Jeena & Company having recently started business operations in Australia, is focusing on strengthening relationships with agents and customers. The company is focusing towards other markets such as USA, Canada and other parts of the globe, says Ayesha Katgara, Head, Corporate Strategy, Jeena & Company.
Ritika Arora Bhola
What, according to you, will be the major growth drivers this year and beyond?
Logistics industry has been progressing at a rapid pace. With the Union Budget 2023-2024 focusing on improving India’s infrastructure through various policies, building dedicated freight corridors, reviving airports, helipads, water aero drones, and advanced landing grounds. These include efficient logistics not only to improve regional multimodal connectivity, but also the FTAs signed between India and other countries to boost the country’s exports, promote bilateral trade, one of the major growth drivers for the sector.
What are the emerging trends in the sector globally and what are the areas that need attention?
Customer demand for real-time data: Of late, customer demands have changed, and expectations are on real-time data, and therefore, service providers across the globe are working towards meeting this demand.
Supply chain agility & automation: This is something the logistics sector is striving for. The more agile our supply chains are, the better equipped we would be to face any disruption. This can be achieved through automation and digitization. With advancements in technology, there will always be something new to adopt and leverage the sector to be at par with other industries. Internet of Things and advanced analytics are crucial
for customers.
Sustainability: The industry has laid emphasis on sustainability in a big way. Across the globe, many green initiatives have been undertaken or are in the pipeline to reduce carbon footprint.
How important has it become for the companies to design the future supply chains, which are cost-effective and resilient?
The pandemic has taught us how important it is to design resilient supply chains. Post-pandemic, it has become important for companies to equip themselves in such a way that they are able to cater to the evolving customer needs and sustain the disruption in an efficient manner. At Jeena and Co., we are continuously working to optimize our operations and solutions to offer the best service experience to our customers. With a centralized pricing team and network of agents, we monitor minute economical changes that put us in a position to make quick decisions based on the prevailing market conditions. It is important to add 123 years of logistics experience and with various ISO 9001 /27001, AEO, CTPAT & FCPA certifications under our belt, being one of the largest customs brokers in India and being top IATA 10 national forwarders, we shall continue to be at an advantageous position to leverage our internal expertise with 1,000 logistics architects.
How do you think PM Gati Shakti and NLP will impact logistics sector and improve the trade?
The Indian government’s latest initiatives are poised to impact the logistics sector. Both the policies focus on enhancing infra and bridging the existing gaps in the current ecosystem. Logistics is otherwise highly fragmented and, through these policies it is certain we would notice some improvement in efficiency and efficacy. If the existing logistical challenges are mitigated, domestic and global trade will improve. Interestingly, Jeena has ventured into multimodal logistics jointly with Standard Multimodal and we see a potential in coastal shipping, if the infrastructural developments take place as planned.
How would you rate infra in India for multimodal cargo movement. Is it good enough or there is there need to improve?
The infrastructure in India has room for improvement and I am bullish about the government’s plans to improve India’s infra to facilitate multimodal connectivity across India. Being a multimodal service provider, we come across challenges due to the existing bottlenecks in the infra development. However, if the government initiatives are implemented, we will see a difference in multimodal cargo movement. The 29.2 km long Coastal Road, an eight-lane grade separated expressway under construction, would run along Mumbai’s western coastline connecting Marine Lines in the south to Kandivali in the north and The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, also known as the Sewri–Nhava Sheva Trans Harbour Link, which is an under-construction 21.8 km six-lane access-controlled expressway grade road bridge will connect Mumbai with Navi Mumbai. These projects pose a future for multimodal cargo movement.
What’s your reaction on the Union Budget 2023-2024?
The Union Budget 2023-2024 laid out plans with regards to improving India’s infrastructure. There has been emphasis on a ‘green growth’ strategy prioritizing green fuel, energy adoption and best practices to reduce carbon footprint, while creating green job avenues for the youth. It is great to see India moving firmly towards sustainability and walking hand in hand with other developed nations. The indirect tax proposals, simplified tax structure and proposals to reduce basic customs duty on goods other than agriculture and textile would boost India’s exports, promote domestic manufacturing, and enhance the nation’s contribution to the world’s exports scenario.
Seamless on-time delivery has forced the firms to join forces with ecosystem partners. How challenging has it become for LSPs to meet customers’ needs?
There is a huge advantage in collaborating with ecosystem partners as it lets us leverage each other’s strengths. Considering the bottlenecks in the Indian market, the LSPs can meet the customers’ expectations by harnessing collaborations. There would be one or the other challenges, how we mitigate those is what empowers LSPs. For us, meeting or exceeding our customers’ expectations is an organizational goal we consistently pursue is important.
Elaborate on the global best strategies you are planning to infuse in Jeena for efficiency in business and network enhancement?
- We are able to achieve a single-dashboard view is a go-to objective for us by streamlining our processes.
- Collaborating with digital freight forwarders is something that we are looking at in order to expand our network and providing express delivery will also be a key
- 3PL and Warehousing is a field we shall grow and our upcoming 1.10 lakh sq.ft., space in Mumbai will take us towards this goal
- We are focusing on Jeena Criticare with Pharma, healthcare and critical logistics, which is growing everyday.
Tell us about the innovations done by your company?
We have adopted the best in class technology and cut down usage of paper and channelized our customers towards adopting digital options. With our expansion in Australia, we hope to contribute to the interim ECTA signed between India and Australia and make a difference to the bilatreral trade.
