| About Him |
Leyland Tusker joined Raj Singh’s stable.
Thus began a tryst leading to a strong
association and loyalty.
Raj Singh’s truck fleet kept growing but
the five brothers continued to drive
trucks, maximizing revenue and they
loved driving, anyway. The 44-year-old
recalls a round trip he did in the early
90s. His truck loaded with high-density
(but compact) metal springs, Raj Singh
drove from Chennai to Bangalore where
he topped it with tyres. Enroute Delhi,
outside Bijapur he came across a loaded
truck, its cabin badly damaged in an
accident. Its front tyres removed and
the front mounted on his Delhi-bound
truck, Raj Singh drove the makeshift"trailer", earning Rs 28,000 as against a
normal Rs 9,000 for that trip. "Those
days, we had easy delivery deadlines
and could wait for market loads",
remembers Raj Singh.
Today, delivery schedules have become
tighter and meeting them without fail is
pivotal to the success of Ahmedabad
Bengal Roadways. "We manage 98%
compliance", says Raj Singh, who has
won awards from SafExpress for
exemplary delivery record. Raj Singh’s
crew routinely covers the Delhi –
Mumbai route in 45 hours and Delhi –
Ahmedabad in 24 hours. From October
2002, he has been able to slash running
time for all routes by around 10%. How
he manages such efficiency
improvements is simple – befitting the
simple man that he is. "We brothers (the
five are equal partners in the Company)
drive the trucks with our drivers by our
side, see the time it takes, the fuel
consumption and expect them to match
it. We don’t put pressure. It is no miracle
either – after all, the roads are
improving and so are the vehicles". Over
80% of his fleet are Ashok Leyland
vehicles – their "reliability, lower
maintenance cost and better fuel
average help us maintain delivery
schedules and operate them in these
times of thin margins". His mind is
already at work to further cut running
time to command more remunerative
rates from the customer – and more
trips.
For someone who cannot stand waste,
his closed fists loosen for essentials.
Without batting an eyelid, he flies down
drivers as replacement for their
indisposed colleagues. A heart ailment
or losing eyesight, his drivers can count
on Raj Singh’s benevolence. Raj Singh
dismisses his acts of kindness by saying:
"I have survived on Rs 250 a month.
God has raised me to this level. Being
humane matters, not money".
Raj Singh’s only other obsession is the satsangh (a prayer group, literally
meaning, group of the good) held every
Saturday in his native village which none
of the 38-member joint family will miss.
His is a family of teetotalers. Raj Singh
believes his simple ways have helped in
his success and is fiercely proud that
success has not spoilt him: he has not
changed even his dress style, he has no
fancy for flashy cars. Distinctly handson,
Raj Singh is at his desk, day or
night, whenever business demands."Timely service is not easy", he explains,
even as answering into his mobile – hisonly personal concession to modernity.
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