Blue Dart, India's formidable express cargo

With a fleet of six Boeing 757-200 freighters, Blue Dart has a formidable competitive advantage. The aircraft are supported by 9,313 ground vehicles operating across 13 domestic hubs serving 35,008 location

Many have come and gone, but Blue Dart, South Asia’s premier courier and integrated express package distribution company, seems to have an enduring longevity.

The award-winning Blue Dart is the only company which has weathered many a storm and is doing well in the realm of logistics, while other players have bitten the dust.

The quick winding up of Capt. Gopinath’s ‘Deccan 360 degrees’ cargo business is hard to forget.

The man who launched India’s first truly low cost carrier could not sustain the cargo business. It requires enormous business acumen and Blue Dart has shown that by not only doing well financially but also as a company with CSR (corporate social responsibility) values.

It recently garnered Payload’s Regional Express Provider of the Year Award and the Corporate Social Responsibility Award for its exemplary service.

Anil Khanna, Managing Director, Blue Dart Express Ltd, said, “We are extremely pleased to receive such prestigious awards. It has been our constant endeavor to deliver exceptional world class quality service and experience across 34,838 locations in India and in over 220 countries worldwide. To be honored with the Regional Express Provider of the Year Award and the Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the APAC level for our extraordinary service in the industry and towards society is extremely overwhelming.”

End-to-end express logistics solutions. Blue Dart offers customers complete end-to-end express logistics solutions with an extensive pan-India air and ground network that provides a significant competitive advantage.

With a fleet of six Boeing 757-200 freighters, Blue Dart has a formidable competitive advantage. The aircraft are supported by 9,313 ground vehicles operating across 13 domestic hubs serving 35,008 locations.

With an optimised dedicated air and ground network coupled with cutting-edge technology, Blue Dart continues to be the undisputed leader in the express logistics industry. Blue Dart is committed in letter and spirit to sustainability reaching out to the community and touching lives through the three pillars of Living Responsibility – GoTeach, GoGreen and GoHelp.

The company believes that the most powerful way in which a business can make an impact is through an evolved business model, where business makes profit by meeting societal and environmental needs through a ‘shared value’ proposition. Post the evaluation of a number of criteria including commitment to quality service, customer satisfaction, brand association and perception, Blue Dart was announced the winner in the above categories.

Strong financials

Blue Dart is doing well business-wise. For the quarter ended September 30, 2016, it posted Rs. 42.80 crores profit after tax. The net Sales/Income from operations for the quarter stood at Rs. 663.22 crores.

Anil Khanna said, “We have stayed true to our commitment to maintain excellent service quality and deliver customer delight through innovation in our service offerings. We will continue to invest in technology and infrastructure and align our people and strategy to cater to India’s express logistics requirements. Despite a restrained macro-economic environment, we will sustain our efforts to bring immense value to internal and external stakeholders by incorporating high benchmarks and quality standards in every aspect of business and remain the undisputed leader in the air and ground express industry in Blue Dart country.”

Country’s first ‘Parcel Locker’

The company continues to innovate on its services to ensure customer satisfaction. It recently launched the country’s first Parcel Locker at Gurgaon’s Unitech, Cyber Park. With the Indian e-tailing industry expected to grow at 52 per cent from 2014 to 2020, the sector has been witnessing phenomenal demand from across India.

Parcel Locker will allow recipients of parcels to collect their shipments from the facility 24-hours a day. This mechanism will benefit e-tail customers who may not be present during regular delivery hours, and can collect their shipments from the Parcel Locker at any time as per their convenience.

The service will also be beneficial for those who travel often, especially with the festive season around the corner. While e-tailing offers customers the opportunity to shop around the clock, with Parcel Locker, Blue Dart offers the convenience of a 24 hours a day/7 days a week/365 days a year delivery mechanism.

This service uses mobile technology in tandem with specially designed lockers to ensure customers get all-day access to their shipments from a safe, secure and convenient facility.

As soon as the package is delivered to the Parcel Locker, the e-tail customer will receive a unique security code via SMS. They will have to use this code to unlock the Parcel Locker and collect their shipment at a convenient time. The facility will have an interactive and a parcel storage mechanism.

This is yet another product from Blue Dart that demonstrates the benefits of combining technology with business innovation to provide end-users a revolutionary service for ease and convenience. At a later stage the Parcel Locker will also be used to collect reverse shipments from customers.

Available for e-tail shipments

Parcel Locker is currently be available for prepaid e-tail shipments. In the next phase, the company will provide automated payment collection consoles at the facility.

Globally DHL, the parent company with a 75 percent stake in Blue Dart, was the first to launch this service in developed markets. Since its introduction in Germany in 2001 more than 4 million active users have registered for the more than 2750 Parcel Lockers throughout the country.

The concept has also been picked-up in US and other European markets. Parcel Locker eases the delivery process for customers who may be away from the shipping address for long hours, effectively revolutionising the way e-business is being done.

Blue Dart was recently featured in the Fortune 500 list of India’s Largest Corporations,
It was also listed as one of India’s Super 50 Companies by Forbes India and was ranked amongst the top 500 non-financial corporations.