CEO Insights Magazine

Many individuals desire to build their own company and be their own boss, but becoming a successful entrepreneur needs far more than just a strong desire. To be an entrepreneur, however, one must be proactive and action-oriented, as well as possess all of the characteristics such as experimentation, flexibility, team building, risk tolerance, and many more. Many people may find it challenging to strengthen leadership abilities and market understanding after starting a new venture, and that is why past industry experience is a critical aspect of entrepreneurship. Following the same, Sanjay Kumar Chatterjee, the Founder & CEO of SNOWMAX Logistics established his logistics startup with vast experience in the industry and a proven track record of working in Senior Management positions in various Indian and Multinational Companies in the Logistics and Supply Chain arena with an overall experience of 26 years.

In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights, Sanjay described his company's inception and how he leveraged past industry experience to propel it to the next level.

How would you define your career path so far, and how do you implement what you've learned in your present endeavors?
I now have 26 years of professional experience, 19 of which are in the Logistics and Supply Chain industry. Throughout this time frame, I had the opportunity to work in four logistics startups and get experience working directly with many areas such as Business Development, Operations, Commercial, Finance, and Legal, since my primary job KPI was to manage the whole Order-to-Cash Cycle.

Hence, when I chose to start my own firm in Logistics & Supply chain, my extensive logistics expertise aided me much in developing and implementing a viable business strategy for Cold Chain Logistics. I selected the best and most experienced individuals with a track record from my past organizations.

With all the combined efforts in 2021, we successfully launched SNOWMAX in all major Indian cities at the same time, including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi/NCR, Punjab, and Kolkata.

Define Snowmax Logistics’ position in the industry and how does it create differences among its peers? What kind of technologies are implemented in the company’s logistic operations?
With our team of professionals, each with more than ten to fifteen years of expertise in the Logistics and Supply Chain industry, we established SNOWMAX in February of 2021.

Our forte is in cold chain logistics, and we are among the few cold chain service providers with a PAN-India presence. At SNOWMAX, we offer an Innovative Cold Chain Transportation Service, supported by Cutting-Edge Technology, and a wide fleet of 60+ refrigerated vehicles outfitted with Advanced Climate Control Systems to ensure that all perishable products are delivered to Retailers and end Customers in a Fresh, Healthy, and Potent state. Furthermore, we are more than a refrigerated transport service provider, SNOWMAX is also an expert in providing temperature controlled logistics solutions from depots across India.

Our team members are the driving force behind SNOWMAXs success, and they are our main strength in building a pan-India presence, complemented by a Network of fleet management houses at all delivery points. And, with a Never Say No attitude, our workforce focuses on meeting all needs our customers have for delivering their valued items in the Cold Segment. SNOWMAX is well-equipped to meet any transportation requirement, whether it is from the pier to pier, port to house, or warehouse to shelf.

Describe your proudest accomplishments in your professional journey. What keeps you motivated?
Establishing SNOWMAX Logistics with my partner Chethan Rao, COO of this company is the proudest accomplishment for me in my professional journey so far. When we launched this company, the Covid-outbreak was at its peak. Given the conditions, we started

with small seed capital, and eventually built this company ahead and spread it across India with the strong backing of our team.

We now have more than 20 clients and over 60 cold chain vehicles working diligently for our customers, including both primary and secondary distribution. ITC, Britannia, Freshlicious (Fresh to Home), Godrej Tyson, Suguna Chicken, ID Fresh Food, Licious, Coffee Day, Nandu's Chicken, and Milklane are among our notable clients.

I am always optimistic and driven in my life since I prefer finding answers to challenges rather than debating or worrying about them. When we think positively, we obtain favorable results!

What is the vision you look forward to accomplishing in the road ahead? What is the roadmap that you have planned for Snowmax Logistics?
Within a year, we were able to generate more than 7cr in revenue and reach profitability within the first six months. As we intended to build our Cold Storage facility in FY22-23, we anticipate a more than 150 percent increase in Topline over the previous year. Our goal for FY23-24 is to increase revenue by about 175 percent over FY22-23.

While there are great development prospects in Cold Chain Logistics, and this market is increasing at a rate of 15 percent to 20 percent per year, we are very careful about who we collaborate with and only work with reliable clients based on my previous expertise in this sector to reduce our risk. We aren't only interested in growing our top line; also, would like to expand profitably. As we aspire to become their chosen and most trusted Service Partner, we are also focused on providing the greatest services to our clients.

Sanjay Kumar Chatterjee, Founder & CEO, SNOWMAX Logistics
Sanjay completed his BSc(Hons)in Mathematics in 1991. After graduating, he received a qualification in systems management from NIIT and began his career as a Senior Executive Credit & Sales Order Control at Xerox India(formerly Modi Xerox). Sanjay has held a variety of leadership positions throughout his 26 years of professional experience, including Mahindra Logistic, Leeway Logistics, Trucks App, and Coffee Day Group (SICAL Logistics).