FUTURE NEXT CONSULTANTS WISHES YOU ALL MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY, PROSPEROUS AND GREEN 2012 MERRY

Dated: 24/12/2011
Dear Business Associate,

SUB: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY, PROSPEROUS AND GREEN 2012

From all of us here at FUTURE NEXT CONSULTANTS we wish you a Merry Christmas. May the coming new year 2012 be prosperous and bring great happiness to you, your family and friends and fulfill all your dreams. We also wish that the year 2012 be GREENER than ever before.

We are proud to be associated with our valued customers in Hotels & Hospitality Industry since last so many years through our relationship with Logistics & Transportation services all over India. We have taken this relationship to next level with our our consultancy services in Business Strategy, Marketing & Sales and Domestic Logistics & SCM. In Logistics and Supply Chain Management we are establishing ourselves as full fledged 4PL service providers - Basically, integrating the services of different subcontracting companies, transport storage operations, proceed to coordinate and control them through management of the associated information flows - over a period of time. We thank you for all your support and guidance to us in the past and expect the same from you for our new venture.

We look forward to an early meeting with you so that we can let you know how best we can add value to your organisation.

Please visit us at: www.futurenextconsultants.in to know more about us and send us your comments and suggestions.

Wishing you once again Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Thanking you in anticipation and looking forward to long term relationship.

For Future Next Consultants

Prabhakar Srivastava
Principal Consultant)
Mob: 09324278446


Future Next Consultants
Providing Innovative Business Solutions
Mira Road. Mumbai. India.
Website: www.futurenextconsultants.in
Email: info@futurenextconsultants.in
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A BRIEF NOTE ON LOGISTICS INDUSTRY IN INDIA : Dated 12/10/2010

Logistics is usually misinterpreted as only transportation of goods, which is far from truth as transportation is just a subject of logistics. Logistics is a knowledge-based industry that requires procurement, transport, inventory control and distribution of goods. The cost of logistics of a company is estimated to be around 2 % of its total sales. With effective and efficient logistics 20 % of this cost can be saved. Logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM) have always been an integral part of any business for timely and cost-effective decision making. Logistics can safely be said to be the management of the flow of goods, information and other resources from the point of origin to the point of final consumption by the customer. Just imagine there is a supplier situated at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, which manufactures shampoos for The Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai. The raw materials need to be picked up from nearby supplier by tempo or if some raw material need to be imported from a manufacturer situated outside the country, say China, then it would involve another set of logistics- Collection from the overseas factory to nearby port, customs clearing, Import, again customs clearing in India and Transportation to factory at Baddi. The raw materials after the manufacturing process needs to be packaged and stored, then it will be transported either by road or train or air or a combination of these to reach Mumbai and then before reaching the hotel, needs to be cleared by Octroi authorities at entry point of Mumbai. Now the goods are ready to be delivered to the hotel which would ultimately reach the customers of the hotel who are staying there. Thus, Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, clearing, and occasionally security. Logistics is a channel of the supply chain which adds the value to the goods by making them available at the right place and at the right time to the right consumer.

Under relentless pressure to reduce costs and increase sales around the world, firms are outsourcing operations to subcontractors who can do them better and more cheaply, and moving more of their production and services to lower-cost countries. Globalization requires greatly increased co-ordination of transport by road, rail, sea, air and now also by an entirely new route to market: the internet. This makes logistics vastly more complex. The job of ensuring that all these things work together is known as Supply-Chain management (SCM). SCM is an evolution of logistics. Logistics tends to be tactical; supply-chain management is strategic. SCM can include anything from buying raw materials to managing suppliers, warehousing, operating transport fleets, taking orders, collecting payments, repairing products and even answering the telephone at call-canters.

Logistics is increasingly becoming a strategic source of competitive advantage with the increase in global production sharing, shortening of product life cycles and intensification of global competition. In this highly competitive business environment, the quality of logistics has assumed greater significance influencing firms’ decisions such as which country to locate in, which suppliers to buy from or which consumer markets to enter. Essentially, high logistics costs coupled with low levels of service are a barriers to trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) and thus to economic growth. World today has realized the need to make Logistics more efficient as resources are getting more and more scarcer and dearer day by day. Logistics and SCM are now getting the attention they deserved and momentum is on to make this sector environment friendly. Massive investments are being made worldwide with some of the best known investment gurus putting their bet on this industry which is directly linked to the growth of any economy. India is no exception and it is estimated that being a developing economy we may be spending as high as up to 13% of our GDP in Logistics itself! Indian economy is now worth more than US$ 1.25 Trillions and as a consequent Logistics industry in India is worth more than US$100 billion. There is a scope for huge savings in terms of cutting down this cost by bringing in more efficiency in this sector by adopting some of the best practices. Also very few organized players are in this industry to which acts as an impediment in this direction. The logistics sector is considered the weak link of the Indian economic story. At present, there are few professionally founded logistics players. Most companies are run like family businesses, unlike in other service sectors where professionals have taken the venture funding route to fund businesses. There is a big demand for high quality, time definite supply chain solutions and there are customers — manufacturing companies and organized retailers — willing to pay a premium for services, such as cold chain, warehousing and trucking. Robust growth of Indian economy and the rise in domestic consumption and trade have driven the cargo/freight volumes in the country. The government’s increasingly laying importance on the infrastructure development has also helped in getting the goods and services and communication to all parts of the country.

Companies are also outsourcing supply-chain services, commonly called 3PL. Yet SCM is not just about wringing costs out of a business. It can also be used to increase revenue and boost profits without necessarily lowering costs. Indeed, some companies have re-engineered their supply chains to gain a huge competitive advantage. The market leaders have supply chains that are more responsive to customer demand. Things like transport, purchasing and warehousing used to be considered merely part of the cost of doing business, and were often managed as separate entities. Now they are coming together as a strategic item on the chief executive's agenda. Most firms have been organizing their logistics to make themselves leaner. Many now carry little or no inventory to save money. In the present era of tough competition market wars are shifting from media to the retailer's shelf and even directly to the customers. Coke, Pepsi, Hyundai, Maruti, HLL, Godrej, TATA, Bajaj, etc, derive immense strength from their well-established distribution networks. In fact India is becoming the auto hub of the world and big logistic companies and even Govt. of India and Indian railways are especially targeting the auto industry (along with the manufacturing industry and commodities and food grains) to get more involved in the effective use of resources by entering into Public-Private partnerships so that there is overall savings to all the parties involved. Logistics is the only department of a company that is in direct contact with the customers. So, the customer perceives the delivery channels as the representatives of the company and it becomes the prime responsibility of the channel members to deliver the services that keep the customers satisfied.

HOW TO THINK LIKE A TRANSPORTER : Dated 15/09/2010

HOW TO THINK LIKE A TRANSPORTER

AS A MANAGEMENT STUDENT WHAT IS THE IMAGE THE UBIQUITOUS TRANSPORTER INSPIRES WHEN THE TERM TRANSPORTER POPS UP BEFORE YOU? TRANSPORTER IS, AFTER ALL, NOT A DEROGATORY TERM. DON’T EVEN TRY TO GIVE A REGIONAL TINGE TO THEM, ALLUDING THEM TO TYPICAL PUNJABI COMMUNITY, EVEN IF THE FACT IS THAT THE PUNJAB BODY TRUCKS AND SARDARS ARE PREVALENT TRANSPORTERS ALL OVER INDIA. LET US GET INTO THEIR SHOES OR RATHER GET INTO THE DRIVING SEAT OF THE TRANSPORTER AND TRY TO VIEW INTERESTING ASPECTS OF DAY TO DAY COMMON-SENSE BUSINESS APPROACH OF A TRANSPORTER AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A TRANSPORTER.

1. IT MEANS YOU ARE CONSTANTLY IN LOOK-OUT FOR NEW BUSINESSES EVEN IF YOU HAVE NO ASSET (NO TRUCK, OFFICE OR EVEN STAFF), IT MEANS SAYING THAT YOU OWN IT EVEN IF IT IS NOT YOURS!

2. IT MEANS HOW WITH MINIMUM INITIAL RESISTANCE YOU CAN START THE BUSINESS- JUST ON ONE TABLE AND CHAIR AND A BOARD AND YOUR BUISINESS STARTS!

3. IT MEANS HOW THROUGH A NETWORK OF AGENTS ALL OVER INDIA YOU BECOME AN ALL-INDIA TRANSPORTER EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY BE HAVING YOUR PRESENCE AND SET-UPS IN ONLY ONE OR TWO PLACES. THIS IS TRUE FOR INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS SERVICE PROVIDERS ALSO.

4. IT MEANS START SMALL AND GRADUALLY BUILD-UP SCALE AND EXTEND YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE OF WAREHOUSES, VEHICLES AND MODERN SYSTEMS. ALL TOP LOGISTICS SERVICE PROVIDERS IN INDIA STARTED SMALL AND WITH ROUGH AND TOUCH IMAGE AND LATER ON ACQUIRED CORPORATE IMAGE OR SOPHISTICATION OR COMPUTERISATION. JIT OR RFID OR ONLINE TRACKING OR SAP OR ORGANISED INDUSTRY PLAYER IMAGE.CAME MUCH LATER. ITS ONLY RECENTLY THAT YOU FIND THE VENTURE CAPITALISTS TRUYING TO FIND INTERESTING STORIES IN THE LOGISTICS SPACE AND MANY FUNDINGS HAVE BEEN MADE IN THIS SPACE. IT ALSO MEANS HOW TO BUILD TRUST/REPUTATION OVER YEARS.

5. IT MEANS CONNECTING, NETWORKING, NO OFFICE (MOBILE WILL DO), IT MEANS HOW YOU LINK UP WITH AS MANY PERSONS AS POSSIBLE, YOUR MOBILS ARE SWITCHED ON 24X7.

6. IT MEANS HOW YOU KEEP YOUR SERVICE PROVIDERS HAPPY BY PAYING INSTANTLY, FREIGHT ON TO-PAY BASIS BY CASH AND GETTING BEST RATES FROM THEM THROUGH YOUR PROMPT PAYMENT REPUTATION SO THAT NEXT TIME YOU DON’T HAVE TO BARGAIN HARDER.

7. IT MEANS YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT AND RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN OF THE COUNTRY WHO IS SOMETIMES ENTRUSTED WITH ENVIOUS TASK OF SUPPLYING RELIEF AND MEDICAL AND FOOD SUPPLIES TO THE MOST DIFFICULT OF TERRAINS AND TROOPS IN MOST CATASTROPHIC CONDITIONS AND EMERGENCY SITUATIONS, ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY AND EVEN OVERSEAS, SAFELY AND ON TIME.

8. IT MEANS WHEN THE CUSTOMER HAS BOUGHT OR IMPORTED AN EXPENSIVE GOODS OR MACHINERY OR A PAINTING IN INDIA, SAY MUMBAI, HE WILL NOT MIND TO SHELL EXTRA MORE TO MAKE THE GOODS REACH SAFELY AT THE DESIRED DESTINATION, SAY DELHI EVEN IF IT MEANS PAYING A BIG AMOUNT.

9. IT MEANS GETTING ANYTHING AT WHATEVER PRICE TO THE DESIRED DESTINATION. SOMETIMES IT MAY MEAN EVEN SUPPLYING THE LONELY PACK OF CUBAN CIGAR, ONLY AVAILABLE FROM A PARTICULAR SHOP IN SOUTH MUMBAI, WITHIN 8 HOURS AT ANY COST, TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOTEL GROUP WHO HAPPENS TO COME ALL THE WAY FROM ABROAD JUST TO ATTEND THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 5 STAR HOTEL AT JAIPUR, BUT THE ORGANISERS HAD, SOMEHOW, IN THE MIDST OF OTHER PREPARATIONS MISSED THAT THE CHAIRMAN WAS VERY FOND OF THE PARTICULAR CIGAR AND HE WOULD BE ANGRY IF HE IS NOT PROVIDED WITH THE PARTICULAR CIGAR! (OF COURSE, LATER ON THE TRANSPORTER CHARGES THE HOTEL A FORTUNE FOR THIS BILL AND HE IS EARNESTLY PAID!)

10. IT MEANS HOW TO MAKE FAT BILLS – CHARGING FOR A NUMBER OF SERVICES RENDERED UNDER DIFFERENT HEADS RATHER THAN A LUMPSUM - EHOUGH TO CONFUSE THE CUSTOMER AND COMPEL HIM TO PAY A LARGER SUM.

11. IT MEANS, YOU KNOW HOW TO ADJUST MANY GOODS IN ONE CONSIGNMENT AND IN THE PROCESS OF COLLECTION OF GOODS AT YOUR GODOWN, IT MAY TAKE SOME TIME, SO MEANWHILE YOU HAVE TO TELL SMALL LIES AND USE THEM TO YOUR ADVANTAGE TO GAIN TIME. SOMETIMES. IT MEANS TAKING USE OF CURRENT NEWS TO OUR ADVANTAGE AND SAYING TO PARTIES THAT YOUR GOODS WILL GET DELAYED, YOU CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SUCH NEWS AS THERE ARE FLOODS, THERE IS ARSON IN CENTRAL INDIA, THERE IS BACKLASH ON NORTH INDIANS IN MUMBAI, YOU CAN SAY THE ROADS ARE BLOCKED DUE TO COMMONWEALTH GAMES IN DELHI, YOU CAN EVEN SAY TRAIN HAS NOT LEFT THE STATION. THE LEASE WAS NOT OPENED TODAY,ETC ETC. YOU CAN SAY THERE IS HEAVY RAINS IN MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, PUNJAB,. YOU CAN SAY THE ONLY BRIDGE LINKING THE NORTH EAST IS HEAVILY JAMPACKED AND THERE IS NO WAY TO REACH THERE FOR AT LEAST ONE WEEK. YOU CAN SAY THERE IS HEAVY SNOWFALL IN JAMMU-SRINAGAR NATIONAL HIGHWAY AND TRAFFIC IS STANDSTILL FOR ONE WEEK, SO ON AND SO FORTH

12. IT MEANS HOW TO LIVE A TOUGH AND MOBILE LIFE WHOLE ROUND THE YEAR AND STILL BE HAPPY-ROUGH AND TOUGH, EVER READY EVEN IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT ON YOUR TOES TO SEE , MAY BE , ANY OF YOUR TRUCK HAS MET WITH AN ACCIDENT OR IS STOPPED AT A CHECK POST OR NOT! IT MEANS YOUR TEAM SHOULD BE ROUGH AND TOUGH AND EVERREADY

13. IT MAKES YOU AGGRESSIVE, SOMETIMES ABUSIVE ALSO AND SHOW TEMPER WHEN NEEDED TO GET YOUR WORK DONE, (THERE IS A DOWNSIDE TO THIS BUSINESS THAT A SET OF PEOPLE IN THIS UNORGANISED INDUSTRY DON’T APPRECIATE POLITE LANGUAGE)

14. IT MEANS THE PERSON WHO IS PRESENT AT THE RIGHT TIME AT THE RIGHT PLACE IS THE RIGHT PERSON IN TERMS OF THE NEED AND IS THE MOST IMPORTANT,

15. IT MEANS DOING WORK AT ANY COST, IT MEANS “BUYING” ANYONE AND APPRECIATING UNIVERSAL TRUTH THAT ALMOST ANYTHING CAN BE PURCHASED WITH MONEY, IT MEANS WHEN IN NEED GADHE KO BHI BAAP BANA DO- TU MERA SHER HAI, MERA RAJA BETA HAI

16. IT MEANS HOW YOU REACH THE DESTINATION IN SHORTEST TIME AND COMPLETE YOUR CONTRACT WITH LOWEST POSSIBLE COST,

17. IT MEANS YOU CARRY HEAVY LOADS BELOW AND LIGHTER LOADS ON THE TOP-BOTTOM HEAVY APPROACH FOR STABILITY

18. IT MEANS ADJUSTING HEAVY LOADS, SOMETIMES ODD SIZES TOO, SO THAT IT CAN PASS THROUGH ANY SERPENTINE ROADS IN INDIA

19. IT MEANS HOW YOU UTLISE THE SPACE IN A MUCH PROFITABLE WAY,

20. IT MEANS HOW WITH ONE OR TWO CUSTOMERS YOU COVER YOUR MAXIMUM COST OF FRIGHT OF THE TRUCK AND USE THE REST OF THE SPACE WITH WHATEVER GOODS YOU WANT- ALL THE PROFIT IS ALL YOURS! SIMPLY PUT, WITH MAIN CUSTOMERS YOU ENSURE YOUR SURVIVAL AND FOR PROFITS AND OTHER EXPENSES OTHER CUSTOMERS ARE ALWAYS THERE!

21. IT MEANS HOW IN ONE PHONE/MAIL, BEFORE ANYONE GOES TO THE SPOT, YOU VISIT THE CUSTOMER ON THE SPOT, INSPECT THE MATERIALS (THE CUSTOMER THINKS YOU ARE SERIOUS AND IS MORE LIKELY TO DO BUSINESS WITH YOU EVEN IF IT MEANS PAYING YOU MORE) AND QUOTE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE,

22. IT MEANS TAKING RISKS-THOUGH WITH EXPERIENCE THERE IS LESSER RISK.THOUGH THE RISK STILL REMAINS THERE AS THE GOODS MAY GET DAMAGED OR THERE MAY BE SHORTAGES DURING TRANSIT OR TRANS-SHIPMENT. TRANSPORTERS HAVE NOW FOUND OUT THE MODEL OF TAKING RISK CHARGES IN ADVANCE TO ENSURE SUCH LOSSES ARE COVERED- JUST LIKE AN INSURANCE COMPANY, MINUS THE HASSLES.

23. IT MEANS NEGOTIATING YOUR WAY TO REACH THE GOAL IN TIME AND EVEN TAKE SHORT-CUTS FOR IT!

24. IT MEANS GIVING CHANCE TO SMALL PLAYERS ALSO-TRYING OUT OR GIVING CHANCE TO NEW PLAYERS

25. IT MEANS JUGAAD (INCIDENTLY JUGAAD WORD HAS ENTERED THE FOREIGN MANAGEMENT DICTIONARY TOO). IT MEANS HOW IN MINIMUM OR BARE NECESSITIES YOU COMPLETE WORK. IT MEANS HOW IN DOING PATCH WORK AND CUTTING CORNERS YOU CAN MANAGE YOURWORK,

26. IT MEANS HOW YOU KEEP YOURSELF LEAN, MEAN AND FIT

27. IT MEANS YOU DO BUSINESS ONLY ON A PROFIT, IT MEANS WHENEVER YOU DO BUSINESS AT A LOSS YOU DO IT TO OBLIGE AND TAKE MILEAGE WITH HIGHER BILLS LATER ON,

28. IT MEANS WHATEVER THE CONTRACT AND WHOSOEVER PARTY IS THE APPROVED TRANSPORTER, YOU CAN STILL GET THROUGH THE ORDER AND GET THE FREIGHT RATES AS MUCH AS YOU WISH THROUGH MANY SOURCES AND WAYS, BECAUSE OF THE URGENCY OF THE SITUATION AND THERE IS NO CHOICE BUT TO TAKE RECOURSE TO PETTY TRANSPORTER.

29. IT MEANS TIE-UPS. SO WHAT IF YOU ARE SMALL? YOU HAVE TIE-UP WITH A BIG NAME AND THROUGH TIE-UP CAN REACH TO THOSE CUSTOMERS OR PLACES WHERE YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY PRESENCE,

30. IT MEANS YOU WORK 24X7 , 365 DAYS IN A YEAR,

31. IT MEANS PROMISES,

32. IT MEANS EMOTIONALLY LINKING THE CUSTOMER TO THE SAFETY AND TIMELY DELIVERY OF GOODS THROUGH YOUR SERVICES

33. IT MEANS HOW YOU CHASE FOR PAYMENTS EFFICENTLY ONCE THE WORK IS COMPLETE. WHO CAN BETTER KNOW IT THAN A TRANSPORTER-AFTER ALL HE HAS ALREADY PAID THE ENTIRE TRIP TO THE DESTINATION IN CASH WHETHER IT IS FOR DIESEL OR OTHER ROAD EXPENSES OR REPAIRS. OR EMIs FOR THE TRUCKS

34. IT MEANS HOW YOU MANAGE YOUR WORK THROUGH THE SYSTEM AND OFFICERS AND BUREAUCRACY.

35. IT MEANS HOW YOU GET WORD OF MOUTH PUBLICITY AND GET BUSINESS FROM OTHER GROUPS ALSO THROUGH REFERENCES

36. IT MEANS HOW THE CUSTOMER FORGIVES YOU FOR YOUR INITIAL FAULTS AND GIVES YOU MORE WORK,

37. IT MEANS HOW YOU DO MULTI TASKING, IT MEANS HOW YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH A LOWLY PERSON ON THE STREETS TO THE CHAIRMAN OF A COMPANY,

38. IT MEANS SENDING HAPPINESS TO THE DESTINATION, CUSTOMER, & ULTIMATELY KEEP CUTOMER HAPPY-CUSTOMER IS THE KING! ETC.

THESE ARE SOME OF THE FACTS WHICH HAVE COME OUT IM MY MIND. THERE MAY BE MANY MORE WHICH MAY APPEAR LATER ON. BUT FOR THE MOMENT EVEN THESE FACTS ARE NO MEAN!