Mr Pawan Jain
Chairman and MD
Safexpress Pvt. Ltd


In an interview with Latika Sakhuja, Mr Jain elaborates on the distribution process of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Latika Sakhuja: Keeping in mind that the distribution process of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was to be a well guarded secret, what were the biggest challenges that you faced in warehousing and distributing the book?
Pawan Jain: The logistical feat in this case was to deliver Harry Potter books simultaneously across the nation to hundreds of outlets in approximately 50 cities. Over and above this, we also needed to ensure that this was completely in line with the worldwide launch of the book. We had to make sure that the books were delivered right on time and there was absolutely no scope for error, we could not afford to go wrong. For this purpose, Safexpress had to go more than an extra mile with the logistic planning and also had to ensure safety standards that have never been seen before in India to launch a book.

LS: What were the measures that were taken by the company to ensure that there were no leakages, especially since the book had to be distributed across the country?
PJ: The geographical area across which the books had to be sent spanned more or less the whole of the country. And to ensure that there were no leakages, the books were kept under 24 hour surveillance of guards. Alongside this, the warehouses where the books were stored were under constant monitoring of close circuit television cameras.
The elaborate security arrangements required that no one was allowed to enter the premises, where the books were stored, with anything and leave with anything. Essentially, no electronic equipment like cameras, mobile phones, and other equipment was allowed inside the premises. Even within the company, only the core team working on the project knew the storage locations and other details pertaining to the distribution of the books. Each of these measures were equally important in ensuring that there was absolutely no scope of a leakage.

LS: Could you please elaborate on the entire flow of events from the time that the assignment was taken up? What were the precautions that were taken to ensure that the books reached all retailers across the country at the same time, in conjunction with the worldwide launch?
PJ: Safexpress deployed a special project team and deputed more than 100 vehicles to undertake simultaneous delivery of the book across the nation. Keeping in mind delays on account of flood hit areas the company made special arrangements to ensure timely delivery.
The first set of the books arrived in Mumbai on the 7th of July 2005. All receipts were stored in Mumbai initially to prepare them for transit worthy packing, and so on. Once this was taken care off, the books were shipped and then stored at various parts of the country, nearer to the destination, to avoid any last minute problems especially since the weather at this time was also quite unpredictable.
Deliveries to large distributors were carried out one night before the worldwide launch date. These were then readied to make them shipment ready for release the next morning at bookstores across the country. The big bookstores were to receive books directly from Safexpress on the day that they were to be launched, in the morning at 4.30 AM (time in line with UK 12.00 AM) - that was the designated worldwide release time. Intensive planning was required to ensure that there were no delays whatsoever, it was imperative to ensure that the books reached all the bookstores at the same time.

LS: According to reports more than 1,30,000 copies of the book have been distributed through out the country in the first phase, what were the efforts that were required at the back end to ensure this?
PJ: That is a fact, more than 1,30,000 copies of the books were distributed throughout the country in the first phase. We had to deploy a special project team as we required more manpower. A large number of vehicles were also deputed to deliver the book in more than 50 cities across the country simultaneously.

LS: Could you also elaborate on the logistics planning that was done to ensure an effective supply chain?
PJ: This year the number of Harry Potter books that had to be distributed in the first phase were double the number that was distributed last time. Undoubtedly, the number of dealers or distributors was more and of course security concerns were rampant given the leak reported in Canada.
Considering that many parts of the country were flood affected, it was a problem reaching some cities. Special measures for these were taken so as to ensure that the book reached the destination as required.
Keeping in mind weather conditions, it was crucial to time the dispatch and travel of various lots of books. Also, we needed to ensure that everything was planned out well in detail to ensure that there were no problems at the last minute. This was possible only after a lot of elaborate planning and consistent efforts to ensure perfection at every stage.