Blue Dart, India’s only domestic jet freighter-express air and integrated transportation and distribution company, will have to wait for the beginning of next year to add an additional Boeing 757-200 to its present fleet of five, which currently provide a network payload of 300+ tons across 60 routeconnections each day.
     In a move to enhance its cargo capacity, Blue Dart was thought to havethe additional aircraft operational this year and had even secured approval from its shareholders during the company's 24th annual general meeting (AGM) held this past July.
     In a note to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Blue Dart declared:
     “It is proposed to add one aircraft during November 2015, to increase the air carriage capacity which will result in increased cost of operation.”
    Reached as we went to press, Managing Director of Blue Dart Aviation Ltd. Tulsi Nowlakha Mirchandaney kept it sweet and simple, telling FlyingTypers:
     “We are planning on augmenting our fleet with an additional B757 and the conversion is in progress.
     “Required regulatory approvals have been sought.”

Online In The Air

     A leading player in the domestic express cargo services industry, Blue Dart, along with its wholly owned subsidiary, Blue Dart Aviation (this is the company that will be inducting the new aircraft), is well aware of the huge volumes online retail will provide.
     In addition to the new aircraft, the company is arranging new warehouses and going into hi-tech.
     It’s little wonder that Chief Executive Officer of DHL eCommerce Malcolm Monteiro (Blue Dart is part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group and Monteiro oversees Blue Dart's operations) was recently quoted as saying that “up to five years ago, you never had e-commerce figuring in BlueDart’s list of top five verticals, and today it is the largest vertical and demand is far outstripping supply.”

e-Sector Soars

     The e-tail sector has been witnessing phenomenal demand from across India.
     In fact, Deutsche Post DHL announced some time ago that itwould invest more than 100 million euros in the country over the next two years.
     A large part of the investment is being earmarked to facilitate services related to e-commerce and Blue Dart was preparing to get on to the e-commerce wave.
     Managing Director of Blue Dart Express Limited Anil Khanna said:
     “There has been exponential growth in the last three years.”
     He also mentioned that in 2010, while e-tailing deliveries did not constitute even one percent of Blue Dart’s business, “now, 25 percent contribution comes from this segment.
     “We expect it to account for half our total business or even more in the next 4-5 years. Business from e-tailers has seen a CAGR of 87 percent for us in the last five years,” he said.

Parcel Locker Goes 24/7

     The Indian e-tailing industry is expected to grow 52 percent from 2014 to 2020.
     In another major initiative to woo online retailers, Blue Dart recently launched the country’s first Parcel Locker.
     The first such locker—stationed in the tech city of Gurgaon (a suburb of Delhi)—will allow recipients of parcels to collect their shipments from the facility 24 hours a day. The mechanism will benefit e-tail customers who may not be present during regular delivery hours.
     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 will offer the convenience of a 24-hour-a-day/7-days-a-week/365-days-a-year delivery mechanism,” Mr. Khanna told FlyingTypers.
     Used extensively in Germany and other countries, the service utilizes 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.
     Blue Dart hopes to woo customers with the facility as well as its wide network.
     The locker service will be free for customers and will be offered to all the e-commerce vendors Blue Dart works with like Amazon India, Snapdeal, and Flipkart.
     Shares of India’s major logistics and delivery companies have surged in the past 12 months, partly due to e-commerce demand. Blue Dart has more than doubled to Rs.6,916.30, while Gati Ltd, in which Japan’s Kintetsu World Express Inc. has a stake, has more than quadrupled to Rs.253.90, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Tirthankar Ghosh