August 2017

APAC / August 2017 21 Excellence in Delivery Capabilities g outside Mumbai airport on its first night of operations, to being one of the strongest company’s handling thousands of shipments each day. We continue to deliver unparalleled value proposition to our stakeholders. Our extensive pan-India air and ground network provide a significant competitive advantage. We are India’s only Dedicated Freighter operation facilitating late pick-ups and early deliveries through our fleet of 6 Boeing 757 aircraft (the only express logistics provider to have its own freighters in India). Our 3 R’s - Reach, Reliability and Responsiveness achieved through superior control over entire logistics supply-chain with dedicated manpower will remain a key focus area of continuous improvement. We offer the widest range of differentiated services Air: Critical Express, TDD, Dart Apex, TCL; Ground: Dart Surfaceline; Dart Surfaceline Plus, Dart Plus etc. Blue Dart has always pioneered solutions for the industry which has become benchmarks for the rest. Our key differentiators continue to be extensive reach, late pick-up/early delivery, transit time, reliability, security, tracking visibility across the complete delivery chain with APIs, SMS pre-alerts, Parcel Lockers. Mobile Service Centres and a service completely centred on the customer. Blue Dart was also the first to introduce Cash-on- Delivery (COD) as a payment option for its e-tail customers. Today, in addition to COD, Blue Dart also offers customers the convenience to pay by credit or debit card through Mobile Point of Sale (MPOS) and through 15 mobile wallet options. Blue Dart, in line with its focus on innovation, has also introduced several customised products designed to meet specific needs of key industry verticals. For example: Blue Dart’s Temperature Controlled Logistics (TCL) was introduced to support the pharmaceutical industry and the boom in biotechnology and CRO (Clinical Research Organisation) activities as well as enabled time definite deliveries (TDD) for the Banking and Financial Services industry. We see ourselves as a responsible corporate entity focused on delivering our promise and concerned about the deteriorating environment and keen to fulfil its social responsibilities. How does it feel to be part of Ones to Watch in Air Transportation, Scheduled – India? What does this mean for you and your firm? We are extremely humbled and honoured to receive this recognition. Blue Dart is one of the most admired and awarded companies in India, being recognised as a Business Superbrand for the 10th consecutive year, Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand for the 11th consecutive year and ranked 17th amongst top 50 ‘Best companies to Work for in India 2016’ by Great Place to Work Institute, India. Please give me a brief overview of your industry in your region currently. Are there any outside influences affecting it? • While the e-commerce space has rapidly evolved, several challenges have surfaced primarily in areas of taxation, logistics, and payments. Poor last mile connectivity, especially in remote areas with a larger population, is another problem faced by Indian e-tailers. • Last mile delivery has proved to be a challenge; especially since only a third of people in India have a bank account. That means lots of customers want to pay cash on delivery • There is a lack of trust in payment methods (PwC, 2015) • India continues to be a cash-based society due to limited banking and credit card penetration. • Tax and regulatory environment still evolving (PwC, 2015) • Laws regulating e-commerce in India are still evolving and lack clarity. The taxation policies for the e-businesses are not well-defined depending on different business models and transaction types. GST will ease this. • Poor logistics and supply chains • India currently lacks robust logistics and supply chains, resulting in courier companies to have limited reach. • An increasing number of online orders are coming from new parts of India that are further and further remote – a sign of progress, but expansion creates the need for new logistics solutions. • The last mile delivery is still a concern for most e-commerce players especially given the high percentage of Cash-on- Delivery deliveries in India. (Deloitte, 2016) • At present, there are only a few airports equipped to handle large volumes of express delivery parcels. As e-commerce gathers momentum and moves to the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, there will be increasing demand of expanding air cargo connectivity to smaller towns. (Assocham India, 2016) Working within your industry, what techniques do you employ to stay ahead of emerging developments? Vast and unparalleled Domestic Network Blue Dart is linked by some of the most advanced communication systems and is positioned to offer a consistent, premium, standardised quality of service. Blue Dart has an extensive reach across the country, catering to 35,027 locations. Blue Dart continues to be the lone-ranger in the Indian skies with a fleet of six Boeing 757-200 freighters with capacities up to 504 tonnes per night. The only one of its kind in the country today, that focuses on carriage of packages as its prime business, rather than a by-product of a passenger airline. With a dedicated aviation system, Blue Dart is a self-sustaining organisation, with its own bonded warehouses, ground handling and maintenance capabilities. A spectrum of services to provide customised solutions. Blue Dart is the only express player in the country today which offers an entire range of services that extend from a document to a charter-load of shipments. The company’s services are relentlessly monitored to deliver a net service level of 99.96%. • Some of the products and services offered by Blue Dart are as follows: • Express Service Offerings • Domestic Priority (Dox) • Dart Apex (WPX) • Dart Surfaceline (Ground) • Smart Box (Air / Ground) • Express Pallet (Air / Ground) • International Services • Etailing specific services • Dart Apex (etailing) B2C • Dart Surfaceline (etailing) B2C • eFulfillment • X-Border • Value Added Services • GOGREEN Carbon Neutral Service [CNS] • Time Definite Delivery Services [TDD] • Domestic Priority 1030 & 1200 • Dart Apex 1200 • Critical Express • Demand Draft on Delivery [DOD] • Freight on Delivery [FOD] • Insurance Arrangement [FOV] • Cash on Delivery [COD] • Temperature Controlled Logistics [TCL] • Dart Surfaceline Plus [DSP] • Ground Point to Point [P2P]