No Heavy Burden ; When Exports Are Down in the Dumps, How Is Allcargo Global Logistics Holding Its Head High Above Water?

Business Today › March 18, 2009

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Summary

There are always opportunities lurking around adversity the difficult bits of course is to find those opportunities. And it's the ability to spot and exploit those breaks that separates the men from the boys. Take, for instance, cargo and container handling firm Allcargo Global Logistics, which has been doing its bit much before the downturn arrived to stay competitive.

In 2006, Chairman & Managing Director Shashi Kiran Shetty had acquired Belgian logistics firm ECU Line for $29 million. He didn't waste any time in shutting down its unrelated businesses (like local transportation) and moving out of low-yielding markets (like East Europe). He also laid off some 50 people at a time when no slowdown was in sight a tough task to pull off, reveals Shetty. AGL also moved some of the back-office work of ECU IT, human resources and accounting to India to trim costs. Such measures have gone a long way in hastening the integration of the two companies. They were vital, too; today, ECU Line contributes almost 60 per cent of the total revenues.