Transporting high value goods and/or critically-needed goods is not every logistics player’s cup of tea. It needs utmost secrecy, and at the same time it needs very high security and sometimes has to be done in the most innocuous manner.
Thus, a very specialised job. The vehicle used for transporting the said goods that could be gold and jewellery or some high-end fashion brand’s products, and hence it should not stand out, lest it attract unwanted attention. That’s the kind of logistics Bengaluru-based Criticalog specialises in.
Sujoy Guha, founder and CEO, who quit the Dutch delivery giant TNT in 2013 along with his colleague and friend Samirbaran Panda, started Criticalog which is into supply chain management and critical logistics solutions.
It offers air express distribution services to domestic and international movement of time-sensitive, highly-valuable or highly-perishable, hazardous and fragile cargo. They could include high value goods like gold, Swiss watches, antiques, jewellery, luxury goods, automotive, IT spares and pharmaceuticals. To ensure it’s able to deliver on time, in Bengaluru it has set up a godown in the city centre.
“We are right at the top of the pyramid in the logistics business, and it gives the best returns due to high degree of customisation,” said Guha.
Also, the company refrains from outsourcing any work as utmost secrecy needs to be maintained when transporting high value goods. Hence, it does not outsource. The company has some 250 people on its rolls, including drivers and guards with revolver. Some of the drivers are also trained to use a revolver.
Leaving TNT as operations director was not something his family could stomach as his income fell and savings went into the new venture. “My family was disappointed that I left a well-paying job as they had to make sacrifices. But, now they are happy about my decision,” he said.
The company that has revenue of about `25 crore per annum today, hopes to see revenue of about `100 crore in another three years or so.
Criticalog today operates across 54 locations across India, and delivers consignments only above `10,000. By choosing to transport items and by providing different