What the service promises before the invoice is raised

I lead finance at Taranvelli Cold Chain, a family-promoted private company based in Pune. We operate eight food-storage hubs and 128 owned refrigerated trucks across western and southern India. Revenue for the year ended March 2026 was ₹286 crore, and the company employs about 1,000 people. I manage 35 finance colleagues through four functional managers. My remit covers reporting, treasury, planning and the financial evaluation of contracts and investments. Temperature requirements, product release and transport safety remain with the qualified operating teams.

I started in transport billing in June 1995, after completing a commerce degree. A trip could be finished while the papers needed to bill it were still incomplete. Later, fleet costing showed me a different problem: a truck could be fully occupied without covering its cost if the quote had assumed too many productive hours. My work has since expanded through regional finance, treasury and group control. I still begin a significant customer discussion by asking what the vehicle or storage chamber must actually do between one billable activity and the next.

Three recent decisions illustrate that approach. We revised a distribution contract after loading and unloading waits reduced achievable monthly kilometres. We staged a new storage hub around the capacity supported by initial commitments. We also kept a disputed cargo-loss claim separate from cash available to fund the business. In each case, finance needed operational evidence and a commercial decision. A revised model alone did not shorten a queue, fill a chamber or settle a claim. I try to preserve those limits when explaining the outcome to our directors.

Current focus

I am connecting each major customer's service assumptions with the next investment and renewal discussion, particularly the dwell periods and seasonal occupancy that can disappear inside an annual average.

Conversations I welcome

I am considering a first external board contribution in logistics or another asset-dependent service business, with twenty annual days initially available subject to employer consent and a detailed review of relationships and calendars.