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FM Logistic, a global leader in warehousing and transportation, considers India as one of the high priority countries for its business operations. The company is planning to invest whopping USD 150 million in next five years to strengthen its India wing and the major part of this fund will be utilized in developing Multi-Client logistics Facility (MCFs) in key economic zones of India. The newly appointed Managing Director of FM Logistic India – Alexandre Amine Soufiani in an exclusive interview talks about his immediate goals, plans of scaling up FM India’s business, and much more.
- You have recently been appointed as one of the key position holders for FM Logistic’s operations in India. How do you plan to support FM Logistic’s ambitions in India as the new Managing Director of India Operations?
I will take on the role of Mr Gautam Dembla, as the new Managing Director of FM Logistic India, and definitely these are big shoes to fill. I have full confidence in the current team and we will do our best to work as a strong leadership team in order to make FM India as the most admired contract logistics company in India.
My role is to ensure that India becomes one of the best-performing countries for FM Logistic. My immediate focus is to continue building our key service offering for our Indian customers. Our aim is being amongst the top 3 logistics companies in India by the end of 2021. We also plan to leverage our relationship with some of the key global customers by offering world-class services in India.
- How will the recent investment of USD 150 Million by FM Logistic in India help the company to scale up in the next few years? What are the key areas that this investment will be directed at?
India is amongst the high priority countries for FM Logistic. We are planning to invest USD 150 million in next five years. Majority of it will be utilized for developing Multi-Client Logistics Facility (MCF), across various consumption centres in India. We see a huge untapped potential in India. The company is planning to make strategic investments in India to support its long term growth.
“The GST reform provides a huge opportunity for business in India. Thanks to the new positive policies, our operations have become even more streamlined and efficient.”
We expect a very strong double-digit growth in India in FY 2019-20. Overall the company’s activities in India have been growing by an average 25% + YoY for the past 10 years.”
FM Logistic plans to strengthen its position in India by delivering on its post GST strategy of focusing on developing multi-client facilities (MCF) in the most important Indian Economic Zones.
In addition to our MCF strategy, we are going to consolidate our current offer to industrial customers, with dedicated warehouses inside or near their factories to manage their in-plant inventory or Finished goods warehouse.
We are focusing on developing the faster end to end logistics services, from primary transportation till finished goods warehousing and secondary distribution. We will consolidate and dedicatedly develop our omni channel services where we target catering to both stores and final consumer from the same facility.
FM will also invest in the digitalization of its various functions, including WMS (warehouse management system) and TMS (transport management system) that offer a high quality service and real-time visibility to customers.
Presently, FM Logistic India’s turnover from transportation and distribution is around 30%, my aim is to increase it to around 50% by 2020. With a new team in place we are sure to reach to this goal.
- Jobs in the logistics sector have always been a major concern for the industry. How does FM Logistic plan to address this issue in the coming days?
For a high growth company like FM India, Human Resources are the key to success. One of our key priorities is the training and the development of our teams. We have invested in our “internal training academy”.
Around 1000 plus employees have been graduated through our in-
In parallel, we have reinforced our relationship with various B-Schools and Universities. We have already partnered with many Management Institutes for internship and final placements.
The Faster Mind Challenge is one of the ways of opening the company to new ideas and getting in touch with young graduates. We want to recruit the managers of tomorrow and help them to grow inside the company – after learning the management on the field, in our warehouses.
- FM Logistic entered the Indian market through the strategic acquisition of Pune-based Spear Logistics. Given your growing foothold in India, is there another such acquisition around the corner?
FM Logistic reinforced its geographical coverage by acquiring Spear Logistics, one of the leading Indian logistics companies in 2016. The transition was smooth and the acquisition of FM in India was highly successful.
Going forward, FM Logistic brings the cooperation its international capability, recognition, advanced working tools and latest technologies in India. FM Logistic share values, centered on team spirit, entrepreneurship, operational excellence, innovation and proximity with customers. We are not looking for any other acquisition in India in near future.
