‘Any consignment, anywhere, any mode’ – Mr Chris Callen, Country Manager, DHL Express, India
A seasoned professional with over 25 years experience in the Express and Logistics industry, Mr Callen worked with many companies before joining New Zealand Post Ltd as Group Manager Distribution. He was a key member of the team that played a pioneering role in deregulating the postal market and developing the express and logistics industry in New Zealand. In 1998, he was made Chairman of joint venture airline Airpost Ltd. Mr Callen joined DHL in late 2002, and was recently elected Chairman of the Express Industry Council of India and is a Trustee of The American School of Bombay. Mr Callen spoke to Business Line about the Express industry, DHL, its new partners and its customers.
Excerpts from the interview:
As an express company, how do you view the Indian situation?
India is a land of wonderful opportunities. Infrastructure is evolving, so is the regulatory system, though the pace of progress has been slow. We in DHL Express look forward to the Indian market with great anticipation. With 27-28 per cent growth in Exim trade, the potential is huge.
How big is the Indian market and what is your share of it?
There are no precise universally accepted estimates of market size in India. Our extensive internal research data indicate our share to be at least 60 per cent in the Indian international express market.
Which means you face no competition?
How can that be? In today's world, competition is inescapable. It is part of business. When we came to India in 1979, we were No. 1; after 25 years, we continue to be No. 1, although the market has vastly expanded all these years. It is not without reason we have customers loyal to us. We have invested more than all other companies put together. Quite likely we have more employees, more vehicles on ground, more service centres, more coverage than all other players put together – which also explains why customers choose us. All our investment is driven towards providing superior value to our customer.
What has been the performance like?
In calendar 2003, we posted 30 per cent growth over 2002. In 2004 our growth rate was slower as we adjusted price to enable us to be profitable and we expect the current year to mirror 2003.
In which of the segments are you strong?
Textile, garments and fashion (that is, individually designed garments) together account for over 30 per cent of our business in India. But we are also growing in automobile, pharmaceutical and hi-tech sectors. It is interesting to see India emerging as an exporter of automobile spares and hi-tech items to Europe and other countries and we are happy to be the partner in this growth.
Tell us about Blue Dart… Why did you enter the domestic market?
This development with Blue Dart is a logical extension of our current alliance and brings together two premium brands and preferred service providers in the domestic and international air express and logistics arenas.
The Blue Dart deal creates a platform for DHL to build on current capabilities and further expand service offerings to the Indian market. We are committed to the long term in India.
But why Blue Dart?
DHL Express India is no stranger to Blue Dart. The two companies have had an extremely successful business relationship through a sales alliance forged in 2002. This exciting development effectively consolidates our relationship and enables us to further refine our domestic and international product portfolio. We can now leverage DHL's international expertise and Blue Dart's established domestic network.
How will the management of Blue Dart change?
There will be no organisational change; it will be business as usual. Blue Dart and DHL will continue to operate independently but in close co-operation. Our commitment to customers remains unchanged. Our operations will not be disrupted in any way and customers will continue to enjoy the same level of industry-leading service that is the hallmark of DHL.
What is your major worry?
My major concern is how to rise above the popular perception that DHL is merely a transporter of documents. In fact we are much more than that. In the entire Asia-Pacific region, documents account for just 20 per cent of DHL's total express business. Our global vision is to be the leading express and logistics provider. In India, together with our joint venture, DHL Danzas Lemuir, and recent acquisition Blue Dart Express, we are in a position to provide total logistics solutions, covering every aspect of the supply chain, including strategy development, for any organisation within India and across the globe. We enable world trade. As a brand DHL transports 5 per cent of world cross-border trade, much more than any other company! In fact, in talking to our customers, we realise how closely we are partnering in their growth.
What are you doing to change the perception?
The perception is changing, slowly. Customers, existing as well as potential, are starting to understand what the new DHL is all about. But we work hard at it – we have undertaken a massive advertising campaign in print as well as electronic media. We also participate in trade and fashion shows and interact with industry bodies on a regular basis.
Does your business interest come into conflict with DHL Danzas Lemuir?
A certain amount of overlapping cannot be avoided. But I feel this is healthy. We don't really compete; we actually complement each other. Together with Blue Dart and DHL Danzas Lemuir we can handle any consignment for any destination in India or the world either by land, sea or by air. In fact, we want to position ourselves as a total logistics service provider for all kinds of goods, particularly finished goods. We are in a position to handle logistics planning, warehousing, distribution and even inventory management and inventory ownership on behalf of our customers. In Europe, we undertake inventory ownership for an automobile giant. Happily, in India we are getting more and more inquiries from our customers keen to entrust the management of their logistics with us. That is exactly what we want to do.
How do you take care of customers at the smaller end of the spectrum?
Small customers are our bread and butter. A good example of how we appeal to the SME sector was in November/December 2003, when we launched "University Express", an express delivery system for the Indian student at a discounted rate to help him/her in their offshore admissions. We also launched "Mango Express" to facilitate gifting of mangoes from India to many parts of the world. Both are big hits. We have more such schemes in the pipeline.
