VCMD
Dear Shareholders,
As India`s leading integrated logistics and supply chain solutions provider, we have
been crossing major milestones on the road to success since the beginning. Over the years,
with a professionally-managed team of experts, technologically advanced operations,
qualitative and value-added services and a commitment to customer satisfaction, we have
witnessed a quantum growth in our business. Today, we enjoy the status of being leaders in
logistics.
Since we believe that quality plays an indelible role in building a company, we have
made quality our never-ending mission. We strive to achieve quality in all our business
processes, services, manpower and facilities. Quality has been the cornerstone of our
success which has stood us in good stead for the last 5 decades.
The year gone by has been a difficult one for the entire industry. The overall micro as
well as macro environment where we operate in was challenging. Though the country has the
second largest network of roads (4.24 million km after US`s 6.43 million km), the second
largest rail network (63,000 km), 128 airports, 13 major ports and 187 non-major ports,
this infrastructure is not sufficient to deliver optimum quality. The industry has
attracted only limited private investments, that too more recently following
privatization. As a result, the Indian logistics industry accounts for a mere 2 per cent
(USD 100 billion) of the USD 5,000 billion global logistics industry. Further, owing to
general inefficiencies, logistics is a high-cost activity in India (13% of GDP compared to
8-9% of GDP in the US).
Delays in the implementation of regulatory changes like financing the maintenance of
transport infrastructure, managing urban congestion, supply chain disruption on account of
poor rural connectivity, coupled with high interest rates are some of the many issues
which have been affecting the whole industry adversely. The urgent needs of the hour are
to strengthen the competitive and regulatory environment, grant an industry status to the
segment, focus on infrastructure development and create a skilled workforce pool for the
logistics business.
While looking at the brighter side, I am sure things will change with the government`s
12 Five Year Plan of USD 1 trillion of investment in infrastructure development and a
strong commitment towards providing conducive regulations, rationalization of tax
structures and proposed introduction of GST. All these are promises of a favourable
environment, in which the sector can flourish.
Despite all the challenges, we managed to achieve a modest improvement in our results
over that of last year. All our business divisions operated and responded
optimistically.We took many measures to sustain our past performance. We continued to
provide unique and customised solutions to our clients. We did not compromise on quality
deliverables and as a result we managed to add many new businesses to our kitty.
Each division has taken initiatives to improve operational efficiencies and provide our
clients with quality deliverables. Introduction of All Purpose Vehicle Carrier (APVC),
state-of-the-art warehousing facilities, an extensive domestic network of offices, global
expansion, advanced IT capabilities, strategic JVs and expansions into newer markets are
some of the many initiatives taken by us to further strengthen our position as leaders in
the industry.
Information Technology represent the corporate backbone helping converge all group
operations on a single platform, while enhancing business intelligence and customer
relationship management. We are poised to invest Rs. 50 crore on Information Technology in
the next five years. All these initiatives are results of our continuous endeavour to
provide best-in-class customer centric services.
We firmly believe in thought leadership and continuously seek solutions from all
stakeholders to better the state of the sector. In our endeavour to achieve thought
leadership, TCI in association with IIM-Calcutta, released the second edition of the Joint
Study Report on the `Operational Efficiency of National Highways for Freight
Transportation in India`.
On the CSR front, we have ensured that the work towards making a meaningful difference
in people`s life should never stop. Our vocational training centre in Jhamhar near Ranchi,
has seen two batches of women completing their training in handloom weaving and we are
pleased to learn that it has started contributing to their income. As a part of our
intervention on disaster relief, we started construction of houses for the victims
affected by the cloudbursts in Ladakh`s Leh area. The new houses have been built and
handed over to the victims.
TCI Jaipur Foot and Rehabilitation Center in Patna has now been equipped with a mobile
workshop which can cater to about 100 patients at any point of time. It is a big relief
for people residing in remote areas and who are unable to come to our main centre can
still avail of the treatment.
Looking forward:
With all the ingredients of success; dedicated people, world-class infrastructure,
innovative systems and right business strategies in place, we at TCI are poised to meet
the demands of a growing industry and deliver consistent results for which we are known
for.
At TCI, we aim to capitalize on growing national opportunities by venturing into new
business segments and growing our existing segments. As the Supply Chain Solutions (TCI
SCS), Express Division (TCI XPS) and Freight divisions continue to drive revenues, we will
further strengthen their core competencies in the coming years. Forging ahead, we believe
that high GDP growth, implementation of GST and infrastructure investments by the
government will give a new boost to the logistics sector.
I am grateful to my fellow Directors on the Board and the members of the Management
Committee for their support. I would also like to extend a special thanks to each and
every shareholder of TCI, whose trust and confidence have been the motivating force in all
our endeavours. I thank all our customers and business associates in India and abroad for
their unstinted loyalty and steadfast patronage of our services. Finally, a word of thanks
to more than 5000 employees of TCI who are making these successes happen. I am extremely
proud of their high level of commitment to the company and their outstanding performance
over this period and have full confidence in their ability to deliver even greater success
going forward.
D P Agarwal
Vice Chairman & Managing Director
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