SHREE HATKESHWARA GROUP: Has Created A Distinct Mark In The Logistics Domain
Women of today’s generation are equally competitive and ambitious as they are fiercely propelling with a blaze of perseverance and hard work. Despite a number of hurdles in the trajectory, they don’t quit but keep on chasing their dreams and aspirations. Mukta Adityaraj Shah falls in the category of a truly empowering woman of this age, thereby; the team of Business Connect has featured her in the edition, ‘Women Entrepreneur of the Year2019.’
Mukta joined Shree Hatkeshwara Group after completing her MBA in International Business in the year 2015. Shree Hatkeshwara Group is the brainchild of Adityaraj Shah. The maestro started by driving a single milk tanker with a great vision in the eyes.
Reminiscing the past days, Mukta recalls, “As a child, I saw my father struggle in setting up the company with one milk truck which he drove by himself. Seeing my parents build the company from scratch to now with more than 1500 trucks impacted me big. I don’t remember playing with dolls as a kid. I had toy cars, trucks and trains. I never really thought of another field to join.”
Being the owner’s daughter has its own disadvantage when it comes to creating a niche for yourself in the company. It was no cake-walk for her to climb up the career ladder in the company. For the first two months, she merely sat and stared at the computer screen. No one told her what to do. She got frustrated, and one fine day she complained to her father. The first thing he said, “In the office, we are not father and daughter.” This hit her strongly, and at that juncture she learnt that she ought to carve her own niche.
Then, she approached the staff to provide her with their pending work. When she retraced the memories, then Mukta realised that it was her father’s way of testing her perseverance. The entrepreneur states, “I also realise now that this is the best way to learn the basics of any department, its challenges and schedules to follow and how to work towards solutions.
My acid test came when I was made in charge of the receivables department, and everyone knew that there were some outstanding cases for more than a year. I proved myself when I brought in all the receivables and was finally ‘accepted’ in the fold.”
DIGGING THE DEEPER INSIGHTS OF THE COMPANY
Shree Hatkeshwara group has occupied a pivotal stature and falls into one of India’s leading Transport and Logistics Company. Punctuality, sincerity, integrity, hard work, effective, high service standards and time-definite delivery were the pre-requisites in making it successful. They have inculcated a culture of values in their staff and developed a sense of responsibility, determination, dedication, honesty, in each of their team members. Since its inception, Shree Hatkeshwara Group has been engaged in logistics and transportation services.
They operate on the PAN India level and specialized in transportation of Cement, GGBS, Steel, and Chemicals like LPG and Propane. They transport cargo over 20 million metric tons per year in their own 1500 ++ vehicles. They are currently one of India’s largest fleet owners of bulkers. Shree Hatkeshwara Group is amongst the top three transporters of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. in western India.
They offer their customers with services ranging from Rail Rake Management, Inbound and Outbound Freight handling at the surface, Primary and Secondary warehousing/redistribution, Third-Party Logistics and Surface Transportation services at the most economical pricing options. Their major strength lies in customization, understanding customer’s requirement and designing service systems to suit their requirements with the help of a dedicated team of qualified persons.
Mukta Adityaraj Shah says, “ We believe in making our Customers Lazy. When you make your customers depend on you by giving them service on time, then they will gain trust in you and will be associated for a lifetime.”
VIEWS ON THE SCENARIO OF LOGISTICS INDUSTRY
The logistics industry is considered to be the backbone of any country’s economy. It helps to facilitate the flow of goods in an effective and cost-efficient manner. The logistics industry is at a brink of transformation. The Indian transportation and logistics industry majorly consists of an unorganized sector such as owner opeartors. At present the industry is not at its peak due to the economic slowdown but we see a boom in the industry in the coming months.
On the role of leadership, Mukta says, “The most important quality that one should have in a leader is being honest, loyal and trustworthy. I have always felt that one must compete with oneself and always strive to be better today than yesterday. I believe in the one mantra that my father told me, which the Military teaches ‘sweat more during training to bleed less in war’. With these thoughts and virtues, I have always tried to strive for the best and succeed. Not only me but my team has also inculcated such qualities.”
FEATHERS IN THE CAP WITH COMMENDABLE FUTURE PROSPECTS
Shree Hatkeshwara Group has come a long way from 1 milk tanker to 1500++ vehicles at present. Shree Hatkeshwara Group has won various awards for the best performance from its customers.
Recently, they have opened a branch in Baltimore, Maryland, in the USA with a total fleet of 18 tractors and 54 trailers. They have started backward integration by becoming Authorised Dealer for JK tyres. They have also commenced with the Ashok Leyland Service Centre for their vehicles.
They have been recognized as one of the Top 10 Promising Hire Carrier Service Providers consecutively for 2018 and 2019. Ms. Mukta Shah has won the Mahindra Excellence Award for ‘Lady Transport Personality of the Year 2017’, supported by the Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
They wish to see themselves as a winner of global infrastructure and become the most renowned name across the globe in the upcoming days. They strive towards becoming a successful MNC in the surface transportation industry. In the future, they would also emerge as a multi-modal transportation and logistics company.
THE CSR ACTIVITIES
They have introduced a unique scheme for their drivers’ children. The group sponsors the higher education of these children and helps them in the achievement of their dreams. They arrange medical camp every 6 months for eyes and complete health checkups of their drivers. They provide financial aid to the ‘Laxmi Raghunath Medical Foundation’ to help patients with low financial income with their surgeries.
They support the initiative by ‘Sarhad Foundation, Pune’ in the overall education and provide the facilities of accommodation to of the orphan children from Jammu & Kashmir and Nagaland regions. These children have become orphans due to the terrorist attacks in these regions.
Recently, Shree Hatkeshwara Group has assisted in a project for providing oxygen to Indian soldiers at the Siachen Border, the highest battlefield in the world.
For the readers of Business Connect, Mukta has an inspiring message to share and she states, “Be confident and believe in yourself in whatever you do. Grab every possible opportunity which comes your way, and make the most of it, others will realize it after you have done and dusted it.”
