Chairman & Managing Director, Tiger Logistics (India) Limited
કંપનીના Outlook પર Tiger Logistics ના Harpreet Singh Malhotra સાથે ચર્ચા | Nifty | Stocks
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About Harpreet Malhotra
Harpreet Singh Malhotra, Chairman and Managing Director of Tiger Logistics India, discussed the company's outlook and initiatives in interviews in 2023 and 2024. He described the company's focus on digitization, including a platform called "Freight Jar," which he compared to a "make my trip of logistics industry" that provides real-time freight pricing and reduces shipment booking time from days to hours. Malhotra also stated that the company is investing in expansion into the US and South America, with plans to open an office in the latter, and is focusing on increasing its electronics import business. He mentioned that the company is targeting volume growth of 15 to 20 percent and is exploring inorganic acquisitions. Malhotra praised the Indian government's efforts in the logistics sector, stating that the launch of the National Logistics Policy was a significant development. He attributed the focus on reducing logistics costs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and noted that infrastructure improvements such as the Dedicated Freight Corridor are underway. Regarding the Red Sea crisis, Malhotra acknowledged that the company faced some problems in early January 2024 but said it was able to control the situation, though freight rates increased.
Transcript (13 segments)
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Interviewer0:00
Tiger Logistics provides international logistics and solutions. The company has a strong presence in the country and a robust network worldwide, serving auto, engineering, pharma, commodity, and FMCG companies. We are discussing the company's performance, goals, and expansion plans. Joining us is the CMD of Tiger Logistics, Harpreet Singh. Good afternoon, welcome to the show. First, we'd like to understand the work of Tiger Logistics. Could you explain for our viewers, and also how the company contributes to India becoming a logistics hub?
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Harpreet Malhotra0:41
Namaste. Pleasure talking to you. Thank you for having me. Let me explain in simple language what the company does. It's very important that our viewers understand, because logistics is such a broad term that many people get confused, thinking we do trucking or something. Basically, Tiger Logistics' business profile is international logistics. International logistics means that anyone who exports or imports is our prospective customer. So if you have a factory in Pune, Baramati, or Nashik and you want to export, we handle the transportation, customs clearance, container stuffing, and take it to the port and load it onto the vessel. After that, on the other side of the continent, we deliver to your buyer. So it's door-to-door internationally. The same thing happens for imports. If you want to import something from China, Korea, or any country, we pick up the goods from your suppliers, bring them to an Indian port, do customs clearance, and then deliver the cargo to your factory or warehouse. So basically, anything to do with import and export, we handle the entire work from point A to point B, whether it involves customs clearance, transportation, container stuffing, or any type of warehousing. That's a very simple explanation of what we do.
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Interviewer2:47
Definitely, sir. As you explained in simple language, if there is cargo in any area of India and I need to supply it to any country, the company does that work. Next, we'd like to know about the FreightJar technology platform the company has launched, its functions, and how it is useful to the company.
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Harpreet Malhotra3:10
So what is FreightJar? It is a digital platform, a price discovery platform. We often say it is like the MakeMyTrip of the logistics industry. Just as you book travel on a travel portal and get real-time travel costing, similarly, on FreightJar you can get real-time freight rates. Suppose you want to export to Hamburg, Germany. When you are sitting with your buyer, you can immediately log into our app and get real-time freight rates for a 20-foot or 40-foot container or air freight. It is a fully digital platform where you can book shipments, execute shipments, handle documentation, and even make payments. This will be very beneficial for SME and MSME sectors, our customers, because they don't have reach to large forwarders or big logistics companies. But through this online portal, they can access and book their shipments and enjoy the lowest possible freight rates. We expect this to significantly reduce logistics costs overall in the business. Additionally, we are also offering cargo value finance without any collateral. Currently, if an exporter needs to open an LC or take a packing credit loan, they have to provide at least 80-100% collateral. But we have tied up with some banks, especially ICICI Bank, to provide cargo value finance without collateral.
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Interviewer4:59
Definitely, sir. You explained that in great detail, Harpreet sir. Next, we'd like to understand about the Red Sea crisis. Is the company facing any problems because of it currently?
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Harpreet Malhotra5:11
We are seeing some problems. In the first week or 10 days of January, there was some trouble because the incidents happened on the 2nd and 3rd of January. For about a week or 10 days, we faced issues, but then we were able to control things. Now there is no such problem. Freight rates have certainly increased a bit; there has been an increase in freight rates in 2025. But it is like a force majeure situation, so all our customers have accepted it. There is no major issue now. All shipments are going via Africa to Europe. So we are not seeing any major disruption. But we hope that this problem will be resolved in the next one or two months.
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Interviewer5:55
Definitely, sir. Next, we'd like to know if the company has a specific market focus currently, where good business is expected. What targets are you working with?
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Harpreet Malhotra6:05
So, Tiger Logistics, as I told you, we do logistics for exports and imports. For us, any export market, especially the Indian export market, is developing well in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia is developing a lot. We have a big focus on the US, US-Canada, and South America. So I think in the coming six months to one year, our focus will be on these markets: North and South America and the Gulf area. We feel that because of the China Plus One model that many have adopted, India's exports are growing significantly and will continue to grow. So our company's focus will be on North America, South America, and the Gulf.
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Interviewer6:55
Definitely. Next, a problem for the industry and the logistics sector is that logistics costs average 12-18%. The government launched Gati Shakti to reduce costs. How will this work for the industry and the company going forward?
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Harpreet Malhotra7:12
So honestly, I must appreciate that the government is doing great work in this sector. The government's entire focus, I would say Prime Minister Modi's direct focus, is to bring down logistics costs. That's why they launched the National Logistics Policy. They fully realize that to make Make in India successful, logistics must be made very strong. And that is happening. The way infrastructure is being built, the Dedicated Freight Corridor has started, double-stack trains are running, ease of doing business has improved significantly, 24-hour customs clearance is happening. All these things increase our ease of doing business, and definitely, the dedicated freight corridors and other infrastructure development are bringing down logistics costs. GST has also been very beneficial; the turnaround time for trucking has reduced significantly. So overall, I think we are in the right direction. I believe that in the next two years, at least by 2026-27, we will reach single-digit logistics costs. That is my estimate.
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Interviewer8:28
Yes, and sir, Harpreet sir, lastly we'd like to understand: you have shared many details about the company and the industry. How optimistic are you about the industry in the next five years, and how do you see the growth of the company and the industry?
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Harpreet Malhotra8:40
So, as far as our company is concerned, in terms of volume, our entire focus is to increase it by 15-20% and expand our area of operations. We are working towards that volume growth of 15-20% and I think we will achieve it. We have taken some new initiatives like FreightJar, our focus on the US, Europe, and South America. The company is investing heavily there; we are also going to open an office there. We expect a lot of business from that. We are now focusing heavily on imports, especially electronic imports, which are growing a lot. In the coming time, these two or three sectors will be our growth engines. We have already invested a lot in them and are continuing to invest, and I think they are giving us very good results. So overall, I am hopeful that the company will grow. And if we get a tie-up or some inorganic acquisitions that we are looking at, then definitely growth will be even better. That is our plan.
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Interviewer9:57
Definitely, Harpreet sir. You shared a lot of details with us. Thank you for joining us and sharing these details with our viewers. Best wishes for the coming quarters. Thank you, thank you, thank you.