Freight and Logistics is the most important industry space globally. Import and export of materials play a solid role in the country’s economy. Freight not just delivers the essentials but also proves to be a robust culture in generating capital. Air and Ocean freight are some of the most used ways in material delivery. Freight and logistics prove to be quintessential while stuck on any importing and exporting difficulties. One company solving every difficulty and considering the client at the top priority is Consolidated Shipping Line.
Built on a solid foundation of experience and reputation in the freight forwarding services industry, Consolidate Shipping Line works on a uniquely flexible approach to business. It realizes that it is all about making quick decisions at the right time that enables it to be the customers’ preferred choice.
Yarn of Consolidated Shipping Line
Established in the ’90s to offer efficient freight forwarding services globally in and out of India, Consolidated Shipping Line is proud to announce that it offers a wide range of shipping and logistics solutions to its customers irrespective of how big or small they are from anywhere to everywhere.
Operating from India, a unique nation with its complexities, diversified culture, language, and trade barriers, the team aims to be as close as possible to its customers to understand them better. It tries aligning its freight forwarding services that suit the customer requirements for the goods to reach their destination in time with the most economical costs.
The company has more than 200 direct employees. The company is headquartered in Cochin, Kerala, and has branch offices in Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Tuticorin, Coimbatore, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Vizag (Visakhapatnam).
Being in the service industry, people are the company’s assets. It operates with a mix of industry veterans that will underpin the vitality of the youth, enabling them to be innovative yet systematic and responsible. Its efforts go into investing in quality people, training them the CSL way so that there is no shortage of talent and qualified professionals at CSL.
Aware that those customers are the heart of any business and they come to the company by choice, Consolidated Shipping offers its undivided attention to all customers. It does not discriminate between customers from vendors as small from the big. Once the company accepts a customer through its KYC program, it renders professional and sincere efforts to keep them satisfied with its services. It is all about going that extra mile for the same money. The firm’s philosophy is to do business to make a reasonable profit for the company.
Inspirational Leader
Ajai Joseph, the CEO, started consolidated Shipping services, famously known as CSS, in Dubai, in the year 1995, and in 1996 the team entered India by acquiring Anchorage Shipping Kochi. He expanded the business in the Middle East and built a state-of-the-art warehousing and distribution center in Jebel Ali.
In the year 2001, the team of Consolidated entered the Americas with an office in the Big Apple/New York and soon in Vancouver. By 2004 it was operating over 35 offices worldwide, employing around 1200 people. Since 2005 Ajai’s focus was on India and seeing the potential, he started many verticals related to shipping and logistics, including domestic express courier services.
Dreams coming True
Ajai started his career when he was in his early twenties. At that age, traveling to different countries, meeting people, experiencing life was of great interest, and logistics was only a reason. During his travel, many fascinating things that he experienced lured him into logistics.
To mention a few, visiting the huge Air France Cargo Facility at Paris operated by six men and the robotic pallets, a truck with 48 wheels operating with remote control where the driver standing outside the truck, manoeuvring it using a joystick, a visit to the 10,000 Teu ship (the biggest during those days) were all interesting aspects of the trade from a youngster’s point of view. However, being in the trade and learning matured him. Further, he fell in love with the trade as he could learn new things, technology, machines, AI integrated systems.
Freight-trait
The company provides Ocean freight, Airfreight, Land transportation, Sea-Air, Project Forwarding, Customs Clearances. It provides value-added services such as Free consultancy and survey for all shipping needs, Licensed House customs clearance (CHB), Cargo Insurance, and domestic services in India using the India rail network, road, and air connectivity.
Sustaining Difficulties Dynamically
Ajai has the experience of establishing companies in different parts of the World, Dubai, the Middle East, the US, and India. But he would say places like Dubai are much easier to own and operate compared to many other places. New York was challenging because compliance in the US is a process. But he would say India was probably the toughest and the most challenging. To have established in ten or twelve different states and cities and in every state you go there are entirely different rules and regulations. The culture is different, and people’s attitudes are different. The same applies when it comes to the government departments as well.
In the trade, the team needs to have a good network of partners. Individuals being good in India is not enough. People need to have an excellent agency network to make their services competitive and successful.
The team needs to travel a lot, attend many conferences, and have the right kind of staff to offer what they promise. In India, people are from different backgrounds and cultures, so finding the right set of people to work with a common culture is challenging.
Shining in the Pandemic
It was challenging times like every trade that got affected in the pandemic. The shipping and logistics industry was no exception. Though the shipping and logistics industry is classified under essential services, India was in a lockdown. Many of the cops who were managing the lockdown and people movement did not know what logistics is. The company had difficult times convincing them to let its skeleton staff come to the office and attend urgent shipments and customs clearances.
Most of its staff was supportive, and they took the risk by coming to office of all odds against them and fighting the pandemic. Others who were not required to be physically present were managing work from home efficiently. Since the team is handling many Pharma customers, it is satisfying to bea part of India’s fight against COVID.
Learn from the Best
Anybody can become an entrepreneur who is willing to work hard, with dedication and passion in any field. Ajai has seen a lot of youngsters who come to him for the job, but he sees no spirit in most of their eyes. Some of them cannot even furnish a decent CV without mistakes.
Coming to Supply Chain Management is a vast industry. There are 2PL, 3PL, and 4PL, and now people are talking about 5PL. It is like 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G it goes on, and the difference between 3PL, 4PL, and 5PL is the value additions. There are more and more elements added to the supply chain. There are plenty of opportunities for a youngster, and those who are hungry to learn will grow.
Future Freight
The company is not interested in making quick money. It wants to be transparent with its customers and provide the most efficient services in the most economical terms. The team has its USPs, and they create new verticals so that it can serve its customers as a one-stop shop.
The industry is growing technologically. AI and drones are taking their due share. The company utilizes technologies to improve itself, but he still believes the human interface is crucial to the trade. If you go to America and try to get somebody on the phone, it is so difficult.
“Maybe you have to wait for 15-20 minutes and press 20 buttons to get a live human voice. I am not a big fan of that, but I am not averse to any technology that helps us serve the customer better,” says Ajai.
Detailed Knowledge
Supply chain management is getting bigger and better, especially after the COVID-19 scenario where everything was locked up. Consolidated Shipping Line realized the importance of storing materials for the long term. It heard stories that people were buying foodstuff and other essentials in India and storing it for a year during pandemic.
Panic buying was spotted not only in India but in other countries too. Post pandemic, many countries started buying bulk quantities, and the freight rates are at a soaring record high. These are green signals for the logistics industry as a whole and the need for good warehousing facilities in India with a smart supply chain management solution.
