Manojit Acharya
D
on’t you think the pandemic has reminded us how critical supply chain and logistics are at the foundational level? Absolutely! Not only this, what this pandemic further brought into the limelight is how digital and physical assets have to work together and coexist. Specifically talking about the logistics industry, there is always going to be a coexistence of both, and how well that is managed would ultimately define success for both service and customer organisations. You are a thought leader in materials handling. What was the single biggest perceptible need you have found in the mindset of the customers amid these volatile times? Talking about operation-level aspects, in the last few months, what has come out quite noticeably is the importance of service levels. How well an organisation is geared up to service its customers was the biggest determinant to come across.
Our long and short-term rental solutions play a major role It’s not only about having the best of equipment but going the extra mile in terms of serving your customer and keeping their equipment in the best of operating conditions.
Can you describe your company’s own business continuity plans and how have you helped your clients in times like these? 48 |
July 2020
A crisis of this scale has forced companies to reimagine business models, not just for short-term survival, but for long-term resilience. Reliable estimates cannot currently be made about the business development over the remainder of the year, but offerings like Jungheinrich’s rental solutions can help organisations respond to the challenges of a 24x7 marketplace as well as face economic uncertainty and rising customer expectations. Manojit Acharya, Managing Director, Jungheinrich Lift Truck India informs Upamanyu Borah, how the idea of using a flexible hire service goes a long way to effectively manage market volatility and complement traditional contracts, while also giving an overview of the sector. At Jungheinrich, our operations were always running. Even when the lockdown started, we had a special approval from the government for serving essential services sector for which our warehouses were open, serving the aftermarket requirements with continuous spare parts supply across regions. On the other hand, supply of our rental trucks also kept running to support business covering essential operations with short and long-term rental solutions. Initially, our business continuity plan was completely dependent on our essential service customers as our objective was to keep their businesses running. Our service engineers used to be in constant touch with our customers, and our customers responded very well by providing necessary approvals for our team as well as providing logistics (pick up and drop) support. Post-lockdown, we have started fullfledged offerings to customers. Our sales and after-sales teams are working and keeping the agreed deadlines with customers.
