ES. Please introduce us to your organization, its legacy and the major accomplishments to your organization’s credit.
Anamitra Mukherjee. AT DB Schenker in India, we offer a complete range of International Air and Ocean Freight, Land Transportation, Contract Logistics, Fairs & Exhibitions, and global supply chain solutions from a single source. We have around 35 offices and over 51 warehouses covering more than 3.1 million sq. ft. of warehousing space. We serve our customers with end-to-end logistics solutions across the world. India is a priority market for DB Schenker globally and as part of its commitment, the company is aggressively focusing on developing local logistics capabilities to simplify supply chain processes for customers across various verticals like automotive, healthcare, automotive, retail & consumer, industrial, electronics and aerospace. DB Schenker in India has a customer base of 1800+ across these sectors. We are the logistics partner of ITPO, BIEC, TNTPO, CII, FIGSI etc. We were also awarded 2nd prize in the IEIA SPARK 2021 contest and certified as a Great Place to Work.
ES. Please tell us about the major shows that you have handled in India.
Anamitra Mukherjee. We are providing customized solutions for all kinds of outbound exhibitions for Indian exporters & exhibitors catering to various sectors and verticals. DB Schenker in India has been handling various exhibitions events in the past like EXCON, STONA, Auto Expo Component, IILF etc. Over 100 exhibitions & events have been handled by us in the last five years as an official freight handling agent in India.
ES. Can you relate one incidence where you or your team handled crisis situation on the site of an event successfully?
Anamitra Mukherjee. Exhibition logistics is a time-bound service and at the same time, we need to ensure health and safety standards for all parties involved. There have been various events in the past but one such was EXCON 2019, which was one of our great experiences in India, especially to manage heavy lifting and placement of some exhibits during late evening for some days. It is always a pleasure to deliver expectations despite a crisis and see the happy faces of customers.
ES. How has been your association with IELA and what role do you see for the association in the global exhibition industry?
Anamitra Mukherjee. DB Schenker’s exhibition division globally is a part of IELA for decades and our teams are fully involved in various initiatives taken by IELA to provide a best-in-class experience for organizers, venues, and exhibitors. IELA is also working on the health and safety standards for a long time apart from and encouraging digital solutions and taking the exhibition industry in the right direction during these pandemic times.
ES. What are your comments on the IELA Congress and IELA events held annually?
Anamitra Mukherjee. It is a great platform to meet industry colleagues, competitors and our IELA partners. During IELA’s yearly congress and partnering events, different working groups also share their initiatives and experience to align with the global exhibition logistics community and understand new initiatives and technologies.
ES. What according to you will be the top trends in the exhibition logistics industry in upcoming one year?
Anamitra Mukherjee. We strongly believe that physical exhibitions will come back soon. While coming back the digital solutions to optimize resource allocation as well as to enhance customer experience will play a key role. We at DB Schenker in India are ready with such solutions and platforms and the same is being used across our global organization as well with positive feedback.
ES. How have you evolved your services to suit the new normal?
Anamitra Mukherjee. To keep the supply chain resilient during the pandemic, we at DB Schenker in India have introduced initiatives across products like Air freight, Ocean Freight & Warehousing. Apart from these we are also focusing on Exhibition Logistics, Clearance under BG / FTWZ / ATA Carnet, Freight insurance, Digital Site Management Platforms, Land Bridge and Industrial packing services at exhibition/event onsite. While managing this we are also imparting training on Health & Safety, First Aids etc. for all site management staff. We started with our Global Flight operations in early 2020 to overcome capacity shortages and peak demand from varied industries during the global outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis.
We are now strengthening our charter services and expansion of Global Flight operations which will be vital for us. Post introducing weekly charters connecting India to Frankfurt and Atlanta (FRA-BOM-FRA-ATL), Chennai to Munich and Chicago (MUC-MAA-MUC-ORD), we plan to launch our 3rd direct flight services in 2021 as well. Further, as the pandemic has moved the logistics companies to get ready for a digitally connected and integrated supply chain, we have strengthened our digital offerings for customers in India with solutions like connect 4 air and ocean, e-schenker etc. We are also ready with our new site management digital platform for logistics and freight movements, which in turn will be implemented soon. The undertaken initiatives are a strategic move to maintain the strong supply chain in these unprecedented times which further demonstrates the benefit to customers as well as the industry.
ES. What are your upcoming events in pipeline?
Anamitra Mukherjee. In these pandemic times, the most important for DB Schenker in India is the readiness in terms of training of manpower to handle onsite “new normal situation” and overall awareness within team and service partners for which we are committed already. There are many upcoming events for which we are working but our key focus will remain on shows like upcoming IREE, STONA, PLASTINDIA etc. apart from exhibitions in BIEC, ITPO, BEC, NEC, HITEX, TNTPO etc.
ES. Any message for the exhibition logistics community?
Anamitra Mukherjee. We are focusing on our team members, their professional development, and trainings etc. as they are our biggest assets and ambassadors for our industry. Secondly, we all must focus on our suppliers, they are equally important for our ecosystem and we need to take care of them as well – in terms of regular training, awareness, and new normal SOPs.
