Panth Transport Limited: Digitizing Bulk Logistics

Abstract

On 2 January 2018, V. K. Benugopal reviewed the company’s performance for the previous quarter. He thought about the challenges he had faced during the quarter and was convinced that time was running out to make things right. Benugopal took charge as chief executive officer (CEO) of Panth Transfreight Limited (PTL) in July 2017 and was entrusted with the responsibility of streamlining logistics operations for Indian Steel and Power Ltd (ISPL). He was also tasked with eliciting a cost savings of 10% from the existing logistics costs. From the very beginning, Benugopal made critical changes in how logistics operations were managed at ISPL. He centralized operations and contracts, and changed the freight-finalization process from destination-wise freight to a region/state-wise freight concept. He created an information-technology portal to allow for a digitized billing process, and implemented a vehicle-tracking mechanism. These changes created unrest among employees at the plants and confusion among transporters, which resulted in declining operational performance. Benugopal was anxious as he considered his circumstances. Did he do the right thing by implementing so many changes at one time, or should he have made these changes gradually and checked system readiness?