1. CARGOCONNECT - JANUARY 201666
INTERVIEW
“We create
unique solutions
for our clients”
DSV made a footprint in India in
the year 2006 with a goal to de-
liver cargo safely, securely and
on time, anywhere in the world
by air, sea or road. Within this
short span, the company has es-
tablished its roots in the country.
They are the experts in moving
luxury vehicles like Lamborghini,
Ferrari and McLaren, to name a
few. General Motors voted DSV
Supplier of the year, twice. With
an enormous global appetite for
acquisitions, the company is opti-
mistic of spreading its wings even
more globally. Martin Roos, MD,
India & Bangladesh shares his
experience with DSV Air & Sea Pvt
Ltd, the company’s vision and fu-
ture expansion plans in a one-on-
one with Deepannita Chakraborty
CARGOCONNECT - JANUARY 201666
You decided to start a base in India
in the year 2006. How has the jour-
ney been so far?
I was relatively young back then and it
was a continuous process of learning in a
completely different culture, it still is. As
a leader of the industry, it took us time to
settle but we learnt from our mistakes and
here we are a decent decade later, com-
peting at par with the best. The journey has
been overwhelming.
What is stated to be your USP?
Our USP is that we are flexible in terms of
our services and that we are hands on in
the day to day business, from top to bot-
tom. We spend a considerable amount
of time with our clients, discussing their
needs, continuously aligning expectations
seeking performance improvement, even
if we feel we perform well.
With a straightforward and open ap-
proach it becomes easy to scale your ap-
proach to smaller, medium or larger busi-
nesses and we adapt and create unique
solutions for each of our clients, treating
all equally regardless of size.
Tell us about your products and
services. What is the main domain
in your portfolio e.g. pharma, au-
tomobile, retail, etc.?
DSV is a global supplier of transport and
logistics services. We have offices in more
than 70 countries and offer a wide range
of services comprising of surface trans-
portation, air freight,and sea freight from
door to door. Over the last four years, we
have opened up several warehouses on
the subcontinent and see a growing need
for contract logistics solutions just as we
see a good growth in larger project move-
ments. Lastly, we have a few backup func-
tions in India that serves our local as well
as global clients. We always try being an

2. active partner in India to ensure that the
network grows.
DSV has recently acquired the
global supply chain and logistics
provider, UTI. What was the rea-
son behind this merger and what
business synergies can we expect
from this combination?
I will have to correct you a little here as it
is still too early to say anything in concrete
on this particular topic. The entire deal is
still subject to shareholders’and regula-
tory approvals. All I can comment is that
if the acquisition goes through the combi-
nation of UTI and DSV will be very strong.
At DSV we have always believed that con-
solidation is the way ahead and to bring
us into the next league, we have to look
at larger acquisitions. Historically we have
been very aggressive in terms of acquisi-
tions so you can say it runs in our blood,
be it smaller or larger transactions.
What is unique is that we have a strong
belief in ourselves and that implementing
strategic volumes can be made profit-
able, still maintaining the DSV philoso-
phy of being close to our clients offering
flexible solutions.
What are the infrastructural de-
velopments that India needs to
take forward to improve the lo-
gistics sector in India?
Obviously India has its logistical chal-
lenges and it is evident there is a lot left
for imagination when it comes to the
roads, the connectivity and particularly
the quality. I truly appreciate the govern-
ment’s efforts to revitalise the logistical
infrastructure namely air and sea ports,
but a chain is no stronger than its weak-
est link. Building a port is one of those
many links and the stress point should, in
my opinion, be to focus on strengthening
the supply chain in its entirety. I am aware
it is a broad statement, but I ask myself
what good is a state-of-the-art building if
the supporting warehouse or handling is
mediocre and still operating underolder
principles that worked fine earlier with
lesser throughput?
Individuals and activities involved also
need to be ‘upgraded’ to cope and grow
with the regulators and their visions.
A simple example is the traffic patterns
and the mentality on the roads of India.
The government could with relative ease
take measures towards betterment of
traffic conduct by looking at the require-
ments for acquiring drivers licenses,
commercial and personal. I know as I
have a local driver’s license in addition to
the one from EU.
I understand it is a cultural thing that
has been adapted and accepted during the
course of centuries, but one should never
stop improving even when it works well
(which the sheer number of vehicles and
cargo tonnages moved, could suggest it
does). Put a ban on the pointless use of
horns constantly. Honking rarely gets you
from A to B faster. Enforce rules for mate-
rial quality which obviously serves greater
purposes: Safety and environment.
Road quality; How can it be accepted
that some corn fields offer more even
surfaces than many roads? How can the
Government accept paying for roadworks
and improvements year after year, when
a solidly built road should last a decade
at least? A few obstacles play in, such as
weather, but with skilled labour and plan-
ning the quality could be increased. I think
it also boils down to a financial aspect
and on the face of it the investment might
seem more expensive to raise quality, but
it will certainly pay off when you total the
investment after 10 years.
Another bonus is that the workforce
spending time repairing the same roads
year after year could then be utilised in oth-
er areas to further develop India’s growth.
Indian logistics sector is
poised for accelerated growth
with initiatives like ‘Make in
India.’Comment.
‘Make in India’ is one of the best initiative
so far. Many people outside India have a
hard time understanding that India is a
consumption- driven economy, having
more import than export. With initiatives
as ‘Make in India,’there is a strong focus
on increasing exports by attracting manu-
facturers to set up in India. Foreign com-
panies expect red carpet treatment and
not red tape bureaucracy, so the drive is
spot on! As is the case with infrastruc-
tural improvements, quality of the manu-
factured commodities will be a key fac-
tor in whether it will provide the desired
boost in exports or not. If so it could be a
game changer for the logistics industry
and for India.
What is your clientele in India?
Our clientele is very varied. DSV has a
very large and versatile network that has
allowed us to build a healthy portfolio
within most commodities and sectors,
thus geographically well dispersed. We
provide our services to all from smaller
and more transactional based importers,
to huge conglomerates and multination-
als with enormous and more regular vol-
umes. There are many well-known brands
but also completely unknown partners. I
am proud of this versatility and firmly be-
lieve itshows our true colours, that DSV
can cater to any type of clients.
Tell us about the new products
and services that your company
will be introducing in India. Share
with us your future plans and ex-
pansion details.
Right now it is business as usual with a
clear focus on serving our clients best,
which is why we devote considerable ef-
forts towards improving our own perfor-
mance and becoming better at what we
do. Expectations are never constant and
we find it appropriate to be on the fore-
front and well-prepared.
We obviously wish to continue our
current growth trends by offering sol-
id and dependable best–in-class ser-
vices one can rely on and plan a supply
chain around.
In terms of investments,then we
are currently upgrading our IT infra-
structure as well as strengthening our
own skills and knowledge via internal
trainings,constant process reviews and
improvements.
JANUARY 2016 - CARGOCONNECT 67
Our USP is that we
are flexible in terms
of our services, so
that we don’t have
an assembly line. We
sit down and discuss
our client needs and
solutions.