In Pakistan, TCS has become a synonym for courier services. The company has the country's largest logistics services infrastructure. Its seven companies provide services based on courier, warehousing & distribution, trucking, air and sea freight and e-commerce.
Belonging to the second generation of the Awan family that owns TCS and its allied companies, Qasim Awan's love for technology has been critical in his career development.
The concept for Yayvo (formerly TCS Connect), the e-commerce store he co-founded in 2012, came to him after he swapped living in Dubai for corporate life in Karachi where he is a Director at TCS Express & Logistics.
"I just knew online shopping was about to take off," the 34-year old says. Soon after, his interests expanded because, rather than working in one online shop, he focused on becoming a service provider for all online shops in Pakistan. Hence he founded Ecom Solutions, the e-commerce delivery arm of TCS and headed it in its initial stages.
The challenges for him of leading this young subsidiary were immense because, as a courier company, TCS had always delivered parcels. TCS had to develop cash management expertise for the first time. In developing markets like Pakistan, online shoppers forego credit card transactions in favour of the cash-on-delivery method, whereby buyers pay for goods when they are delivered.
Dressed in a purple shirt and grey suit, Qasim Awan is visibly excited about the performance and future prospects of TCS Ecom Solutions and is focused on his task ahead. Daraz and Khaddi are prominent clients of the cash-on-delivery service provider. Parcels are picked up from client premises daily for delivery all across Pakistan, making TCS a vital cog in the e-commerce juggernaut across the country.
Despite being a member of the board, he himself takes out time from his busy schedule to deliver parcels at customers premises to acquire hands-on experience in order to remain abreast of practical challenges. "We are aiming to achieve 90percent market share in e-commerce deliveries up from our current levels of 65 percent," he says.
Nearly 3 years after its launch, TCS Ecom Solutions is experiencing hyper growth and serves as a pillar of the e-commerce ecosystem in the country, with services such as door-to-door deliveries, cash management, warehousing and returns logistics through TCS Express Centers. With more than 4000 online shops as registered clients, it had an estimated 76percent market share of e-commerce deliveries during the Big Friday campaign in late November 2017, up from 55percent last year. It delivered fashion, footwear, and electronics to discount-hungry online shoppers across 2500 cities over a 3-week period spanning late November to early December.
Its clients vary between fashion houses, multi-brand megastores and TV infomercial companies who rely on its courier force that delivers to all corners of the country. Yayvo (formerly TCS Connect) is one of these thousands of clients but it is an internal client. Client confidentiality is important and an internal Chinese wall at TCS ensures Yayvo does not gain access to data from external clients.
There are a number of leadership questions that play on Awan's mind as he anticipates moves to protect not only TCS Ecom Solutions but also the core business of Express Deliveries. "We had a dialogue some time back where we concluded that rather than a logistics company that does tech, we are a tech company first and a logistics company after that. Investing in technology is hence vital for a growing market share and enhancing efficiencies. We were also the first company in Pakistan to hire a Chief Disruption Officer who has been tasked with research into artificial intelligence, cashless systems and preventing digital threats before they become a reality."
"People are the most important aspect of our company because it is unreasonable to assume that we can do everything alone," said Awan who is a believer in reliance on professional management to run the company. "In my management role at Ecom Solutions, for example, an experienced executive was hired as full-time business head in 2016 to handle day to day responsibilities and his performance has been a source of comfort for us. In my ownership role, I work with a tremendous group of people on a ongoing basis at the Holdings level, such as the Chairman, CEO and Board Members," he added.
As the Awans ponder their next move, it is an approach worth pondering. Most successful family-owned firms often make necessary short-term decisions while keeping their focus decades into the future.
Qasim Awan