Patel Logistics plans dedicated arm for e-tailing

It is entering the e-tailing arena with a dedicated last-mile delivery vertical

With Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal and the like hogging headlines for months, the Rs 520-crore Patel Integrated Logistics is entering the e-tailing arena with a dedicated last-mile delivery vertical to serve this booming multi-billion-dollar sunshine sector.

"We are very seriously planning to enter the e-tailing space with an end-to-end last mile delivery vertical. Our proposed 'e-tailing fulfilment' arm will ensure that leading e-commerce players can offer their customers more assured service delivery," Patel Integrated Logistics vice-chairman Areef Patel told PTI.

Explaining the rationale for entering this sector with a dedicated arm as it already serves the sector through third-party deals, Patel said, "The logistics sector in moving up the value chain and moving into premium services. We want to have the early-bird advantage.

Since we are the only domestic logistic player that has the capability to deliver a consignment within 24 hours in any city that has air connectivity, it makes sense for us to enter this sector on our own and further encash on our USP. But nothing has been finalised as we are studying legal aspects of it," Patel added.

One of the oldest organised homegrown players in the nascent logistics space and listed on the stock markets, the Patel group began with a one-truck entity in Bombay more than 50 years ago and today it has become a diversified logistics player with over Rs 520 crore in revenues last fiscal, and owns over 100 trucks on its own, and around 2,000 on rental.

Patel Roadways began with Asgar Patel, the founder driving his first truck himself ferrying a consignment from Glaxo in late early 1960s. Today it has 800 branches and is also into real estate in cities like Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai and Goa and financial services in Mumbai.

Its logistics services include Patel Integrated Logistics and Patel Roadways has a network of 121 branches and 262 delivery stations.

The Group's courier service, Patel On Board Courier is the largest neutral wholesale consolidator of courier consignments, enjoying 80 per cent market share with 337 branches, he said.

The company has over 2 lakh sq ft of warehousing space across all the major cities and setting up more to handle premium cargo in cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai.