ThinkLink - Providing Supply Chain services across services and verticals

With the ever growing need to decrease the time to market for products and cutting down on waste generation, supply chain management has gained a lot of importance in the recent decade. Not only does the product need to be of good quality but alongside, the supply chain behind the product needs to be robust and flexible. ThinkLink came into existence 5 years ago and has managed to gain accolades in this short span. Saurabh Goyal, a mechanical engineer from IIT Delhi started this firm along with his wife after having worked in logistics with DHL for a few years. Yourstory caught up with Saurabh to know more about the firm.Tell us about ThinkLink in brief.

ThinkLink is a niche services firm with a focus on the fast growing Supply Chain, Logistics, and Transport space. Within this space we offer clients services around developing efficient material storage and flow solutions. This could be the right network to take product to market, the most optimal transport solutions, or the best way to store and move material inside a facility leading up to the design of the facility itself. We like to partner clients on difficult projects and bring to use world class tools, efficient processes and automation solutions.

How was ThinkLink funded? Are you seeking funding at this stage?

I funded ThinkLink through my savings from job. The business has been growing using internal accruals. Our philosophy at ThinkLink is to build sustainable self standing businesses. Currently we are speaking to VCs to raise money for expanding our offering in the Certification and Vocational Education space linked to our sector. There is a big need for trained professionals in this sector and we are keen to support industry in meeting this challenge.

What are the different areas you foray into?

Our focus in on material flow, it could be helping set up supply chain networks, designing and supporting management of efficient transport solutions, helping design, configure, build, and equip warehouses, plants, and distribution centers. Cold Chains are an area of interest for us; we have good expertise in this area. Automation in complex warehouses is another area where we are building capability, here we partner with Muratec, a world leader in this space. And now we are starting ThinkLink Learning, this will be dedicated to talent development, certification, vocational education, and staffing services within the Supply Chain, Logistics, and Transport sector.

Who are your competitors and what is your market differentiator?

This is a nascent market, and there is lot of growth possible for everyone before we can speak about competition. Also, we have a very solution oriented mindset and we travel new paths with our customers every day, we decide to work with customers we trust and then we will go any distance with them. This in itself is a big differentiator.

What are the challenges you face?

In young businesses cash flow is a challenge, it can hinder scale-up plans, and the biggest challenge however is attracting and retaining the best talent. I am very clear that if we can continue to attract and retain the best, the brightest, and the most committed, we will be a successful business.

Tell us something about your affiliations.

We work with a number of partners nationally and internationally. In India we work with the Agriculture Finance Corporation. Internationally we are accredited by the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (CILT), we are a partner for Muratec, a world leader in Material Handling automation, and we work with Infor on Supply Chain optimization, they are one of the largest enterprise software companies in the world.

What are your expansion plans? Where do you see ThinkLink in 5 years from now?

We will expand in transport management services, in cold chain buildouts, in material handling automation. Our ThinkLink Learning business will be the flag bearer for the talent development in our sector. I see ThinLink becoming a respected business, the best Supply Chain Talent in the country will want to work with us; this is our goal.

We wish Saurabh and the team at ThinkLink all the very best and to know more about them, click here.