You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics”. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Even though Eisenhower made this observation more than six decades ago, the importance of logistics in every area of life and business remains as critical if not more. Logistics is a key differentiator that determines the success or failure of any business. In fact, the growth in today’s commercial sector has been supported by supply chain management– which has taken a quantum leap and kept pace with the changing business paradigm. Global supply chains have become increasingly complex and data driven.
There is end to end visibility with complete access to the flow of information, material movement from procurement to manufacturing, packaging, and delivery to the last mile. Effective supply chain partnership allows companies to make smarter decisions, accurately predict and respond to market and demand changes and reduce disruptions while improving the bottom-line. Given that background, one company comes to mind – that embodies an agile transformation in the supply chain industry and that name is APL Logistics. Here’s an interesting backstory – dating back to 1848 where Dollar Lines, the first transpacific mail ship to cross the Pacific, serving Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco, was founded. Dollar Lines became American President Lines (APL) that became a leader in innovation within the shipping industry and introduced optimized 48ft/53ft containers compared to the industry’s smaller standard. It also pioneered stack-training technology.
In the late 1970’s, in response to the increasing importance of Asian manufacturing and exports from Asia, APL established ACS (American Consolidation Services), with the first two operations in Hong Kong and Taiwan. ACS was the first in the industry to offer a formal program for export consolidation comprising a service quality team and customer reporting via platforms and was quickly recognized as a leading provider of Asia origin services and Buyers Consolidation. And that is how the foundation of APL Logistics was laid. Innovation and customer service have continued to guide the business of the company through the decades. Today, APL Logistics is a renowned player in the supply chain space, enabling sustainable trade and commerce in key markets and regions.
A multinational corporation with presence in 60+countries, APL Logistics is a subsidiary of Japan's KWE (Kintetsu World Express) conglomerate. In 2000, as the Company accelerated its global expansion, ACS was re-branded to APL Logistics. The brand was strong and it continued as a separate entity in NOL. In 2015, APL Logistics was acquired by KWE, a leading Japan based 3PL. Today, it is organized into five global regions namely Americas, EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa), South Asia, Southeast Asia and North Asia.
Employees at the Forefront of Core Competence
APL Logistics is a key player in four lines of business which include Order Management Solutions, Domestic Warehousing and Export Consolidation, Managed Transportation Services, and Forwarding, primarily across retail, automotive, consumer and industrial markets. Big retail purchasers from across the world source heavily from Asia; this poses intricate supply chain challenges for these customers. Supply chain activities involve intensive interface with all of the customer's suppliers, coordination to pick up what they have manufactured, having them custom-cleared, and shipping them across to markets in Europe and the United States so that they reach destination in time for sales.
This complicated activity is called Order Management, and APL Logistics possesses a leading global position in it. Apart from this, the firm is active in Contract Logistics which includes the complete gamut of activities involving designing and setting up warehousing and fulfillment through managed transportation services, such as milk runs and trunk runs across the country. International Forwarding Solutions is another area of activity of APL Logistics. According to Umesh Bhanot, Regional Vice President South Asia at APL Logistics-the Americas and Europe have powered the growth of the company especially in the automobile and retail verticals.
The years since the acquisition by KWE in 2015 were spent in cementing its position as an independent brand within KWE.
It is now well prepared to expand especially in Asia where it will market its skills in Order Management across verticals. The human capital of APL Logistics has played and shall continue to play a big part in this growth.
“Employees are at the heart of APL Logistics’ successful long-term relationships with business partners. It is the integrity, passion and pride that our people have in creating customized solutions that powers our efficient supply chain solutions. Various employee initiatives are in place to ensure well-being and growth of our people. Learning has always been a priority item on the company's agenda. The Global Learning Hub (GLH) of the company has been churning out ever more learning opportunities for employees. The firm’s Asia Learning and Development facility has been recently set up in Gurgaon to broaden the domain knowledge of employees”, says Umesh.
APL Logistics specializes in developing value creating solutions for customers. This challenges its employees to think critically, work closely with customers and fosters a high level of engagement with the company's various lines of business as they go about developing customized solutions. This has often resulted in unconventional, creative solutions, 'owned' by the employees. Employees vouchsafe that the involvement in such creative pursuits has widened their horizon and made for more interesting and fulfilling work. APL Logistics is committed to creating opportunities for the growth and development of its people and provides its employees the satisfaction of giving back to the communities in which it operates and of having strong (environment) sustainability goals.
The hard COVID times saw neither any layoff nor any wage cuts within APL Logistics India. Far from it, APL Logistics extended a special health cover for COVID for employees in India. Not only has the firm been tracking and keeping pace with 'market' compensation levels, but it has also been stepping in to help employees out of unfavorable economic circumstances. During the galloping inflation in some South Asian countries in recent months, APL Logistics intervened with compensatory pay for employees to help them through difficult times. “We take pride in having a culture that is centered on relationships. We're more like a family, and we've striven to maintain that 'family atmosphere', emphasizes Umesh.
The Road Ahead
APL Logistics is poised for significant expansion in South Asia, particularly India. Order Management continues to be the focus area through which we drive differentiation. There is a significant emphasis on Rail as a means of fulfilling logistics requirements. APL Logistics has two rail logistics companies in India. One is a niche container trains operator and the other which is a joint venture between APL Logistics and Vascor USA, is the market leader in rail based automotive logistics in India. The ongoing development of rail infrastructure in India promises to open up a plethora of new opportunities for APL Logistics to apply its well-honed skills in Order Management and rail based logistics. 
“Our emphasis is offering customized Order Management Solutions both intra and inter Region in a progressive manner synergizing our various lines of business, inter regional, global connect and rail in India. In keeping with our 'Employees First' policy, we will continue to develop our human capital. We plan to expand diversity in demography, age profile, and gender. Our work environment exposes employees to interactions with global peers, we share best practices and everyone gains. They have exciting, fulfilling career opportunities to look up to; we continually re-evaluate, reorganize so that employees have an enriching experience and a clear growth path within the company”, concludes Umesh.
Umesh Bhano, Regional Vice President, South Asia – APL Logistics
Umesh Bhanot is the Regional Vice President for South Asia at APL Logistics. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Delhi College of Engineering as well as the elite Faculty of Management Studies. With an overall experience of 30+ years in the logistics industry he is an accomplished leader who is equally at ease in the boardroom and the remotest warehouse in the region. A highly organized and results focused leader, Umesh directs multiple lines of business including Order Management Solutions, Domestic Warehousing and Export Consolidation, Managed Transportation Services, and Forwarding, primarily across retail, automotive, consumer and industrial markets.
APL Logistics has been particularly active in employee initiatives, and learning has always been a priority on the company's agenda
He exemplifies an agile leadership style driving multiple projects while increasing operational efficiency and improving collaboration among various arms of the logistics business across geographies. Exuding a warm and approachable personality, he is an influential leader who builds consensus among stakeholders to provide breakthrough product strategies and transform complex project initiatives into achievable goals. While Order Management is a very complex business requiring exceptional creative and problem- solving skills, one of his key achievements is the nurturing of an agile team that creates end to end logistics solutions while adapting to constantly shifting supply chain dynamics.
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