Amit Maheshwari established Softlink Logistics Systems Pvt Ltd in 1992 with an aim to simplify the operations of logistics companies and international traders. Today, his company has over 5,00,000 satisfied customers across continents, much to his credit.
As the CEO of the company, Mr Maheshwari not only overseas the global operations of Softlink but also takes a keen interest in matters concerning regional business operations and corporate functions such as product development, technology, marketing and quality. Over the years, Softlink has expanded both in terms of size and product range under Mr Maheshwari’s able guidance and leadership. It has grown into one of the leading logistics software development companies in India which provides a range of products and services to custom brokers, 3rd party logistics (3PL) companies, traders and freight forwarders across the globe. This Mumbai-based company has expanded its operations in major Indian cities such as Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi.
Logistics, a logical career As an engineering graduate, information technology (IT) was a natural career choice for Mr Maheshwari. In his words, “After acquiring my engineering degree I was looking for a market where IT could play a huge role. After much research I found that though the Indian logistics industry had huge potential, it was seriously lagging behind other sectors due to negligible adoption of IT-based products and solutions. After a comprehensive market study, that included talking to logistics experts, I identified the key areas in logistics where IT solutions were needed the most and started developing software solutions to simplify operations, enhance profitability and improve customer service.” Initial hiccups In the early years, Mr Maheshwari faced a lot of difficulties in creating a stable market for Softlink’s products and services. He attributes the poor response to his company’s solutions to lack of awareness. He says, “Lack of awareness about the benefits of software solutions among the logistics players at the time was the main reason behind their reluctance to adopt our products or services in particular and IT in general.” “In the beginning it was tough to sustain the production costs, particularly when there were no takers for our products. So we approached the logistics companies individually and convinced them about the long-term benefits of deploying the right kind of software solutions,” adds Mr Maheshwari. Currently, when other leading IT companies in the country are finding it hard to acquire new clients due to the ongoing economic downturn, Softlink has added 15 new clients. Mr Maheshwari talks about the company’s niche products, “Softlink’s products such as Visual Samudra, Visual Akash, Visual Impex and Visual X-PORT are counted among some of the leading solutions for the logistics industry which cuts down operational costs and boosts business growth. The Indian logistics industry is gradually waking up to the advantages of using an enabling software or technology to leverage its position in the international market, increase scope for scalability and retain its competitive edge.” IT solutions to empower SMEs
Mr Maheshwari feels that the SMEs in the Indian logistics industry have tremendous potential to expand their reach, provided they alter their business models and cut down unnecessary operational costs. “It is often seen that though small and mid-sized logistics companies open multiple units across the country as part of their expansion strategy, they lack an effective system to coordinate inter-centre operations. Instead, they should focus on enhancing their entire business cycle by utilising modern technological tools that help them strengthen their core competencies”, says the maverick entrepreneur. In the near future, Mr Maheshwari plans to design and develop more innovative IT solutions that would further simplify logistics operations. |
