When surviving becomes thriving
EW reporter Catie Owen talks to Ravinder Sethi , R . E . Rogers India ’ s chairman and managing director , about how the logistics company reinvented itself in the wake of the pandemic
E . Rogers India , formed
R in 1986 , has over 35 years of providing specialised exhibitions logistics services both in India and abroad . Its range of clients has extended over the private and government sectors , exhibitors , and the centres themselves . But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and events ground to a halt , for logistics services like Rogers , securing steady revenue seemed somewhat hopeless .
Ravinder Sethi , Roger ’ s chairman and managing director , explained to Exhibition World that not only did the company keep its head above water – it developed alternative sources of revenue that are here to stay .
Catie Owen : When events stopped in 2020 , how did you secure alternative revenue streams ? Ravinder Sethi : Before the pandemic , 90 % of our revenue was through exhibitions , which then became 0 %. The aim then was how to get the last 10 % and make them revenue generators . What we did was make optimum use of our existing end-to-end supply chain resources , the forklifts , cranes , and all the carriers . We made optimum use of our custom licences .
We responded to the change in the service demand pattern of our new freight customers . This means that we went to our exhibition customers in capital goods , who we were only doing exhibition cargo for , and said : “ If you give us your other freight , we will provide you with solutions .” We were very flexible in that way .
CO : What were the biggest challenges to working with international businesses during the pandemic ? RS : One of the main challenges was that it was a new ballgame . Working from home was the norm , but customs never closed . Airports and ports never closed . Because of this , we had to change the mindset of our people . We did this through Zoom calls and training courses on how to approach customers and respond to their needs .
The other challenge was that we had to change the mindset of our partners and explain our new verticals to them . As the people we ’ d known previously had been made
Ravinder Sethi , R . E . Rogers India ’ s chairman and managing director
redundant , we had to convince the partners and explore with them the strength of the infrastructure we already had going into the change .
CO : How has the company changed since ? RS : Following the pandemic , there were two things which we wanted to achieve . First , we would remain market leaders in the reopening of the exhibition industry . Alongside this , we would come back in force . Not only did we not make a single person redundant , but we also did not give any salary cuts . Additionally , we have added more manpower to
40 Issue 5 2022 www . exhibitionworld . co . uk