Why this smugness or indifference...

EDITORIAL

Sympathy for the marginalized segment of society is scarce. I did not bargain for what I was witness to during the 700 km two-day Kanyakumari to Chennai Road Trip in mid-May 2017. The reality was stark. The key question was - and is: why long haul truck drivers are treated shabbily by the most respected corporate  entities.

Just not one, but all the four companies that I had spent time outside their factory gates conclusively showcased their distate for love for labour. These corporate entities are no babes in the woods and boast of "great work" under the now-mandated Corporate Social Responsibility rules.

It beats  me why truck drivers without whose services the entire business will collapse gets such a raw deal. Are these multi-crore  enterprises knowingly ignore them? Or simply unaware of the ground reality of pathetic living and working conditions  - not far away but just outside their factory gates? Or is it because truck drivers are not unionized and therefore have no collective bargaining?

Am sure, these corporate are not blind. So, logically it proves that they believe this uneducated or less-privileged fellow-citizens do not deserve any sympathy. Perhaps there is a feeling at the corner office of each of these business entities that the total absence of basic amenities such as toilets and washroom outside their factory gates where these trucks that ferried both raw materials/components from vendors - because this is the age of outsourcing - and waiting to carry finished items to market shelves are sheer waste of money and does not get them positive coverage in the media.

Strangely, these same companies go to town tom-toming about how they have adopted villages as part of their CSR activities and showcase them on their websites. Publicity hungry. Yes. Short-sighted. Yes.

In the bargain, they all forget that as responsible corporate citizens of the Republic of India, they are snubbing none less than the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. How? By totally ignoring his nationwide call and championing of "gSwatchch Bharat Abhiyan" - Clean India Campaign.

The suffering target group is equally blameworthy. Why accept such inhuman treatment? Why should they accept to live without a bathing facility or toilets outside factory gates of companies for whom they have hauled goods and made to wait due to the poor inefficiencies of the company or its logistics service providers? If only, they refuse to ... Let me not get into that area at this moment.

It's never too late. Wake up, folks! Go ahead and spend money on adopting villages and get media coverage. No issues. Simultaneously, step out of your cabins and aircondioned vehicles at your factory gates and perform a 'rounds' to see what have you done. And then, act.

DRIVERS DUNIYA, in this June-August 2017 issue, turns the spotlight on the heartless performance of these Indian companies towards the key supply chain element viz., truck drivers.

It's never too late to look into the mirror and change one's attitude towards the marginalised segment of our own society. Father of  the Nation Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi will be punch pleased when the dignity of labour is appreciated and acted upon. So also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

What are you waiting for, India  Inc?

Ramesh Kumar
editor@driversduniya.in

Sabaash, Ramalingam Saar!

Ramesh Kumar

 Meet Sankara Ramalingam. Why? What's so special about him warranting some space here?

First things, first. Who is he? He is an Indian Oil dealer, operating on one of the busiest National Highways (NH7) linking Kanyakumari with the Madurai, near Gangaikondan in Tirunelveli district in Tamilnadu.

No way, you can miss his pump... unless you decide to shut your eyes to the surroundings. I did  not as a co-passenger with Indian  Oil Assistant Manager Srinivasa Rao recently as we motored down this NH towards our destination:  Trichy, approx. 400 km away from the southern most tip of Republic of India.

Considering the fact that fuel sold at any pump is like a commodity - be it IOC or BPCL or HPCL or Essar or Reliance or anyone - the dealer has to innovate to lure or entice potential customers into his pump. Decorating the pump into an eye-catching  fashion - like what my friend Parakh, another IOC dealer operating on NH37 near Siliguri connecting Kolkota with Guwahati, did. No way, you can miss his pump day or night adjacent to the gurudwara nestling  against few more outlets.

Ramalingam, a fleet owner-turned-oil dealer, has hit upon  the novel idea of attracting customers almost 24 kilometres away from his pump. Really? Of course. His  modus operandi is simple. The fact that there were hardly any visible mandated milestones on this stretch once you cross Tirunelveli, Chandru Fuel bossman pitched signage of IOC right from 24th km before you reach his fuel station. At every kilometre, it is there until you  steer into his outlet. As of today, there is no other outlet in this 24 km stretch, but  soon another rival will be pitching tent.

Cleverly, Ramalingam has used these signage to propagate road safety message as well in each one of them. Yes, there are repeats. That's understandable given the key road safety messages are less than a dozen. 

Road safety is a major concern as India has the dubious distinction of 500,000 accidents and 150,000 fatalities over the past three years on an average year after year. Bad and sad. Precious human lives are extinguished. This has to be stemmed.

Another noteworthy aspect of his business development acumen is to make it known to the potential customer of his unique service offerings: such as Free RO water, Cleaning of front glass of vehicles, Free Toilet etc.

The IOC dealer at Gangaikondan Ramalingam deserves a pat on his back and a loud 'Hip, Hip, Hurray' for his clever strategy of cocktailing business objective with solid social messaging.

Ramalingam saar, sabaash! Chumma sollakoodathu, neenga dhool kalaperenge! (Must tell you, you are doing a wonderful job!)

Disclosure: The 700 km Kanyakumari2Chennai Road Trip was sponsored by Indian Oil Corporation, conducted over two days (17-18 May 2017). The trip was done for DRIVERS DUNIYA, India's FIRST English Quarterly focused on long haul truck drivers, to study the condition of this national highway, toll gate practices, accident spots if any in this route and the kind of wayside amenities at selective IOC outlets and big companies situated on this stretch have created for truck drivers servicing them directly or via contractors.
 

Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-7

Ramesh Kumar

Throughout the 30 minute Fortuner ride from Escorts Mujesar metro station on the Pink Line of Delhi Metro to Sikra office of LTC Logistics, Anand Lakhani saab kept me flooded with his insight into the Indian transport ecosystem from his perspective. Good learning it was.

Categorical he was that most of his driver relationship management  gyan that he was sharing over the past few months was culled out of one and only Devinder Kohli. "He is the hands on man. Operational head and interacts round the clock. He knows the inside out of every single driver," he confessed.

No wonder, my curiosity was getting higher and higher to meet this gent. Who is he? How does he look like? What could he his background? Going by what Lakhani saab has shared of his thoughts on driver relationship and what he had written for an exclusive piece for DRIVERS DUNIYA (to be published in June 2017 issue), the depth was phenomenal. Now that I know Lakhani saab's is received wisdom, a mulaqat with asli gyani assumed extra vitality. Any day, an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory. On that parameters, Devinder stood very high on my barometer.

When Inder introduced his General Manager (Operations) in his corner office, I found him interesting. A glint in his eyes. Eagerness to talk, but not an eager beaver wanting to jump the queue. Waiting for his turn. When you have a group, each wanting a share in the conversational pie. Lakhani saab, I noticed, decided to be a spectator. Possibly he felt, he downloaded his gyan already during the Fortuner ride! Inder, between responding to the non-stop flow of emails on his laptop, he did share his insights into his business. So too his nephew Mayank.

When the topic of drivers popped up, I turned to Devinder sitting next to me. As a preamble, I  shared that a majority of drivers whom I had interacted with have a good word for their motor maliks but their ire or  angst is against middle level with whom they interact on a regular basis. "The line  supervisors treat drivers badly. Do you share that opinion?", I asked Devinder.

He did not respond directly but he shared his  experience. At LTC Logistics, he has a regular Saturday meetings with his drivers - whoever happens to be at the workshop/office for regular maintenance check up or other matters on that day where they share their mutual concerns and get them sorted out. Good practice. Because Devinder himself participates. He is not the cabin type and to meet him you need no permission! There are many such specimens in this segment.Protocol-driven!

Devinder believes mutual trust and treatment is essential to get the best out of anyone - including drivers.

Are LTC Logistics drivers on payrolls? Rs.7,500 a month and other allowances while on trips. Social Security benefits such as PF, ESI? None. A long way to go, I tell myself.

Post lunch and post-Operations wing visit, we  amble onto the workshop space. Floored by the interaction with Tire Doctor, we move on.  The next room is open and we enter. Two wooden cots placed diagonally along the walls. Four are sitting on one and two sleeping alone on the other. On the floor, someone is sleeping, snoring gloriously.

Drivers? I ask. Devinder confirms.

The seated four turn around to reveal that they are all from Agra. While three are waiting for their trucks to get ready, one with a towel wrapped around his head says he has returned after a month long chutti and waiting for re-allotment of vehicle for him to resume work.

All look very young. Less than 25 year old, I reckon. This lot belongs to the Uttar Pradesh  lot, disclosed earlier by the top honchos. Recruitment of drivers happens through referrals. Simple. Existing driver recommends someone - mostly from his own village or one of his relatives. With or without license. The modus operandi or rationale is crystal clear. It is sort of a moral and unwritten guarantee by the experienced driver who is recommending.

The  guarantee is a must for the motor malik to agree to induct the newcomer into his empire. What if, the new guy runs away en route or indulges in some unlawful activity? That's where the guarantor steps in. He is held responsible by the motor malik. The guarantor has to ensure the anomaly is set right. So the guarantor is also very careful in recommending someone. This is something similar to the practice in self help groups (SHGs) when one debtor defaults, other members of the group step in to leverage their collective strength to make good. Long haul truck driver recruitment does not happen via job portal routes, though many have been trying.

Why motor maliks are scared of direct recruitment? Elementary. Safety principle. In this case, the financial risk is very high. Today, the price tag of truck is upwards of Rs.30,000. Materials it carries will be nothing less than Rs.100,000 every trip. Plus, the fuel tank of 250-300 litres multiplied by Rs.60 a litre or above depending upon the states the truck passes through; and the trip advance (inclusive of feeding the bribe hungry highway officials), running into Rs.50,000 at least one way. Am talking about long hauls.

Simply put, the motor malik hands over a truck with materials and sizeable cash along with the truck key and trusts - that's the key word - to some less educated and most likely not a pass out of some driver training  institute. Mind you, he has given a commitment to the end user (consignor) that the maal will reach the destination on the scheduled date. Everything based on bharosa!

What if? That is the biggest if. By and large, long haul truck drivers are trust worthy. After all, they have to earn a livelihood. If they leave this truck driving job, they will find it difficult to get another job. Yet. Probability of someone acting funny cannot be ruled out. That's why the referral.

Let me share a personal experience of recommending a driver to one of my well known  transporter friends few years ago. I have known this  long haul driver for long and he had a good reputation among his peers. So when he sought my assistance for a job, I obliged him as someone was looking for a driver. Demand and supply marketplace dynamics in play. The driver got the job and I have forgotten about that. A month later, I receive a call from someone - introducing himself as GM (Operations) from the transport company demanding my intervention. For what? "The driver you referred and we hired is gayab. No idea where the vehicle is and his mobile is switched off. The client is shouting."

The time was close to midnight. That's was the first and last driver candidate I placed with any company. Many IT jambawans think, running a job portal for truck drivers is easy. Dive in, folks and experience the elixir!Placement of truck drivers in a job portal or placement centre route is paved with huge challenges.

One out of the four confesses that he took to driving two months ago. License? No. Is he getting a chance to drive the truck? Of course. What's the point if he does not get a chance to steer the truck?

I glance at Devinder.

This is a common practice. This is how India is training truck drivers. On the Job! 

Listen to this conversation, I had with a veteran long haul truck driver at Raipur, a few years ago, to understand the disdain these men have for driver training institute-trained ones!

I step out and ask Devinder about toilet facilities for these drivers. There is. Usable? Sort of. Not cleaned properly. Perhaps none felt a need that drivers' toilets need to be as good as the white collar staff's.

My take on toilets for drivers is simple. Let there be a common toilet for both white collar and truck drivers. When that happens, cleanliness will automatically kick in. Yes, drivers need education on hygiene. Who has to teach them? Who else, but the staff under Devinder and perhaps Devinder himself during his weekly Saturday meetings.

Talking about toilets, brings back memories of my battle with Renault Nissan stock yard at Chitoor, Andhra Pradesh a few months ago. Toilets built for parking drivers at the stock yard was barricaded citing that drivers have no sense of using toilets and forced to go behind bushes outside the yard. Well, after a protracted canvassing, the Franco-German automotive giant conceded to reopen those toilets to drivers.

Amenities for truck drivers is not a priority for motor maliks or OEMs who utilize their services. They need a lot of education than drivers. Outsourcing does not mean abdication  of responsibility.

Highway amenities is of paramount importance to fight driver fatigue and slash down accidents by half as chalked out by the government.

Driver comfort is still not getting adequate traction. He is not asking for air-conditioned  rooms. His needs are basic: clean bed. Good ventilation with coolers and fans. A decent subsidized canteen. Toilets and washroom. Not difficult to fulfill. What's missing is the desire to make him feel better and perform better.

Devinder promises that he would keep these things in mind and do his bit. I hope so.

Wonderful May Day outing, spending a couple of hours at LTC Logistics.

Before dropping me at Escorts Mujesar metro for my ride back home, Lakhani saab assures that whenever I visit next time, I shall see a better LTC. I trust him. Next May Day - May 1, 2018 - perhaps.

Ciao

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Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-6

(Devinder Kohli explaining the Tire Management Data Sheet while Tire Doctor Vikrant Lal Srivastav looks on)

Ramesh Kumar

"Vikrant Lal Shrivastav, mera naam. Tire Doctor!"

That's how this mid-twenties professional with a stethoscope kind of stuff round his neck introduces himself at the open workshop yard.

Tire Doctor? Never heard of such a designation till this moment. Basically he is a mechanic whose specialization is in tire management. I like his confidence. His zest. His pride. Hum kissi se kam nahi, bindaas attitude and posture. No hesitation in interacting with a stranger. Looking straight into the eyes.

With a fleet strength of 250 and a tight delivery schedule or commitment across pan-India, LTC Logistics has to have a robust tire management system in place. And it has. Vikrant is the witness to that process. The system put in place is meticulous. After every round trip, at the base camp of Sikri workshop, every single truck undergoes a microscopic examination under the watchful eyes of Tire Doctor. However, en route any complaint from drivers about tire issues, they are directed to the nearest dealer network for quick remedial action.

(Watch the video of Vikrant Lal Srivastav & Devinder Kohli here and here)

LTC Logistics' choice of tire appears to be Apollo. No idea why. Even the vernier caliper that the Tire Doctor wearing snake like round his neck is from Apollo: gifted may be. Nonetheless, Vikrant rates Continental highly for his own reasons. Radial tire, he believes, gives higher mileage though expensive.

Early this year, I ran into Heera Lal, owner cum driver at Rattanpur, the border town of Gujarat and Rajasthan outside a highway dhaba. Our discussion veered around tire management.

Hear him out here...

All said and done, tire is a huge cost for any transport company, constituting next only to fuel. Fleet managers go mad trying to extract the maximum out of tire because it is a huge investment. Non-radials cost a little over Rs.25,000 a piece at the lower end. MRF is believed to be the costliest. Almost double. Radials, on the outer ridge! No wonder, fleet owners are reluctant to embrace radials in the commercial vehicle segment. Tire sellers invariably harp on a macro angle. Better tire leads to higher mileage, possibly better payload and less maintenance. Logical.

Big fleet owners get into a contract with tire makers with option of the same company even undertaking retreading when the tire wears out. A routine stuff and therefore a regular money-spinner!  A bulk deal. If my memory serves right, VRL Logistics (owning 4,500 plus trucks) has such an arrangement with Michelin. Complete outsourcing. In the process, the transporter gets the best deal.   Even the tire maker.

Tire management is a big business, certainly.  Two years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Bridgestone exclusive workshop at Sankakiri, near Salem, owned by 350-fleet strength SSPL. The kind of research study this company has done on tire management is stupendous. In fact, its meticulousness enabled SSPL to walk away with an award at Mahindra Transport Excellence Awards function a few years ago.

Not Bridgestone alone. Every tire company has got into this segment. Had a chance to visit Michelin facility as well in Jaipur three years ago on the highway.

Tire management, confesses Devinder, is critical for two reasons. One in this age of rising input costs of every item and the reluctance of end users to revise freight rates, margins shrink. So to float and survive, maintenance cost has to be squeezed as much as possible. Secondly, invariably fleet owners resort to overloading to fight the escalating operational cost with poor implementation of overloading norms. Overloading means extra pressure on tire because ultimately, it is tire that bears the beastly burden of the entire load.

It is not out of place to point out that the prevalence of tire theft on highways mostly at night when drivers halt on highway dhabas for a few hours food and sleep. Regional and transport-focused vernacular magazines are full of stories how trucks are parked on stones after dacoits decamp with tires!

Similarly drivers clandestinely disposing off stepney (tire) is again normal happening in the Indian trucking scenario. Another pain point for fleet owners/supervisors is the tire puncture issue. Given the status of Indian highways (both national and state), not the entire stretch is like Hema Malini's cheeks as the ex-Chief Minister of Lalu Prasad Yadav wished. It sports several patches of bad roads due to poor highway design and or engineering for kilometres together. This certainly impacts the health of  tire and puncture is a common occurrence. Taking advantage of this situation, long haul drivers create fake scenarios and fake receipts of tire bursts and therefore puncture costs! Some smart fleet manager/supervisors randomly get the repaired tire opened up to verify the truth! Not always.

From the corner of my eyes, I notice Tire Doctor is back in action with his  tools: stethoscope and vernier caliper, measuring the amount of wear and tear of a parked truck that has come for maintenance check up. 

With lunch break over, I notice people in greasy pants and shirts moving around and under the vehicles. At a corner, see the bluish flame of gas cutter. Welding section.

But where are the saratis?

Devinder leads me to the men - or is it boys? - who enable Inder to make profits and Devinder, Lakhani saab and Tire Doctor to earn their daily roti, dal, sabzi, chicken/mutton, eggs waghera, waghera.What did I see?


Ciao



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Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-5

Ramesh Kumar 

Open office is something I cherish. Not many. Recently, a senior official in a listed company lamented that he has no "privacy" because he operates from an open office. What privacy? he was talking about. "Everything I say in this cubicle gets broadcast. There is no secrecy," explained this privacy-seeker and a staunch open office hater. I can understand his predicament. By nature, we Indians are loud-mouthed. Talking in hushed tones over phone is an alien concept to most of us!

As April 1969 born Devinder Kohli, son of late Puranchand Kohli (a renowned transporter in Faridabad in his time), escorted me into his den from where he rules the LTC Logistics kingdom, I found it to be an open office. Simple but elegant. Tastefully decorated. Lot of natural light, thanks to large glass windows on three sides - facing the front yard one side, workshop on the other and the rear of the complex.

The squarish hall can easily accommodate 20 seats. However, the Operations wing was empty almost.

"Lunch time," explains Devinder, a seasoned operational hand in transportation. In no time, I notice people trooping in. On their own volition? Or directed? No idea. My wrist watch displays 1402 hours. Okay, lunch time expired and back to work.

Introductions happen with Devinder explaining their job profiles and how critical each one of them to the operations. Believe me or not, I respect and love op guys immensely. "Government bodies are nothing if not unending report generators, and NITI Aayog probably could not avoid the trap," commented R Jagannathan, Editorial Director of Swaraj magazine recently on the Action Agenda (2017-2020) prepared by the august think tank of Government of India. Number crunchers and strategy makers. All on paper. The actual challenge lies in translating those dream plans or strategies into actions. That's where these guys jump in. Now you know, the rationale for my hats off approach to these action heroes.

"This gentleman tracks all vehicles. Sort of control room master," adds Devinder, pointing to a tall guy occupying a window seat and busy with work.

24x7? Devinder looks at Mayank, part of the cruising crew inside the Operations wing. It's a tell tale sign that their response would be measured and calibrated. Psychologists claim that our response time to any question may be instantaneous or delayed for a variety of reasons. The hesitation rises whenever the responder evaluates how would the receipient of his response would react: positively or negatively.

Sensing a sudden nano second vacuum in the conversations which may be interpreted anyway one likes, Mayank interjects to say: "No."

Good. It's always advisable to be transparent and upfront and not hide the reality. Undiplomatic? Not at all. Mayank's intervention has to be seen in that light.

Control room in logistics companies is a MUST. Supply chain is all about end to end visibility involving multiple stakeholders. In the good old days (talking about 25 years ago and before the advent of mobile phones), long haul truck drivers used to halt wherever there is some telephone connectivity on the routes they steer around and trunk call to their supervisors indicating their location at that point of time and seeking assistance of sharing their visibility.  Trunk call? What's that? Check with those who lived under the Prime Ministership of Smt Indira Gandhi. Nothing to do with her politics, but the then prevailing economic scenario.

Challenging times it were for transporters (logistics was  not a term in vogue those days!) to keep abreast of the vehicle movement. Whatever they hear from the other side from drivers, they used to note down on notebook to share with consignor or consignee in case they demand delivery schedule from transporters. By the way, those were the days transporters mostly meant fleet owning tribe. Not the modern day zero or light asset maestros, riding on the shoulders of less privileged motor maliks.

Couple of years ago, I was fortunate enough to watch the control tower of Kundan Mal Transport (KMT Logistics) at its old Jaipur office. Under the watchful eyes of youthful Gaurav Jain, in a room with walls converted into black boards where assistants were calling up  their own vehicle drivers ferrying passenger cars for various auto OEMs across India to know their position and literally chalking them on the boards! Primitive? So what? It served the purpose of location awareness. A few years later, I did visit them at their new control tower at Dudu where they have gone a bit modern: a hybrid of black boards and PCs. Not to be forgotten is the visit to Gati's Secunderabad - not the current one, but the previous location, closer to the famous Paradise.

Another control tower I dekko-ed was at Agarwal Packers & Movers' Masjid Bunder (Mumbai) office with Gayatri Jha shepherding her team. Hybrid again. The most modern one was at Hyundai Motors India. Walls stuck with giant flat TV screens, tracking mostly ships from South Korean ports to Europe and all over including  India for its subsidiary Glovis India which is also into Freight Forwarding business. That was the ultimate I have seen. Maybe many others have much more sophisticated control towers for supply chain visibility factor.

That's why when Devinder's control tower (a desk top, actually) did not impress me much. So long as it serves his objective, what has size got to do with it? My liking or rating, actually, does not matter much.

"You ask him where any truck is, he will tell," says Devinder. I did not venture.

LTC Logistics boasts that the tracking can be  monitored at the consignor/consignee end as well since necessary usernames and passwords to access such crucial data are shared. Nothing new, again.

By and large, most transport companies religiiously mail a status report of vehicles to clients on a daily basis. That's it. Can't  they check on their own consoles? They are too busy, perhaps.

The atmosphere seems to be relaxed. This is not Satish Dhawan Space Centre or Sriharikota High Altitude Range of Indian Space Research Organization. Appears all is well with LTC soldiers delivering service without any hitch on this day. Or is it because of May Day holiday across India? Could be.

I scan the walls and notice several message boards kept close to the ceiling over the wall mounted orange shelves. Among them, one attracts my attention which reads:

"Sabhi sarati (driver) ko suchit kiya jaata hai ki raate mein koi  bhi chalan hone par uska aadha chalan sarati ko bugatna hoga"

Very interesting sandesh. How many LTC Logistics' saratis read and understood the meaning of this suchit? Worth pondering.

Through the transparent window facing the workshop, I notice very little action. Lunch time. Plenty of trucks parked haphazardly. Some trucks'  front open. Tools lying all around. Left midway by workshop hands to partake their food.

After all, we all work is to feed the hungry stomach. Had the Almighty not invested us with hunger, we would have been lazing around. Moreover, there is capacity limitations. You cannot eat for tomorrow today. It's a daily chore. For some three times. For some two times. For some just once, depending upon their earning capacity. Because no food is free. Some, like Devinder,  Lakhani saab and Mayank exercise their mental powers to earn their daily bread. Others, like those in the workshop and truck drivers, use their own skills (mostly physical) and stamina to eke out their living. Wages of labor. Are all equal? No way. I pinch myself for this May Day thoughts!

"Can we step out?" suggests Devinder.

We did.

The very first man I met bowled me over.

How?

Ciao



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Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-4

(Left to Right): Mayank Laul, Anand Lakhani & Devinder Kohli

 Ramesh Kumar

As you walk into the spacious conference room, one cannot miss noticing quotable quote frames. One of them reads:

"If Today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?"

That's the late Steve "Apple" Jobs.

"Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you"

That's another one which credits none. Anonymous. But the import of messages understood.

These nuggets of commonsensical morale booster frameworks, I reckon, belong to the NextGen Lauls: December 1992 born Mayank and August 1997 born Rishab, currently pursuing finance in the University of South Carolina, United States.

The fragrance of fresh distemper on the walls and the smell or odour of wooden furniture permeates the air-conditioned conference room. Actually, this does not distract me much. Out of the blue, mind reruns my understanding of formaldehyde-treated wooden items at home or office. LTC Logistics has moved into this corporate office hardly a few weeks ago to bring every single department under a  single roof - including maintenance and workshop. Barring Inder, the Managing Director, others operate in an open office environment. A few empty cabins are very much there. One half of the spacious office is occupied by the operational team, monitored by Devinder Kohli, General Manager (Operations). Every vital department is just a buzzer call away for Inder.

Lakhani saab, the eldest in the group inching towards 70, unzips his plastic bag and digs out a bunch of musa acuminata. Hang on, what I mean, is bananas. Kela!

No proper lunch? He is a fruitie. Light eater!

Meanwhile, several dabbas containing daliyia, sabzis, daal, salad and aluminium foiled oil-less chapatis surface on the table. Inder quickly begins to empty containers onto the plates. The female catering executive rushes in with a set of cutleries and cold water.

I sit at the edge of the table with Inder on my right and Mayank sitting to my left (90 degrees); Lakhani saab, bang opposite and on to his left is Devinder. Soon, another young man joins, whom Inder introduces as his  Finance hand. Another relative of the owners. It's all in the family. Why not, if talent is readily available within, asks Lakhani saab. Of course, why not? Again nothing unusual in the Indian transport fraternity. Trust gets the maximum vote because it is a business of cash all the time.

 Every single vehicle, bought at a hefty price tag with one's own money or bank-financed or NBFC-leveraged, with or without load is something like an elephant: with a huge appetite. It has to be fed whether it carries load or no load. Plus, fleet owners spend upfront and wait for payment from end users with no fixed delivery date on the horizon. Few end users behave like gentlemen. For a lot of expenses (including the bribe en route), there is no supporting receipt for accounting purpose. Imagine the plight of finance head! This kind of cash transaction without receipts is a major dampener for private equity to touch the traditional transport companies with a barge pole even! Finance portfolio, invariably, has to be family-managed. That's also one of the reasons why PEs prefer to shower dollars on start ups in this segment because they have no past and begin with a clean slate.

Between bites, the conversation continues, enabling me make mental notes. LTC Logistics is majorly into the movement of two-wheelers, tractors, earth moving equipment. You name the biggies in each of these segments, they ride on LTC Logistics' shoulders. Ashok Leyland is the dominant vehicle supplier. Tatas, yes. Mahindra inducted of late.

What's great about Leyland? "Superb performance. Best after sales service," responds Inder. Not that Tatas don't match, but Inder's comfort with Leyland is pretty high. Want to ask him about his tire preference, but hold back because Devinder already hinted that his fleet management - especially tire management - is top notch.

What about drivers? A major chunk of them come from Agra region in Uttar Pradesh. Basti  from Bihar and, of course, the inevitable Mewat of Haryana. Once upon a time, the Mewati group dominated but over the period of time, their numbers dwindled. Inder is happy. Devinder too.

Somehow, the Mewati drivers are considered as  necessary evil. I spend a lot of time regularly in Mewat since I have several long haul truck driver friends from that zone - hardly 100 km from Delhi towards Alwar in Rajasthan. Every home will have more than one truck driver. Reliable? Trust worthy? Debatable. Having said that, you buttonhole any transporter and he would grudgingly admit that his flock of drivers would invariably consist of Mewatis. You cannot escape from their clutches! A few years ago, a well known transporter from NCR, created a website to blacklist errant truck drivers to alert other  prospective employers of the minefield they would walk into if they hire those blacklisted. Well, the list mostly consisted of Mewati drivers!

By the way, the proportion of Mewati drivers servicing the Indian transport/trucking ecosystem is so high that there are dedicated Mewati dhabas across the length and breadth of Indian highways.

Like there are good transporters and not-so-good ones, there are good drivers and not-so-good ones as well. Have not come across any fleet owner who is 100% Mewati driver-driven.

We talk about empty back haul, payment cycle from clients, emergency relief operations with regard to their own vehicles, the business cycle and last, but not the least, the utility of various transport associations. Lack of unity among the office bearers of umpteen transport lobby groups is a bane, concedes Inder.

Vehicle dimension is a serious challenge, particularly in Maharashtra, concedes Lakhani saab. He shares the meetings with the state bureaucracy in the recent past and still keeping fingers crossed. What's the outcome of the recent nationwide transporters' agitation? Silence rents the room. I don't want to embarrass them by probing deep and leave it there, therefore.

The business, concedes Inder, is good. Growing. GST? "Will manage. Have to," admits LTC Logistics bossman. Practical and pragmatic. No point of breast thumping of "How can we? We are too small." While everyone is falling in line with the GST roll out, transporters can ill afford to antognize the government, however strong or valid their viewpoint maybe.

Elsewhere I heard someone cribbing, "am a two truck owner. Am I also suppose to follow the rules and fulfill all norms?" Yes, he must. There are no exceptions. Does this two-truck owner has nation wide branches? Good question. Maybe one or two. To that extent, his headache or challenge is negligible.

What about LTC Logistics which has 20 odd branches and 250 odd vehicles? Mind boggling.  Inder does not deal with pigmies but the giants in each vertical, who will be 100% GST compliant. To derive due tax credits at each stage, paper work is a  necessity. No papers, no credits. This simply translates into big dent into one's top and bottomlines. Forget about that. Non-compliance means penalty as well. Yes, tough times for transporters who have been doing business like any mom-and-pop shop for decades. Time to mature. Never too late.

That's precisely what Inder has embarked upon. The new office. Infusion of young and fresh talent - from within the family and outside. Adapt, if one wants to survive and thrive. That's the spirit.

"How about one more banana?" beseeches Lakhani saab extending another one. I accept and share half of it with Mayank, who luckily does not refuse. Good god.

Lunch over. Table cleaned. Inder suggests Devinder  show me around the office and workshop.

Inder exits to his cabin. I follow the trio: Lakhani saab, Devinder and Mayank into the heart and soul of the business enterprise. Operations.

A board "Golden Rules", listing five items in English and Hindi is lying behind the reception desk waiting to be hanged on the wall.

The May heat hits the face, though we are inside the concrete building, not out in the open space.

Pushing open to the tinted glass door of Operations wing, we enter. 

What did I see?

Ciao.

Check this link to read Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-1

Check this link to read Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-2

Check this link to read Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-3




 

Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-3

Ramesh Kumar

While studying abroad, you imbibe a lot of habits culled from your colleagues and others you interact with. One of them, you will agree, is to get onto first name terms with all - including your  higher ups. No one is Mr Manish Bhandari. Just, 'Hi Manish!" ?Such behavioral traits are not detested. On the other hand, it gives a sense of informality. Work matters. Not the salutations. Like our Mumbaikars fond of saying: Kaam se matlab hai.

Back hone such traits don't vanish overnight. Takes time to get adjusted to one's own milieu. Mostly Jee Huzoor culture.

This was one of the bitterest lessons the young London-returned Mayank learnt soon after joining the family transport - uff, logistics business. One of his business mails addressed to a customer whom LTC is serving even today with such a blip. First name terms syndrome!

"I did not receive any response for quite sometime and wondered what could be the reason?" elaborates Mayank with a lot more transparency.

Actually, when he walked into the Managing Director's cabin, he was a bit reserved and shy of going beyond monosyllabic responses. Once, uncle  Inder goaded him to be open and share whatever he wants to say, the mood changed.

Recollecting his behavioral hiccups once back in India, Mayank said that he picked up the phone for a direct call to the concerned officer at the client site and heard him gently talking about business niceties. "That day, I learnt I can't be on first name terms. Need to be respectful and add, "ji" to their names! This is India, apna desh. Not videsh!" A big jolt, yes.Be Indian in India. Right?

The second challenge was his incomprehensibility of slangs or terms used by his drivers and workshop group. "I did not understand what 'kamani' meant. For me, as an engineer, I know them by the part's original name or the part number. Not by some other name which my colleagues where mentioning. Helluva time it took me to understand them.... Of course, now I show them the part physically and discuss!"

He comes out as a seedha saadha enthusiastic youngster wanting to make his mark in the business he would be jointly inheriting with his soon-to-return cousin. Being an engineer, he is more process and system driven.

Uncle Inder interjects to add that the new office where we are chatting was designed by these cousins. Truly, it reflects their tastes. Not the typical transport office of LTC that I had seen a few summers ago in Faridabad. I can see the changing taste - right from office interiors to almost everything - of many transport companies that I had been visiting over past eight years. The seniors  believed in functionality or utilitarian aspects. No show-shaw. Basics. Not even air-conditioners in motor malik's cabin. But the advent of Genext has ushered in a lot of changes.

One thing I can declare that elders grant full freedom to their wards in office furniture (read interiors) and IT infra. Definitely not in running the business, learnt in best colleges at home or abroad! After all, they had been running the business for donkey's years and they know the onions. Not these mundas, notwithstanding their MBAs tikana phalana! Of course, elders are proud of their progenies'foreign education.

Something similar happening at LTC Logistics? Inder smiles.

I ask him bluntly: "Will you permit full freedom to these children to run the business the way they want to?"

"Of course," pat comes his response.

Am sceptical. Sorry! Seen umpteen number of transport companies where elders continue to rule the roost, overriding the big dreams of the bachcha party! Anyway, time will tell.

I pull Mayank's legs by asking how does it feel to be sitting next to his uncle in the hot seat.

"Not at all. I don't sit here at all. I operate from the Conference Hall, right across the hall!" blurts out Mayank, surreptitiously glancing at his Uncle. Out of respect, maybe.

While Anand Lakhani is watchful of the proceedings, General Manager (Operations) Devinder Kohli, sporting dry basil beads round his neck  woven tightly and several layers of protection bands blessed by is favorite deities from his faith on his right wrist, confirms that Mayank indeed was and is a quick  learner.

Kohli, luckily is loquacious and does not need too much prompting to exercise his vocal chords. Mentally I make a note of this quality to prod him as he is an experienced hands  and the whole set up at LTC Logistics reports to him.

Inder suggests that its time for a quick lunch break. Feeling hungry, I  "amen" and we all troop out to the adjacent conference room.

Just not the food - home made, I reckon - even the discussion at the dining table was yummy.

What did we talk between bites?

Wait till the next dispatch.

Ciao

Check this link to read Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-1

Check this link to read Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-2

Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-2

 

Ramesh Kumar

Noticing the Mahindra "War Room" participation certificate placed on one of  the shelves just behind him in his big corner Managing Director's office, I could not resist asking him: "What did you gain out of this War Room?"

"We are like axe. Hathod, you know. Constant use leads to its sharpness getting blunted. Sessions like this help you find some spark and (become) aware of looking at our business from a different perspective," says he in measured tones sitting across the massive MD table littered with lot of stuff. Simply put, he benefited. That's good.

After all, the venue is IIM-Ahmedabad, the ultimate management education temple in this country. If the WR session is not year long but a week or so, so what? Transporters getting bragging rights. Until Mahindra group hit upon the idea of hosting such management executive sessions for transporters, no conventional transporter would have dreamt of entering the portals of such high class educational educations. IIM-A returned!

What's  there to learn for the transporter fraternity who've this business in their DNA, huh? Well that used to be the attitude.

Besides coveting the bragging rights, truly, these sessions are opening their minds to take a new look at the business holistically - right from "maintaining" proper books of account!  Rather, slowly and gradually but surely assist them move from "lala" type organization to better managed or professionally run outfits. Need of the hour as the business is getting tougher. It's just a question of  time, before big boys from overseas or existing big boys of MNC on the Indian soil would quietly clean the slate of Indian transport ecosystem.Why go that far? Even homegrown start up disruptors from IIMs-IITs are breathing down the neck already, scripting the annihilation of  the decades old traditional transporting dhanda!

Changes are apparent. At Sikri, Inder is equally planning big. He has inducted his nephew Mayank, London-educated Automobile engineering backgrounder, into the business since his return in 2015. The bespectacled youngster, waiting for his cousin (Inder's own son) to join post his  overseas education soon, exhibits lot of positivity.

"No, no. I was not pushed into this family business. (I) was clear that I would return to India to do this business 100%. There was  no temptation of staying and working outside India," adds Mayank, seated next to the left of his  uncle, the presiding deity currently at LTC Logistics.

Nice to hear such positivity from Genext of transporters who are constantly worried about the fate of  the business they had built. What if, their wards say 'Nyet" to continue the transport legacy citing the "dirty" tag attached to this business? Why "dirty" tag demands a separate chapter - or perhaps a book even!

Inder does not have to worry. His wards have greenlighted the succession plans. "Our children are dreaming  of 10x turnover over next five years," chortles a beaming Inder. What's his current 'x' is between him and me! Perhaps ask him next time you meet him!

The shy Mayank was not para-dropped into the executive chair - his business card reads, Operational Manager - on Day One. "I had spent time crawling under the trucks' belly and not understanding what a "kamani" is! And getting my hands, clothes dirty daily." Boastful, indeed of Mayank. He was prepared for such things because, as he puts it beautifully: "Äm more of a shopfloor and hands on guy. Love that noisy and dirty ambience to air-conditioned cabins and excel sheet magic".

However, something did not click well for this London returner. What's that?

Wait till next installment.

Ciao!

CLICK here to read Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-1

Visitor's Diary: LTC Logistics-1

Ramesh Kumar


Not everyday one steps out in searing May heat for a long drive - multimodal, at that: DTC bus, DMRC Metro, Fortuner & Uber. But when 49-yo Inder Pal Laul of LTC Logistics spares some time for a chit chat over home veggie food in his new premises, the ride from Mehrauli to Sikri, between Palwal and Ballabgarh, I decided to avail of this opportunity on the languid May Day.

How long do I know this 250-odd genuine transporter - meaning, fleet owning and not playing the "attachment" game of the big Gurgaon boys (both publicly listed and unlisted)? As long as I have been chasing trucks on Indian Highways. Keep bumping into him at transport/logistics award functions -our common territory. Also keep chatting on social media. A few times, did attend road safety activities at his erstwhile Faridabad den. By the way, he is also the Senior Vice President Faridabad Transporters Association among other things.

He is not the type of foreign educated, stylish English spouting transport czars scattered across NCR. Inder is down to earth. Punjabi munda. What's there in a name, wonder? I too. So, what's LTC?  What's the history or geography? Anand Lakhani, a long time senior executive (General Manager, right?) with this company, subtly goaded me to visit his website. I did. You too, if curious.

Two solid hours, it took me to land in the lap of Laul empire. What did I see and what did I learn? Plenty.

After all, am a firm believer - rather an astute practitioner of L-Cube. What's that? Life Long Learning.

Interested in knowing my gleanings? Follow me over the next few days as I script this Laul legacy in easily digestible tiny slices.

Ciao!