Let’s ignite our start-up self

A few years back, Amazon Czar Jeff Bezos wrote in his annual letter to shareholders about how Amazon has been on ‘Day 1’ of its journey for a couple of decades.

 “Day 2 is stasis……. staying in Day 1 requires you to experiment patiently, accept failures, plant seeds, protect saplings and double down when you see customer delight”, he said.

 “Day 2 companies make high-quality decisions, but they make high-quality decisions slowly. To keep the energy and dynamism of Day 1, you have to somehow make high-quality, high-velocity decisions. Easy for start-ups and very challenging for large organizations”, he continued further.

 None could have articulated the importance of preserving the culture of encouraging innovation, ideas and faster decision-making better. It’s essentially a start-up mind-set implanted into the operational ethos of a global empire. This philosophy resonates with me personally too.

 As an organization grows in scale, assumes new identity, sets up systems and processes, adds layers to the management structure and enhances capabilities and financial capital, it tends to lose the velocity in decision-making. A ‘we-have-been-doing-this-way’ attitude gradually creeps into the system and the vibrant and inclusive ‘let’s-do-it-this-way’ outlook makes a hasty exit.

While there is no doubt that achieving numbers is important because after all, we are in the business to deliver excellence and grow sustainably, it should not take away from our entrepreneurial approach, taking risks and creative thinking. No matter how big the organization gets, it should be vigilant to not fall into the trap of a ‘fail-safe’ approach. At Allcargo, we have taken a cue from this start-up mind-set and consciously pursue new ideas, unconventional business opportunities and ways to be nimble, lean and agile.

When we set up Allcargo in 1993 with limited resources and manpower, we wanted to excel in what we do and had a vision to grow in our niche. We were quick, flexible and ready to align with changes in the business environment to pursue well-timed opportunities for growth and expansion. And even today, after establishing our presence across more than 180 countries we have not slowed down. In India, in particular, with our recent expansion, we can now receive and deliver in over 19,800 PIN Codes in 735 of India’s 739 districts. We are in a position to provide end-to-end integrated logistics solutions at an unmatched scale to companies in India, for their domestic and international trade. And we continue to approach each day with the same intensity.

Had we been playing safe and maintaining status quo, we would have never become the global leader in LCL consolidation by acquiring Belgium-based ECU Worldwide in 2005-2006 and going ahead to acquire 10 more companies in USA, China and India to build a global logistics conglomerate with revenues of USD 1.2 billion in 25 years that Allcargo Logistics is, today. We were bold, futuristic and ambitious just like start-ups are and that is what has worked out well for us!

 If we look at any industry sector today, the competitive landscape has changed. Armed with quick decision-making, niche solutions and backed by new-age, modern technology, start-ups are disrupting the business like never before. It’s a level playing field where just being the largest, oldest or most experienced is not enough to create a competitive advantage. So here at Allcargo, we are transforming. We are digitally-enabling our business operations, optimizing and accelerating our sales processes, leveraging digital technology, exploring collaboration with start-ups and striking the right balance between decades of experience and a start-up-like approach.

The participative style of functioning – which is at the core of any start-up environment - always spurs young employees to play a key role in shaping business and maximizing value for customers and other key stakeholders. We recently launched ECU360, our state-of-the-art digital platform to make shipping cargo quick and convenient for customers. With a host of features like instant quotes, door-to-door rates for 57 countries and quick bookings, it is making shipping an ‘on-demand’ experience and meeting customers’ rising expectations. And the young, enthusiastic team led by my son Vaishnav is driving the implementation successfully!

Indeed there is a long way to go. And we are more than happy to welcome young and aspirational men and women who have the right qualifications and ambition to join us on this journey. Our doors are also open for young start-ups who can collaborate with us and add value to this ambitious journey.

I firmly believe if you want your business and ideas to outlive generations, you need to create future leaders and a start-up environment is the ideal platform to nurture future leadership.

Large corporations today are also taking a leaf out of the book of start-ups that have successfully embraced changes in a cost-effective way by partnering with other growing start-ups. Frugality always benefits companies in the long run.

Implementing a start-up-like agility on a bigger scale requires breaking some conventional bureaucratic practices. I believe we need to remain relevant in these changing times or else the new forces may push us towards the exit!

 It always pays to continue staying in Day 1. And a little bit of focused effort is sure to make that habit perpetual. What do you say?