Mahindra Logistics' New Battery-Powered Fleet Adds 300 EVs
Mahindra Logistics has launched 300 electric three-wheelers under the brand name ‘EDel’ in the first quarter of its inception.
Mahindra Logistics Ltd. has launched 300 electric three-wheelers under the brand name ‘EDel’ across six cities in the first quarter of its inception.
Derived from the term ‘electric delivery’, the company started this business in January 2021 with an aim of adding 1,000 such vehicles in the first 12-18 months of its conception. That, according to Rampraveen Swaminathan, chief executive officer at Mahindra Logistics, has been receiving a strong and positive response. An industry-wide transformation to electric last-mile delivery will make this sustainable option more cost-efficient, he told BloombergQuint’s Niraj Shah in an interview.
Freight Forwarding Focus
Mahindra Logistics is also focusing on expanding its freight forwarding business—organises shipments for individuals or corporations to get goods from manufacturer to a final distribution point—and providing more integrated solutions that are a combination of warehousing and transportation services to create long-term value for customers.
In FY26, we’d like to have a third of our business coming from warehousing and value-added solutions, which should have around 30% (profit margin) providing a pull-through effect from a margin perspective.Rampraveen Swaminathan, CEO, Mahindra Logistics
According to him, the outbound supply chain integration services by Mahindra Logistics are being provided in multiple formats to different customers, either for one product line, one region or end-to-end. With regard to whole logistics platform outsourced to them by Bajaj Electricals Ltd., he said the deal is both margin and value accretive in the medium to long term. The company, he said, is also providing similar services to other customers in e-commerce, durables and apparels at different levels of scale, which, too, comprise a “compelling value proposition”.
The debt-free company reported revenue of Rs 974 crore in the quarter ended March 2021, up 20% over the year earlier. Its profit after taxes, excluding a one-time non-cash exceptional item, rose 47% year-on-year during the reported period.
Outlook
Swaminathan said the company has witnessed volume drops in April across most service lines due to the localised lockdowns amid the second Covid-19 wave. But he expects FY22 to be a year of volatility rather than decline. “The underlying trends will be positive but we will have to deal with a lot of volatility like we did last year.”
The company also aims to be asset-light, capital efficient and focused on creating valuable customer journeys in the future.
Watch the full interview here...