Digitising transportation
Participants at the fifth edition of Mahindra MPower summit presented a solid case for digitalisation of the entire transport ecosystem.
Participants at the fifth edition of Mahindra MPower summit presented a solid case for digitalisation of the entire transport ecosystem.
The clout for transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge-based economy has been on the rise for some time now. Organised by the Mahindra Truck and Bus Division in association with IIM-Ahmedabad, the fifth edition of Mahindra MPower War Room, held at IIM-Ahmedabad recently, saw transporters present a solid case for digitisation of the entire transport ecosystem. Against a background of most transport business being family owned and operated, the fifth edition of Mahindra MPower highlighted how the challenges faced by transporters could be tackled with the use of digital instruments. Designed with a vision to provide a platform that caters to the learning needs of young transporters from families in the business, the MPower program curriculum, aimed at helping budding entrepreneurs to make informed decisions as they strive to scale new heights, in its fifth edition put the spotlight on finding new and interesting ways to overcome challenges through use-case scenarios. Each participant was given an opportunity to present his or her business strategy before an eminent jury that consisted of the industry and academia. Providing an opportunity to all those who participated in the programme an opportunity to learn new practices, and to learn new strategies their fellow participants were applying or planning to apply, the fifth edition of Mahindra MPower turned out to be as interesting as the earlier editions. Highlighting the efforts taken by Mahindra and the faculty of IIM-Ahmedabad, the programme made it aptly
clear about how the learnings could be ploughed back into the transporter’s respective businesses to stay relevant; to stay agile.
The winners
Out of the 17 transporters who participated this year, six finalists were selected to present their business strategy in front of the grand jury that consisted of Prof. Arvind Sahay, Faculty Member, Marketing and Chair of the Executive Education Program, Prof. Raghuram, Dean, IIM-Bengaluru, VS Girish, Executive Director and Group Director, Institute of Supply Chain Management Pvt. Ltd., and Prasanna Pahade, Chief Strategy Officer, Mahindra Logistics. The jury assessed the participants on parameters like innovation, digital adoption, productivity, driver incentives and CSR involving drivers and employees in general.
To choose the winner was not easy considering the business strategies presented by the transporters. The eminent jury deliberated much. They took immense efforts to ensure that they considered each and every aspect of what each participant presented in depth. Pyare Khan, Managing Director, Ashmi Road Carriers Pvt. Ltd., was adjudged the winner. Manoj Kumar Sahu, Managing Director, Ganpati Carrying Corporation Ltd., came in a close second. In what turned out be a tough race, the award for the second runner-up position was shared by Kajal Kapoor, Managing Partner, Delhi Gujarat Road Carrier, and Rohan Shah of Real Ajanta Carrying Services.
Winning strategies
Emphasising on the importance of studying historical data to anticipate as well as estimate what could lie ahead won Khan brownie points. Stressing on deriving effective forecasts crucial to the business, Khan spoke of intangibles. He cited an example of sharing company reports on chat platforms like WhatsApp. This, he mentioned, helped the company to drastically cut down day-to-day phone calls. Terming this measure as a key element in the company’s quest to increase productivity, Khan said that his company has leveraging new digital instruments like telematics to its advantage. “Since implementing telematics we have been able to ensure driver safety and fix accountability of the fleet’s performance,” he added. If digitisation turned
out to be a key enabler in how transporters are looking at elevating profitability through higher efficiency and productivity, the fifth edition of MPower highlighted the need to optimise fleet management in particular. It also highlighted the need to incorporate accountability, and to carry out as well as record safe and traceable transactions.
Accounting for key business dynamics involving the facilitation of important decisions relating to choice of markets, procurement, production, dispatch planning, plant location and layout, procurement and distribution network planning, route optimisation, determining the ideal fleet size, warehouse location and operations, and desired inventory levels among others, the MPower War Room had transporters touch upon the use of existing digital solutions at their respective companies, and how they could be leveraged to shape up future strategies to attain higher productivity and business. Impressing the jury with a stress on driving digitisation in the business, Mayank Makkar of Embee Road Services Pvt. Ltd., in his presentation, said that they were focusing on new initiatives in the area of fleet maintenance, including the tracking of repairs. “Inspection numbers are improving but are not as high,” he revealed. In the initial phase of implementation, mentioned Makkar, his company has been able to inspect 62 trucks and 528 tyres for Non Skid Depth (NSD). Tyre wear beyond the prescribed NSD for the respective tyre could lead a rise in the tyre’s susceptibility to cuts, run flats and concussions. In such a case, the tyre casing is known to weaken, rendering the tyre useless.
Stressing upon digitisation, Rohit Singh from S S Logistics, in his presentation highlighted how his company was cutting down on repetitive and mundane tasks. Sunny Batra of JKM Transport company highlighted key initiatives like the implementation of Management Information System (MIS), optimum utilisation of resources and incorporation of performancebased incentives for drivers. Milind Wadke from Mayuresh Logistics highlighted his company’s efforts in securing cargo with the requisite protocol. He mentioned that it was extremely important to build an e-commerce element into the business. Varun Sharma of Speed Wings
Logistics Solutions stressed on the importance of having an updated ERP system with cloud-based storage. “I switched to a new ERP module in Tally from the older ERP and saw a huge difference in my business,” he averred.
Kajal Kapoor of Delhi Gujarat Road Carrier stated that by going cashless, and by handing debit cards to drivers as well as using RFID FASTags, she has helped her company to reduce delays caused at toll booths and other places. The net effect of this measure, she said, has been the speeding of consignment delivery by two-to-three days. Nimit Jalan of Sri Roadlines averred that pharma and other sectors that his company caters to, were content with improved TAT, and from QSRs. Rohan Shah of Real Ajanta Carrying Services expressed that it was necessary for the transport industry to evolve with the times to keep growing. Of the opinion that it is not easy to convince the jury of the MPower War Room, Rajeev Malik, Senior General Manager – Marketing & Brand, Mahindra Truck and Bus, said that the participants put up a good show by talking about exponential growth, by drawing a clear roadmap, and by presenting data to back their claims. He drew attention to the robust roadmap of the programme. Stating that what is visible through participant presentations is a reflection of what is happening at the grass root level in the industry, Malik said, “In the earlier editions of MPower War Room, the participants spoke about GPS, which have become a standard offering after the move to BSIV. In this edition, the focus was on what lies beyond.” “The transport community has come a long way,” he added.
Outlook
Co-relating digitisation to business growth, the winner of the fifth edition of Mahindra MPower, Pyare Khan, expressed that his is a rags to riches story. An important in the journey, he said, was an emphasis on digitisation. Able to leverage digitisation to its advantage, Khan mentioned, “There is a distinct need for the transporters to go digital. To find new ways to keep growing.” Expected to cover a good deal of transporters by 2020, digitisation is only expected to rise further. With the roll-out of BSVI emission regulations in 2020, digitisation would have become an integral part of how transporters conduct their business. Most transporters that participated in the latest edition of Mahindra MPower answered in affirmate to this developmental path. They were unanimous in their opinion that the entire transport ecosystem should undergo a realignment of sorts. Failing which, there will be a slim chance of benefiting from the rapid and disruptive advancements in technology. Said Malik that a drastic change in approach by transporters is necessary. It would, he averred, help realise the potential to transform the trucking sector into an organised marketplace. “To align with new norms and technologies that will shape up the future, transporters will have to transform into an organised sector for certain. They will have to adopt digital ways of working,” he concluded.