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12 EXIM newsletter Mumbai & Western India, Monday, March 10, 2025 13
INDIA

‘I want SJ Logistics to be a 5PL, a global MNC’

—Rajen Shah, CMD, SJ Logistics (India) Ltd

From a Chartered Accountant handling key responsibilities at leading firms to founding a listed logistics company that

has been making its mark in providing comprehensive end-to-end solutions, it has been a journey of perseverance

and resolve for Mr Rajen Shah, Chairman and Managing Director of SJ Logistics (India) Ltd. His aim is to grow

the company into a global MNC from India, which is reflected in its steady expansion both in the country and overseas.

With SJ Logistics all set to be a prominent presence at the CTL BHP 2025 mega exposition and conference

beginning tomorrow, Mr Shah dwelt on the company’s journey thus far and its future plans in an interaction with Exim India. Excerpts:

MUMBAI: equipment, dumpers etc. and specialise in transmission to deploy, that helps to grow the business. Post-listing,
H How did SJ Logistics come into being? towers. These go to Africa, Europe and Latin America. we have grown 3x, putting the funds raised from the

That’s an interesting story. I am a qualified Chartered Africa, especially, is a huge market for transmission tow- market into our various verticals. We want to continue
Accountant and this is a first generation business. I ers. Tyres have also emerged as a key segment for us, with strengthening our verticals and also foray into new ones.
started out as an employee in the Mafatlal Group and a lot of good clients. The primary markets are Europe, For example, we now have an IATA licence and handle

then moved to Johnson Tiles where I began looking after Latin America and North America. We have good partners a good amount of air cargo. That was not the case about
many departments besides accounts. EXIM was one of in all these major global regions and even have our own 1.5 years before. There will be ups and downs in growth

them; it was a new area for me and I found it exciting. JVs in some places. We have our own B/L registered with but ultimately, I want to see 70-80% of the company’s
I began handling all the imports of the company, which Customs in major South American countries and are a business in auto mode across verticals. It is not easy but

also involved negotiating shipping rates. I found all of this member of key international logistics networks. we are working towards that goal.
very interesting and that is what drew me to logistics. The H How would you describe your clientele? H Could you elaborate on your branch network?

We have a strong and wide-ranging client base. It has In India we have branch networks in Delhi, Mum-
been our policy from the beginning to get maximum busi- bai, Ludhiana, Kanpur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad,

ness directly from Exporters and be less dependent on Gandhidham, Vadodara, Surat, Pune, Chennai and
Freight Forwarders for business. That is what we have authorities, as well as the specialisations offered with our Vizag. Internationally, we have own offices in the key

been doing in most of our forwarding business. global partners. hubs of Dubai and Singapore.
H Is SJ Logistics also an NVOCC? H In what type of vessels due you load project cargoes?

Yes, we have an NVOCC division with over 2,000 We are into the containerised business and, therefore, Services/Solutions
containers. We are building up our inventory and plan to cargo like transmission towers and ancillaries go into 20ft F Ocean Freight F Air Freight

reach 5,000 containers shortly. We offer services to the and 40ft boxes. Sometimes Open Top. Containers are not F Project Cargo F Warehousing
Gulf, Upper Gulf and the Middle East. Libya is also now a problem, we get them from MLOs. F NVOCC F Inland Transportation
a major focus. It is a gateway to the Middle East, a non- H Does the company also provide domestic logis- F Door Delivery F CHA

sanctioned country where the duty structure is low. As tics services?

Libya is undergoing reconstruction, there is high demand Yes, SJ is also into domestic logistics. In fact, if required, H How do you view the growth of the Indian
for building materials. We have good partners in Libya too. we even outsource such services for customers, be it ware- economy?
H What are some of the other services that you offer? housing, transportation, or CHA services. But we have our The Indian economy has shown good growth in the

We are also into ancillary services. We have a pool of 50 own team to look after the overall operations. last decade. Infrastructure development has been one
Mr Rajen Shah, CMD, SJ Logistics (India) Ltd
container trailers, a yard H How important is of the highlights, especially near the ports, which has

industry was not very prominent then, and when I ven- in Nhava Sheva as well as digitisation and tech- facilitated the logistics sector and increased India’s par-
tured into it there were many who questioned why a CA a warehouse. The trailers nology in logistics to- ticipation in the global market. The future looks bright

wanted to become a transporter. I commenced SJ Ship- are used both for trans- day? and going ahead I want India to be a driving force of the
ping Agency in 1999 as a proprietary concern involved in portation requirements of Digitisation and tech- world economy. The government’s Viksit Bharat 2047

forwarding. It became a private limited company in 2003, our in-house forwarding nology are extremely im- is a great initiative towards this end, in which logistics
which was converted into a deemed public company in customers and are also portant. Customers today will be a major contributor. The government is aiming

2016. In 2023, SJ Logistics (India) Ltd got listed on the for outside transportation want continuously updated for a positive balance of trade, which I think will happen.
SME segment of the NSE. business. The warehouse information about the loca- H Any suggestions for the government?

H What are the main activities of the company commenced operations in tion of their cargo, transit I think the Indian logistics sector needs more policy
and some of the key commodities it handles? a small way last year and we will expand capacity as time, the situation in a particular trade lane like the Red Sea, and regulatory facilitation. The cost of logistics should

Our main activity is forwarding. We have a lot of long- demand increases. etc. This is made possible by digitisation and technology. So be brought down to benefit the Indian trade. The cost of
term contracts with major MLOs and work with almost H What is the company’s USP? it cannot be avoided and will only grow further. Technology borrowing should also be reduced. This will provide a

all of them. We handle all types of commodities but have One of our USPs is DAP shipment in project cargoes. is constantly advancing and all of us in the industry have to level playing field to Indian logistics players.
specialised in a few over the years like steel cargo and Generally the ratio of DAP is only 30%; 70% is port to port. adapt accordingly. H What is your key aim for SJ Logistics going ahead?
yarn which have provided us consistent business. We But when we move transmission towers, for example, the H How has the company’s growth been over the I want SJ Logistics to be a 5PL, a global MNC that is an

handle significant volumes of yarn from South East Asia, ratio changes completely – 80% is DAP service and just years and what are the projections for the future? integral part of the logistics business worldwide. It will not

and have our own office in Singapore since 2013. We have 20% port to port. Our USP is also in handling documenta- The company’s growth has been steady. This is a capital- be easy, because we are competing with big global players.
also been moving a lot of project cargo, like earthmoving tion, exemption certificates, liaisoning with the relevant driven industry and if one has a good amount of capital But we will put in all efforts to make it happen. 