Category Archives: Warehousing

S A Mohan, Founder Director, Warehousing Association of India (WAI), CEO & Director at Armes Maini Storage Systems shared his views on National Logistics Policy and said, “NLP is the first step towards a unified approach to the logistics industry. There are several elements in logistics such as multi-modal transportation, warehousing & related infrastructure. NLP has specifically set out the agenda for Digitization, Unified Platform, all of which are directed towards a transparent system visible to stakeholders across all modes of transport and regulatory authorities. As the platforms go live, ease of doing business will be enabled resulting in improved efficiency and speed. Cost of logistics will drop over time when overall system begins to function seamlessly.” He added, “Modern Warehouse Infrastructure is another significant element for efficient logistics and growth of the economy. The release of E-Handbook for Warehouse in collaboration with Warehouse Association of India is the first step towards standardization of Warehouses. The handbook is a key resource for development of Modern Warehouses for developers and related stakeholders including end users.” “Along with development of Modern Warehouses, size and scale will be significant to drive improved efficiencies in operations and costs. Well designed, safe Storage Racking & Shelving Systems, efficient Material Handling Equipment, Conveyors, High Speed Sortation Systems, Cargo Lifts etc., will facilitate cost and operational efficiencies at scale for Warehouses. Modern Warehouses will allow deployment of Automated Material Handling solutions. Automation is available from entry level to sophisticated solutions depending on business needs,” he further noted. Summarising it, Mohan said, “NLP and E-Handbook for Warehouse is a good beginning to develop Logistics Infrastructure for India’s growth towards US$ 5 Trillion Economy and beyond.”

The government of Tripura has proposed the center for setting up one more multimodal logistics hub in the state to boost trade between Bangladesh and India. The proposal to establish such a facility at Udaipur in Gomati District has been sent to the central government, said official reports. Work is in full swing for establishing the states first multimodal logistics hub in the south Tripura Sabroom, where a special economic zone (SEZ), and integrated check post, and a food park will be set up for promoting trade and business with Bangladesh, reports added. In addition, the state government has already proposed the center for setting up another MMLP in Udaipur on the bank of Gomati river as the Sonamura-Daudkandi route has already been declared as the protocol route for island waterways,” sadded reports. Around 20 acres of land has already been identified for the proposed project while a process has been initiated to identify 30 acres more. Road, railways, waterways and air route will be constructed for the proposed project to facilitate trade, commerce and tourism.

AP Moller Maersk has opened its new warehouse in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh. Located within the premises of the company’s Container Freight Station (CFS), the 100,000 sq. ft. the warehouse is the first of its kind, with women running and operating all the jobs and tasks in the facility. Hand-picked from the nearby villages, Maersk has hired, trained, and created jobs for 84 women who needed employment, but did not have the right opportunities. “At Maersk, we are constantly strengthening our efforts in the area of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). We also realize that in the larger DEI picture, gender diversity is a low-hanging fruit that can be addressed as long as there is a strong will to do so. While expanding our warehouses across the country, we wanted to create opportunities for women in a traditionally male-dominated sector. As per the 2021 census, Dadri has only 6% working women of its total population, and our team and our team on the ground had a strong desire to contribute towards a change in that respect, stated Vikash Agarwal, Managing Director, Maersk South Asia.

Mahesh Malik, Chief Commercial Officer – CarGo, IndiGo said, “The Indian government has been very forthcoming in addressing the requirements of the logistics sector, specially air cargo. PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (PMGS-NMP) was launched with the purpose of providing multimodal connectivity infrastructure to various economic zones. The launch of the National Logistics Policy is a significant step in making India globally competitive in the logistics space. It will ensure quick last mile delivery, end transport-related challenges, save time and money of the manufacturers, prevent wastage of agricultural products. The policy constitutes planning, coordination, storing and movement of resources—like people, raw materials, inventory, equipment, etc., — from one location to another, from production to consumption, distribution, or other upstream production points. The policy has also proposed some key targets to be achieved, like a reduction in the cost of logistics from the current 14-18 per cent of the country’s GDP to the global best of around 8 per cent by 2030. India is setting big export targets and is also fulfilling them, strengthening the perception that India is emerging as a leading global manufacturing hub.”

TVS Supply Chain Solutions (TVS SCS) announced the expansion of its Centre of Excellence (CoE) by inaugurating a new technology centre in Madurai. Thiru. The CoE, a core unit of the company’s global operations, strengthens TVS SCS’ leadership as a technology-led global supply chain player and acts as an important pillar to the company’s growth strategy. The new facility was inaugurated by Thangam Thennarasu, Honourable Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce, Thiru. P. Moorthy, Honourable Minister for Commercial Taxes, Registration and Stamp Law and Dr. S. Aneesh Sekhar, IAS, District Collector, Madurai. R. Dinesh, Executive Vice Chairman, TVS Supply Chain Solutions, said, “I am happy that we are expanding our operations in Madurai through our Centre of Excellence, which provides specialized services, using technology and data analytics, to our global operations. Being a home-grown organisation, we always wanted to provide opportunities to the local talent here and that’s when we started our Centre of Excellence in 2017 with 5 employees. Going forward, CoE will be the hub for all technology developments for our operations globally besides being the back-office capital for TVS SCS.”

Mohit K. Kapoor, Chair – Events Committee at Warehousing Association of India (WAI) shared his views on the Indian Logistics Industry and National Logistics Policy. He said, “Logistics is considered as the backbone of a country’s economic ecosystem and for the fastest growing market like India, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.5 per cent, it was imperative to be given utmost importance to achieve the futuristic target of a $5 trillion economy, creating PM Narendra Modi’s #Atmanirbharbharat vision. Despite enormous potential, the largely unorganized and highly fragmented Indian logistics sector was further hampered by a complicated and non-unified regulatory system that was impeding its desired and realistically possible growth. The National Logistic Policy (NLP) is a comprehensive long-term plan designed to achieve international standard efficiency in services and bring down the high 12-14 % logistic costs to single digit before 2030, thus enabling a rank among the top 25 nations in Logistic Performance Index (LPI). WAI, in its pursuit to create an inclusive and robust ecosystem for logistics, warehousing and supply chain industries is organizing an event titled, ‘National Logistics Policy – The road ahead for integrated best in class infrastructure development on 11 November 2022 at, The Oberoi with active participation from DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and industry stalwarts from across the globe, where the Handbook on Warehousing Standards will be released. Enlisted are key points to make India a logistic hub: • Seamless, resilient, cost-effective long term streamlined ecosystem • Current multimodal connectivity accounting for roads 60%, railways 30 % and waterways 5% will be duly balanced

Parag Warerkar, Chairman & Chief Visionary Officer, M.R. Warerkar & Associates Pvt. Ltd. and Chair Technical Committee Warehousing Association of India (WAI) said, “National Logistics Policy paves the way for India to have a fully integrated ecosystem for the development of the Logistics and Warehousing industry. An ecosystem that accounts for accelerated and integrated growth is essential to the Indian economy.” He further added, “For the National Logistics Policy to effectively fulfil its purpose, however, there are some key deterrents that need to be addressed; particularly the issue of land acquisition. Logistics and warehousing hubs need to be an integral part of city and industrial estate development plans. At present, land for large hubs need to be acquired from agricultural holdings and land use converted, causing delays in setting up facilities due to numerous and complicated government approvals. The solutions to be explored are; can the ministry call on the various planning departments to incorporate this suggestion in the development plans for infrastructure development?” “The warehousing market in India is expected to grow to ₹2243.79 billion by 2026, expanding at a CAGR of 10.90%, as per the Warehousing Market in India 2022 Report published by Netscribes (India) Pvt Ltd. Integrating and allocating land and infrastructure will greatly ease the process of setting up logistics and warehousing parks for private players. Accounting for existing issues such as land acquisition will help capitalize on the industry’s growth and ensure the successful implementation of the National Logistics Policy,” said Warekar.

Knight Frank India, in its latest report reckoned that Kochi has a big potential to develop itself as a warehousing market, as indicated by the rise in the transaction volumes in e-commerce and manufacturing segments during FY2022. According to the latest reports, the port city has recorded a warehousing transaction volume of 0.3 million sq ft in the last financial year. Accordoing to the report, Kochi has long been a key centre for warehousing activities, but due to various reasons, including a lack of push from the administrators, the city failed to live up to its potential. Things seem to be changing slowly with Kochi now showing signs to emerge as a hub of warehousing activities. In its ‘India Warehousing Report 2022’, Knight Frank India said industry-split transactions in Kochi showed that a majority of the transaction pie was made up by the e-commerce sector, which had a 32 per cent share of the transactions. Apart from that, the manufacturing industry was the second-most active in the market, contributing 28 per cent of the overall amount of transactions during the course of the year. The state government is also taking steps to promote Kochi as a warehousing centre.

According to a latest report by Colliers, Industrial and warehousing demand in India witnessed a 9 per cent YoY rise during January-September 2022 with a total gross absorption of 17.5 million square across feet in the top-five cities in India. Demand remained resilient during the third quarter as well, at 6.7 mn sq ft, the highest since Q1 2021. “Third-party logistics players (3PLs) remain by far the top occupiers of warehousing space, contributing to over half of the total warehousing demand till date. Improved retail market sentiment amidst festive season and higher online spending continue to support warehousing growth and is expected to add to short-term demand addition,” the report stated. It further added that Delhi-NCR led the demand during YTD 2022 at 39 per cent share, followed by Pune at 21 per cent share in total leasing backed by robust demand from 3PL players, engineering and e-commerce players. Tauru road and Luhari remained the most active micro-markets in Delhi-NCR, while Chakan-Talegaon continued to attract industrial occupiers in Pune.

Stellar Value Chain Solutions has set up 2-million sq. ft of warehousing operations in five new Indian cities including Surat, Nagpur, Indore, Raipur and Patna, said an official release. The new built-to-suit centers will push the company’s warehousing space footprint to 14 million sq. ft. These new warehouses have been set up to meet the rise in demand of the festive season sales in tier II cities. In addition, warehouse and distribution service provider, is also planning to operate warehouses in Lucknow and Vijayawada. This is in line with the company’s goal to create a warehouse infrastructure of 50 million sq ft across India and a fleet of 50,000 trucks.