Satisfaction Level at Different CFS and Rail Operations

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BIRLA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY� ��

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Summer Project Report

On

“To find out the Potential Customer for HTPL at ICD Dadri and

Find out their Preferences and satisfaction level at Different CFS

and Rail Operators “

Corporate Guide

Mr. Jugal K Vasisht

Manager- Marketing & Product

Development

Hind Terminals Private Limited, Delhi.

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Submitted By: Paras Jain

Roll No. 66

PGDM

BIMTECH

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Academic Guide:

Prof G.N. Patel

Faculty Operations

BIMTECH

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TO WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that Mr. Paras Jain, student of Birla Institute of

Management Technology has successfully completed his Summer Project titled

“To find out the Potential Customer for HTPL at ICD Dadri and Find out

their Preferences and satisfaction level at Different CFS and Rail Operators ”

during their stay of 8 weeks in the company.

This is his original work to the best of my knowledge.

Jugal K Vashist

Manager- Marketing & Product Development

Hind Terminals Pvt. Limited, Saket

Date:

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��This is to certify that Mr. Paras Jain Roll No.066 a student of PGDM has worked on

summer project titled To find out the Potential Customer for HTPL at ICD

Dadri and Find out their Preferences and satisfaction level at Different CFS

and Rail Operators At Hind Terminals Pvt. Ltd. after trimester-III in partial

fulfillment of the requirement for the program. This is his original work to the best

of my knowledge.

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Declaration

The work presented in this report entitled “To find out the Potential Customer for

HTPL at ICD Dadri and Find out their Preferences and satisfaction level at

Different CFS and Rail Operators” is carried out by me and is true to the best of

my knowledge.

Paras Jain

PGDM- 066

2007-2009

BIMTECH

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Acknowledgement

Nothing concrete can be achieved without an optimum combination of

inspection and perspiration. Like all the other studies, this work-piece is also a

denouement of the interaction of a number of corporate brains that directly or

indirectly are responsible for the impeccable contributions for effectuating this

project.

I am extremely thankful to Mr. G.N. Patel, faculty Operations at

BIMTECH who consented to the guide me in spite of his tight schedule and

provide support to the successful completion of this project.

A of gratitude is due to Mr. Jugal Vashist, Market & Product Development

Manager, Hind Terminals Private Limited whose guidance, motivation and

invaluable support resulted in the successful completion of this project. I feel

greatly indebted to him for giving me this wonderful opportunity to work on this

project.

Sincere and appreciative thanks to all the staff members at Hind Terminals for

their excellent inputs, support and feedback on the progress of the project.

I would also like to thank the staff members at Container Corporation of

who helped me a lot in the making of this project and took time out of their busy

schedule and provide me with relevant information.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my family and all my friends for their

support and feedback on the project.

Paras Jain

PGDM 066

2000-09

Operations

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary …………………………………………………………………..……01

Objective and Scope…………………………………………………………………...……03

Chapter1. Introduction

Company Background……………………………………………………..…...04

Rail Operation……………………………………………………………..……04

Container Freight Stations…………………………………………………..….06

Transportation……………………………………………………………….….07

Freight Market in India………………………………………………………....08

Key Factors in Rail-Road Mode Choice in India………………………………10

Key Factors for Customer Needs and Preferences……………..........................11

Chapter2. Indian Railways

Role of Indian Railways …….…………………………………………………14

Chapter3. CONCOR

Role of Concor…………………………………………………………………17

Chapter4. Dadri Terminal-A Tour

Rail Operations……………………………..…………………………………..24

CFS Operations…………………………………….…………………………..30

SWOT Analysis…………………………………………………………….......32

Chapter5. Market Research

Marketing Research Process……………………………………………………34

Chapter6. Results and Findings

Secondary Data Findings………………………..…….………………………40

Primary Data Findings……………………………….………………………..49

Chapter7. Limitations………………………………………………………………..…….56

Chapter8. Recommendations…………………………………..………………….….……57

Appendix1. Questionnaires…………………………………………..…….….58

Appendix 2.Bibliography………………………….………………….…….…60

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Table of Figures

Figure 1: Group companies of HTPL………………………………………………………………....04

Figure 2: Rail Operations……………………………………………………………….……………..05

Figure 3: Rail Network of HTPL……………………………………………………….………….….05

Figure 4: Container Freight Station…………………………………………………………………...06

Figure 5: Transportation Service at HTPL………………………………………………………….…07

Figure 6: Graph of Multimodal Transport……………………………………………….……………09

Figure 7: Graph of Total Throughput of TEUS……………………………………………………….10

Figure 8: Operators in 10 Crore Slab………………………………………………………………….14

Figure 9: Operators in 50 crore Slab………………………………………………………….……….15

Figure 10: Growth of Containers Handling……………………………………………………...……18

Figure 11: EXIM break-up at Dadri in 2007………………………………………………………..…19

Figure 12: % break up of business of different Rail Operators at dadri………………………………20

Figure 13: Break-up of cargo clearance at Dadri……………………………………………………...20

Figure 14: Road Connectivity to ICD Dadri…………………………………………………………..21

Figure 15: Rail Linkages to ICD Dadri……………………………………………………………….22

Figure 16: Import Flow Cycle…………………………………………………………………………23

Figure 17: Flow Chart for Rail Operations……………………………………………………….…...26

Figure 18: Functional Structure of Container Freight Station……………………………..………….30 Figure 19: Flow chart Of Activities within CFS………………………………………………………31

Figure 20: Graph for Stuffing Mode wise export………………………………………….………….40

Figure 21: Graph of Commodity wise export…………………………………………………...…….41

Figure 22: Graph of Destination wise break-up………………………………………………..……..43

Figure 23: Graph of Port of Loading wise break-up……………………………………..……………43

Figure 24: Container wise break-up……………………………………………………………..….…44

Figure 25: Shipping Line wise break-up…………………………………………………………...….45

Figure 26: percentage response to the ranks for the various factors…………..………………………49

Figure 27: Customers satisfaction rating for services at Private vis-à-vis Concor CFS………………51

Figure 28: percentage response to the ranks for the various factors in rail operation………………...53

Figure 29: satisfaction rating for services at Private vis-à-vis Concor Rail Operations………………54

Table 1 : Current Services……………………………………………………………………………04

Table 2 : Break up of Multimodal Container Transportation………………………………………..08

Table 3 : Growth of Foreign Trade…………………………………………………………………..09

Table 4: Importance of Key Factors….…………………….…………………………………………11

Table 5: Satisfaction of Customers with Mode Performance.…….……………………….………….12 Table 6: Total EXIM at dadri…………………………………………………………………….........19

Table 7: Total Volume of Export at HTPL……………….….……………………………………..…25

Table 8: Rail Tariff ………………………………………………………………………………...…25

Table 9: Idle Time Taken By Different Activity……………………………………………………...27

Table 10: Stuffing Mode wise Break-up………………………………………………………………40 Table 11: Commodity wise export………………………………………………………………….…41 Table 12: Destination wise break-up………………………………………………………………….42

Table 13: Port of Loading wise break-up……………………………………………………………..43

Table 14: Percentage Break-up for types of containers…………………………………………..…...44 Table 15: Shipping line wise data……………………………………………………………………..45

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Executive Summary

The objective of this project is to do analysis of customers at ICD Dadri which encompasses their

profile analysis, understanding their behavior in choosing a particular service and finally coming

to conclusions. I have also tried to focus on the operational aspect where I have tried to

understand the core operations/ procedures at ICD Dadri.

The secondary data on export traffic of Dadri for the year 2007 was provided to me by the

company. The next step was to analyze that data and extract findings on the following basis:

Shippers

Shipping line

Commodity

Region

Port of Loading

Stuffing mode

Volume

Types of Containers

After analyzing the data my job was to find out customers who were using those shipping lines

that are nominated to HTPL at Dadri i.e. whose cargo it is allowed to transport. The next step was

to take a sample of 50 shippers and find out their detailed profile i.e. stuffing mode, shipping

lines, total export etc. For the purpose of this research, it was absolutely imperative for me to find

out what the shippers want from Rail & CFS operators at Dadri. I conducted a primary survey of

those 50 shippers located in the catchment areas of Dadri over a period of 3 weeks. Findings have

been extracted after these questionnaires were analyzed. The primary survey helped me to draw

inferences about the following important points:-

Validation of Secondary data

Factors shippers consider in choosing Concor/private trains to transport their containerized

cargo and their level of satisfaction.

Factors shippers consider in choosing Concor CFS/private CFS to transport their

containerized cargo and their level of satisfaction.

Meanwhile, I studied core operations at ICD Dadri i.e. Rail operations which the company is

currently dealing in. I visited ICD Dadri and studied the CFS/ICD operations in detail, the process

flow of documents. I also studied Concor vis-à-vis private rail operators and its role in their

operation. I even tried to focus on challenges that a rail operator is likely to face, took a brief idea

of the shipping industry, the export/import cycle, the emerging trends and certain other key

aspects that are essential in understanding the company’s business as well as the psyche of a

shipper in choosing various services Dadri.

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Important Recommendations that were suggested are:

1) Dadri has huge volumes of reefer cargo (11500 Teus/year) being exported all of which is

railed out on Concor (2-3 trains per week) thus leading to huge pendency of containers.

HTPL should therefore venture into movement of reefer trains.

2) To achieve a sustainable growth the company should target middle/lower segment

customers until the time it establishes its own infrastructure.

3) Focus on market penetration strategy so as to increase its customer base. Profit maximization

should after that be a matter of concern.

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Objective:- � To find out the Potential customer for HTPL � To analyze why customers prefer CONCOR/HTPL (private) for transporting containerized

cargo by rail and compare their services. � To analyze why customers prefer private container freight stations (CFS)/CONCOR CFS for

clearing out their containers cargo and compare their services. � To understand core operations at terminal Dadri.

Scope To carry out the study for the collection of information; both primary as well as the secondary

research methods will be used.

The data on export traffic of Dadri Terminal was provided to us by the company which is a one year data (2007).

A total sample size of 50 customers is taken that belong to the catchment areas of Dadri i.e. Greater

Noida, Noida, Sahibabad Ghaziabad, Surajpur, Dadri, Khurja, Sikendrabad,Bulandshahar.

I will focus on core operations at ICD Dadri, its export and industrial areas around Dadri.

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BIRLA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

Company Background:-

Hind Terminals Private Limited is part of Sharaf Group, a strong and well known business

conglomerate in Dubai with interests

Figure 1: Group companies of HTPL

Its core business activities include

� Rail Operation

� Container Freight Station (CFS)

� Transportations

� Inland Container Depot

Rail Operation:-

The Company is amongst the 15 private players to be granted the License from Indian

Railways for container train operations for EXIM and Domestic traffic for a period of 20 years,

for “All India” in Category-I i.e. 50 crore slab where it can move the

routes and for both EXIM and domestic traffic. It has a pan

Container Rail and currently has arrangements with CONCOR for usage of certain Terminals.

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BIRLA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY�

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NTRODUCTION


conglomerate in Dubai with interests in business of shipping, logistics, collateral management etc.

Figure 1: Group companies of HTPL

Its core business activities include

Container Freight Station (CFS)

Inland Container Depot



I i.e. 50 crore slab where it can move the trains on all Indian Railways

routes and for both EXIM and domestic traffic. It has a pan - India License for operations of


Sharaf Group

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in business of shipping, logistics, collateral management etc.



trains on all Indian Railways

India License for operations of


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HTPL’s first rake was flagged off on 16th April 2007 from ICD Loni to Nhava Sheva Port with full load of 90 TEUs. Currently it has a license of 8 rakes which are being run from different ports. The company has a target of 11 rakes by the year 2008.

Figure 2: Rail Operations

� Features:-

� Reliable service with confirmed ETD and ETA

� Synchronized operations reducing delays

� Train timings in coordination with Ship arrival

� Trucking service from and to the ICD

� Online tracking of train and containers

� Electronic submission of documents

� One stop shop for complete cost effective logistic needs

Current Services

Figure 3: - Rail Network of HTPL

Table: 1 - Current Services

Between Trips Per Week

Export Import

JNPT

NSICT

GTI

Sabarmati 2 2

Kota 2 2

Ludhiana 1 1

Dadri 1 1

Mundra

Sabarmati 1 1

Kota 2 2

Ludhiana 1 1

Dadri 2 2

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Container Freight Stations:-

The full benefit of containerization can be derived only when the containers are, permitted to

be moved to points in close proximity to important industrial station so that the importers can get

clearance of the imported goods at the nearest point to their factory/premise.

HTPL under a Strategic Alliance Agreement with Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC)

on long term basis had undertaken the development and management of the CFS. The facility is

located at around 15 kms from JNPT Port. The facility is being developed in 2 phases and Phase 1

plan (12.8 Hectare) is fully developed with complete operations commencing from 3rd May 2007.

This facility is one of the largest private sector facility at JNPT and also the only private sector

facility which would have a rail siding.

� Services:-

� Office block for customs, users, CHA and surveyors

� A full fledged canteen inside the CFS complex

� EDI connectivity

� Fire fighting and smoke/fire alarm devices installed in warehouse and yard

� Fumigation / lashing / choking / palletization / shrink wrapping facilities

� Well secured with ex-serviceman security guards posted round the clock

� Dedicated fleet of equipment and Owned Trailers to ensure efficient services

Figure 4: Container Freight Station

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It has future plans of establishing Inland Container Depots (ICD)-Terminal Operations as well as

Collateral Management, Third Party Logistics solution. HTPL will provide a one-stop solution

for logistic services covering transportation from and to the ICD/CFS, warehousing, de-stuffing,

stuffing, handling & transportation – rail & road – and all allied activities.

The company is already in advanced stages of finalization of proposals for development of

CFS /ICDS at various locations including western ports , north region, central India etc.

Transportation:-

The transportation activity of captive loaded and empties is being done by Hind Carriers Pvt. Ltd.

which commenced operations from October 2006.

Hind Carriers operates 60 Trailers of HTPL on Operation & Maintenance basis and has tie

ups with other transporters to take care of the balance volumes.

For operations of the trailers under Operation & Maintenance basis, Hind Carriers has on its

payrolls appropriate staff including supervisors, drivers and mechanics

Figure 5: Transportation Service at HTPL

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FREIGHT MARKET IN INDIA

The Indian economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, but the boom is not without its

stops, starts, and bottlenecks, all of which also make themselves felt in the country’s freight

transport sector. India Freight Transport Report concludes the country will reach average annual

freight traffic growth of 10.2% in the 2007-2011 period.

Strong economic and foreign trade growth is underpinning the freight upturn. In

the road freight sector, demand is boosted by door-to-door logistics, the move to higher

value/lower bulk shipments, the rising size of the vehicle fleet and the new impetus to improve

and extend the network, using private sector highway operators and build-transfer-operate (BOT)

schemes. Rail will experience steady but less spectacular growth given the predominance of the

state-controlled Indian Railways. All other transport modes should experience faster growth, with

international air cargo turnover performing strongly as more private airlines join the market. Sea

transport through India’s major ports will also perform well. A major factor over the next few

years driving change will be the rising competitive pressures from cargo operators among India’s

immediate neighbours and main trading partners.

For the 2007-2011 forecast period we expect the transport and communications sector

to continue outpacing the economy as a whole. It will achieve average annual growth of 7.7%,

versus 7.4% for overall GDP. The total value of transport and communications GDP will rise to

US$91.8bn in nominal terms by 2011, representing 7.6% of India’s GDP.

Table 2: Break up of Multimodal Container Transportation

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Figure 6: Graph of Multimodal Transport

Table3: Growth of Foreign Trade

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BIRLA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY� � ��

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Figure 7: Graph of Total Throughput of TEUS

Key Factors In Road-Rail Mode Choice In India Shippers can be expected to seek the mode that will minimize their total logistics costs. This is not, however, to say that they will always seek to use the mode with the lowest rates. Firms recognize that there are a number of factors which can add to their costs, including the level of loss and damage, additional inventory which must be held to avoid stock outs, the value of in-transit inventory, and the reliability of a mode’s services Estimating the total logistics cost faced by a shipper requires an understanding of the factors which influence the costs, and data to calibrate the model formulation. There is an extensive literature of ways to model the total logistics cost faced by a shipper. �� Order and handling costs. �� Transportation charges � Loss and damage costs � Capital carrying cost in transit �� Inventory carrying cost at destination �� Unavailability of equipment costs � Service reliability costs �� Intangible service costs

Once the total logistics costs are known, they can be used to estimate the probability that a customer will use rail or motor carrier for moving a shipment.

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Key Factors for Customer Needs and Preferences

Table 4: Importance of Key Factors

Importance-Parameters Level of Importance (On a scale of 10) Category "A"

Quality Parameters Reliability 8.68 Availability 8.50 Category "B" Product Specifiers Price 8.20 Transit Time 8.16

Category "C"

Product Specifiers Connectivity 7.99 Product Suitability 7.86 Category "D"

Other Factors Loss and Damage 7.46 Customer Information 7.37 Adaptability 7.23 Customer Friendly attitude 7.11 Negotiability 6.89

Category "E"

Other Factors Access to decision makers 6.62 Ease of payment 6.50 Claim processing time 6.41

Source: AFF-Shipper survey

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Table 5: Satisfaction of Customers with Mode Performance

Importance-Parameters Level of Satisfaction for Mode-choice (On a scale of 10)

Road Rail Category "A"

Quality Parameters Reliability 8.34 4.60 Availability 8.41 4.61 Category "B" Product Specifiers Price 7.57 5.94 Transit Time 8.12 4.89

Category "C"

Product Specifiers Connectivity 8.74 3.72 Product Suitability 7.76 5.42 Category "D"

Other Factors Loss and Damage 8.00 4.52 Customer Information 7.02 3.55 Adaptability 7.78 3.24 Customer Friendly attitude 7.47 3.37 Negotiability 7.79 2.78

Category "E"

Other Factors Access to decision makers 7.62 3.65 Ease of payment 8.06 3.97 Claim processing time 7.71 2.68

Source: AFF - Shipper survey

Mode Weighted Average Score

(On a scale of 10) Road 7.82 Rail 3.91

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The following can be inferred from the above tables: 1. Roadways have a far better satisfaction score than railways 2. The railways compare unfavorably against roadways on all the criteria involved. The score of railways especially on certain criteria like Ease of payment, connectivity, negotiability, claim processing time is much lower than roadways. 3. Even on the factor of price, the highest rated factor for rail, the railways do not fare as well as would be expected

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INDIAN RAILWAYS

The Indian Railways operates the world’s second largest rail network under a single management. It has an established route length of 62,759 km divided into three gauges – broad, meter and narrow. The functions of the Indian Railways can be divided into core and non-core activities. The core activities comprise transportation of freight and passengers (Running of trains and owning of assets) and non-core activities comprises catering, Running schools and colleges for the children of the railway staff, medical healthcare Facilities for the railway staff, production units and workshops etc. Though the first ISO marine container had been handled in India at Cochin as early as 1973, it was in 1981 that the first ISO container was moved inland by the Indian Railways to India's first Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Bangalore, also managed by the Indian Railways. Expansion of the network to 7 ICDs by 1988 saw increase in the handling of containers, and along the way, a strong view had emerged that there was a need to set up a separate pro-active organization for promoting and managing the growth of containerization in India. IR has awarded licenses for container operations to 14 private sector companies, thus, ending the monopoly of Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) in this area. Most of the current parties are likely to use the operations for their internal use but dedicated third-party container operation providers might also emerge later to compete Directly with CONCOR These companies are involved in every step of the container business, from booking of traffic to aggregating the goods to distributing them at the destination by arranging transport. There are mainly two types of licenses system:-

1. Operators who can move their trains on selected individual IR route identified by MoR for both EXIM and domestic traffic i.e.10 crore slab

Figure 8: Operators in 10 Crore Slab

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BIRLA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

2. Operators who can move their trains on all Indian Railways routes and for both EXIM and domestic traffic i.e. 50 crore slab

Figure 9: Operators in 50 crore Slab

In addition, Ministry of Railways intends to partner with State Governments, private

logistics operators and infrastructure providers to establish multi modal logistic parks equipped

with rail sidings with sheds, l

buildings for logistics operators, highway connectivity, and smaller assembly units for processing

imported raw materials for export. Such Parks could either be built independently at strategic

locations or could be built in a Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

Initiatives by Indian Railways:

Private parties to run container trains

Wagon Investment Scheme

Development of Rail-side Warehouses & Logistic Parks

Strengthening Rail –Port Connectivity

Development of Dedicated Freight Corridors

A number of container Rail Terminals of IR are also being utilized by the operators,

Primarily, for domestic operations

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY�

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Operators who can move their trains on all Indian Railways routes and for both EXIM and 50 crore slab

Operators in 50 crore Slab



with rail sidings with sheds, large inland container depots, warehouses for storage, office



ocations or could be built in a Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

Initiatives by Indian Railways:-

Private parties to run container trains

Wagon Investment Scheme

side Warehouses & Logistic Parks

Port Connectivity

Development of Dedicated Freight Corridors


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Role of Indian Railways in Private rail operation:-

Any rail operator is dependent on Indian Railways for tracks (the paths), locomotives, signaling and communication, train crew movement of its container trains. The train operator is to procure wagons and set up its own terminals but can use others’ terminals also. Indian Railways deducts specified haulage charges which comprise freight charge, service tax & miscellaneous charges from rail operators the resultant of which is called rail freight

margin. Rail operators in turn deduct rail haulage from the pre deposit accounts (PDA) of shippers. The shippers then receive a railway receipt (RR)/ Inland-Way bill (I-Way Bill) which they give it to Concor after which the containers are loaded on wagons and train summary is prepared by Concor. The train then waits for the engine to arrive after which it is railed out to its respective destination..

Any damage to the container during the transit time is handled by Indian Railways

themselves. Transit time guarantee is not available from the IR.

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CONCOR

Container Corporation of India Ltd. (Concor), was incorporated in March 1988 under

the Companies Act, and commenced operation from November 1989 taking over the existing

network of 7 ICDs from the Indian Railways.From its humble beginning, it is now an undisputed

market leader having the largest network of 57 ICDs/CFSs in India.

CONCOR's core business is characterized by three distinct activities:-

Rail operator

Terminal operator

Warehouse operator

Rail is the mainstay of CONCOR’s transportation plans & strategy. Majority of CONCOR

terminals are rail-linked, with rail as the main carrier for haulage. Several of its terminals are

situated on leased Railway-land. As rail is price-competitive over long distances, the price

advantage can be passed on to clients, thus allowing for flexible and competitive pricing. The rail

link also plays a major role in decongesting our ports and the road corridors that lead to these

ports.

CONCOR/rail moves about 23% of the export/import containers moving through Indian ports

or about 50% of the hinterland traffic.

CONCOR's strategic position in the logistics market is characterised by:

Relatively monopolistic market position as a sole-provider of rail-hauls for containers

CONCOR benefits from a close relationship with the Indian Railways.

Strong relationship with Indian Railways coupled with an MoU for providing for guaranteed

transits on 'liner corridors";

Dedicated network of state-of-the-art terminals across the country to capture traffic at the

production / consumption centres;

Distinct cost advantage by virtue of their location in the ICD premises (which have rail-head

connection and which therefore eliminates multiple handling and transportation).

CONCOR handled around 3.5 Lac TEUs in domestic sector all over India till 2004-05. The traffic

handled has not shown any considerable increase in last few years. This slow growth of domestic

container traffic can be of various reasons like: no more increase in volumes, more complications

in serving the customer door- door by using rail facility, poor services provided to customers than

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road ways carriers & the cost involved may be less in train movement but the handling activity

involves high costs.

Figure 10: Growth of Containers Handling

Role of Concor in private rail operation:-

Private rail operators are dependent on Concor for terminal handling of the containers

which in turn deducts 40% from the rail freight margin of a rail operator. It is responsible for

making the train summary once the rail receipt has been receipt.

In import role of Concor starts right from the time the train arrives at ICD till the time RR

has been released by the importer after which the container is shifted to line’s custody.

In export the role of Concor starts from the time if a shipper wants his cargo to be stuffed in

the ICD itself. Concor is responsible for packaging, palletization, carting and stuffing the cargo in

the containers. The loaded containers are then custom sealed after which the containers are

stacked by Concor on the rail siding. The containers are booked on the trains, the train summary

is prepared, haulage charges are deducted from the shipper’s/shipping lines PDA , the RR is

issued and finally the containers are railed out.

3,49,141

4,24,741

4,91,481

5,76,790

6,64,490

7,53,368

9,05,058

10,31,925

12,51,618

13,76,516

2,44,977 2,78,801

2,30,238 2,25,156 2,38,661 2,91,360

3,26,775 3,51,238 3,50,501 3,51,460

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4,00,000

6,00,000

8,00,000

10,00,000

12,00,000

14,00,000

16,00,000

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TE

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International Handling Domestic Handling

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DADRI TERMINAL- A TOUR

Asia’s biggest Inland Container Depot is at Dadri which is located adjacent to Dadri Railway

Station of North Central Railway on Delhi-Howrah rail route. It is 33 km from New Delhi station

and 42 km from Tuglakabad and is connected to the entire BG rail network of Indian Railway. Its

road connectivity is through Surajpur – Dadri road which links ICD with Grand Trunk Road (2.4

km away) as well as NOIDA. This ICD has a potential capacity to cater to 1 million Teus/year.

Total throughput at Dadri = 15000 to 16000 Teus a month

Throughput= export + import (empty containers being included in both)

The break-up for total EXIM traffic at Dadri in the year 2007 is given as follows:-

Export Import Total

80772 Teus 111074 Teus 191846 Teus

42.1% 57.9% 100%

Table 6: Total EXIM at dadri

Figure 11: - EXIM break-up at Dadri in 2007

The three main operational systems in the terminal are:

� The ICD operation � The rail operation � The container freight station (CFS) operation.

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The rail operators at ICD Dadri are as follows:- � Concor � Private rail operators

� Hind Terminals Pvt. Ltd. (private) � DP World (private)

Figure 12: % break up of business of different Rail Operators at dadri

The Container Freight Stations at ICD Dadri are as follows:-

� Concor CFS

� Private CFS operators

� StarTrack Terminals –A JV between Maersk Line & Concor

� CMA CGM Logistics Park Dadri Pvt. Ltd. –A JV between CMA CGM & Concor

� Trident Terminals Pvt. Ltd. – A JV between APL India Pvt. Ltd. & Concor

� Albatross CFS Pvt. Ltd. – A JV between Albatross India Ltd. & Concor

Figure 13: Break-up of cargo clearance at Dadri

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Infrastructure:-

The entire land of 110 hectares at Dadri ICD belongs to Concor part of which (24 hectares) it has leased to other private players.

Rail yard with 4 full length rail tracks (to be increased to 7 later).

Dadri has a capacity of 360 Teus at a time i.e. 4 Trains can be loaded at time, where one

train has a capacity of 90 Teus.

120000 sq.mt block paving for entire yard (rail side and CFS). 40,000 sq.mt paved parking

for trailers and cargo trucks.

Approximately 105 rakes/month are dealt at Dadri out of which 24 rakes are nominated to

Concor, 2 rakes to HTPL and 2 rakes to DPWorld.

Equipment:-

Four Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes.

Three Loaded and One Empty Reach Stackers.

Two 3 Ton & One 5 Ton Fork Lift.

Figure 14: Road Connectivity to ICD Dadri

Catchment Area:- Greater Noida, Noida, Sahibabad Ghaziabad, Surajpur, Dadri, Khurja , Sikendrabad, Bulandshahar. Rail Linkages:- JNPT/NSICT, Pipavav, Mundra Port, Vizag, Tughlakabad, Ludhiana,Kanpur, Sabarmati, Agra,

Kota, Turbhe, Malanpur. Jaipur

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JNPT

PIPAVAV

MUNDRA

Jodhpur

14000 TEUs

Ludhiana

48000 TEUs

Moradabad

17600 TEUs

Kanpur

17500 TEUs

Delhi

(282648 TEUs)

Jaipur

19500 TEUs

Panipat

2240 TEUs

Figure 15: Rail Linkages to ICD Dadri

Services:-

� Customer related services

� Separate admin building for associates like freight forwarders/CHA’s shipping lines,

Surveyors, transporters etc.

� EDI- Electronic Data Interchange Facility for online business

� Cargo consolidation and de-consolidation facilities.

� Bonded cargo handling and its secured storage facilities.

� Container handling and stacking.

� Rail and road transportation of containers,

� Specialized reefer container stacking facilities for stacking and handling of reefer containers.

� Container repair, washing, cleaning and servicing available on demand facility.

� Round the clock gate and train handling operations.

� Electronic PDA statement & Train Summary for Customers.

Value Added Logistics:-

� Picking & Packing

� Labeling & Sorting

� Customization

� Factoring

� Just in Time / Sequence Supply / Delivery

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Import Cycle – A Flowchart

Figure 16: Import Flow Cycle

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RAIL OPERATION

Hind Terminals Pvt. Ltd.

HTPL at Dadri terminal is solely dealing in rail operation where its first train from Dadri was

flagged off on 4th. July, 2007. HTPL has even taken land on lease from Concor and has future

plans of developing its own container freight station. The company’s operation is highly

influenced by the omnipresent Concor which tries to maintain its stable position in the market as

new private players are emerging.

Apart from the strong support of Sharaf Group shipping lines i.e. Mediterranean Shipping

Company (MSC) and Samsara Group HTPL has support of 10 other third party shipping lines

whose cargo it can carry. The shipping lines are as follows:-

1. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (India) Pvt. Ltd. (MOL)

2. NYK Line (India) Ltd. (NYK)

3. CSAV Group Agencies (India) Pvt. Ltd. (CSAV)

4. Hapag-Lloyd (India) Pvt. Ltd. (HLI)

5. Emirates Shipping Agencies (India) Pvt. Ltd. (ESA)

6. Trans Asian Shipping Services Pvt. Ltd. (TASS)

7. Perma Container Line (India) Pvt. Ltd. (PMA)

8. IAL Shipping Agencies Pvt. Ltd. (IAL)

9. Evergreen Shipping Agency India Pvt. Ltd. (EGI)

10. Zim Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM)

Concor to maintain its strategic position in the market has entered into certain business

arrangements with HTPL which are as follows:-

� HTPL can carry only that cargo which belongs to the above mentioned shipping lines i.e.

Lines nominated to HTPL at Dadri

� Terminal handling of containers will be done by Concor only both within the ICD as well as

the CFS, which means that HTPL cannot do business with any of the private CFS operators

� The rail haulage that HTPL charges have to be at par with those of other rail operators

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Services:-

� Reliable service with confirmed ETD and ETA

� Synchronized operations reducing delays

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� Train timings in coordination with Ship arrival

� Trucking service from and to the ICD

� Online tracking of train and containers

� Electronic submission of documents

� Swapping of Containers: - HTPL to maintain good relationships with its customers may also

go to the extent of swapping where if a container is very necessary to be railed out and the

company is not able to do that by the specified date then it loads those containers on Concor

trains. Concor either deducts rail haulage from HTPL or swaps those number of containers on

a later date.

HTPL here is working on a no profit/no loss basis, but it prefers to do it so as to

achieve customer satisfaction.

� Pre-deposit account flexibility (PDA) :- A facility where a customer can have a pre-deposit

account with the rail operators from which the rail haulage are deducted.

� Excellent customer service and great concern for customer grievances/speedy redressal , since

it is a private firm therefore highly customer-oriented.

The total volume of export and import is as follows:-

Table 7: Total Volume of Export at HTPL

The rail tariff that HTPL charges from its customers is the same as that of any rail operator. The

tariff in INR is as follows:-

From To HTPL Haulage

20 ft. container 40 ft. container empty Up to 12

tons

12-20

tons

20-27

tons

Above

27 tons

Up to

18 tons

18-24

tons

Above

24 tons

20 ft. 40 ft.

JNPT Dadri 18800 20200 25950 28400 35600 35600 37200 12600 23450

MDPT Dadri 16850 18100 24650 26600 31600 31600 33150 10900 20300

Dadri JNPT 16450 19050 24350 27600 31200 33150 34700 10650 19550

Dadri MDPT 14600 16900 22450 24550 28050 29500 30350 9250 17000

Table 8: Rail Tariff

Location Starting Date Ending Date Total Volume (Teus)

Dadri-JNPT 14-07-07 31-03-08 6140

Dadri-MDPT 27-09-07 31-03-08 3022

Total 9162

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Rail operation- A Flowchart:-

Figure 17: Flow Chart for Rail Operations

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The train that goes to Jawaharlalal Nehru Port (JNPT) is known as a “mixed train” since it carries

cargo for any of the three ports that are situated there i.e. JNPT, Gateway Terminal of India (GTI)

and Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT)

� There are three types of train examinations done:-

1. Safe-to-run (STR)

2. End-to-end

3. Intensive

� HTPL has 3 rakes nominated to Dadri. The train schedule is as follows:-

Dadri – JNPT � 1train/week

Dadri – MDPT�2trains/week

The rake is allowed to run up to the following km after being examined. Once these km are

completed the rake needs to be examined again.

1. 4500 kms � takes approximately 4 months to complete



It is known as a free circuit i.e. can travel in any part of the country, not necessarily to the

terminal it is nominated to.

Ideal Time to be taken in the following activities:-

S. No. Activity Ideal Time

1. Off-loading of containers 2 hours

2. Train examination

Intensive examination 4 hours

Safe-to-run 1.5 hours

3. Loading of Containers 2 hours

Table 9: Idle Time Taken By Different Activity

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Concor Rail Service

Concor benefits from a close relationship with the Indian Railways. Several of its terminals

are situated on leased Railway-land. Many of its key operating personnel are on secondment from

Indian Railways or have previously been employed by the Indian Railways. Wagons and

operational support from Indian Railways have always been available to the company.

On the other hand Concor have another advantage over private players. Concor carry all the cargo

which has been cleared from private CFS. While the other private players like HTPL and DP

World can carry only ICD cleared cargo. Likewise Concor don’t have any line restriction it can

accept any shipping line cargo.

Running of Reefer services requires a certain degree of Infrastructure development at the handling

terminals, and CONCOR has made such facilities available at its Flagship terminal, i.e. ICD

Dadri. No other player is providing such facility so this is one of the unique services providing by

the concor. And the reefer cargo is about 20% of total export.

Currently concor is running approximately 17 trains per week. Out of seventeen one train per

week is for mundra and others are for JNPT, pipavav, NSICT etc. They have a strong network

across the country. While other players have only 2-3 trains per week which is very less in

comparison to concor. So concor is more frequent service provider in case of rail operations. Thus

they can assure on time delivery of cargo.

CONTAINER Corp of India Ltd plans to build eight container depots on top of plans by terminal

operators to develop 40 facilities in the coming years.This comes as Container Corporation of

India Ltd (CONCOR) formed a joint venture company with Allcargo Global Logistics to establish

a container freight station (CFS) at ICD Dadri.

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DP WORLD (Container Rail Road Services Pvt. Ltd):-

DP World is one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world with 43 terminals and

13 new developments across 28 countries. Dubai Port World’s Container Rail Road Services Pvt.

Ltd (CRRS), a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Mundra International Container Terminal (MICT)

operated by Dubai-based DP World.

DP World (CRRS) has entered the private freight rail market in India, with the

commencement of service between Delhi and the Port of Mundra.

The first Container Rail Road Services (CRRS) train service from ICD Dadri to Mundra

International Container Terminal (MICT) on 2nd October 2007, the train departed on its maiden

journey from ICD Dadri at 2145 hrs and reached MICT at 1400hrs on 6th October.

This time DP World (CRRS) has one train schedules from Dadri. Earlier they have 2 trains

per week. They have support of a port named as MICT. But they don’t have strong support of any

shipping line. It can carry the cargo of any shipping line from ICD Dadri. There are some main

shipping lines like APL, CIN, and EMIRATES.

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CFS OPERATION

The CFS is a cargo consolidation, container packing/unpacking and cargo distribution

centre. In this way, shippers can transport their cargoes in break-bulk form, by the most

convenient mode available road, rail or inland waterway to the ICD. Next, the CFS facility will

arrange to consolidate and pack the goods into containers ready for loading onward transport to a

port. Similarly, buyers of goods can arrange for the containers carrying their goods to be

unpacked at the CFS, and separated into break-bulk consignments. The buyers can then arrange

for their goods to be collected by the most convenient form of transport.

The CFS operation includes the following sequences of activities: to receive, sort and

consolidate export break-bulk cargoes from road vehicles, to pack export cargoes into containers

ready for loading aboard onward transport, to unpack import containers, and sort and separate the

unpacked cargoes into break-bulk consignments ready for distribution to consignees, to deliver

import cargoes to the consignee’s transport, to store import and export cargoes temporarily,

between the times of unloading and loading, while various documentary and administrative

formalities are completed (e.g., customs inspection, settling of charges for packing, unpacking

and storage, arranging transport).

Figure 18: Functional Structure of Container Freight Station

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CFS Operations – A Flowchart Figure 19: Flow chart Of Activities within CFS

Responsibility ICD Stuffing FACTORY STUFFING

Responsibility

Shipper/Shipping line Shipping

Line

Shipper/Shipping line

CONCOR

Customs

CONCOR

CONCOR

CONCOR

Shipper/CONCOR

Shipper/Customs CONCOR

CONCOR/surveyor

Customs

CONCOR's Handling

CONCOR's Handling

Contractor

CHA/Surveyor

CONCOR

Customs

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SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths:-

� MSC and Samsara being a part of Sharaf Group themselves tend to promote HTPL by

loading large volumes of their cargo on HTPL trains.

� Strong tie ups with the 10 other 3rd party shipping lines gives HTPL an advantage of

providing varied cargo services to customers

� Being a part of Sharaf Group they have a huge capital base that can help them in achieving

economies of scale by acquiring rakes, and planning for ICD/CFS in the near future.

� HTPL being a private rail operator provides flexibility to customers in terms of priority

scheduling, pre deposit account (PDA)

� HTPL has the advantage of running 2 trains/week to MDPT vis-à-vis Concor with only

one train /week thus helping it to attract more shippers.

Weakness:-

� Since Indian railways gives priority to passenger trains over container trains and any rail

operator is totally dependent on it for locomotives and tracks, so it is very difficult for

HTPL to maintain schedules and give timely delivery.

� The business arrangements of HTPL with Concor are such that HTPL customers must

clear their cargo at Concor and not at any private CFS thus reducing its opportunities.

� Concor has put a restriction on HTPL that it can carry cargo of only certain nominated

shipping lines apart from MSC & Samsara Group thus again reducing its opportunities.

� It is totally dependant on Concor for its terminals operators.

� No control over rail haulage cost.

Opportunities:-

� Dadri has huge volumes of reefer cargo (11500 Teus/year) being exported all of which is


HTPL thus has great opportunity in this area.

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� Tuglakabad ICD is the hub for EXIM in NCR but due to operational issues lots of

shippers are switching to other options. Dadri has huge potential in this case as it is the

largest ICD in Asia thus improving scope for HTPL.

� Due to consistent growth in EXIM scope for HTPL is growing day by day.

� Since there are only 3 rail operators at Dadri currently there is not cut-throat competition.

� Concor has leased land to HTPL at Dadri where it can venture into Container Freight

Station Operations.

Threats:-

� Change in government policies like custom duty, anti-inflationary measures, rail freight

etc. can deeply affect the business of HTPL

� HTPL is totally dependent on Concor for terminal handling: a threat to HTPL if in future

Concor refuses to do business with HTPL.

� Entry of any private rail operator

� Entry of private CFS operators like AllCargo, Reliance can deeply affect HTPL’s

business because of fragmentation of Concor’s volumes.

� Instability of rates defined by Concor

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Marketing Research Process:

Step I: Define the problem and the

The 1st step in research is formulating a research problem. It is most important stage as poorly

defined problems will not yield useful results. One should be careful not to define the problem too

broadly or too narrowly.

Research problem:

The business arrangements of HTPL are such that if a customer is using its rail services at Dadri

then he is bound to clear the cargo at Concor. As per the terms they cannot use the services of the

existing four private players at Dadri.

Whereas, most of the customers prefer the private players to Concor for clearing the cargo and

Concor rail services to HTPL , thus making a issue of concern for HTPL’s business.

Research objectives:

To analyze the Dadri customer base and find out the potential c

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MARKET RESEARCH

Marketing Research Process:-

Step I: Define the problem and the research objectives

step in research is formulating a research problem. It is most important stage as poorly




existing four private players at Dadri.

most of the customers prefer the private players to Concor for clearing the cargo and


To analyze the Dadri customer base and find out the potential customers for HTPL i.e.

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ARKET RESEARCH

step in research is formulating a research problem. It is most important stage as poorly




most of the customers prefer the private players to Concor for clearing the cargo and


ustomers for HTPL i.e.

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customers using the shipping lines that have been nominated to HTPL at Dadri. To analyze why these customers prefer CONCOR/HTPL for transporting

Containerized cargo by rail and compare their services. To analyze why these customers

CFS for clearing out their containers cargo and compare their services.

Step II: Develop the research plan

Designing a research plan calls for decisions on data sources, choice of research design,

approaches, research instruments, sampling plan and contact methods.

� Data Sources:

In our market research I have used both secondary as well as primary data.

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customers using the shipping lines that have been nominated to HTPL at Dadri.To analyze why these customers prefer CONCOR/HTPL for transporting Containerized cargo by rail and compare their services. To analyze why these customers prefer private container freight stations (CFS)/CONCOR CFS for clearing out their containers cargo and compare their services.

Step II: Develop the research plan

Designing a research plan calls for decisions on data sources, choice of research design,

approaches, research instruments, sampling plan and contact methods.


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customers using the shipping lines that have been nominated to HTPL at Dadri. To analyze why these customers prefer CONCOR/HTPL for transporting

prefer private container freight stations (CFS)/CONCOR CFS for clearing out their containers cargo and compare their services.

Designing a research plan calls for decisions on data sources, choice of research design, research


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The secondary data of the export traffic at Dadri and some

company which needs to be analyzed. A lot of help has been taken from the data available at the

internet. Magazines and newspaper have been very helpful to keep a track of the latest.

The primary data includes those re

them, surveying at Dadri to get an understanding of operations. Interaction with the company

employees and those at their competitors to get an idea of the market and trends.

� Research Design:

Research design is the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain

answers to research questions and to control variance. A research design specifies the methods

and procedures for constructing a particular study.

In this research the design can be grouped into two categories

research.

The exploratory research focuses on understanding the company’s business, the operational

procedures at Dadri, brief understanding of the shipping i

which is required so as to be able to relate to the customer while interviewing.

The causal research focuses on the factors and reasons because of which customers prefer Concor

to HTPL for rail services and private CF

� Research Approaches:

Primary data can be collected in five ways: through observations, focus groups, surveys,

behavioral data and experiments.

Format of the survey: - A primary questionnaire is made which includ

project objective and the research objective and the customers were asked these questions to

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The secondary data of the export traffic at Dadri and some literature was provided to us by the



The primary data includes those received from questionnaire filled by the customers, interviewing





and procedures for constructing a particular study.

In this research the design can be grouped into two categories- exploratory research and causal


procedures at Dadri, brief understanding of the shipping industry and all the other information



to HTPL for rail services and private CFS over Concor for clearing the cargo.


behavioral data and experiments.

A primary questionnaire is made which includes questions based on the


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literature was provided to us by the



ceived from questionnaire filled by the customers, interviewing





exploratory research and causal


ndustry and all the other information



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es questions based on the


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reveal their actual experience at terminal Dadri. An effort is made to keep the questionnaire

simple and comprehensive so it can reveal t

In this research I have used surveys as our research approaches since it is best suited for

descriptive research and helps immensely in understanding the people’s knowledge, preferences

and satisfaction.

Research Instruments:

Marketing researches have a choice of three main research instruments: questionnaires,

psychological tools and mechanical devices.

In our research I have made use of questionnaires which we have asked the customers at

fill out so as to help us out in understanding the reasons and coming to conclusions.

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simple and comprehensive so it can reveal the facts needed to conclude the project’s objective.




psychological tools and mechanical devices.

In our research I have made use of questionnaires which we have asked the customers at


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he facts needed to conclude the project’s objective.




In our research I have made use of questionnaires which we have asked the customers at Dadri to


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Sampling Plan:

Sampling Unit: Who is to be surveyed? In our research I have taken the whole target

market as our sampling unit out of which samples would be selected and surveyed. The

Target market comprises those customers that are allowed to HTPL i.e. customers who are

Using shipping Lines nominated to HTPL at Dadri.

Sample Size: How many people are to be surveyed? Our sample size is 25 respondents. These

Respondents comprise Shippers, Shipping Lines, CHAs; Forwarders who belong to the

catchment are of Dadri i.e. Greater Noida, Noida, Sahibabad Ghaziabad, Surajpur, Dadri

Sikendrabad, Bulandshahar.

Sampling Procedure: How should the respondents be chosen? I have decided to base our

Sample respondents on basis of quota sample where the top 25 customers have been

interviewed i.e. those that are doing bu

Contact methods: Once the sampling plan has been determined, it must be decided how the

Subject should be contacted: mail, telephone, personal or online interview.

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: Who is to be surveyed? In our research I have taken the whole target



Using shipping Lines nominated to HTPL at Dadri.

: How many people are to be surveyed? Our sample size is 25 respondents. These


catchment are of Dadri i.e. Greater Noida, Noida, Sahibabad Ghaziabad, Surajpur, Dadri

Sikendrabad, Bulandshahar.

: How should the respondents be chosen? I have decided to base our


interviewed i.e. those that are doing business in huge volumes and are potential for HTPL.

Once the sampling plan has been determined, it must be decided how the


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: Who is to be surveyed? In our research I have taken the whole target



: How many people are to be surveyed? Our sample size is 25 respondents. These


catchment are of Dadri i.e. Greater Noida, Noida, Sahibabad Ghaziabad, Surajpur, Dadri, Khurja,

: How should the respondents be chosen? I have decided to base our


siness in huge volumes and are potential for HTPL.

Once the sampling plan has been determined, it must be decided how the


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In our survey I have made use of the following contact methods i.e. Personal interview,

Telephone interview and Electronic

Step III: Collect the information

I collected the information over a period of 25 days from various sources i.e. customers located in

the catchment area of Dadri terminal, employees at Dadri and at the company itself so as to

understand the operations.

Step IV: Analyze the information

The data had been segregated manually and the analysis work has been done with the help of MS

Excel.

The data on export traffic of Dadri for the year 2007 has been analyzed on the basis of the

following parameters:-

� Shippers

� Shipping Line

� Commodity

� Region

� Port of Loading

� Stuffing mode

� No. of Teus/Feus

� Catchment Areas

On the basis of the questionnaire we

findings from the survey to find out why customers prefer Concor CFS/Private CFS for clearing

the cargo and Concor/Private rail operators for transportation.

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made use of the following contact methods i.e. Personal interview,

Telephone interview and Electronic-mails

Step III: Collect the information


area of Dadri terminal, employees at Dadri and at the company itself so as to

Step IV: Analyze the information


data on export traffic of Dadri for the year 2007 has been analyzed on the basis of the

On the basis of the questionnaire we tabulated the data, developed charts and extracted the


the cargo and Concor/Private rail operators for transportation.

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made use of the following contact methods i.e. Personal interview,


area of Dadri terminal, employees at Dadri and at the company itself so as to


data on export traffic of Dadri for the year 2007 has been analyzed on the basis of the

tabulated the data, developed charts and extracted the


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RESULTS & FINDINGS

Total Export at Dadri = 39038 Teus for 7 months

A) Stuffing Mode

Clearance Mode Teus Feus Total Teus

%Age

Share 7 Months Per Month 7 Months Per Month 7 Months Per Month

CFS 7,408 1,058 7,630 1,090 22,667 3,238 58%

FAC 7,265 1,038 4,316 617 15,896 2,271 41%

ICD 407 58 34 5 475 68 1%

Total 15,080 2,154 11,980 1,711 39,038 5,577 100

%

CFS - Indicates the cargo cleared from CFS, whether stuffed in CFS or in Factory

FAC -Cargo stuffed in factory but cleared from ICD Dadri ICD - Cargo stuffed in Concor CFS & also cleared from Concor CFS.

Figure 20: Stuffing Mode wise export

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B) Commodity

Commodity Total Teus % of Total

Food Items 2,152 38.6%

Textiles /Garments 630 11.3%

CD/DVD R/W Player 541 9.7%

H.H Effects 708 12.7%

Steel /Metal Items 545 9.8%

Machinery & Auto Parts 330 5.9%

Building Material 73 1.3%

Paper Products & BOPP Films 181 3.2%

Handicraft Items 168 3.0%

Electrical/Electronics 129 2.3%

Other Goods 120 2.2%

Total 5,577 100.0%

Table 11 Commodity wise export

Figure 21: Graph of Commodity wise export

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Figure 21 a: Steel & Metal Items break-up Figure 21 b: Food Items break-up

C) Destination

Region Teus Feus Total Teus

%Age 7 Months Per Month 7 Months Per Month 7 Months Per Month

Western Europe

4,810 687 3,244 463 11,316 1,617 29.0%

Middle East 4,629 661 1,202 172 7,033 1,005 18.0%

North America 987 141 2,453 350 5,893 842 15.1%

Mediterranean 1,158 165 1,536 219 4,241 606 10.9%

South East Asia 197 28 1,017 145 2,232 319 5.7%

East Africa 833 119 405 58 1,643 235 4.2%

Indian Sub Continent

448 64 469 67 1,387 198 3.6%

South America 187 27 324 46 1,015 145 2.6%

West Africa 205 29 320 46 845 121 2.2%

Far East 171 24 245 35 661 94 1.7%

Eastern Europe 281 40 345 49 971 139 2.5%

South Africa 187 27 107 15 403 58 1.0%

Australasia 137 20 109 16 355 51 0.9%

Others 850 121 203 29 1,043 149 2.7%

Total 15,08

0 2,154 11,979 1,711 39,038 5,577 100.0%

Table 12: Destination wise break-up

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Figure 22: Destination wise break-up

D) Port of Loading

POL Teus Feus Total Teus

%Age

Share 7 Months Per Month 7 Months Per Month 7 Months Per Month

NSCT 5551 793 4190 599 13931 1990 36

GTIL 3805 544 3653 522 11111 1587 28

JNPT 3089 441 3053 436 9195 1314 24

PPBR 328 47 963 138 2254 322 6

MDPT 2307 330 120 17 2547 364 7

Total 15080 2154 11979 1711 39038 5577 100

Table 13: Port of Loading wise break-up

Figure 23: Port of Loading wise break-up

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E) Type of container

Analysis of Concor CFS Cleared Cargo

Type of Cargo wise

Figure 24: Container wise break-up

Type of Cargo 20' 40' Total Teus

Dry 46% 54% 32380

Reefer 3% 97% 6658

Total 15,080 23958 39038

Table 14 types of containers

Figure 24: Container wise break-up

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Equipment Total Vol (

Teus) % Share

20' 15,080 39%

40'( In Teus) 23,958 61%

Total 39,038 100%

Type of Cargo Teus % Share

Dry 12751 77.88%

Reefer 3620 22.22%

Total 16371 100.00%

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F) Shipping Lines

Table 15 Shipping line wise data

Figure 25: Shipping Line wise break-up

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S/P Line Teus Feus Total Teus

%Age 7 Months Per Month 7 Months Per Month 7 Months Per Month

MAI 848 121 3226 461 7300 1043 18.7%

APL 1395 199 1229 176 3853 550 9.9%

CMAG 565 81 1360 194 3285 469 8.4%

MSC 5254 751 760 109 6774 968 17.4%

CSAV 240 34 801 114 1842 263 4.7%

HLI 492 70 654 93 1800 257 4.6%

CRES 51 7 865 124 1781 254 4.6%

MOL 287 41 427 61 1141 163 2.9%

SAF 162 23 475 68 1112 159 2.8%

ALB 928 133 56 8 1040 149 2.7%

Others 4858 694 2125 304 9108 1301 23.3%

Total 15080 2154 11978 1711 39036 5577 1

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Customer Profile Analysis

The profile of Some of the top customers at Dadri based on export per month is derived as

follows:

Ikea Trading Pvt. Ltd.

Moser Bare

Shipping Line Region Commodity STF Mode

S/H Line

Total Region Total Commodity Total STF Mode

Total

MAI 355 Western Europe 371 Building Material 339 CFS 846

CMAG 216 North America 218 Electrical/Electronics 256 FAC 2

YMLI 77 Mediterranean 100 Food Items 186 ICD nil

HLI 58 Eastern Europe 66 H.H Effects 32

MSC 46 ISC 33 Handicraft Items 27

MOL 44 SEA 25 M/C & Auto Parts 8

APL 44 Others 35 Other Goods

Others 8

Steel/Metal Items

Total 848 Total 848 Total 408 Total 848

S/H Line Region Commodity STF Mode

S/H Line Total Region Total Commodity Total STF Mode

Total

CSAV 210 Western Europe 353 CD/DVD R/W Player 542 CFS nil

MSC 114 North America 72 H.H Effects 17 FAC 565

CMAG 80 ISC 57 Paper Products & Films 3 ICD nil

MOL 51 South America 21 Steel/Metal Items 1

ULA 24 Middle East 18 Others 2

SBMA 12 South Africa 14

Others 74 Others 30


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Sun Star Overseas Ltd

Shipping Line Region Commodity STF Mode

S/H Line Total Region Total Commodity Total STF Mode Total

MSC 245 Western Europe 226 Food Items 260 CFS nil

HJS 8 Mediterranean 15 FAC 260

SSP 5 Others 19 ICD nil

Others 2


Bhushan Steel Pvt Ltd.



ALB 101 Middle East 229 Steel/Metal Items 257 CFS 255

IAL 73 South America 7 FAC 2

GOSP 46 East Africa 6 ICD nil

APL 6 Eastern Europe 6

EGI 6 West Africa 5

Others 25 Others 4


Hind Agro Industries Ltd.



CRES 120 SEA 108 Buffalo Meat 236 CFS 126

APL 75 Mediterranean 48 Steel/Metal Items 5 FAC 115

MAI 40 Middle East 39 ICD nil

Others 5 East Africa 22

Others 22


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Siel Ltd.



MAI 48 Middle East 152 Food Items(sugar) 223 CFS 223

APL 35 East Africa 35 FAC nil

ESA 25 SEA 11 ICD nil

ALB 22 ISC 10

NYK 21 Others 13

IAL 18

Others 54


M.K Overseas Pvt. Ltd


S/H Line Total Region Total Commodity Total STF Mode

Total

SAF 90 Mediterranean 137 Food Items 198 CFS 48

APL 46 Middle East 44 Others 1 FAC 150

MAI 45 SEA 8 ICD 2

CRES 9 East Efrica 4

Others 9 Others 6


KRBL Ltd.


S/H Line

Total Region Total Commodity Total STF Mode Total

APL 62 Middle East 122 Food Items 174 CFS 74

MXC 20 North America 37 Others 1 FAC 101

OSL 16 East Africa 8 ICD nil

OOCL 13 South America 7

MSC 10 Others 22

HFS 4

PCL 5

Others 66


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PRIMARY DATA FINDINGS:

The following bar charts show the customers response in terms of ranking and rating to

various services at CFS and Rail operations. In case of ranking each bar represent the pe

breakup of customers to the various ranking. While in case of rating, the bar shows total sum of

the ratings given by the customers to that factor at Private vis

operations. Lower Score in satisfaction rating correspon

Customers’ importance ranking for CFS services:

The following bar chart depicts the importance of key factors at CFS to the customer. There

are total 7 factors on which customer had to rank.

Figure 26: percentage response to the ranks for the various factors

Rank Factors

1 Free days/ground rent

2 Value added services

3 Customer service

4 Custom clearance

5 Machine handling

6 Warehousing facilities

7 Container repair operations

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PRIMARY DATA FINDINGS:-


various services at CFS and Rail operations. In case of ranking each bar represent the pe


the ratings given by the customers to that factor at Private vis-à-vis Concor in rail and CFS

operations. Lower Score in satisfaction rating corresponds to higher satisfaction among customers

Customers’ importance ranking for CFS services:


are total 7 factors on which customer had to rank.

percentage response to the ranks for the various factors

Rank Factors

Free days/ground rent

Value added services

Customer service

Custom clearance

Machine handling

Warehousing facilities

Container repair operations

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various services at CFS and Rail operations. In case of ranking each bar represent the percentage


vis Concor in rail and CFS

ds to higher satisfaction among customers


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Rank 1: Ground Rent/Free Days

As we can see from above analysis that for the first factor there are 45 % customer who

gave 1st rank among all the ranks. It means that ground rent/free days is the most important factor

amongst all of them.

In case of exports when a container is handed over to the CFS the shipper is given some

free days after which the ground rent is charged. Many a times the exporter wants to delay the rail

out activity due to various reasons such as increased custom duty, to catch some other vessel etc.

In case of imports when a container arrives at the CFS the shipper is given some free days

after which ground rent is charged. Often it happens that the shipper does not come to collect the

cargo the moment it arrives.

In all the above cases huge rent comes into picture thus making it of primary importance to

the company. It has been observed that Concor being a government body does not give any

waivers. Private players have an edge over Concor in this case.

Rank 2: Value Added Services

I observed that 41.67% of the shippers give a lot of importance to value-added services.

Value Added services encompass PDA Flexibility, Lift-on/Lift-off flexibility, margins/discounts

etc. Such services are very essential in any shipper’s business for the smooth functioning of their

operations. Customers always want “something extra” from their CFS operators which is where

the private players are so easily able to divert them to their business. For them value for money is

of primary importance.

Rank 3: Customer Service

In this era it is very important for any firm to be customer-oriented because customers are

the center of the business. In this competitive environment every firm should focus on how to

give excellent customer service to their customers resulting in their utmost satisfaction. Excellent

customer service would include regular updates, regular feedback from customers, timely

information, speedy redressal of customer problems/grievance handling etc. 41.67% customers

give Rank 4 to Customer Service

Rank 4: Custom Clearance

I found out that 33.33% customers give Rank 4 to custom clearance because they do not

face problems in getting their cargo cleared at both the CFS. To customers custom clearance

facilities do not make much difference because they are indifferent to it.

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Rank 5: Machine Handling

33.33% customers give Rank 5 to machine handling which indicates that within the CFS

operations it is not that important.

Rank 6: Warehousing Facilities

Warehousing facilities in case of exports is not that important because m

factory stuffed. In case of imports bonded warehouse play an important role *

Around 37.50% customers have given Rank 6 to warehousing facilities.

Rank 7: Container Repair Facilities

I found that 45.83% customers gave

facilities are very rarely needed such as in cases of damage to the container while lifting or when

shipping lines themselves want their containers to be repaired or repair of any damage done to the

commodities

Customers’ satisfaction rating for CFS services:

Figure 27: Customers satisfaction rating for services at Private vis

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operations it is not that important.

Rank 6: Warehousing Facilities

Warehousing facilities in case of exports is not that important because m


Around 37.50% customers have given Rank 6 to warehousing facilities.

Rank 7: Container Repair Facilities

I found that 45.83% customers gave Rank 7 to container repair operations because these



Customers’ satisfaction rating for CFS services:

Figure 27: Customers satisfaction rating for services at Private vis-à-vis Concor CFS

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Warehousing facilities in case of exports is not that important because most* of the cargo is


Rank 7 to container repair operations because these



vis Concor CFS

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Customers were asked to rate the services at both Concor & private CFS on a scale of 5 where the

numbers have the following significance.

1 = highly satisfied

2 = satisfied

3 = neither satisfied no dissatisfied

4 = dissatisfied

5 = very dissatisfied

As in the figure for Free days/ground rent there is so much difference in satisfaction level at

private CFS and Concor. Customers are highly satisfied at private CFS than Concor. As we

already know that this is the most important factor for customers so Concor should more focus on

this factor.

Custom clearance is almost same at both the CFS operators therefore satisfaction level is also

almost the same. We can still see slightly lower satisfaction with Concor mainly because of

bureaucracy in Concor, timing issues (operations start after 6 pm only which not in the case of

private CFS), slow processes at Concor etc.

Value added services and Customer grievance handling/customer services are again the matter of

concern for Concor because from the graph it is very clear that Concor is very poor service

provider in both the cases. Currently Concor is not providing any values added service and there

are not any concern peoples for customers query and problems.

In case of machine handling Concor is using contractor’s equipment whereas JVs have self

owned. Moreover most of the times there is machinery breakdown thus resulting into delay of

operations. Same reach stacker are being used in Concor for both operations; loading containers

on trains as well as CFS operations.

Warehousing facilities at both Concor and JVs are more or less the same

Container repair operations are again very poor at Concor as compared to private CFS mainly

due to red-tapism and bureaucracy.

Customers’ importance ranking for container rail services:

Rank Factor

1 Less delay

2 Frequency

3 Margins

4 Value added services

5 Stable schedules

6 Customer service

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Figure 28: percentage response

Rank 1: Less Delay

41.7% customer say that less delay is the most important to them .This is because if the delay

is more then there are chances that the container may miss the vessel at the

heavy amount of port duty till the time it is shipped out on the next vessel. There is a cut

period before which the container should arrive at the port.

Rank 2: Frequency

54.2 % customers opt for frequency for trains as

are shipping their cargo very frequently want flexibility in railing out. They want to be able to rail

out their cargo as and when they want. Moreover the customer can also easily hold the containers

when required since he has the next train to depend on.

Rank 3: Margins

Customers can anytime be lured to a company if margins/discounts are given to them. 50%

customers give rank 3 to margins because some customers are very particular about clearing their

cargo at the private JVs and therefore will not compromise on quality at any cost. Whereas,

customers who are price-sensitive i.e. middle/lower segment customers who do not have high

volumes or high service expectations are ready to compromise on quality.

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Figure 28: percentage response to the ranks for the various factors in rail operation


is more then there are chances that the container may miss the vessel at the

heavy amount of port duty till the time it is shipped out on the next vessel. There is a cut

period before which the container should arrive at the port.

54.2 % customers opt for frequency for trains as rank 2. This is so, because customers who



since he has the next train to depend on.



go at the private JVs and therefore will not compromise on quality at any cost. Whereas,

sensitive i.e. middle/lower segment customers who do not have high

volumes or high service expectations are ready to compromise on quality.

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to the ranks for the various factors in rail operation


is more then there are chances that the container may miss the vessel at the port thereby bearing

heavy amount of port duty till the time it is shipped out on the next vessel. There is a cut-off

rank 2. This is so, because customers who





go at the private JVs and therefore will not compromise on quality at any cost. Whereas,

sensitive i.e. middle/lower segment customers who do not have high

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Rank 4 & 5: Stable Schedules & Value added services

Stable schedule and value added services come at 4

schedule is matters for customer so that he can assure about the timings of the trains and he can

plan their export/import according to that schedule.

Rank 6:

At the last but not least customer care. This is not so much important for customer because once

the container rail out, rail operator not involved anymore for further operation but still its their

responsibility to give proper information to the shipper about the container.

Customers rating for services at Private Rail operator and Concor:

Figure 29: satisfaction rating for services at Private vis

From above analysis we can see that in case of Rail

operator in most of the cases.

In case of less delay customers are highly satisfied with Concor’s service because Concor have

more no of trains and they have support from indian railway

Customer service is better at private rail operator and customer’s are more satisfied with

this.private rail operator provide every information at appropriate time interval.

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k 4 & 5: Stable Schedules & Value added services

Stable schedule and value added services come at 4th and 5th position respectively. Stable


t/import according to that schedule.



lity to give proper information to the shipper about the container.

Customers rating for services at Private Rail operator and Concor:

Figure 29: satisfaction rating for services at Private vis-à-vis Concor Rail Operations

see that in case of Rail operation Concor is better than


more no of trains and they have support from indian railway.



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position respectively. Stable




lity to give proper information to the shipper about the container.

vis Concor Rail Operations

operation Concor is better than private rail




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Again in case of stable schedule and frequency concor is better service provider than private rail

operator this is because they have more no of trains and being a government body they have some

fixed schedule by which they have to rail out the containers.

Value added service much satisfactory at private rail operator because they are more flexible then

Concor and more customer oriented.

Customer’s Point of View:

Bhushan Steel: In private CFS they get 1 month of Free Days whereas it is only 7 days on

paper. Whereas in Concor they get only 24hours.

Moser Baer: They get 21 free days in private CFS. Moser Baer also wants more

margins/discounts in rail freight.

Mawana Sugar and Simbhaoli Sugar : they said that Concor is not Customer Oriented.

And not flexible with any customer.for them Ground rent and free days are most

important.

L.G. Electronics: they are also price sensitive. They were also looking for margin and

discounts.

ZIM Shipping Line: one of their customer gets some free days even after hand over the

containers and private CFS doesn’t charge them for holding the containers.

Malhotra Rubbers Ltd.: they pays less rail freight to private rail operators. But because

of delay in trains they missed the vessel at the port or they had to pay more charges to

upload their container on that vessel because of delay.

Kajaria Ceramics Ltd: According to them it depends on time means at which point of

time which service is needed. Like if your cargo is factory stuffed then you don’t need

warehouse facility.

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LIMITATIONS

1) Secondary data for only export traffic at Dadri was made available to me therefore imports

could not be covered.

2) It was very difficult to get appointments from the logistics managers in the companies;

therefore I have based my research on convenience sampling.

3) Many a times it was very difficult to conduct depth interviews since the logistics managers did

not have much time to spare, therefore not all aspects could be covered.

4) Lots of data was not provided to me since the data was too confidential to be shared.

5) Any recommendations regarding CFS operations is not possible since HTPL relies on Concor

for its container handling; therefore these operations are not under HTPL’s control and

Concor being a government body is not that open to changes.

6) It was very difficult to extract information from competitors therefore this analysis could not

be done very properly.

7) It was very difficult to visit the customers since their offices are located at great distances

from each other i.e. all over NCR

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RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Since HTPL is in its growth stage therefore it should focus on market penetration strategy so

as to increase its customer base. Profit maximization should after that be a matter of concern.

2. To achieve a sustainable growth the company should target

until the time it establishes its own infrastructure. This is so, because high end customers want

high quality CFS services like cheap ground rent, more number of free days, excellent

customer service and more flexibility which is not in the han

Concor for container handling. Moreover HTPL cannot influence Concor to improve its

services since being a government body it is not open to changes. Whereas, middle/lower

segment customers being price

3. According to ABC Analysis the company should prioritize its customers.

• Class A customers i.e. those 20%

who get 80% of the business to

HTPL should be given discounts,

swapping facility for fast rail out,

and priority to their containers,

and maintain key account

relationships with them.

• Class B and C customers should

be given

4. The company should become more customer

services so as to provide them with regular updates by mails/sms, speedy redressal of their problems,

and take regular feedback from them.

5. If HTPL does not want to give consistent discount to a shipper then it can enter into a contingency

contract with them. The deal establishes that if HTPL falls short of some conta

them from the shipper and give a discount on them.

6. Dadri has huge volumes of reefer cargo (11500 Teus/year) being exported all of which is



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ECOMMENDATIONS

Since HTPL is in its growth stage therefore it should focus on market penetration strategy so


growth the company should target middle/lower segment



customer service and more flexibility which is not in the hands of HTPL since it relies on



segment customers being price-sensitive do not have such demands.

According to ABC Analysis the company should prioritize its customers.

customers i.e. those 20%

who get 80% of the business to

HTPL should be given discounts,

swapping facility for fast rail out,

and priority to their containers,

and maintain key account

relationships with them.

customers should

The company should become more customer -oriented, by giving them excellent customer care


regular feedback from them. try to imbibe in them a sense of brand loyalty.

If HTPL does not want to give consistent discount to a shipper then it can enter into a contingency

contract with them. The deal establishes that if HTPL falls short of some conta

them from the shipper and give a discount on them.

Dadri has huge volumes of reefer cargo (11500 Teus/year) being exported all of which is

3 trains per week) thus leading to huge pendency of containers.


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ECOMMENDATIONS

Since HTPL is in its growth stage therefore it should focus on market penetration strategy so


middle/lower segment customers



ds of HTPL since it relies on



oriented, by giving them excellent customer care


try to imbibe in them a sense of brand loyalty.

If HTPL does not want to give consistent discount to a shipper then it can enter into a contingency

contract with them. The deal establishes that if HTPL falls short of some containers then it can demand

Dadri has huge volumes of reefer cargo (11500 Teus/year) being exported all of which is

3 trains per week) thus leading to huge pendency of containers.

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Appendix- I

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ICD DADRI CUSTOMERS

Q1) Name of the company: Q2) Total Export/Import per month: Teus Q3) What major shipping lines does the company use? Specify the % of each based on Teus. Q4) what is the stuffing mode? 1) Factory Stuffing 2) CFS Stuffing Q5) Which CFS operators has the company chosen? (Present/past) Specify the % of each based on Teus. 1) CONCOR 2) Private players: - a) Albatross b) CMA CGM c) StarTrack d) TTPL Q6) Rate the following services on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the highest): CONCOR CFS Private CFS 1) Rates/ground rent 2) Custom clearance 3) Warehousing facilities 4) Customer grievance handling/customer service 5) Machine handling 6) Container repair operations 7) Value added services Q7) Rank the following according to importance. (1 being the most important) RANK 1) Rates/ground rent 2) Custom clearance 3) Warehousing facilities 4) Customer grievance handling/customer service 5) Machine handling 6) Container repair operations

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7) Value added services Q9) which of the rail operators has the company chosen? (Present/past). Specify % of each as per Teus.

1) CONCOR % 2) Private rail operators: - 1) DP World % 2) Hind Terminals Pvt. Ltd. %

Q10) Rate the following services on a scale of 1-5 (I being the highest):

1. Less Delay 2. Customer Service 3. Stable schedules 4. Frequency 5. Value added services

Q11) Rank the following according to importance. (1 being the most important) RANK

1. Margins 2. Less Delay 3. Customer Service 4. Stable schedules 5. Frequency 6. Value added services

Q12) Any suggestions for private rail operators.

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Appendix- II

Bibliography

Marketing Research – Naresh Malhotra

Marketing Research –Rajendra Nargundkar

Statistics for Business and Economics – Anderson Sweeny Williams

Statistics for Business – Levin & Rubin

EXIM-India

The Link

http://www.albatrosslogistix.com

http://www.hindterminals.com

http://www.concorindia.com

http://www.tridentterminals.com

http://www.startrackterminals.com

http://www.cma-cgm.com

Documents

Satisfaction Level at Different CFS and Rail Operations