Turning around
Crown Worldwide has re-invented itself inthe Indian market
The Hong Kong-headquartered Crown Worldwide Group, offer ing a range of specialised logis- tics services and solutions across people re-location, corporate mobil- ity, records management, workspace management and others, is ramping up its operations in the Indian market. Founded by James E. Thompson (the current chairman of the group), the $500-million privately-owned group, which originally started its journey in 1965 from Yokohama, Japan and subsequently moved to Hong Kong in 1978, has recently made big strides in India.
Though it entered India in 1996 and celebrated 25 years of presence in the country last year on 16 July, it was only during the last decade or so that the comparty was been able to position itself strongly in the market, grow ing at a CAGR of 20 per cent. Pursu ing new plans and strategies, Crown, over these years, has meticulously improved its solutions and integrated new-age technology and digitisation to address the ever-changing demands of the Indian market.
“As we celebrated our silver jubilee year of operations in India last year, we decided to expand the digital capabilities of our business offerings across verticals to meet the chang ing times and make it even sim- pler for individuals and corporates to live, work, and do business any where in the world. This, along with our series of initiatives taken in the last few years, will help us expand our operation further in the Indian market which is showing a good deal of trac- tion for specialised services and solu- tions,” says Srinivas Krishnan, regional managing director, South Asia, Crown Worldwide Group
While globally the company, which has a presence in 50 countries with 275 facilities, is known primarily for Mountains. its relocation and mobility-related solutions, in India Crown’s business is led by its records management busi ness where it manages secure storage and the retrieval of information in both physical and electronic format for corporates across multiple sectors. From being present in seven Indian cities in 2010, the company today is present in 13 cities where it has 21 offices/storage facilities for carrying collectors, out its record management services as also other services across its other verticals.
Crown owns assets in three facilities (two in Chennal and one in Mumbai). The company, which employes around 400 people, is also looking at markets like Benga luru and Gurugram where it wants to invest in building its own assets/ware- housing/storage facilities. Besides, it is also looking at expanding its network in Tier Il cities. Crown has carmarked around $20-40 million in ramping up its facilities and infrastructure (across verticals) in a market where it is com- peting with global players like Writer, ACS, Santa Fe relocation, Pickfords, Star Relocation Newgen and Iron Mountains.
Apart from records management and relocations/mobility solutions, Crown has also expanded its offering in India by venturing into newer areas In 2016, the company added a new vertical called Crown Fine Art where it provides specialist services for the planning, storage, installation and movement of fine art for museums, art galleries, auction houses and private collectors.
In 2019, another business was. launched under the brand Crown Workspace where it creates inspiring and productive working spaces. Under this business, it takes care of everything, from interior design and fitout, to relocation and storage, help- ing organisations to sustainably stay abrad of ever-evolving ways of work ing. In pursuit of further expanding and diversifying its offering, Crown in India is currently also evaluating the market for offering bespoke logistics services such as storing and managing wine collections. It is planning to set up a wine cellar in Bengaluru.
New plans and strategies
“Though we entered India over 25 years ago, we couldn’t make much dent in the market in the initial years of our journey. But in the last decade or so we have formulated new plans and strategies which have helped us in consolidating our position in the market. We are ramping up our capa bilities across verticals to leverage our Crown has earmarked around $20-40 million in ramping up its facilities offerings in this market which pres ents massive opportunities. Going for ward, we will continue to maintain this momentum,” says Krishnan.
Krishnan is known for his turn- around skills. He has been with the group since 1997. He joined Crown tion as Financial Controller in August 1997. He turned around the business in less than a year. Consulted on sev eral cost and control initiatives, he helped Indonesia win the award for top performer in the group in 2001. He was appointed as the Finance Direc- tor of the foreign subsidiary in 2004, In addition, he managed a feasibility study for an owned facility in Jakarta and facilitated a smooth changeover in management in 2007. Alongside, he played an active role in the integra- tion of Lavanchy into Crown’s fold in its Italian operation in 2000, assum ing the role of an Interim Financial Controller.
Till 2010, Krishnan worked as a consultant to the APAC CEO, leading internal audit assignments for Phil ippines, Vietnam, China, India, and Russia. He was a corporate trainer for strategy mapping in Indonesia, Malay- sia, Singapore, China, Vietnam, India, Thailand and advisor on various stra- tegic initiatives in several APAC offices and helped in the integration of new acquisitions in South Africa. In June 2010, he was promoted as Managing Director of Crown Worldwide Group’s India operation and in 2012 got designated as the Managing Director, South Asia, where he has overall responsibility for India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Led by Krishnan, Crown Worldwide Group’s India operation has also made a turnaround and has shown a good deal of traction in the last decade or so. Today, India, contributing over 6 per cent to global business, has emerged as one of the fastest growing markets for the group which is also emerging as a hub from where the group is execut ing its digital transition journey across other global markets.
The company’s flagship business (in India) offers secure archiving and retrieval of information in physical and electronic formats, digital imag ing, workflow automation, business process digitisation or automation solutions, media management and data destruction. The company has 12 facilities (warehouses/centres) in locations which apart from major cit- ies include Ludhiana, Bhubaneshwar, data risk,” explains Krishnan. Chandigarh, Indore and Coimbatore.
Apart from physical storage of records, Crown also help businesses in securing archiving and retrieval of information in electronic for- mat, helping the workforce to work remotely. Crown’s solutions allow companies to manage their workfor online-from trackers, to services document digitisation and stora 1 online repositories, giving diff departments instant access to the they need. Solutions like Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems and Document Management Systems (DMS) further help manage content, helping employees coordinate work- flows and boosting productivity.
“Crown Records Management is a significant force in corporate information management. With impressive facilities available in multi- ple locations, we manage secure stor- age and the retrieval of information in both physical and electronic formats and thus help clients maximise the value of their corporate memory. We help solve problems. Whether that’s rehousing priceless libraries, storing irreplaceable legal documents in cli mate-controlled conditions or reduc ing your organisation’s exposure to data risk,” explains Krishnan.
“With a presence in India for well over 25 years, we have been working with financial services, healthcare, legal, manufacturing and pharmaceu tical industries as well as many public sector organisations giving them the ‘power of memory,” adds he.
Crown’s records management ver tical has been offering its solutions to organisations like Indian Oil Cor paration, Electrotherm India, Hikal, Sify Technologies, Biostadt India and Karamtara Engineering.
In the case of Electrotherm India, Crown imple- mented an Electronic Document Man- agement System that helped the client achieve efficiency in its accounts pay able function, while in case of 10C, the objective of engaging Crown’s ser- vices was to digitise voluminous and unwieldy employee records. Simi- larly, in Sify, Crown helped to manage the ever-growing volume of docu- ments; Karamtara engaged Crown’s services to provide electronic docu- ment management solution across all their departments and locations; and Crown Records Management offered its extensive workflow solution to Biostadt.
“The key benefit of engaging Crown Records Management solutions is that all documents are available with one click. We can login in and get any document we want. We can also search documents in several ways and it is very easy to find them. There is also a workflow in place around invoice processing and it is so much easier to manage,” says Manish Mishra, senior manager, treasury & accounts pay- able of Carlsberg India which engaged Crown’s records management services.
Professional approach
Professional approach “Since we have engaged April 2022, we are receiving excellent, consistent and quality support from their team, especially for the file man- agement. Their approach is extremely professional and they have met all our demand in terms of time manage- ment, data support and so on,” states S Rajkumar of Tata Motors Finance Ltd.
Under Crown World Mobil- ity vertical, the company provides strategic assignment management, immigration and relocation services for multinationals and international organisations. Available in 53 coun- tries, the company’s experts help cli- ents better manage their international talent across the entire assignment life-cycle, helping them both enable and leverage a globally mobile workforce
“Crown World Mobility excels at complete mobility programmes of every size and complexity, in one country or many, for a few employ ees or large teams. Our solutions scale to provide domestic or international services, self-service options through the full range of program manage- ment services. Uniquely, we deliver the majority of services in-house, aug- mented by a carefully managed sup- plier network,” says Krishnan.
Crown’s relocations vertical provides a range of services and expert guidance to people relocating inter- nationally or domestically. It offers an array of services, covering every. Crown in thing from door-to-door transpor Krishnan. tation, secure storage, immigration, to settling in’ support; all co-ordi- nated by dedicated move managers determined to make every relocation a success.
The group has doubled down on its commitments to sustainable devel opment, with renewed investment across the group in more energy effi- cient technology and much more, underscoring its commitment to car- ing for both global and local envi- ronments. For the last five years, the group has been on a journey of discov- ery growing in diversity and inclusion. From launching its policy in 2016, to holding focus groups with its senior leaders in 2020. In 2021, it changed from D&I to ED&I as it felt equality was also essential if it was to sustain a fair and ethical workplace.
“Crown is committed to making a positive difference in every commu- nity where it lives and works. That’s why it oversees a wide-ranging CSR programme which support local and global charities, actively champions employee wellbeing and continually seeks to reduce its environmental foot- print. We are also proud of our diverse and inclusive culture. This provides all our employees with a sense of belong- ing which allows them to reach their full potential, supported by our com- mitment to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) since 2005,” says Krishnan.
Backed by its five verticals, Crown Worldwide is making its presence felt in the Indian market which, over the- years, has undergone a big change in favour of these specialised logistics. In the last few years, the company has ramped up its capabilities to explore the opportunities in the market where it is trying to differentiate itself from competition through increasing adop- tion of technology and digital solu- tions. With all these developments in place, Crown is well placed to com- mence its next growth phase in India.