- Ashok Kunverji Shah, Chairman
V-Trans India Ltd, a pioneer in surface cargo movement in the country since 1958, offers all types of services from Full Truck Loads (FTL), Trailer Loads, Part Loads (PTL) to movement of consignments as small as even 10 kg, with one of the finest fleets in the country.
Two trucks and 50-plus years later, a nationwide network - is there any corner of India not serviced by V-Trans?
V-Trans India Ltd provides single window logistics solution to our clients, through 3 divisions, which are clubbed under the umbrella of Group V. We cover the entire North, West, South and East India. In North-East we have our presence up to Assam. In all we are present in over 475 locations in 26 states and Union Territories of India and is constantly expanding our network to make our services available in every part of the country.
Total Logistics Solutions is what most high end manufacturing increasingly relies upon. What is the share of the three types of services offered by V-Trans?
Group V services include freight management, transportation, cargo express movement and warehousing management under its 3 divisions:
The percentage share of the divisions in the group business is - V-Trans 75%, V-Xpress 20% and V-Logis 5%.
What is the nature of the V-trans fleet composition? The mix, in terms of tonnage/make?
Group V has a strong fleet comprising of a wide range of vehicles right from a .75 tonnes to a 21 tonnes vehicle. We have platform type body, half body and containerised body vehicle, which can be utilised basis customer requirements.
Is the fleet 100% company owned or part of it leased/rented?
The company owns 150 vehicles and 800 plus full time vehicles. In addition to this, depending on the requirement we hire about 100 plus vehicles from the market on a daily basis.
For a business model that operates on deadlines as brisk as same day deliveries, reliability is extremely important. What is the nature of the servicing and maintenance processes?
The group is committed to providing safe and reliable, efficient, time-bound and cost-effective services. We are an ISO 9001: 2008 certified company and have built a strong reputation basis the reliability and value addition our services offer. We have been able to achieve this because of the well-maintained fleet at the company's disposal.
At our Vapi Super Hub, we have a regular maintenance program of all of the company's vehicles wherein oil changing, hub greasing, tyre changing, greasing to all parts of vehicles, etc., is done periodically. This is a regular practice and is done without fail. This has ensured that we have the minimum number of vehicle breakdown incidents resulting in smooth and unhindered fleet operation. Apart from this we conduct regular training to drivers and workmen on tyre maintenance, loading and unloading, etc.
Is this part of operation (maintenance of the fleet) owned by the company or outsourced?
For our old vehicles, we have a tie-up with a vendor based at Vapi. In addition to this, all our new vehicles, purchased in the last 4-5 years, are under AMC with respective manufacturers.
What is the system followed for effective and efficient fleet management? Centrally or based on states/zones?
The Group has been continuously investing in its infrastructure and meeting the ever evolving requirements of customers. Today the company is amongst the very few companies in the transport industry to have an ERP system online. For ensuring an effective and efficient fleet management we have a 14-member team (based in Gujarat) who manage and control the entire fleet. All the vehicles have GPS fitted in them.
Infrastructure bottleneck is one of the major roadblocks on the highway to 'Make-in-India'. What are the three top points that need to be addressed in your opinion?
The transport industry is the backbone of many industries but it has not required the support it deserves to be more efficient and cost-effective in its operations. Following are the three major issues the industry is facing: