Blue Dart Express Ltd

History of Blue Dart Express Ltd

Blue Dart Express Limited is South Asia's leading integrated air express carrier and premium logistics-services provider. It offers secured and reliable delivery of consignments to over 56,400 locations in India. As a part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group, Company accesses the largest and most comprehensive express and logistics network worldwide through DHL, covering over 220 countries and territories and offers an entire spectrum of distribution services including air express, freight forwarding, supply chain solutions, customs clearance etc. Presently, Blue Dart operates with its fleet of 6 Boeing 757-200 freighter aircraft, two Boeing 737 aircraft (to be inducted soon), offering a payload of 500+ tonnes per night, a flotilla of 12,000+ vehicles, 2,284 facilities and 549 e-vehicles across 56,400+ locations in India. Started as a partnership firm in 1983 under the name Blue Dart Courier Service, the company was registered as a private limited company with the new name Blue Dart Express Pvt Ltd in 1990. The company was incorporated on April 05, 1991 and became a public limited company in 1994. The company is the global service participant of Federal Express International, US, with exclusive rights for pick-up and delivery services in India. Federal Express, which has an extensive service network in around220 countries, is recognized all over the world for its innovation in the air-express business. The famous hub-and-spoke system of distribution, which is widely follo ...wed by almost every airline in the world today, was pioneered by Federal Express. Under the agreement between Blue Dart and Federal Express, all international shipments of Blue Dart are distributed through the Federal Express system and Federal Express's inbound shipments to India are delivered through Blue Dart's network. The company launched IXF 2, a door-to-door service for heavy international cargo to the US. In the domestic sector, the company has a number of products which includes domestic priority for the movement of domestic documents and packages to 237 locations across the country - Dart Apex, a special multi-modal distribution service for medium and heavy shipments; and Dart Surface line, a door-to-door express surface product. Its range of products include Voice Dart, Power Dart, Dart Collect, Dart Apex, etc. Blue Dart has the largest private E-mail in India. It tracks all its domestic shipments through its tracking system COSMAT and is linked with COSMOS, the Federal Express satellite communication system for tracking international shipments. The company has started aircraft leasing business & leased to its wholly owned subsidiary Blue Dart Aviation. It has acquired on lease its third aircraft (Boeing737-200) for addition to its existing fleet of two Boeing Aircrafts. In Mar. 2001, in order to provide value-added service and maintain its market share, Blue Dart Express has launched a new web-tool MobileDart -the first wireless initiative developed and launched by a domestic express company. The company has signed an agreement with French Express, a leading courier in South India. The agreement covers the domestic priority and APEX (AirPackages Express) services of the company. With this the company has added over 1000 locations to its existing network in the southern region. Further it also signed an agreement with Crown Couriers, a leading courier company in North India. With this, the company has added an additional 74 locations to its existing network in North India. During the year 2001, the Company upgraded India's first interactive logistics and e-Business Solutions site, www.bluedart.com. The website gives customers, complete and valuable information on the Company's operations, products, services and provides contact and communication capabilities for all its 13,880 locations serviced. During 2002-03, the company has been re-certified as one amongst a handful of Indian companies to the new global ISO 9001-2000 standards for 'Design, management and operations of countrywide express transportation and distribution services within the Indian sub-continent and to international destinations serviced through multinational express companies'. DHL Express (Singapore) Pte Ltd has acquired 81.03% equity stake of the company during 2004-05. Further the company has added the fifth aircraft to carry over 42 million domestic and 500000 international shipments together weighting over 110000 tonnes across its network. Further the company has divested 60% of the equity capital of Blue Dart Aviation Ltd in favour of Mr. Tushar Jani and Mr. Khushroo Dubash in the ratio of 30% each respectively during 2004-05. Consequent to this divestment Blue Dart Aviation Ltd ceased to be a subsidiary of the company with effect from March 11 2005. Skyline Air Logistics Ltd and Concorde Air Logistics Ltd became subsidiaries of the company with effect from May 7 2004. During the nine months period from April 2005 to December 2005, the company successfully added new facilities by setting up regional headquarters for its North Region at Delhi and also expanded state-of-the-art facilities of about 91,000 Sq Ft at Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Jaipur . 30 operations and service centres were also set up in Delhi, UP, Rajasthan, Punjab and Chandigarh in the North, Gujarat, Maharashtra and MP in the west and Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the South for increased capacity requirements. In 2005, DHL Express (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. completed the acquisition of 81.03% of the equity capital of Blue Dart Express Limited. In 2006, Blue Dart launched its unique SMS based Mobile Tracking Service. On 1 June 2006, Blue Dart introduced the first Boeing 757 freighter in the Indian skies with 2 of these aircraft connecting the 5 major metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata. A second flight launched from Hyderabad and Ahmedabad is the 7th airport connected to Blue Dart's network. During the year, the company divested 60,000 Equity Shares constituting 100% of Equity Capital of Skyline Air Logistics Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company for a total consideration of Rs.4.42 million. Consequently, Skyline Air Logistics ceased to be a subsidiary of the company with effect from August 10, 2006. In 2007, Blue Dart launched its fortified Ground Express Service - Dart Surfaceline with time bound deliveries and features like DOD (Demand Draft on Delivery), FOD (Freight on Delivery) and FOV (Freight on Value) - Insurance Arrangement. During the year, Blue Dart added 3rd Boeing B757 freighter to its fleet. In 2008, the first integrated Blue Dart-DHL facility was launched in Bangalore. During the year, Blue Dart added 4th Boeing B757 freighter to its fleet. In 2010, the company was certified to the ISO 9001-2008 standards. In 2011, Blue Dart launched Smart Truck technology designed to provide solutions to urban logistic challenges such as traffic restrictions, density and clogging, while ensuring environmental protection and fulfilling customer needs for on-time delivery. Blue Dart also launched GOGREEN Carbon Neutral Service which allows customers to neutralize their carbon footprint by paying a marginal offset charge over and above their shipping rates. Carbon emissions from customer shipments are offset by reinvesting in environmental protection projects verified by SGS (Societe Generale de Surveillance), a United Nations independent auditor. In 2012, Blue Dart added 5th B757-200 freighter to its fleet. During the year, DHL reduced its stake in Blue Dart Express to 75% in order to company with statutory requirements. In 2015, the company launched its 1st eFulfillment Centre in Delhi-NCR. During the year, the company acquired additional 21% stake in Blue Dart Aviation. In 2016, the company acquired its 6th Boeing 757-200 freighter. On 15 April 2016, Blue Dart Express announced that the company's Board of Directors has accorded its approval to enhance company's stake into Blue Dart Aviation from present 74% to 100%. Later, on 24 November 2016, Blue Dart Express completed the acquisition of the entire remaining 26% stake in Blue Dart Aviation, thereby making it a wholly owned subsidiary. In August 2017, Blue Dart launched Blue Dart Rakhi Express, a unique, customized service for secure and timely delivery of Rakhis. On 30 October 2017, Blue Dart Express launched electric vehicles in Gurugram, another step towards operating its last mile e-tail delivery service with clean pick-up and delivery solutions. The electric vehicles are being piloted in Gurugram and will be subsequently inducted across Blue Dart country. During the year 2018, the Company received repayment of Loan from its wholly owned subsidiary company, only cargo airline, Blue Dart Aviation Limited (BDAL) of Rs 2441 Lakhs. The Company paid Rs 8,735 Lakhs as Inter-Corporate Deposit to BDAL and the same was fully repaid as on March 31, 2018. During the year 2018, Blue Dart Aviation Limited (BDAL) uplifted 91,471 tones on its network and also handled 38 charters. This was possible with an unprecedented additional 170- day flights in addition to the scheduled night operations to handle additional loads within limited resources and it significantly contributed to company's performance. During the year ended 31 March 2018, Blue Dart handled over 1,958.86 lac domestic shipments, 9.15 lac international shipments and over 696,961 tonnes of documents and parcels across the nation and 220 countries worldwide. During the year 2019, the Company received repayment of Loan from its wholly owned subsidiary company, Blue Dart Aviation Limited (BDAL) of Rs 1903 Lakhs. The Company paid Rs 17,782 Lakhs as Inter-Corporate Deposit to BDAL and the same was fully repaid as on March 31, 2019. During the year 2019, Blue Dart Aviation Limited (BDAL) expanded its footprint across airports in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, relocating to new, state of the art, dedicated facilities constructed at these airports. These long-term, purpose-built facilities are unique to Blue Dart's operations and help to establish much needed, critical infrastructure to secure its operations and ensure sustainability over the long term to meet growing demand, productivity and service quality enhancement. This subsidiary company handled 52 charters and uplifted 88,132 tonnes on its network. The 'As One' Project initiated during the last quarter of 2017 at Hyderabad station was extended to the Kolkata and Bangalore stations. Under the said project, the city side and airside operations of both companies and Blue Dart Aviation Limited were integrated under a single authority and worked in tandem as a single force 'As One'. During the year, the Company successfully redeemed Series II Debentures amounting to Rs 9,491 Lakhs in November 2018. During the year 2019, Company carried over 2,332.71 lakhs domestic shipments and over 9.16 lakhs international shipments both weighing more than 754,981 tonnes. In FY'19, Company added two new AIR HUBs at Chennai and Mumbai Airport in 2019 to further strengthen the Air Express service and build operational excellence and efficiency and became a part of the newly restructured DHL eCommerce Solutions division. During the year 2020, Company has carried out four major checks and completed an engine shop visit (ESV). ESV costs were controlled by procuring life limited parts (LLPs) and other components from the open market. A few hundred LLPs were shortlisted for procurement from hundreds of parts identified by the purchase team and reviewed by technical services, which helped to control the ESV cost. During the year 2020, Company carried over 2,403.98 lakhs domestic shipments and over 8.44 lakhs international shipments both weighing more than 769,490 tonnes. In FY2020-21, Every Blue Dart team member played their role as an essential service provider to perfection, displaying the organization's core values of 'Passion, Can Do, Right 1st Time and As One' at every single juncture. As the nationwide lockdown continued, Blue Dart frontliners were on the field every day. Blue Dart pilots operated the six Boeing 757- 200 freighters through the lockdown - across the nation as well as across borders - ensuring essential and non-essential supply chain continuity. It continued to offer unwavering support and was honored to be a part of the Indian Government's Lifeline Udan' initiative to ensure uninterrupted supply chain continuity of medical equipment ventilators & PPE, testing kits, reagents, enzymes, respirators, surgical masks and gloves among other vital supplies. The organization worked closely with the Government of India and several other institutions, to ensure door pick-up and door deliveries across major Indian and International cities. It operated close to 1,108 flight cycles, uplifting thousands of tonnes nationally and internationally, carrying urgent medical supplies and COVID-19 related relief material from Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dhaka, Yangon and Hanoi during pandemic. During the year 2021, Company carried over 1,853.16 lakhs domestic shipments and over 7.52 lakhs international shipments both weighing more than 718,548 tonnes. During FY'22, the Company launched the Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium as a part of the Medicine from the Sky' project, initiated by the Government of Telangana, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, World Economic Forum & Niti Aayog. It carried over 2,632.48 Lakhs domestic shipments and over 8.62 Lakhs international shipments weighing more than 932,690 tonnes. It remained focused on continuing to fulfill its role as the nation's trade facilitator. It began the year supporting the nation in the vaccination drive by ramping up its Temperature Controlled Logistics (TCL) solutions. Given the industry limitation to provide efficient last mile delivery of mission critical medical and pharmaceutical equipments, the Company leveraged its capabilities - its fleet of Boeing 757 aircraft, ground network that enables to reach over 35,000 locations across the country and its team of industry experts, to bridge the gap in the supply chain. The Company, along with its partners, supported the Government of Telangana, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, World Economic Forum, Niti Aayog and Healthnet Global in the Medicine from the Sky' initiative. Under this initiative, it leveraged the use of drone flights through the Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium, to enable pick-ups and deliveries of mission critical shipments in the remotest areas of the nation. Through 2021, Blue Dart teams worked 24x7 in ensuring supply chain continuity despite arduous circumstances. During the year 2023, the Company acquired two Boeing 737-800 freighters to increase its network penetration. In addition to 74 international charters, the Company operated 343 additional flights and 2481 hours, supplementing the scheduled night operations with more than a fight daily on average, to meet the increased capacity demand. It launched the Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium, in their effort to offer healthcare services across the nation. It launched the Rakhi Express, Diwali Express, Merry Express, and Ugadi Express; launched Smart Box Lite, a special packaging for laptop delivery, and Digital Prepaid Solution, an additional service to manage their booking with real-time visibility of payments and balance along with a view of the summary and ledger. Blue Dart launched the Blue Dart Med-Express Consortium under the Medicine from the Sky' initiative, supporting the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of Telangana, World Economic Forum and Niti Aayog in their effort to offer healthcare services to every individual across the nation in FY 2024. Company has commenced the commercial operation of two Boeing 737-800 freighters in FY24. It has established a new station at Guwahati and commenced flights with effect from January 29, 2024, connecting the north-east to the rest of India. Company has handled 34 charters and uplifted 1,02,988 tonnes of cargo on its network during the period 2024. In FY 2025, Company launched India's largest integrated low-emission integrated facility in Bijwasan, Delhi. It handled over 3,766.92 Lakhs domestic shipments and more than 5.72 Lakhs international shipments weighing more than 13,39,800 tonnes during the financial year ended 31 March 2025. The Company through a major development, launched charter services from Delhi and Bengaluru to key international destinations such as Bahrain, China and Vietnam.