Vikas Chadha, The CEO Of Jumbo Group, Talks About the Business’s Operations And Future

Jumbo Logistics is a prominent 3PL service provider in the Middle East. Jumbo Group provides a wide range of services, including warehousing, imports, clearing and forwarding, Last Mile Delivery, and Reverse Logistics. Here is everything you need to know about Jumbo Logistics, a division of Jumbo Group…

1. Tell us about your services and how they appeal to various brands or industries

Jumbo Group’s flagship company, Jumbo Electronics Co. Ltd. LLC, is widely credited with introducing consumer electronics to the UAE market through a 1975 partnership with Sony. Jumbo Logistics, a division of Jumbo Electronics, arose due to the retailer’s rapid expansion. It seemed like a natural progression for us.

Jumbo Logistics has accumulated capabilities and grown its roots through strategic investments in warehousing and technology. Jumbo Logistics is now a 3PL service provider. We provide a comprehensive range of logistics services, including packaging, warehousing, transportation, VAS, inventory control, and freight forwarding. Jumbo Logistics delivers integrated solutions to clients across industries with over 500,000 square feet of warehousing, 130+ skilled employees, over 132 vehicles, and state-of-the-art WMS. But, without a doubt, and based on our experience, we have and continue to find a large customer base among consumer electronics and durables manufacturers.

2. How has Jumbo Logistics performed in 2022, and has it exceeded its expectations from the beginning of the year?

Consistent and stable. We set a 21% growth target for 2022 and are currently outperforming. We did hit 27% in the third quarter. We have always nurtured the logistics business unit through well-planned, timely investments. We have warehousing space on the mainland of Dubai and in free zones, which gives us an advantage and allows us to offer greater flexibility to our clients.

3. What have been some of the challenges faced during the year, and what opportunities have you tapped into?

The industry as a whole has been dealing with some common issues. Transportation costs, for example, have risen. Furthermore, the war-induced crisis in Eastern Europe has increased fuel price volatility. This impacts operational costs, and companies like ours must revisit pricing and contracts to make changes and stay within margins.

On the other hand, the impact of the growing e-commerce industry has worked in our favour. Businesses are transitioning from massive multiple storage facilities to single, smaller facilities on the mainland as they are forced to adjust their strategies to provide low-cost and on-demand delivery services. Jumbo has warehouses in free zones and on the mainland, as well as open yards, giving our clients greater flexibility. Our captive infrastructure also enables them to operate efficiently at all hours. In addition, we have improved our last-mile delivery by increasing milk runs to reach hundreds of more customers per day.

4. Can you talk us through your warehouse and cold chain operations?

Currently, we don’t have cold chain operations as many of our clients are electronics, general goods, and durables manufacturers.

5. How have last-mile deliveries and reverse logistics altered since the epidemic, in your opinion?

Without a doubt, last-mile deliveries and reverse logistics increased dramatically during the pandemic. And we haven’t observed a noticeable difference in this trend since.

Reverse logistics is challenging to manage, and inefficiencies in management lead to inefficient space utilization and incremental spending, which can erode margins. We used technology to improve deliveries through real-time vehicle and order status tracking. When dealing with fluctuating returns, our scalable resources come in handy.

6. Tell us about the most recent innovation/technology implemented by Jumbo Logistics to improve your services.

Jumbo began its journey toward digital transformation a few years before the pandemic. This gave us a competitive advantage and the necessary traction in recent years. For a long time, we have used technology to streamline our operations and ensure transparency, from stickering and RFID to a WMS that covers inventory tracking, storage optimization, automated documentation, analytics, and reporting. We recently launched a new platform to streamline our last-mile mandate. It enables us to track real-time deliveries and pick-ups for more efficient order tracking and fulfilment controls.

7. What measures has Jumbo taken to become more sustainable, and how has this benefited the supply chain?

Our logistics operations rely heavily on technology. We will positively impact the supply chain by optimizing our operations and implementing customer-centric processes. We are also investigating alternative power sources for our warehouses and optimizing delivery routes to reduce our carbon footprint.

8. What growth/expansion ambitions do you have for Jumbo logistics in the following years?

In the coming year, Jumbo Group will celebrate its 50th anniversary. That says a lot about our organization and its dependability. We believe in long-term growth for our company, even if it means reducing our profit margins. We have set our sights on modest growth by acquiring new space, renovating, and upgrading. In fact, we recently renovated a 38,500-square-foot warehouse to increase capacity.

9. How do you see the UAE/Dubai market right now? Can you keep up with the demand generated by this market?

As more businesses focus on their core competencies, there is a high demand for logistics services. There are numerous logistics players in the UAE. On the other hand, Jumbo has made a name for itself, particularly among OEMs. Our priority is to capitalize on our inherent strengths and serve our clients in the electronics, technology, and durables segments.

From Logistics News ME December 2022 Issue.