LSPs,which will be able to provide innovativesolutions and adapt themselves with thechanging macro economy requirements, willsurvive and grow, says Ramesh Babu, ManagingDirector, Seashell Logistics Pvt Ltd.

that are complex in nature to the industrylike getting refund of SAD, RD, CustomsDuty, Excise Duty, availing exemptionfrom payment of duty, obtaining allExport Import Licenses such as AA,EPCG, SFIS, FMS, FPS from DGFTthrough our presence on pan India basis.We also render our services for sale andpurchase of Transferable Licenses.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Tell us about the major milestonesachieved by your company so far.Seashell Logistics Pvt Ltd, an ISO9001:2000 certified company, establishedin the year 2007 at Mumbai was havingstaff below 10 members and today isspread over 21 locations in India withemployee strength of around 400. Thecompany is India's leading logisticsservice provider in the shipping and alliedindustry, actively involved in all facets ofshipping providing total logistics solutionsunder one roof with global reach.Through our sister company, Mis SeashellExim Services we have gone one stepforward to provide specialised services

Milestones:IstBranch in 2009 at Chennai2nd Branch in 2010 at HyderabadCrossed turnover ofRs 100 crore in 20112012 - added nine branches and crossedturnover ofRs 150 crore2013 - other branches are being added

What are the emerging trends in LSPglobally?Logistics is a very dynamic industry andthere were lots of improvement in therecent past which were primarily drivenby the customers' changing demand, stiffcompetition among LSPs, improvement in

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infrastructure and government economicpolicies.

One area which saw a dramaticimprovement in last one decade is thereal time information about the cargomovement on road/rail/sea and air. Withthe improvement in communicationand tracking devices, it is now easierto track cargo and pass information tothe customers, which resulted in fasterinformation leading to higher customersatisfaction.

construction sector?We feel the following are few of thechallenges faced in providing projectlogistics: -• Lack of skilled manpower• Inadequate infrastructure• Delay in getting clearances• Taxation is a major issue for thetransportation industry

Which is the most challenging projectyou have executed in the constructionsector?Seashell Logistics today caters servicesto 70 per cent of the construction orinfrastructure development companies inIndia. We have handled almost all kinds offlagship Indian infrastructure projects thatwe have seen in last one decade like watersupply, water reservoirl dams, national!state highwaysl expressways, metro railprojects, power projects which includes -generation, distribution of thermal, hydel,gas-based, wind, solar, even renewableenergy like biomass, airports, seaports,telecommunication. We are glad toshare that Seashell is chosen by evenlarge foreign construction companiesin associating with them in executionof their foreign projects in Africa, LatinAmerica and GCC countries.

As a long standing CHA, what reformswould you like to see in customsclearing procedures, especially aconvergence towards Single Windowclearance?In India, customs clearance is still alicence raj because of outdated act andcomplex indirect taxation structure.With changing scenario and upgradedtechnology the enforcement andexecution becomes effective if the same issynchronised time to time, we still havea procedure where CHA license issuedby Govt of India has to be registered atall the ports separately even though therules and guidelines are uniform thisonly increases the administrative workboth to department and to CHAs. Ibelieve this could be avoided by allowingCHA to conduct trade in any port acrossIndia after all all ports and icds are interconnected electronically. In recent days,we see reforms of the customs which

•Q&A

are limited to paper and not in reality,reason the spirit is missing, today customselectronic internal risk managementsystems are really sound and strong, theadministrative tools are not effective asthey still follow traditional good oldendays zonal control centres where everydepartment functions on their own withless coordination. The tax structures needto be made as simple as possible.

Tell us about your Multi ModalTransport capabilities?Seashell is recognised by Govt of Indiaas Multimodal transport operator(MTO) 2008. We have the capabilityof transporting any kind of goodsirrespective of the size and weight asmultimodal on door-to-door basis.We provide single window customisedsolution to our customers' rightfrom picking their goods from theirmanufacturing facility to deliver goodsto their client's project site for import aswell as export consignments. We haveour own fleet of trailers to fulfil the needsofland transportation across India, owncontainers and special equipment, ourown Chartering team who are in regulartouch with the major Project/HeavyLift/Bulk/Bagged cargo vessel owners toarrange. For handing projects and heavylift cargoes, we have a strong network ofagents worldwide across the globe to takecare of operations across the sea in othercountries. We have been handling bulkcargoes in rail and have good experiencein rakes handling. Also, we have beenregularly chartering Aircraft in orderto move time-bound project cargoesas per our customers requirement. Inaddition, we also have our Reefer Divisionwhere we offer total logistics solution toour direct shippers taking care of theirtemperature controlled cargoes suchas fruits, seafood, perishable agricultureproducts and pharmaceuticalproducts etc.As a service provider our capabilitiesdepends on our skilled and dedicatedmanpower having a professional approach.Having highly skilled and motivated teammembers, we have been able to establishourselves in this highly competitiveindustry, in a very short time. •

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Projects like port connectivity, Delhi -Mumbai/Mumbai- Bangalore IndustrialCorridor, Dedicated Freight Corridorswill decide the future oflogistics inIndia. All LSPs in India will have toalign themselves with the changinginfrastructure of the country and equipthemselves to take maximum benefit of it.

One more trend I see around the globeis of manufacturing clustersl SpecialEconomic Zones/Special InvestmentRegions around the ports. The Govt ofIndia in association with self initiatedfederal states in the coastal belts aretaking initiative by coming forward withmaritime policies to develop new portshand in hand with industrialisation. Thisis being promoted by all the governmentsglobally to reduce their logistics cost andbring in efficiency. This initiative has to besupported by our industry and corporateIndia as well, because the success of thesenew initiatives depends on feasibilitywhich in turn depends on traffic. Ipersonally feel indian industry is nottaking much initiative in making use ofthis as they are still in inertia of wait andwatch for others to start, today's businessneeds dynamic and faster decisions sowe hope there will be change in situationsooner than later.

So one thing is sure that in future, LSPs,who will be able to provide innovativesolutions and who can adapt themselveswith the changing macro economyrequirements, will survive and grow.

What major challenges are facedin providing project logistics in the

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