Be it in war stricken Afghanistan or in high crime areas in interiors of Columbia, Tiger Logistics has dared to venture and deliver cargo in areas where others hesitated to operate. Harpreet Singh Malhotra, Managing Director, Tiger Logistics India Limited, in a heart to heart with Vijay Kurup, narrates what has brought success to this young first generation logistics entrepreneur
Q What provoked you to start off on your own? What gave you the confidence to jump into the fray particularly when shipping was passing through difficult times?
That time was not as easy as present time opportunities are but the niche knowledge and sheer skills of logistics made me push hard to go forward. The only advantage I had in bringing a small enterprise to the present position has been my management skills acquired through working in various capacities. I incorporated the company as Tiger Logistics Private Limited on 23rd May, 2000 from scratch with a small team. I bagged my first consignment with a big company like Gillette on the hallmark of trust and promise.
Q You have a penchant to take on difficult projects – like the shipment to Afghanistan and the import of Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems from Israel for the Indian Air Force. What made you take up these difficult projects?
Tiger Logistics started its defence arena in year 2005 and at that time we were quiet young and that helped us to take challenges and risks. When anyone said it was not possible, I did out myself and wrote history. Be it the Salma Dam Project in war stricken Afghanistan or in high crime areas in interiors of Columbia where no company is willing to operate. When cargo had to be delivered in interiors of East Africa where at some places high poles had been commissioned. I thought out-of-the-box, worked with the government machinery to get the height increased and ensured the cargo was delivered spot on time.
Q You have been into International logistics right from beginning. Domestic logistics has relatively been a recent addition. Why have you branched into this segment and what has been your success here?
Tiger Logistics is doing only a limited domestic service as of now. We are doing for those clients who need domestic support, some of them are associated with us for long. We have a good number of trailers and many transporters are also associated with us. We are good in providing domestic support but it will take time to grab the market share. In the Logistics arena Japanese and Korean Companies like to work with their local counterparts. We did this with the candour and commitment and are able to breakthrough this trend and get top Asian Companies like LG, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Bajaj in our kitty.
Q You have entered into Defence Logistics. How different is that from other branches of logistics?
In defence there are certain protocols to be followed. You have to do things according to their demands, every cargo or every movement is very sensitive and need attentive care. Everything is channelized and you are bound to do accordingly. The security paroles are required in each shipment, MoU is signed before the process starts and each and every detail is fully confidential. We have to provide dedicated skilled project engineers not only in India but also in foreign land. The way of project is secured and can changed anytime.
Q With a market cap of Rs208 crore and growing at 28 per cent per annum what would you attribute your success to?
Today the turnover of company is 324+ Crores and staff strength of 375+ persons with 14 offices in India – New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Veraval, Vadodara, Mundra, Hazira, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Chennai & Bengaluru and one overseas office abroad in Singapore.
ISO 9001:2008 certified Tiger Logistics Ltd. demonstrates the new height of standards in logistics industry by providing quality services, integrated supply chain and logistics solutions to consistently meet the customer requirements across all over India. When the company got listed as the 9th Indian logistics company to go public in 2013 it received much credibility from the market. At the early starting of year 2017 we received the credentials of AEO. Now we have both a MTO and an AEO certification.
