Tuesday was a different day. DA-Desk, a firm from UAE (with Head Office at Sharjah) visited our institute, Indian Institute of Logistics, Chennai. DA-Desk is the largest independent provider of port cost management services to the shipping industry. Focused in port disbursement control, DA-Desk offers effective process management, early error detection and a near paperless workflow.
A seminar was organised in the M.A. Chidambaram Conference Hall which is located in the SICCI headquarters at Esplanade, Chennai. Mr Diesel and Mr. Malcolm represented DA-Desk. A majority of the staff at the firm are from India, it was therefore natural for them to come headhunting here. Though their immediate aim for this visit was to get in to an agreement with IIL for a three months internship program at the firm, it was for laying a framework of sourcing HR from the institute. Though the impression was that they were doing the institute a favor, they surely were not here to fulfill their CSR obligations. In this cut-throat competition, firms need to provide the best and most cost effective services at competitive prices to their customers for customer retention and garnering additional customers. Sourcing a optimum manpower would be a natural step in cutting down costs to survive. Starting the internship program would help the firm in positioning itself as a potential employer, leading a win-win situation for both. The firm would benefit by a steady inflow of quality workforce, the students would benefit by increase in the number of potential employers. It is business, and that's how it should be done. After all, you also need to reply to your stakeholders. The institute can then boast of providing career assistance to students thus enhancing its appeal as a good place to study.
The seminar started with Capt.V.J.Pushpa Kumar giving the introductory lecture. He invited 5 students to light up the lamp, and explained the importance of this gesture to the guests. He then gave an overview of the institute and its growth from inception. He is a good orator. When he delves on a topic, you feel as if you are embarking on a dreamy voyage where all the facts and issues explained by him start unfurling and you feel the events are happening right in front of you. He later on invited the guests to share their views with the audience. Mr. Diesel gave a presentation on the working of a disbursement account as far as the shipping industry was concerned, and the role the firm played. He explained that the usual focus of the ship owners was to concentrate primarily on the tangible costs associated with the ship's movement. The firm played a crucial role by focusing on the intangible issues, like the cost and issues that are related to port calls. It resulted in considerable savings through error detection and time saving for personnel. It also resulted in improved cash flow via firm payment policies and timeline management.
Accountability and transparency for each transaction and better operational scalability were the additional benefits accruing out of the association with the firm. Many students doing their MBA opted for the internship with them. A few students posed questions during the question answer session. Out of the students, a student wanted to know the starting salary package one could expect from the firm. Though the question was directed at Mr. Diesel from DA-Desk, Capt Pushpa Kumar intervened. He reasoned that the curiosity of a job salary meant the student was more concerned about the immediate future and did not have a broad overview. He continued that the institute believed more in grooming a student for a career and not only for a job. Thinking long term would help the student gain knowledge and expertise that would help him in big way. He stressed that idealism, and not realism, should be the guiding factor for the students. The fact which came out clear from his reply was that the students should not think about getting a job right away as sooner or later they would definitely land a job, if they are deserving and have completed their studies and the internship properly. This is something which he stresses all along. What he could not appreciate that realism, though helpful in the long run, does not address your immediate concerns. Higher education is not cheap, and not everybody has lakhs as spare cash to invest and do nothing. A large no. of people struggle to meet such big ticket expenses and naturally, they look for immediate solutions. If the studies are being financed from a bank loan, surely the bank doesn't adopt this realism approach. They would need to start the repayment process right away. Even if I had to fund the higher education of my son, I'd obvisously like to start paying back the loan amount as soon as possible. Mr. Diesel also chipped in with his inputs but that did not explain anything. He only said that all staff live in company-provided accommodation in Sharjah, Ajman and in Dubai. Transport to and from work is provided, as is medical cover, annual leave flights and paid vacation periods. He did say that the salary with them was 2-3 times of what could be expected in India. He did not specify what he meant by the "salary in India". Here for the same job a person could be paid anything from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 100,000. India is such a vast country with so many different environments that it is practically impossible to create any benchmark. May be the student did have his family background in mind. The question was justified, the answer, plain ambigous. The IIL Kochi campus was also a part of the proceedings by way of two-way video conferencing.
It was something new for me as I had never been into this aspect of Logistics. I have been into warehousing, transportation, retail issue, inventory management, demand forecasting, purchase but not this. In spite of the information being new, it was well presented and easy to grasp. One thing which I liked about DA-Desk's approach is their focus. Instead of trying to concentrate on a large no. of issues, and competing some big guns, they have focused on a niche segment and tried to dominate it. A smart approach.
Overall, a good initiative by The Indian Institute of Logistics, Chennai.
A seminar was organised in the M.A. Chidambaram Conference Hall which is located in the SICCI headquarters at Esplanade, Chennai. Mr Diesel and Mr. Malcolm represented DA-Desk. A majority of the staff at the firm are from India, it was therefore natural for them to come headhunting here. Though their immediate aim for this visit was to get in to an agreement with IIL for a three months internship program at the firm, it was for laying a framework of sourcing HR from the institute. Though the impression was that they were doing the institute a favor, they surely were not here to fulfill their CSR obligations. In this cut-throat competition, firms need to provide the best and most cost effective services at competitive prices to their customers for customer retention and garnering additional customers. Sourcing a optimum manpower would be a natural step in cutting down costs to survive. Starting the internship program would help the firm in positioning itself as a potential employer, leading a win-win situation for both. The firm would benefit by a steady inflow of quality workforce, the students would benefit by increase in the number of potential employers. It is business, and that's how it should be done. After all, you also need to reply to your stakeholders. The institute can then boast of providing career assistance to students thus enhancing its appeal as a good place to study.
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| Its me, in M.A. Chidambaram Conference Hall |
Accountability and transparency for each transaction and better operational scalability were the additional benefits accruing out of the association with the firm. Many students doing their MBA opted for the internship with them. A few students posed questions during the question answer session. Out of the students, a student wanted to know the starting salary package one could expect from the firm. Though the question was directed at Mr. Diesel from DA-Desk, Capt Pushpa Kumar intervened. He reasoned that the curiosity of a job salary meant the student was more concerned about the immediate future and did not have a broad overview. He continued that the institute believed more in grooming a student for a career and not only for a job. Thinking long term would help the student gain knowledge and expertise that would help him in big way. He stressed that idealism, and not realism, should be the guiding factor for the students. The fact which came out clear from his reply was that the students should not think about getting a job right away as sooner or later they would definitely land a job, if they are deserving and have completed their studies and the internship properly. This is something which he stresses all along. What he could not appreciate that realism, though helpful in the long run, does not address your immediate concerns. Higher education is not cheap, and not everybody has lakhs as spare cash to invest and do nothing. A large no. of people struggle to meet such big ticket expenses and naturally, they look for immediate solutions. If the studies are being financed from a bank loan, surely the bank doesn't adopt this realism approach. They would need to start the repayment process right away. Even if I had to fund the higher education of my son, I'd obvisously like to start paying back the loan amount as soon as possible. Mr. Diesel also chipped in with his inputs but that did not explain anything. He only said that all staff live in company-provided accommodation in Sharjah, Ajman and in Dubai. Transport to and from work is provided, as is medical cover, annual leave flights and paid vacation periods. He did say that the salary with them was 2-3 times of what could be expected in India. He did not specify what he meant by the "salary in India". Here for the same job a person could be paid anything from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 100,000. India is such a vast country with so many different environments that it is practically impossible to create any benchmark. May be the student did have his family background in mind. The question was justified, the answer, plain ambigous. The IIL Kochi campus was also a part of the proceedings by way of two-way video conferencing.
It was something new for me as I had never been into this aspect of Logistics. I have been into warehousing, transportation, retail issue, inventory management, demand forecasting, purchase but not this. In spite of the information being new, it was well presented and easy to grasp. One thing which I liked about DA-Desk's approach is their focus. Instead of trying to concentrate on a large no. of issues, and competing some big guns, they have focused on a niche segment and tried to dominate it. A smart approach.
Overall, a good initiative by The Indian Institute of Logistics, Chennai.
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