delight the end customers.”
Late last year, SVLL made a massive foray into the intercity coach segment by placing an order of 120 vehicle from Scania, deliveries of which have already begun and the first trip being done on February 17 this year. The company plans to offer a totally new experience for bus passengers through the ‘SVLL Connect’ programme which includes traveling on the seven-star luxury coaches from Scania. Next in line for the company is the taxi cab segment for which it plans to embark on an owner-driven business model which would support the driver community as well.
Having closed FY13 with a turnover of Rs. 1,406 crores, its target for FY14 is of Rs. 2,200 crores. The company has a long-term target of having 20,000 vehicles in its fleet and reaching a turnover of Rs. 6,500 crores by 2018.
Driver welfare
SVLL has over 7,000 drivers in its fold and takes utmost care for their well-being and prosperity, as a dutiful and responsible employer. Says Mr. R.C. Baid: “The biggest problem in our country is for the drivers. We are not the actual owners of the vehicle; the driver is the owner, which is why we at SVLL believe in investing on our drivers. In this aspect, we have received very positive response to our approach. The industry keeps growing without realizing the fact that without the drivers the growth would come to a standstill. We have started many schemes to support the driver community and will do everything to raise the status of drivers in the country.”
The company, in pursuit of its vision of giving an upliftment and improving the lives of drivers in the country, announced the ‘Chalak Vihar’ scheme in September last year. Through the initiative, SVLL aspires to ensure elevation of the social status of drivers and also upgrade their standard of living which in turn would benefit the entire logistics industry. “Today, the biggest problem the industry faces is the shortage of drivers with nearly 47.8 per cent of commercial vehicles lying idle without drivers. This in turn leads to further problems such as shortage of vehicles and increase in freight rates, etc., which the fleet operators, especially the smaller ones, find difficult to tide over. Ever since I ventured into the transportation business, I was always worried about the condition of our drivers, who operate under extreme conditions but yet are not respected and do not have a good social status. Chalak Vihar will perk up their conditions by giving them a sentiment of superior and improved living”, adds Mr. Baid.
The Chalak Vihars will have well-equipped and basic amenities for drivers and their family including facilities like schools, colleges, hospitals, cafeteria and recreational clubs. The Chalak Vihar scheme is one-of-its-kind, not only in India but also globally, that works towards ensuring that the driver community has a respected livelihood and status. SVLL has set a target of establishing 30 Chalak Vihars at different locations across the country and plans to open the first eight this year.
Along with the Chalak Vihar scheme, SVLL had also announced the launch of its ‘Driver’s Day’ Campaign, a CSR initiative in appreciation of truck drivers who are the backbone of the road logistics sector in the country. As part of the initiative, the company will celebrate September 17 as ‘Driver’s Day’ in India every year to recognize and celebrate the hard work and contribution of the drivers towards the growth of the logistics industry in India and their role in nation-building. “There is pressing need to orient our drivers, accord them the security, dignity and respect they truly deserve for their relentless day-to-day struggle and contribution towards economic development of the country. Through our unique Drivers’ Day initiative, we would like to encourage their spirit and acknowledge their contribution to our society”, he states.
“When I first thought about the Driver’s Day initiative, I had prepared a 30-page document and sent it to my father for his views. The document contained the finest of details even before he had asked for them. He just read the first 5 pages and gave me a reply saying: ‘Go ahead and do what is necessary, I am with you’”, remarks Deepak who was visibly delighted and grateful to his father for his support. He continues: “Once we decided to go ahead with it, our entire team worked day and night for the success of ‘Driver’s Day’. The whole industry – driver welfare associations, transport associations, vehicle manufacturers, police force, RTOs, fire brigades and truck drivers – thoroughly supported us. On the first Driver’s Day which was celebrated last year, we distributed free food to over 3.5 lakh drivers across the nation. We had created infrastructure to conduct various events and give the drivers an experience of a lifetime, one which they would remember for their lifetime. We were overwhelmed with the kind of response we received.” The Driver’s Day effort was highly appreciated by all stakeholders in the transport sector and will continue to touch the lives of thousands of drivers across the country every year.
Another interesting initiative from the SVLL stable is ‘Chalak se Malak’, which lifts the drivers to a higher standard of life by giving him ownership of his vehicle and also a house for himself. Also recently, SVLL Foundation started its operations with focus on the wives and children of the drivers, creating in-house job and education opportunities for them. As part of the first phase of its mission of increasing the population of lady drivers in the country, SVLL Foundation will hand over keys to around 400 lady drivers by next year.
Looking at the broader picture, SVLL is on the perfect track towards setting new benchmarks not only in terms of fleet size, customer satisfaction and turnover figures, but also on subtler aspects such as giving back to the society, understanding and answering burning questions in the industry and contributing to the development of the logistics sector, all of which in turn have huge impact in the process of nation-building. The company has the right blend of youth and experience in its ranks which has already started changing the face of Indian logistics.