Sohan Lal Commodity Management

Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM) is an Indian post-harvest agricultural logistics and commodity-management service provider. Its activities cover the handling, storage, assessment, financing support, and risk management of agricultural commodities, with operations in India and Myanmar. Rather than functioning primarily as a consumer-facing packaged-goods brand, SLCM operates as infrastructure and services partner for farmers, banks, commodity companies, processors, and other participants in agricultural supply chains. The company’s service model includes commodity warehousing, procurement support, collateral management, quality assessment, fumigation, agricultural appraisal, and risk management. These services are intended to preserve commodity value after harvest, improve traceability, reduce storage and handling risks, and make stored inventory more acceptable as collateral for working-capital finance. The company’s warehouse-receipt process became an important part of this model. In 2004, Sandeep Sabharwal began operating a warehouse in Delhi’s Lawrence Road area and introduced bar-coded warehouse receipts for farmers. The system was described as sufficiently reliable that banks could use SLCM receipts as a basis for considering agricultural loans and other financial assistance. SLCM has worked with large agricultural and commodity-sector companies, including the United States-based agribusiness company Cargill, for commodity storage. Its banking relationships have also been central to the business. In December 2017, the company collaborated with State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and IndusInd Bank on collateral-management activities. In November 2024, it partnered with Bank of Baroda on agricultural financing, extending the connection between warehouse operations and formal credit. The company has also attracted institutional investment. In March 2017, Switzerland-based ResponsAbility Investments AG and Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management invested US$20 million in SLCM. The investment supported the company’s development as an agricultural logistics and finance-enablement platform, although the available reference material does not establish its valuation, ownership percentages, or subsequent financing history. SLCM’s logistics network is described as encompassing approximately 16,646 warehouses and 303.64 million square feet of area, with a daily assets-under-management figure of 10,928.82 crore. The source material does not specify the date or reporting basis for these operating figures, so they should be treated as reported network statistics rather than a current independently verified measure. The company is also described as having more than 4,500 employees in India. Outside India, SLCM entered Myanmar and is described as the only Indian company in the agricultural logistics industry with overseas operations. Its Myanmar activities include a network of 316 industrial zones covering 9.22 million square feet, management of 1,443 agricultural and non-agricultural commodities, and throughput of 11.88 million metric tonnes. The dates and methodology behind these figures are not specified in the available material. SLCM’s financial-services activities are conducted through Kissandhan, an RBI-regulated non-banking financial company. The financial wing is associated with commodity-based finance, business-correspondent partnerships, invoice discounting, and related agricultural-finance products. This creates an integrated model in which physical storage, inventory documentation, collateral oversight, and financing are connected within one operating platform. The company received a FICCI award in 2022 from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, according to the reference material. No reliable information in the supplied sources establishes a founding year, formal headquarters, current chief executive, website, listing status, or present ownership structure.

Sohan Lal Commodity Management is an Indian agricultural logistics and commodity-services company whose activities center on the post-harvest phase of the farm supply chain. The company provides storage, commodity handling, procurement support, quality assessment, fumigation, agricultural appraisal, collateral management, and risk-management services. It also has a financial-services arm, Kissandhan, described as an RBI-regulated non-banking financial company involved in commodity-based finance, business-correspondent partnerships, and invoice discounting. The available account records Sandeep Sabharwal joining Sohan Lal in 1995 after completing an MBA at the Fore School of Management in Delhi. In 2004, he initiated a warehouse-based operation in Lawrence Road, Delhi, using a rented facility and introducing bar-coded warehouse receipts for farmers. These receipts were intended to provide a dependable record of stored commodities and support the use of inventory as collateral. The system’s reported acceptance by banks helped connect warehouse operations with formal agricultural finance. SLCM subsequently developed relationships with commodity-sector companies and financial institutions. Cargill, the US agricultural company, contracted the business for agricultural-commodity storage. In March 2017, ResponsAbility Investments AG of Switzerland and Incofin Investment Management of Belgium invested US$20 million in the company. The supplied material does not provide the investment’s ownership terms, valuation, or later capital structure. In December 2017, SLCM collaborated with State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and IndusInd Bank on collateral management. These relationships illustrate the company’s broader operating model: commodities remain in managed storage while documentation, quality controls, and oversight help banks assess the related collateral. In November 2024, SLCM partnered with Bank of Baroda for agricultural financing, continuing the company’s effort to combine physical commodity infrastructure with credit access. The company expanded beyond India into Myanmar. It is described as the only Indian agricultural-logistics company with overseas operations and as managing a Myanmar network of industrial zones and commodities. The available material reports 316 industrial zones covering 9.22 million square feet, 1,443 agricultural and non-agricultural commodities, and throughput of 11.88 million metric tonnes. It does not state the relevant measurement dates or provide enough detail to independently assess whether these are current figures. In India, the source describes a network of approximately 16,646 warehouses covering 303.64 million square feet, daily assets under management of 10,928.82 crore, and more than 4,500 employees. These statistics likewise lack a clear reporting date in the supplied reference. The business received a FICCI award in 2022 from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. The available sources do not establish the company’s founding date, current leadership roster, legal ownership, headquarters, website, or stock-market status.

• 2024

  Bank of Baroda agricultural-finance partnership

  [1]Sohan Lal Commodity Managementen.wikipedia.org

  SLCM partnered with Bank of Baroda for agricultural financing.

• 2022

  FICCI award

  [1]Sohan Lal Commodity Managementen.wikipedia.org

  The company was reported as receiving a FICCI award from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

• 2017

  Institutional investment

  [1]Sohan Lal Commodity Managementen.wikipedia.org

  ResponsAbility Investments AG and Incofin Investment Management invested US$20 million in SLCM.

• 2017

  Banking collaboration for collateral management

  [1]Sohan Lal Commodity Managementen.wikipedia.org

  SLCM collaborated with State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and IndusInd Bank on collateral-management services.

• 2004

  Bar-coded warehouse-receipt operation begins

  [1]Sohan Lal Commodity Managementen.wikipedia.org

  Sabharwal began operating a rented warehouse in Lawrence Road, Delhi, and introduced bar-coded warehouse receipts for farmers.

• 1995

  Sandeep Sabharwal joins Sohan Lal

  [1]Sohan Lal Commodity Managementen.wikipedia.org

  Sandeep Sabharwal joined Sohan Lal after completing an MBA at the Fore School of Management in Delhi.

An institutional agricultural supply-chain infrastructure and finance-enablement provider focused on connecting post-harvest logistics, warehouse documentation, collateral management, and agricultural credit.

• Post-harvest logistics

  Commodity warehousing

  SLCM provides storage and related handling services for agricultural and other commodities. The logistics operation includes warehouse management, fumigation, quality assessment, inventory oversight, and risk controls intended to protect commodity condition and value after harvest.

• Agricultural finance infrastructure · 2004

  Collateral management

  The company manages stored commodities and associated documentation for lenders and commodity businesses. Its bar-coded warehouse receipts provide an inventory record that can support the evaluation of agricultural commodities as loan collateral, subject to the requirements of the relevant financial institution.

• Agricultural supply-chain services

  Commodity procurement and agricultural appraisal

  SLCM’s agricultural-services portfolio includes procurement support, appraisal, quality assessment, and risk management. These functions help farmers, commodity companies, lenders, and allied stakeholders manage the movement and condition of commodities from the post-harvest stage through storage and financing.

• Agricultural finance

  Kissandhan

  Kissandhan is the financial wing associated with SLCM and is described as an RBI-regulated non-banking financial company. Its activities include commodity-based finance, business-correspondent partnerships, and invoice discounting, linking agricultural logistics and inventory management with financing services.

• 2024

  Partner with Bank of Baroda for agricultural financingStrategy

  Background

  SLCM continued to connect its commodity-management infrastructure with formal agricultural finance.

  Action taken

  The company partnered with Bank of Baroda on agricultural financing.

  Aftermath

  The partnership broadened the company’s reported bank relationships; specific lending volumes and commercial outcomes are not provided.

  Source

• 2017

  Accept institutional investmentM&A

  Background

  SLCM sought institutional capital for its agricultural logistics and commodity-management platform.

  Action taken

  ResponsAbility Investments AG and Incofin Investment Management invested US$20 million in the company.

  Aftermath

  The investment strengthened SLCM’s institutional financing base; the supplied sources do not disclose ownership percentages or later effects.

  Investment amount. US$20 million invested (March 2017)

  Source

• 2017

  Expand bank-linked collateral managementStrategy

  Background

  The company’s warehouse and inventory controls could support lenders’ oversight of agricultural commodities.

  Action taken

  SLCM collaborated with State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and IndusInd Bank on collateral management.

  Aftermath

  The collaboration reinforced SLCM’s role as an intermediary between physical commodity storage and agricultural lending.

  Source

• 2004

  Introduce bar-coded warehouse receiptsStrategy

  Background

  Farmers and lenders needed dependable records for commodities held in storage and for assessing stored inventory as potential collateral.

  Action taken

  SLCM began operating a warehouse in Lawrence Road, Delhi, and introduced bar-coded receipts for stored agricultural commodities.

  Aftermath

  The receipts were reported to have gained sufficient reliability for banks to consider them when farmers sought financial assistance.

  Source

• 2024

  SLCM partners with Bank of Baroda for agricultural financing[1]Sohan Lal Commodity Managementen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  SLCM entered a partnership with Bank of Baroda intended to support agricultural financing through its commodity-management and collateral infrastructure.

• 2022

  SLCM receives a FICCI award from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare[1]Sohan Lal Commodity Managementen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company was reported as a recipient of a FICCI award presented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

• 2017

  ResponsAbility and Incofin invest US$20 million in SLCM[1]Sohan Lal Commodity Managementen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Swiss investment firm ResponsAbility Investments AG and Belgian investment manager Incofin Investment Management invested US$20 million in Sohan Lal Commodity Management.

• 2017

  SLCM collaborates with major Indian banks on collateral management[1]Sohan Lal Commodity Managementen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  SLCM worked with State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and IndusInd Bank on collateral-management activities linked to agricultural commodities.

1. 1Sohan Lal Commodity Managementen.wikipedia.org