30 years of moving businesses forward

With India’s largest integrated logistics services provider, Allcargo, reaching the three decade mark, here’s a look at the journey and what sets them apart.

The year was 1994. The American sitcom “FRIENDS” premiered on television, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, Nelson Mandela became the first democratically elected president of South Africa, and it had been just two years since the iconic liberalization of the Indian economy and more ships than ever were bringing trade to the Bombay Port. In nearby Masjid Bunder, a dream was sown to revolutionize logistics when a young Shashi Kiran Shetty, started a new enterprise, Allcargo Logistics, to help ease the congestion at the port.

Thus started a journey to bolster businesses in India and overseas with impeccable and professional logistics services. Within three short decades, Allcargo has evolved to become one of India’s largest integrated logistics service providers with a presence in 180 countries. 

A team of professionals

In a sector known for being old world in its outlook, Allcargo laid emphasis on building a highly qualified, professional workforce, the impact of which is also felt in the company’s customer centric approach that has won applause from all quarters.

Keen on passing on the torch of knowledge gained over three decades, to the next generation of logistics professionals, Allcargo mentors a young and vibrant workforce and actively gives opportunities to exceptional, bright, young individuals through its various Management Trainee programmes. These young guns are working on various projects designed to disrupt the way logistics is done.

 Further, various well thought policies are creating a more diverse workplace. The company’s global subsidiary, ECU Worldwide, has 56% women on the workforce globally, while the express distribution wing, AllcargoGATI, not only targets women professionals to fill vacancies but also has the first shift in 11 Express Distribution Centres run entirely by an all-women workforce. In addition to this, the Restart initiative is helping women professionals who have taken a break in their careers, for domestic reasons, to ease back into the workforce.

Nurturing a culture of care

A defining factor for the company is the people centric and conscientious approach that sets the logistics leader apart. In addition to looking after its people, Allcargo has been reaching out with care and support to the wider community with well thought out initiatives in the spheres of Education, Environment, Health, Women Empowerment, Disaster Relief and Sports, even before CSR became a corporate mandate.

It is worth mentioning that just last year, Allcargo fulfilled its commitment to plant a million trees which are not just securing the local ecology but also providing the tribal farmers, who nurture these trees, with an alternative source of income when they sell the produce.

Further, as a market-leading global logistics player, Allcargo Group undertook a strategic approach to ESG to establish a robust sustainability strategy, in line with the best global standards and practices. The first ever materiality assessment was conducted to understand the sensitivity of varied ESG topics, categorize topics based on environment, social and economic importance, and identify and finalize material topics and goals. The most significant of these goals is the aim to be carbon neutral by 2040, to achieve which various concerted efforts are underway.

30 years growing into the future

Having reached a significant milestone in its journey to boost businesses, Allcargo is investing significantly to build a digital tomorrow. In addition to multiple digital customer facing initiatives, the ERP of two of its group companies, ECU Worldwide and Gati, is undergoing transformation, and various data science projects are being implemented which leverages the wealth of data Allcargo has access to on account of being the world’s largest LCL consolidator.

Furthermore, through its corporate accelerator programme Allcargo is collaborating with smart digital startups in the logistics space to boost innovation and provide much needed mentorship to build stability in the formative years of the new enterprises.

To mark this momentous occasion, Allcargo recently celebrated this landmark milestone with a celebration that paid a tribute to the three decades of excellence, as well as acknowledged the future that will be driven by digital innovation, and the dedicated and ingenious team members who drive Allcargo forward.

From humble origins in Mumbai, to taking bold leaps into new verticals, geographies, and the realm of the digital, and building a culture of care to give back to society, to now nurturing logistics startups, Allcargo has come full circle.