Breaking shackles to lead
Despite the fact that logistics industry is a growing sector, it has over the years seen less number of women joining the industry. Today wind of change is blowing through the sector and women are proving their mettle and are playing key roles to transform the industry.
Shreya Bhattacharya
"There is no barrier for women per say but the main hurdle is the mindset. We once had a client who wanted to negotiate terms with a decision maker-ie a ‘man’,” recalls Sitara Shipping Director, Sanjam Sahi Gupta, as we asked whether she, being a woman, ever faced the reluctance of the logistics industry in giving her opportunities for success and growth. Gupta’s experience is not unique as many women, even at higher position like her, have felt the pinch for years.
To some extent, Logistics industry still suffers from poor perceptions about career opportunities for women, the common illusion being roles primarily involve moving and lifting for which women are not suitable. Even though women have ripped such defined notions and proved their mettle in the particular field, in actuality logistics caters to all the industries and business sectors in the world – retail, life sciences, fashion, technology, construction, transport and so on. This implies that in addition to needing drivers and warehouse operatives, there's also a requirement for business development and customer-facing personnel with expertise in the industries in which customers operate. Hence, it becomes quintessential for the logistics industry to have a diverse workforce.
If we take a closer look, today the environment is changing significantly and many of the top jobs in the sector are actually being managed by women. We spoke to few such women who are breaking barriers to lead logistics towards a better future.
Shantha Martin has been with Allcargo Logistics from the days when it was an SME (small and medium-sized enterprise). She played a vital role in the company’s growth and as the company grew, so did her portfolio, with new responsibilities and challenges. Today, she is the CEO - Indian Subcontinent, Middle East, Africa & East Mediterranean for Allcargo Logistics, and her team contributes nearly 33 percent of the overall group revenue. “It has been a great 14 years journey, replete with ups and downs but what has remained with me is the repertoire of learning that I gathered at every step of this journey. It has been a great experience to work under the dynamic leadership of Chairman, Dr. Shashi Kiran Shetty. I hope to continue performing and contribute positively not just to my company and our industry, but also to the country in terms of its economy and creating a sustainable environment,” says Martin. As a CEO, she “strikes a delicate balance of speed and direction of growth, through accountable leadership.”
According to the Transportation and Logistics 2030 report by the PwC, released in 2016, having a women team leads logistics organisations to enjoy higher financial returns. The report also underscored the fact that companies with more women directors on board outperformed others with a minimum of 16 percent in return on sales and 26 percent return on investment. The study, thus, highlights the importance of gender diversity and also the natural ability of women to connect instantly and do negotiations.
As Philu Pereira, Managing Director, PV Agencies Freight Forwarders, puts it, “Inclusion of women in this industry will surely improve the dynamics of the industry. You cannot deny the fact that women have better administration and communicating skills.”
“In the logistics industry, customer satisfaction is the main focus. This can be achieved with better understanding, communication skills, multi-tasking, relationship management and acumen to analytical problem solving skills. Women always strive for excellence. They are very creative and open to change. Also their sensitivities always prompt them to see beyond and solve complex problems with much ease.”
Pereira, who started her career with a Custom House Agent was awarded Custom House Agent License in 1992, empowering handling of Import and Export custom clearances. “Logistics industry offers all kinds of roles, from operations to sales and marketing, packing and distribution to transportation, to custom clearance and warehousing. Logistics is a very diversified Industry. Women can aim at becoming entrepreneurs providing specialised services in any of the fields.”
Today women are finding their way into key technology and operations profiles. They are equally participating in the fast evolving business landscape that constantly demands innovation in business model. Manisha Raisinghani, Co-Founder & CTO, LogiNext, shines as the face of the new-age entrepreneurial woman as she is featured in Make In India alongside other famous feministas. “My epiphany came by when I realized that a simple yet unique optimization tool could streamline the entire logistics supply chain of companies using real-time tracking and analytics. This vision and obsession set me on a path that led to the inception of LogiNext. Being a founder, and the CTO of LogiNext, I can now proudly say, that we are now one of the fastest growing SaaS (software as a service) companies for logistics planning and field workforce optimization, and have continuously raised industry standards with our flagship products,” says Raisinghani.
Talking about the gender bias in the industry Manisha goes on to say, “there is some reluctance when it comes to a whole-hearted acceptance of a woman’s role in the logistics industry. I regularly interact with many CIOs and CEOs who are still taken aback that a woman has led a company to such great heights. I guess the logistics industry has always been a male dominated one. But I must say, the industry is evolving. The industry rewards abilities and ambition.”
Sanjam Sahi Gupta and her sibling Sumi Sahi, are Directors of Sitara Shipping and Astral Freight Forwarders and are heading the NVOCC (non-vessel operating common carrier) business for the Indian Subcontinent and Middle East. The two sisters have helped establish Sitara as one of the key players in ODC (over dimensional consignment) and project cargo market, handling prestigious projects such as for the US Defence Forces at Diego Garcia, a naval base located in the British Indian Ocean Territory (UK). “When we joined the business we were dealing in perishable and general cargo. We both changed the focus of the business and specialized it in ODC cargo which is a niche market. Today we are happy to say that we are one of the leading players in ODC cargo.” Sanjam also leads the women’s association in shipping and has provided a platform for women in the maritime industry.
It is therefore important to focus on hiring women in positions where they have visibility to inspire and encourage other women into the industry.
Shabana Khan, who started her career way back in 1987 with a small size freight forwarding company is the Chief Operating Officer of Hermes Travel & Cargo today. Her last 26 years of service was with DHL, which successfully saw through a couple of mergers providing her an array of enriching experience through various decisive leadership roles she held, during her long tenure. “Exposure to global freight forwarding, the multi-national work environment supported by my personal goal of wanting to be amongst the best in class, got me enviable success. It’s been three months since I have joined Hermes Travel and Cargo, and am indeed looking forward to contributing to the company’s growth plans. I’m excited! There is still to learn, some bit to unlearn and put my learning to use as well.”
She goes on to say, “Amongst my various business achievements ,what I take pride in most is having developed talent pools -a reliable and consistent work force necessary for precise business execution, resulting in high performance across levels / functions, preserving competitive advantage for the organization in a dynamic and evolving environment. My ability to rapidly train and retrain employees according to business needs, create opportunities for real-time collaboration, and support the workforce with better analytics helped me deliver business success. I can with all modesty say that several talents nurtured by me are doing well for themselves in the industry.”
“It is the mindset of an individual that shapes the individual’s destiny and I believe being a woman does not matter. However, we are in a cultural environment which somehow is skeptical, in terms of her capabilities. I must say that I count myself fortunate to have received the requisite education and encouragement,” says Martin.
The industry today is at a more matured stage in supply chain solutions in terms of IT, infrastructure, customer service or operations than a decade back. Ecommerce is opening an entire new avenue with the thirst of skilled manpower in logistics industry. According to a report by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), India will need around 28.4 million strong workforce in its booming transportation, logistics, warehousing and packaging sector by 2022. The sector currently employs over 16.74 million employees. Hence, this sector will have one of the highest incremental human resource requirement of 11.7 million from 2013-2022, across the 24 sectors that have been mapped for assessing incremental human resource requirement in the country. With this prediction in hand, NSDC is working towards training floor-level and operational skills. The function-wise talent gaps are now being identified and training is being given for various operational level jobs in the industry.
With more and more companies acknowledging that logistics and supply chain management are key to their profitability, the sector which earlier had been operating in a concealed manner is coming to the forefront. More education programs are now being offered on logistics and transport management among Indian universities and private bodies. Here the essential skill sets are aptitude for customer care, ability to negotiate, good problem solving capabilities, proficiency to multi task, capacity to lead along with adaptability and resilience. It is believed women generally carry these facets and if they are not recruited, 50 percent of the available talent pool remains unutilised. Moreover, it is not the gender but the gender bias which needs to be done away with as these women and many more in the industry have proved all notions pertaining to women’s incapability wide of the mark. In other words, as Raisinghani puts it well, “Women are proving that gender is just a tick mark on a form. It doesn’t make any difference whatsoever in a person’s talent.”
