It’s no surprise Chenna Kuppyreddy acquired a taste for small business; from a young age he was helping out in his father’s mango export business. It was a move overseas for a better family life, and the Pack & Send business model, which enabled him to fulfil his long-held dream to be his own boss.

“I grew up in India; my father didn’t get a chance to study, and he encouraged my brother and me to study first, then go off and explore,” Chenna explains.

So when he completed his mechanical engineering degree Chenna worked as a project manager in the oil and gas sector, travelling the world, from Australia to Saudi Arabia.

“I always said to my father, I want to start my business, and he would say ‘This is not the time – you have to wait for the right time,’” Chenna says.

Pack & Send is a perfect match for Chenna’s small business skills

He waited 15 years to fulfil his dream and took the first steps towards being his own boss when he migrated to Australia.

With his entrepreneurial spirit Chenna experimented with a few business concepts, including hospitality, before discovering something much more suited to his talents. He knew immediately Pack & Send was a business where he could leverage his professional skills and experience.

“I could see this was a good brand and a place I could coordinate everything I have learned in project management. The questions I asked my previous clients serve me well with Pack & Send customers,” he said.

Project management skills a good match

“I’d ask, ‘What is the plan, tell me about the projects, is it a billing or a client issue?’ to clients. Our job is to ask the right questions, and provide the right solutions,” Chenna explains.

“Logistics is like an ocean, we are learning all the time, there are always new challenges,” he says.

Chenna was fired up to bring his dream to fruition, and keen to give himself the best start as his own boss. So in 2019 he worked with a Pack & Send centre for 10 days to get hands on experience as added preparation before opening a brand-new site at Newtown in Sydney.

Growing the business

The business was so successful, within just six months he was searching for more storage space. Chenna purchased a warehouse facility in Marrickville that had great parking spaces and filled it with racking for storage.

In 2021 he added a retail area at the front of the building and the Marrickville site became his second centre.

He says the investment in extra resources was appreciated by customers, who could see his commitment to deliver first-class service.

Now Chenna is poised to sign up to a third site, in the city.

“I need more space! I’ve already added an extra warehouse and extra racking. This is already full,” Chenna reveals.

The dynamic ecommerce sector has contributed significantly to the need for more space. Chenna holds products for ecommerce customers, and then sends them to customers as and when required.

The other key contributor to revenue is seasonal business. “We have a couple of customers who provide us with their business from June to October every year. There will be a few containers full of contents they need distributed over three weeks,” he explains.

Excellent customer feedback

“We are a logistics solution – we’ll try to help, to save customers time and effort. Pack & Send has such an extensive network so it can deliver anywhere. It is important to be always flexible,” he says.

Chenna reports his business is highly-rated on Google reviews and receives excellent feedback from customers.

It took him time to build up the robust network of clients he now has, he points out. In addition to standard marketing, he was out in the community putting a face to the Pack & Send name.

Relationship building

“For three years, with my strong customer base, my focus is ensuring existing customers are doing well,” he says. “Are there any opportunities I am missing? Is there any import or export I could be helping with?”

Chenna takes the time to meet with clients three or four times a year, as part of his relationship-building and account management.

Ever the project manager, he uses the meetings to create projections for how he can help clients’ businesses over the next six and 12 months.

“I like to know what’s coming,” he says. “I am always thinking about how I can keep my team busy.”

Streamlined processes

Chenna’s team works across both centres in a streamlined, simple system based on centralised documentation.

Chenna applied his project management talents so the team can save time and stay focused. He discusses developments with the team and Pack & Send and sharing key information in quick cheat sheets. He set up his own set of documents so everyone could see easily what’s important to them.

“My team knows what they are doing,” he says.

And with a confident, reliable team operating the business Chenna can focus on business development.

He has been savvy about his location choices, always looking for areas with plenty of potential to provide logistics services to other local businesses.

Chenna continues to apply his skills to his Pack & Send business. He is onboarding two new team members and is ready to launch another brand-new centre.

“I am always looking ahead, I don’t want to limit myself,” he says.