The transport of perishable goods in quick time calls for highly dependable vehicles that don’t fail when it matters most. Find out how Adyar Ananda Bhavan (A2B) found long-lasting answers to its problems when it opted for BharatBenz trucks that have added a whole new dimension to the marquee food chain’s fleet. N. Balasubramanian gets the details in an exclusive interview with V. Vishnu Shankar, Director, Adyar Ananda Bhavan Sweets India (P) Ltd.
If you have travelled across the southern State of Tamil Nadu, there is no way you could have missed one of the eye-catching yellow-blue outlets of Adyar Ananda Bhavan. A2B, as it’s more popularly known, is one of the most sought-after chains of vegetarian restaurants in South India, with over 145 outlets across Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and a few more overseas. Operating in the food sector has its own set of unique challenges, the main one being shipping raw materials and finished food products which have very little shelf life and demand fast transportation under controlled temperature levels. Having been in the business for over three decades, A2B has all the necessary infrastructure and expertise in place, as reflected in its position as one of the most respected and preferred brands in the sector.
A2B’s logistics operations are broadly classified into three parts: a) transport of ready-to-eat restaurant food for which it uses small commercial vehicles; b) movement of goods from factory to city outlets which is handled by ICV vehicles; and c) long distance inter-city transport involving shipment of critical products like milk for which medium-duty vehicles are deployed.
Giving an overview of A2B’s operations, V. Vishnu Shankar, Director, Adyar Ananda Bhavan Sweets India, says: “Our main operation hub, including our mother plant, is located at Ambattur in Chennai. We have another plant in Bangalore, and two more mid-size facilities in Coimbatore and Thanjavur. The raw materials reach our two main plants from where they are shipped to our outlets in both States.”
“Earlier, our vendors used to send them directly to our outlets but now we have consolidated the operation and handle the transport ourselves. We have our own dairy in Namakkal from where we procure close to 35,000 litres of milk every day and send it to all our outlets across Tamil Nadu and Bangalore,” he adds. In addition to its chain of restaurants, A2B has close to 160 distributors for its FMCG products, which is one of its fast-growing business areas. The brand is also present outside India with four restaurant outlets in the US and one each in Malaysia, Singapore and Kenya.
The ‘Benz’ factor
A2B has a total fleet strength of 189 vehicles of which 26 are from BharatBenz – mostly medium-duty trucks and a few heavy-duty ones too. When asked about how A2B’s association with BharatBenz began and how much of an influence the ‘Benz’ name had to play, Shankar responds: “Back then, my uncle aspired to buy a Benz vehicle. We got a Mercedes Benz car and had to wait for six months for the vehicle number plate! Such was the craze and demand for the Benz brand. Once Daimler’s BharatBenz came into the truck market, we were excited and wanted our drivers to enjoy the ‘Benz’ comfort and experience like how we did.”
Matter of trust
Though BharatBenz vehicles account for only a small part of A2B total’s fleet, it is the kind of operations they are deployed for that reflects the reliability of the brand. A2B has two vehicles that carry milk from its dairy in Namakkal, clocking close to 900 km each on a daily basis – one to Chennai and another to Bangalore – and both are BharatBenz trucks.
Explaining how BharatBenz became a mainstay for the critical operation, Shankar reveals: “We wanted a vehicle that could run for long distance every day. We were using a different brand but faced serious issues related to vehicle stability and engine heating due to which our drivers were not happy. After trying another brand, we wanted to try out BharatBenz in 2014. The MDT vehicles delivered much better performance and it was easy for us to judge and measure the benefits.”
“Within six to seven months we were able to calculate our investment and savings – the average cost was less than 14 paisa per km which was significantly lesser than other vehicles. Both vehicles ran for 7,50,000 km without changing the clutch plate, which was quite unbelievable. We had four drivers for each vehicle given the intensity of the operation; the vehicles were more or less on road 24 x 7. Going by the results, we were thoroughly convinced that BharatBenz was the best choice for such demanding operations,” he adds. A2B’s BharatBenz MDT vehicles were among the first to cross 1 million kms in the country and one of them was part of the ‘BharatKaBenz Yatra’ held in late 2018.
Currently, A2B’s BharatBenz fleet is deployed for three applications – transport of water, milk and regular goods (dry and reefer containers) and includes the following models and the number of vehicles (as indicated in parentheses): 914 (10), 1214 (7), 1617 (4), 3123 (2), 1014 (1), 2523 (1) and 1414 (1), with one more vehicle getting added shortly. Given the rigorous operations of the food chain, BharatBenz vehicles alone have covered over 1.5 crore (15 million) km in total, an astonishing figure that is greater than travelling 20 times to the moon and back! Is there any further need to discuss about reliability, performance and efficiency!
Extra mile service support
An important factor that contributes to the high uptime and fast turnaround times of A2B’s BharatBenz vehicles is the company’s focus on regular service and periodic maintenance done with utmost care. Says Shankar: “Though the initial cost of BharatBenz vehicles was relatively higher than other trucks, we are satisfied with the overall performance and the savings we have seen over the lifecycle of the trucks. We were also happy with the kind of service support they have delivered. For other brands, we have original spares, alternative spares and even many duplicate spares, as a result of which we could easily get cheated. With BharatBenz, one thing is clear – the service station is our only source and there is no chance of any duplication.”
Highlighting the benefits of being a subscriber of BharatBenz’ annual maintenance contract (AMC) package, he adds: “We have also signed up for their AMC scheme which gives us the privilege of getting our vehicles serviced at any of their outlets. Most of our vehicles cover long distances in short time and so the AMC is very helpful. We pay once a year and get complete support on priority which makes a big difference to our operations. We have the confidence that someone is there to help us in case of any trouble; there have been instances where the mistake was on our side but they still helped us out without complaining. We have a very good relationship with BharatBenz and their team is always ready to extend whatever support is needed. They were very supportive when we bought the first two vehicles, and even now, after their brand has been well-established, the same support is extended, which is very appreciable.”
Looking forward to IoT
In order to carve a niche in a highly competitive market, in any field, quality vendors are indispensable. The same holds good in A2B’s case, which sources key aggregates and parts for its fleet from some of the best in the business: reefer containers from Surakhsha, tankers from NS Rama Rao, and AC units from Thermo King. Leveraging its know-how on technology and digitization, A2B is eagerly awaiting to implement IoT solutions across its fleet to be able to further optimise operations and reduce costs wherever possible. It is waiting to try out the new BharatBenz BS-VI range that comes with interesting fleet management solutions and Driver State Monitoring (DSM) among a host of other features. “We will be one of the first customers of BharatBenz’ BS-VI MDT range and hope to see more IoT solutions from BharatBenz which we feel would add a lot of value to our operations,” Shankar states.
Major expansion plans
The FMCG biz is at the heart of A2B’s expansion plans, along with the addition of new restaurant outlets within India and also overseas. Shankar reveals: “We have major expansion plans in the FMCG space and are planning to appoint 200 more distributors and superstockists apart from the existing 160. After BS-VI comes in, we plan to buy around 6-7 new trucks. As for our restaurant business, we are looking to expand more into Tier III and IV cities by adding around 7-8 new locations. On the dairy side, we plan to increase our capacity to 50,000 litres per day. For all these, we will need trucks and are considering opting for BharatBenz.”
“We are also expanding globally – we have four outlets in the US and are adding two more. We have a new outlet coming up in Sydney and Nairobi. We have an outlet in Singapore and Malaysia and are adding two more in Singapore,” he adds. As a closing remark, we ask the young director about A2B’s success mantra to which he responds with a gentle smile: “Success comes from the kind of efforts our team puts in and the kind of confidence our team exudes. Our employees are our driving force. We are into the food industry, so every second matters; every vendor and partner like BharatBenz is critical. All of them are part of our success story.”