Customer centricity: The bedrock of Blue Dart's successful run

Aneel Gambhir, CFO, Blue Dart

Blue Dart accepted, adapted and improvised itself on the situation at hand to continue being a Provider of Choice, an Employer of Choice and an Investment of Choice for all the stakeholders. Aneel Gambhir, CFO, Blue Dart details the company's success despite the pandemic.

What are your top three priorities as CFO of Blue Dart Express Ltd?

Technology and Automation, using tech to build a sustainable supply chain as well as risk assessment and management, across verticals of our business are my 3 key priorities from a Supply Chain point of view.

Technology has always been a major pivot for us, and the pandemic only catapulted our innovation further. As a part of the DPDHL Group, ‘Strategy 2025 – Delivering Excellence in a Digital World’, is of prime significance to us and therefore, our initiatives are tailor-made to ensure lean operations that helped us ramp up and achieve high service levels at short notice. We launched initiatives such as our Contact Less Delivery service and most recently our Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium that will leverage drone – technology to build robust healthcare infrastructure in remote areas. Going forward, we know the potential that remains untapped in leveraging tech solutions in the logistics space. We are excited to be pioneers on that front too.

Tying in with prioritizing technology and digitalization, is our aim to continue ‘Connecting People, Improving Lives’. Leveraging the use of technology, we aim to make our brand one that provides long-term sustainability and shows corporate responsibility through our initiatives that help the environment as well as the communities we reside in. Following the Sustainability Roadmap that we, as a part of the DPDHL Group, align ourselves to, we work towards clean operations for climate protection (Environment), being a great company to work for all (Social) as well as being a highly trusted company (Governance).

The pandemic also made a strong case on how we cannot eliminate risk but can minimize its negative impact on the business. Risk Management will be a key priority going forward to ensure Blue Dart’s future-ready solutions safeguard our stakeholders’ interests and boost organizational resilience. This will continue to aid our efforts to manage our business with minimum disruption and cost, to protect and preserve the Company’s human, physical and financial assets.

What is your outlook on the logistics sector amid the impending third wave predictions?

Through the first, second and now the impending third wave, the need for the logistics sector to ramp up its technological prowess has been the key guiding factor in distinguishing resilient organizations from the rest. While the first wave put a stop to everything, recent reports indicate that despite the second wave, various industries have reported better performance in Q1 FY 2022. With uncertainties and on-off restrictions surrounding offline retail, the rise in eCommerce is supporting economic growth. The logistics sector is going to see organizations make leaps across the tech space and a future outlook for the industry seems to be a space where faster results can be expected without compromising on quality. Technological innovations such as real-time ordering, end-to-end inventory visibility, autonomous warehouses, drone delivery and significant use of robotics will provide relief to the sector by ensuring supply chain continuity in the event of another unprecedented crisis.

Changing customer behaviour is another trend noticed during the last two waves; this ‘new normal’ of revenge buying, an act of overindulging in retail therapy by individuals who have missed shopping at their favourite outlets due to the pandemic, will also continue going forward, especially in the event of a third wave. The integral role that logistics plays in bridging the gap between B2B, B2C, C2C and D2C customers, will continue to remain prominent, going forward as well.

What factors have contributed the most to help chart a stellar turnaround of consolidated net loss of Rs 125.84 crore in Q1FY21 to a consolidated net profit of Rs 31.27 crore for Q1FY22?

Everything that we have worked for over the last 37 years of our organization’s operations, was put to test over the last year and a half; whether it be our market-leading technology and innovation, our dedicated and motivated teams as well as our ability to support the nation as its Trade Facilitator. The year has been anything but what we deem ‘normal’. Blue Dart accepted, adapted and improvised itself to the situation at hand to continue being a Provider of Choice, an Employer of Choice and an Investment of Choice for all our stakeholders.

Customer centricity has always been the bedrock of our foundation at Blue Dart. Customer experience is what sets Blue Dart apart in a very competitive environment. Ensuring a smooth and hassle-free experience for the customer has been a priority, always.

With this as our foundational tool, we moved forward designing each product and service offering keeping our customers at the centre of our business. Blue Dart’s ‘First In Last Out’ policy was effective back in 2001 during the Bhuj earthquake as well as in 2004 during the Tsunami. The pandemic of 2020 was a period where we only stepped this up with our 3R's – Reliability, Resilience and Responsiveness and continued to be the Trade Facilitator to the Nation, to our commercial and individual customers.

While we introduced several discounted offers to ensure that our customers weren’t feeling the pinch in their pocket while shipping with us (Fight COVID-19 Price, Rakhi Express, Diwali Express, Merry Express); we also wanted to ensure that they felt safe while shipping with us across the world even amidst a pandemic.

Our teams ensured that innovation wasn’t compromised and our customers’ reservations were addressed. Keeping this in mind, we pioneered the Contact Less Delivery Service; operated across the nation and across borders leveraging our Air Network and our army of Blue Darters, transporting essential and non-essential items as well as helping our neighbouring nations during this crisis. Providing future-ready solutions, we ramped up our TCL capabilities in preparation for the vaccine against COVID-19; launched our ‘My Blue Dart’ mobile application to enhance customer experience and most recently launched the Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium that will leverage drone technology to deliver shipments across the country. Our teams’ need to innovate never stopped and this helped us continue retaining our position as a Provider of Choice to each and every customer.

The support offered by our market-differentiators, our B757-200 freighters and our 11000+ ground network, helped us remain the Express Logistics Provider of Choice to all.

What are your growth levers for profitability going forward?

We must understand that logistics was, is and will remain the backbone of every industry across verticals. Facilitating trade and commerce plays a significant role in the success of the economy and therefore, the demand for logistics services will always be present. With the GDP prediction leaning towards the positive next year, albeit by a few points, we are set to see a higher growth rate and a lower logistics cost, making our services more streamlined. Various logistics-centric policies devised and executed by the Government including the recently announced PM Gati Scheme will also help us take a step in the right direction and bring our logistics cost on par with other developed nations whose logistics cost is a mere 6-7 per cent of their GDP. The boost in technology and eCommerce only furthers the industry’s significance and this bodes well for us, at Blue Dart, as we have been focusing on the two industries, sensing potential prior to the pandemic.

Apart from this, Blue Dart’s strength lies in its ability to adapt no matter what the situation, as well as our cavalry which includes a team that understands the true essence of exceptional service quality. These will continue to remain the foundation of our organization and will always propel growth.

How has your experience been as CFO of Blue Dart Express? Can you tell us about a challenge that you successfully faced while leading the company?

The experience of leading South Asia’s Preferred Logistics Provider has been exceptional. I firmly believe in the fact that it is an attitude that makes or breaks a person and every individual coming on board, has always been trained to think with our four foundational values of Passion, Can Do, Right 1st Time and As One. These ‘North Stars’ as we like to call them, guide every individual through their career and teach them to have a positive attitude, no matter the challenge coming their way.

These values helped us all find the light at the end of the tunnel, during the pandemic. The current pandemic is by far the most challenging event that we have come across and it did make a clear distinction between a resilient and a vulnerable organization. Navigating our way was only possible if we worked together 'As One' and delivered a premium service even amidst this crisis.

I firmly believe that the reason we are successful even amidst a pandemic was our readiness to take on a challenge and convert it into an opportunity as well as an increased focus on leadership roles that steered the organization back on to the path to success. I am happy to say, today, we are cautiously optimistic about what the future holds.

In your view what are the essential qualities of a successful CFO?

I believe strong leadership requires certain attributes that can not only help propel organizational growth but also, individual growth. A few attributes that I associate with successful leadership are – Foresight, Clarity, Communication, Curiosity and a significant risk appetite.

Leading a logistics major requires an aptitude to take and manage risk well; risk and opportunity are two sides of the same coin. I believe that foresight is built over the years but looking at the big picture is incredibly important and eliminates the chance of letting yourself micro-manage. As a leader fostering tomorrow’s talent, we must remember that providing clarity of thought through an open communication channel, is incredibly important in shaping our subordinates’ careers; as they will use your teachings as an example going forward.

Lastly, I believe curiosity is a mark of intelligence. No matter how experienced and how knowledgeable we are, we must never stop being curious to learn more. This learning can be from a colleague, a friend, a subordinate, or a superior, but we must never lose the opportunity to learn more.