1. In the 1980s, India’s exports had doubled to 12.74 billion dollars, contributing 5.74% of our GDP. However, India did not have a solution for small industries that wanted to send small packages. 30-year-old Tushar Jani aimed at solving this problem for India.
2. With two friends and 30,000 Rs in Hand, he set up a company in a 200 sq ft facility under a staircase. In 1983, Blue Dart was born. 🚀
3. The idea was simple ⏩ Help small packages for fast delivery through air. Tushar partnered with the UK’s Gelco Express and launched India’s first international air package express service. As a result, Blue Dart’s deliveries started happening as early as 10:30 AM, which was unimaginable. 🤯
4. Overnight success started coming to Tushar, but he knew the problem was still unsolved. Delivery was not the biggest challenge after all, but tracking was. So, he developed Cosmat – A tracking software with real-time and online traceability of all packages. The logistics industry was finally waking up. ⏰
5. By 1994, another historic moment came as BlueDart went public and raised 38.25 CR from the stock markets. Its IPO was oversubscribed by 14 times. And, then Tushar turned towards the local delivery market. A revolution was happening in the Indian logistics industry. 🇮🇳
6. In 1995, Blue Dart acquired 2 Boeing 737-200 freighters and became the first non-government company to fly cargo aircraft in India. It expanded offices in Kolkata and launched India’s first jet express airline with space monitoring software. In November 1995, It touched revenues of 100 CR. 💸
7. With its own airlines, Blue Dart started serving over 1000 locations in India. Tushar created a state-of-the-art superhub in Mumbai near the airport to maximise load efficiency. By 2001, he added the 3rd aircraft in the Bangalore – Delhi sector and touched revenues of 287 CR. Then, he did something which changed the face of the company forever.
8. In 2002, Blue Dart ended its decade-long contract with Federal Express and signed with the World’s No. 1 Air Express Company – DHL. With this, Blue Dart added two more aircraft and crossed 100,000 shipments per day. It became India’s largest company, and the historic moment came. 👇
9. On 4th November 2004, DHL acquired Blue Dart for 730 CR. The World’s number 1 acquired India’s No 1, and the competitors were shocked but proud of what Tushar Jani had done. 🙌
10. Tushar continued to be on the Board and took DHL-Blue Dart to another level. 📉
➡️ In 2023, Blue Dart crossed 5000 CR in revenue and delivered consignments to 56,400 locations in India and 220 countries and territories. With over 60 hubs, six aircraft and 12,000 delivery vehicles, it continues its dominance in the Industry 40 years later. 💪
Story of Tushar Jani – The Man who built India’s largest logistics company under the Staircase. 🇮🇳