December 2020 I Volume 4
India FACE OF THE MONTH
Mr. BIJU THOMAS Managing Director Sevenseas Global Express Logistics Pvt. Ltd.
India
FACE OF THE MONTH
Mr. BIJU THOMAS Managing Director Sevenseas Global Express Logistics Pvt. Ltd.
I
n the “Face of the Month� feature for December 2020, we have Mr. Biju Thomas, Managing Director, SevenSeas Global Express Logistics (I) Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Thomas founded Sevenseas Shipping in 2001 and later rechristened its name as Sevenseas Global Express Logistics Pvt. Ltd. In the 19 years of its operations, Sevenseas has grown to become one of the largest freight forwarders in India with 21 branches across the country. Mr. Thomas had graduated from MG University in Kerala and holds an MBA in Shipping Management from NPI, Mumbai. Before starting Sevenseas, he worked in various capacities with shipping lines such as Wan Hai Lines (Taiwan) and Hanjin (Korea). He was also awarded as Emerging Leader of Tomorrow in 2012 by Economic Times and Top Ten Emerging Entrepreneur of Year by CNBC TV18 in 2013. Let us here from him on how this year treated the logistics industry in general and Sevenseas industry in particular.
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FACE OF THE MONTH
Q
2020 has been a tumultuous year for the logistics industry and shippers are becoming increasingly concerned about their supply chains. How do you address this issue with your customers / shippers? It has been one of the worst years for the industry. However, by and large we were able to manage these delays which is known to customers across the board. Our relations with the shipping lines and airlines have become extremely crucial as there were inventory shortages while vessel sailing and frequency of lights had been erratic.
Q
Lack of visibility and continuity in supply chains is a major concern this year. How long would this issue prevail, according to you? It is a known fact that supply of empty containers is badly due to their accumulation of in hinterlands in America and Europe. It will take at least 2 to 3 months to get the containers back into China, which will move further to Asian countries and then export movement will become smoother.
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Container shortage and skyrocketing freight rates have rocked the industry in the last few months. How are the various stakeholders (like shipping lines, 3 I India Seatrade I December 2020
transport providers, etc.) reacting to this? When according to you would the rates become stable? Industry is crossing ingers and waiting for the whole situation to be normal which is not really predictable, however; we expect that by March 2021 the situation should hopefully improve. The unprecedented hiking of freight has brought many importers to hold their imports temporarily and they may resume only once the rates comes to the pre-COVID levels, but the major hit is to the export. Due to non availability of containers, many exporters are either losing export orders or staring at unimaginable shipping delays (that run into huge losses). In spite of making losses, exporters are shipping out their goods just to maintain relations with their buyers.
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Are there any strategies that the shippers are adopting from their end to secure their supply chains in these tough times? Exporters are looking at options whether to move cargo by air or sea based on the feasibility of freight. Depending on their supply chain planning, many exporters are trying to breakdown their cargo in lots to accommodate as LCL cargo. As this is a worldwide situation, the buyers/importers are supporting the exporters in changing the freight mode and terms of www.indiaseatrade.com
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FACE OF THE MONTH shipments from CIF to ex-works and vice versa in the case of importers. There are cases where shippers and buyers delay their orders to overcome the freight requirement. There are also c a s e s wh e re m u l t i n a t i o n a l s a re a s k i n g subsidiaries globally to procure locally.
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How did the airfreight market fair during the pandemic period in terms of volumes, rates, and capacity?
Due to the implementation of air bubble during the COVID time, the cargo capacity has fallen down dramatically. Airlines have geared up to the situations and placed more freighters in order to support more cargo movement. The freight rates which have gone up to the level of 10x from the normal rates have come down by atleast half from its peak. This is a major relief for those customers who wants to move goods at a faster pace.
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What do you think the Indian logistics industry can learn from this crisis?
This has been a very trying and challenging time for the entire logistics industry in India – be it shippers, buyers, freight forwarders, customs brokers, transporters etc. A major lesson to be learnt from the crisis is that there can be no deviation on the smooth low of the supply chain management and container movements. A minor deviation can cause a major cascading effect across the global export and import market.
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As one of the largest freight forwarders, what kind of integrated solutions do y o u o ff e r t o y o u r c u s t o m e r s t o maximize logistics ef iciency? We offer integrated as well as tailor-made solutions taking every shipment as a case study and work around it to arrive to the right and most feasible solutions. Having our own leet & CHA license, helps us to give comprehensive one-stop shop solutions to customers across India and the world.
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How far have you been successful implementing technology to streamline yo u r l o g i s t i c s a n d s u p p ly c h a i n management services? Freight forwarding is one of the irst industry which embraced technology for its smooth running as it has got a complicated operational procedure/structure with many stakeholders involved. Sevenseas is one among the most technologically sound Indian company and we are in constant upgradation to ensure we have the latest tools available in line with the best practices globally. 4 I India Seatrade I December 2020
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There is a lot of buzz going on to beef up i n f r a s t r u c t u r e f o r t h e l o g i s t i c s requirements of Covid-19 vaccines. What is the strategy that Sevenseas is adopting in this regard? India being one of the largest producers of vaccine in the world, we expect a good volume of movement to various continents that needs to be handled in the near future. We have prepared ourselves to handle such large volumes of air freight movement with our global tie-ups and local networks.
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Which markets or trade routes according to you would perform well for you in 2021?
Though it is dif icult to predict during these uncertain times, we think India-US, India-Africa and India-Europe trade may see the highest growth in 2021-22.
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Do you have plans for any M&A activity to consolidate your position in the market?
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We are always on the lookout of appropriate and ideal companies who are stronger in their local presence. Also, we have plans to open up of ices abroad in the near future.
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The government is betting on the “AtmaNirbharBhart� initiative to develop domestic manufacturing. To what extent do you think this initiative will impact the Indian exports? This is a great initiative by Government of India. In the meantime, our government has to bring in many reforms to reduce the red tape and increase the speed of customs clearance as well as domestic movements across India. The current infrastructure is not suf icient enough to reach the s e t g o a l s a n d t h e re h a s b e s o m e m o re improvements in order to meet international standards. We are in need of more dedicated freight corridors and quick, ef icient customs clearance procedures. If such initiatives are given priority, I am sure that India will emerge as an alternative to China in becoming the production hub of the world.
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As a logistics services provider, how far d o y o u t h i n k w o u l d t h e “AtmaNirbharBhart� initiative help in boosting your business? If such initiatives as mentioned earlier are implemented on priority, we expect the volume to grow exponentially over the next 5 years, which will eventually contribute towards the goal of India being a $5 trillion economy.
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It is about 19 years ago that you started this company. When you look back, when you travel down the memory lane, how do you feel? It's a great feeling which is dif icult to express in words. From a one man show to one of the largest Indian freight forwarder/CHA with 20+ of ices with 450 employee strength and with Rs.350
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crores turnover is a dream come true. Looking back, I feel every step of improvement, every upgradation of knowledge, technology and people are the biggest factors for such growth. The loyal employees who are there with us for a long time is a major driving force of Sevenseas.
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What are your plans for Sevenseas in the coming years?
We are working on expanding our warehousing and supply chain management division to compete with the best in the market. We aspire to be the Top Indian Comprehensive Logistics service provider which is a goal that we look forward to achieve. We are also looking at expanding our of ices to the areas that we are not present at now - including certain overseas of ices.
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