Indian Economy News

Express industry goes on festive hiring spree

Mumbai: With business volumes of the domestic express industry witnessing a healthy growth, temporary hiring in the sector has seen a surge, mainly during the festive season. However, getting skilled manpower is posing to be a problem.

“We witnessed close to 50,000-75,000 people getting employed this year which is a significant 30-35 per cent jump on year-on-year basis,” said Suchita Dutta, executive director at Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), the apex body representing the staffing industry and private employment services.

In India, the festival period usually starts in October and ends in November-December during which extravagent spending is witnessed.

“This year, (industry) volumes are growing three-and-a-half times than last year and hence we expect temporary hiring to also go up in the same proportion,” said Abhishek Chakraborty, executive director of DTDC Express. The company alone

is expecting a volume growth of 25-30 per cent in 2018 compared to last year.

Domestic express industry comprises players such as DTDC, Blue Dart Express, Aramex India, DHL Express, Network Express Services, and TCI Express, among others.

“The growth in the express industry is so strong that we are hiring 600 people this year and about another 700 next year,” Chander Agarwal, managing director at TCI Express, said.

According to an independent Deloitte report, the industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17 per cent and reach ~480 billion by 2023.

Increasing consumerism and multiple players are making the market more lucrative and attractive for players to invest, said industry officials. At the same time, the depth and reach has increased with further digital access and knowledge, they said.

“It is the last mile delivery segment where most hiring is happening as this area is manpower driven and cannot be substituted with sorters or machines which we use at the hub level,” added Chakraborty of DTDC Express.

The express industry will grow its employee base from close to 1.6 million in FY17 to 2.6 million in FY22 to manage the increased scale of operations, a Deloitte report estimated. Rural regions would be key contributors to the additional employment, it said.

“The volume growth is definite and so is the need for more temporary workers. This cannot be replaced by machines or be automated. But the challenge will be getting skilled labour in the segment,” said Vijay Kumar, chief operating officer, at Express Industry Council of India (EICI).

EICI is in talks with the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship and is also engaged in designing small courses for entry-level staff which would be a larger chunk of the hiring needs of the industry.

“Tie-ups with different agencies and sourcing locally through channel partners is how DTDC is going about its hiring to ensure it gets quality staff to do the job,” said Chakraborty.

The domestic express industry, comprising shipments transported and delivered within the country, is estimated to be worth ~170 billion. The surface express constitutes ~120 billion of the total domestic express while air express constitutes the remaining ~50 billion, said Deloitte.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

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