VRL Logistics bags Apollo Fleet of the Year award

Apollo Tyres initiative to recognise, encourage and share best practices in the transportation sector saw it give away trophies at the first edition of the Apollo Fleet of the Year awards in New Delhi on January 23. Satish Sharma, chief, India Operations, Apollo Tyres, gave away the trophy for Apollo Fleet of the Year to VRL Logistics in Large Operator and Sangha Freight Carrier in Medium Operator category. Apollo received 5,140 valid entries from fleet operators across India. These awards accord importance to initiatives taken by fleet operators towards safety, technology, sustainability and customer service, not size and scale of operations.

The Hubli-based VRL Logistics, with a fleet size of over 3,000 vehicles, has a record 98 percent customer- complaint resolution. It has conducted around 550 safety trainings resulting in lower accidents per truck. These proved to be the critical deciding factors for the judges and validating agency in awarding VRL the top prize. What also went in VRL’s favour was the level of radialisation -- a high 60 percent, in comparison to 20 percent in commercial vehicles in India. The picture shows Apollo’s Satish Sharma, VRL Logistics’ Anand Sankeshwar, and Rajesh Dahiya, group head, sales & marketing, Apollo Tyres.

Speaking on the occasion Sharma said, “These awards are Apollo’s recognition of the best practices that exist within the Indian commercial transportation segment. It is a much more progressive and modern sector of the economy than it gets recognition for. We have found that a vast majority of the operators conduct safety trainings for their drivers, fitters, mechanics and employees, resulting in lesser road accidents. The other surprising area was the high value put on GPS usage, technology deployment and fuel saving. I think we are literally witnessing a silent revolution in this segment, and fleet operators -- large or small -- should be lauded for it.”

He added, “Seventy per cent of the goods transported in India are by road, making it the lifeline of the economy where millions of people and businesses rely on these fleets, and the quality of the nominations and the enthusiasm shown by the nominees show that the sector is truly in good hands. We are in the process of collating and creating small, and easy to understand, case studies of some of the best fleet operators. We intend to share these with the industry at large to enable others to follow some of the best practices already in place.”

An independent jury consisting eminent personalities from the commercial vehicle industry -- across planning, operations and customer service -- screened and judged the winners based on the quantitative and qualitative evaluation done by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

List of winners: