Sahil Freight holds its first conference in Goa

Well on its corporate trail, Sahil Freight Express Pvt. Ltd brought together all its branch heads and top management personnel for their first ever All India Branch Manager Meet at Hotel Nova Goa, Panaji, Goa on the 18th and 19th July, 2008. The two-day re-orientation programme was designed to gear up all personnel to meet the challenges of the rapid expansion and diversification programmes the company is scheduled to launch.

Set-up as a small entity way back in 1986 for handling personal effects, the company has in a short span of time grown to be a force to reckon with offering services in the entire spectrum of supply chain management including customs clearance, freight forwarding, NVOCC, multi-modal transport, warehousing, pick-and-pack besides several other value added services. Sahil Freight Express has soared to heights where few have dared. With a strong network of 6 offices and having a pan-India presence it has also achieved a reputation of reliably moving heavy lift cargo from anywhere in India to anywhere in the world by operating as a member of the heavy lift consortium.

Known for its rapid, efficient, safe and reliable service, Sahil has established itself as a brand not just in India but also in the international markets especially because of its maxim - treating the cargo as a baby. Besides India, Sahil has a strong presence in the worldwide markets informs Suhail Shaikh, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director, an international figure holding the Executive Committee Membership of the Heavy Lift Group, Netherlands, Advisory Committee Membership of the Project Professional Group and the Membership of the World Wide Project Consortium.

“We operate in partnership with the U-Freight Group which has a presence in 140 places,” he states. “As a result of this alliance we are able to transport cargo from the smallest to over-dimensional cargo of 1600 tons to any part of the world. The reliability and strength of our service is evident from the large list of multi-national companies and conglomerates that are part of our clientele and are known to be demanding expecting accurate and perfect service. We believe that it is more important to handle the customer rather than the cargo.”

He informed that the company’s corporate office has come into existence and all planning, marketing, development and operations will be undertaken by the corporate office which is based in Mumbai. The company will hive off the Project Handling & Management into a separate division and operate independently of the branch offices. Top professionals have been inducted into the company.

“Our goal is to be a multi-location international general freight forwarding logistic company with 30 branches all over India and 15 abroad in the course of the next five years,” Mr Shaikh informed. “We are in the process of moving into a system-driven organisation. We will soon install operational control systems including customer services for domestic as well as international operations.”

Jitendrakumar Kotian, the Deputy General Manager – Corporate, in his presentation during the Meet explained in detail the manner in which the new system is supposed to be implemented and how the administration would be functioning under the new arrangement. He underscored the importance of team work, frequent interactions between branch offices and the need for transparency in operation. He also highlighted details of the new HR policy that was being implemented. He explained how this policy was designed to help the staff grow with the organisation and to help them to work in a carefree atmosphere with various new benefits that would accrue to them.

Sandeep Chavan, who specialises in Information Technology, gave important guidelines in communication by email. He informed that a new system would be in place soon for uninterrupted communication and would be superior to the prevailing one. He cautioned the participants to adhere to certain procedures while sending emails to ensure secrecy and not to use company emailing services for personal purposes as it could land the company into a lot of trouble.

C K Shanbhag, a leading chartered accountant presented a proactive approach to finance accounting systems. He explained the need of finance for operations and long term expansion plans and sources of funding. He also explained details about various taxes and duties that come into play which need to be borne in mind while handling branch accounting and reporting of financial statements. He mentioned several cases that have caused a lot of problems because proper procedures were not adhered to.

M. Jawed Khan of the Delhi office made a presentation on the ‘Operations by Senior Managers’. There after each of the branch heads later made presentations about the working of their offices touching upon the business prospects that existed in their area and how they could tap the existing resources for developing business. Some time was specially set aside by the organisers for interaction and to streamline the difficulties and problems that branch heads faced. The two-day programme ended with various participants being felicitated for their service and good work.