Transportation

Organised retailing has led to the development of a successful processed foods business. However, one cannot ignore the fact that glitches do exist in the process of delivering the product to the ultimate consumer.

This is the most important issue that the Indian food industry is facing. Steps need to be taken to reduce the losses and wastage in the supply chain by the time the goods reach the retail level.

Akkash Agarrwal, owner of Crystal Roadways, has been a provider of cold storage vans for over a decade. A company that began with just one van and services limited to the city, today has 45 vans and plans to go national in future.

The current situation of transportation and storage is not up to the mark, says Aggarwal. It is important that we specialise in the field, the sector is underdeveloped and needs to be nurtured. He explains that every product needs to be handled and stored in a different way. "Milk products need to be stored at a certain degree, if the temperature is not maintained the product is bound to be affected."

Commenting on the role of transportation in food sector, Aggarwal states that logistics and transportation is as important as anything else in the food industry, it is our job to keep the product fresh and as it is till it reaches the retailer.

Citing areas of immediate development, Aggarwal said that it was necessary for the government as well as players in the logistic sector to work hand in hand. It is important that players invest a good capital in the business and also invest in specialisation. Aggarwal is of the opinion that transportation and storage is a wide ranged industry and specialisation in a particular subject is a must. Very soon, informs Aggarwal, Crystal Roadways will venture in specialisation for transportation of pharmaceuticals, the endeavour will be called 'Cool Express'. He says, "Like dairy, meat too needs to be stored at a particular temperature, so also medicines and pharmaceuticals."

Facing a setback in the first few months of setting up was a learning experience for Crystal Roadways. "Losing out on your only client and then bouncing back was difficult but we did it through sheer determination and hardwork."

Aggarwal sums up his views on the food logistics sector saying that one can sustain in this business only if services