Itochu will set up a joint venture with India's Parekh Group in November, with about 400 million yen ($5.2 million) in capital split equally between the two partners, the paper reported.
The service will be the first from a Japanese-affiliated logistics company to cover most of India and will handle everything from warehousing to delivery, the Nikkei said.
Parekh Group operates logistics services through a network of 230 distribution bases across 53 Indian cities. It reported sales of about 1.6 billion yen in 2009, the paper said.
The joint venture -- named I&P -- will combine the Indian firm's logistics network with Itochu's Japanese-style inventory management system, to offer fast service and slash delivery time by about five days, the Nikkei reported.
Some Japanese consumer electronics makers have had to deal with 15 or more logistics firms in India as most logistics companies in there operate only regionally, resulting in poor distribution efficiency, the business daily said.
The new venture will initially serve local operations of Japanese daily goods, consumer electronics and machinery parts manufacturers by using 15 of Parekh Group's distribution bases, the paper reported.
By offering faster service, Itochu hopes to generate annual sales of 5 billion yen after five years, the Nikkei business daily said. (Reuters)
