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Tata group's logistics subsidiary DIESL is strategically building up its bulk logistics set-up in Eastern India. The company wants to get into the project logistics sector.
Till now, Drive India Enterprise Solutions Ltd (DIESL) has focused on providing logistics services to sectors such as telecom, consumer durables, FMCG; and automobile and retail, to some extent.
PROJECT LOGISTICS
Project logistics is the business of handling movement of specialised over dimension (OD) cargo that are required to set up a large infrastructure projects.
With many mega power plants and steel projects coming up in Eastern part of the country, logistics players anticipate high demand for handling OD cargo over the next few years.
The project logistics market size is an estimated Rs 20,000 crore, according to Mr Ajay Chopra, CEO, DIESL.
BUILDING STRENGTH
“We have added services in bulk logistics as a segment offering. This is our preparation to move into the project logistics segment,” Mr Chopra told Business Line recently. The company started bulk cargo handling about six months ago.
“In the bulk segment, in the last few months, we have moved a lot of commodities, including cement, in the East. We have moved commodities from the mines right to up to the ports…..the Eastern region has some difficult terrain. But we are building capacities there,” Mr Chopra said.
LOOK EAST
Asked whether building capacities in the East is a smart move, he said: “Yes, it is a strategic move. East is big for us. We started six months ago in bulk. We are becoming strong in the East as a logistics service provider.”
“In Kolkata alone, we have warehousing space of close to a million square feet,” Mr Chopra said, claiming that it is difficult to find players with that kind of warehouse space in Kolkata. In the North East, DIESL has set up warehouses in each of the seven States.
India's mining belt is primarily located in the East — Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh. The company is open to strategic tie-ups with international players if the firms offer skill sets that can be complementary to what DIESL does.
Mr Noel Tata, who took over as chairman of DIESL in May, has set an aggressive target for the company to be the best in India, and be in top ten in Asia Pacific region in the segments where it operates.
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