Jeena: Making a Difference in Logistic Industry across the World

Established in 1900 by Pallonji Katgara, Jeena & Company is a trusted, reputed and popular end-to-end logistics solutions provider with a strong presence in 27 locations across India and has a global reach across 80 destinations. The company offers unparalleled services in both exports and imports for air and sea freight. In addition, they have varied service offerings such as door-to-door, projects, customs brokerage, 3PL, and time and temperature-sensitive logistics. Jeena is one of the largest customs house agents and freight forwarders in the country. They cater to a wide range of industries that includes automobiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, retail, FMCG, chemical, engineering, and renewable energy and move different kinds of commodities.

"We are Logistics Architects as we design well thought out and carefully curated end-to-end solutions for our customers. We are one of the few supply chain companies that have sustained for more than 12 decades. We have established long-term relationships with customers, partners, airlines/shipping lines, and employees and provide the best service to them," says Homi Katgara, Partner, Jeena & Company.

Market Trends

The logistics industry has massive growth potential. Digital freight forwarders have started making a space for themselves in the industry. The value addition brought in by digital freight forwarders has changed the logistics landscape drastically. Seeing their potential, Jeena has engaged in strategic investments with some of these new players

Airlines, shipping lines, customs, and forwarders have adopted the latest technologies which have helped them to create more efficient processes and a rapid outflow of the necessary information. Jeena has played a pioneering role in the automation of both internal and external processes. In 2017, the government of India enforced the concept of GST, and Jeena’s systems were the first to automate this in the various customs processes.

Homi says, "The use of drones for last-mile delivery has seen considerable traction. Though the infrastructure is not fully developed in India, drones showcase a huge potential by ensuring faster deliveries and reducing urban traffic. During the pandemic, we participated in a pilot project on behalf of the Telangana Government to deliver vaccines to rural areas of India."

"The industry is also witnessing the increased dependency of customers on their LSPs. Many times, documentation work is offloaded to us to reduce the workload of the customer. This increased dependency has led to stronger relations and long-term contracts with customers. Today, Jeena caters to over 20 different service offerings. We are seeing an upward trajectory with huge potential," he adds.

Consolidation seems to be a future trend in this industry. Pioneers of the Industry are also looking to spread their basket of offerings through various mergers and acquisitions. Coastal shipping is set to gain considerable importance in the future with the Govt. of India's Sagarmala Project which focuses on port modernization, inland waterway connectivity enhancement, and coastal community development.

Homi believes that blockchain has the potential to disrupt the industry. In the coming years, the industry will witness rigorous adoption of blockchain in the freight forwarding space.

Consolidation seems to be a future trend in this industry. Pioneers of the Industry are also looking to spread their basket of offerings through various mergers and acquisitions. Coastal shipping is set to gain considerable importance in the future with the Govt. of India’s Sagarmala Project which focuses on port modernization, inland waterway connectivity enhancement, and coastal community development.

Homi believes that blockchain has the potential to disrupt the industry. In the coming years, the industry will witness rigorous adoption of blockchain in the freight forwarding space.

Employee Empowerment

Legacy, ethics, and integrity have been the key convictions since the inception of the company. With the help of its dynamic team, the company innovates and provides the best service to all its customers. “We strongly believe that highly-driven and motivated employees are the biggest assets of any organization. Being in the service industry, we have a carefully crafted service excellence program that monitors in-depth operational details to ensure 100% satisfaction for our customers. We also monitor the service of our vendors and partners such as the shipping lines and airlines to ensure efficiency throughout the supply chain,” he explains.

The company believes in providing a holistic work culture that helps its employees to learn and grow. Some of their employees are working with them for over two decades which shows that they believe more in heart counts than headcounts. “Over the years, we have cultivated long-term relationships with our employees and customers that have helped us to be a successful name in the industry,” he states

Future Outlooks

Jeena’s goal is to drive 3x revenue growth in the next five years, expand its service verticals, and cater to some more industry sectors. They plan to achieve their goal through strategic shifts in focus areas and expansions in footprints. "3PL and pharma logistics are our primary focus areas for the future. We have plans to increase our warehousing and distribution footprint across India. Looking at the growth of the aviation sector, we see great opportunities for support services such as airline GSSA, airport ground handling, terminal handling, security, and more," he says.

They have adopted the best-in-class technology to make their systems and processes more efficient and streamlined. They underwent an exhaustive transformation exercise with a reputed consultant for organizational restructuring and rationalization of both direct and indirect costs that resulted in improved EBITDA margins. "With our business expansion in Australia, we hope to contribute to the larger goal of the interim Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed between India and Australia and make a significant difference to the Indo-Australian trade," he concludes.

(Articles under 'Fortune India Exchange' are either advertorials or advertisements. Fortune India's edit team or journalists are not involved in writing or producing these pieces.)