Gati hopes to speed up biz from centrally located Ngp

Nagpur: Leveraging the central location of Nagpur, Gati Limited started a trans-shipment centre here on Monday.

Gati, which was taken over by Allcargo Logistics in 2018, already had a centre here. Now with the new facility, the logistics company expects to find it easier to send long distance cargo even if there is not enough load in the vehicle taking off from the originating station.

“Here is where Nagpur’s geographical location will have its advantage,” says Pirojshaw Sarkari, Gati’s chief executive officer (CEO).

Talking to TOI, Sarkari said sometimes there are cargo meant for long distances like Mumbai to Kolkata or Delhi to down south. But the vehicle carrying it does not have enough load to take up the trip feasibly. Now such vehicles from different directions can reach Nagpur, as it is in the centre. The load can be redistributed in different vehicles from here and be taken further to the final destination, he said. Having a centre at Nagpur has also become advantageous in the GST regime, said Sarkari.

The new facility at Gondkhairi near the city is expected to bring major increase in the throughput here. Gati also has 12 of its major clients based in around 10km from the trans-shipment centre, he said. Having an asset light policy, Gati has leased the land for its new centre.

Responding to TOI’s question, Sarkari said a similar model cannot work for handling air cargo due to lack of enough connectivity of planes here. Although it can happen in future if exclusive cargo airlines begin operations, for which a location like Nagpur would be suitable, he said.

The CEO said the company will be also coming up with e-vehicles for last mile delivery. By March, there are plans to launch 10 vehicles. There are plans to deploy electric four-wheel vehicles too, but at present there is not much availability in the segment. Once more number of four-wheelers are available in the market, Gati would be employing these vehicles, said Sarkari. Gati also has its call centre which handles service support or information enquiries from throughout the country.