• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Geologistics plans more warehouses

Our Bureau

PUNE, Dec. 5

LOGISTICS provider, Geologistics Ltd, on Tuesday said the company would increase its network of warehouses from the current level of eight to about 20 in the next two months.

The company, which set up operations in India in 1998, said it would make the Mumbai-Pune route a major hub of its development and set up a large, multi-user warehouse facility in the region soon.

``Over 65 per cent of the ocean/flight cargo out of India uses Nhava Sheva and the Mumbai airport with the result that traffic on the route is dense''. ``We intend to tap this latent opportunity by concentrating on putting up facilities here'', Mr Andrew Birtley, Chief Executive Officer, said.

Mr Birtley, who was here to announce the launch of the company's integrated logistics services in the city, said the parent company, GeoLogistics Corporation of the US, which holds 80 per cent equity in the company, was likely to increase its stake to 10 0 per cent in the next few months. He, however, refused to give further details.

Meanwhile, the company has recently bagged a contract from the Pune-based Cummins Auto Services, providing warehouse and distribution logistics across the country, for its 300-strong retail network.

Among other things, Geologistics specialises in monitoring and managing Web-based inventory and order processing systems for its various clients.

Speaking on the company's plans for growth, Mr Birtley said the warehousing and inventory management systems practised by companies would change drastically once the uniform value-added tax regime was in place.

Geologistics would expand its network in India not by investing in setting up warehouses of its own but by taking these on long-lease, since that was a more viable option, he said.

The company has, meanwhile, tied up with majors in the publishing industry such as Oxford University Press and India Book Distributors to provide guaranteed, timely delivery of publishing material such as reputed foreign magazines, newspapers and academi c books in the Indian market .

He said the company was the first to introduce logistics services in the publishing industry in India and said its entry had brought down costs in the segment considerably.

``India is a major consumer of books, magazines and academic books from markets such as the US, the UK and Singapore and we intend to leverage our logistics skill to tap the opportunity'', he said.