Category Archives: Warehousing

Warehousing Association of India (WAI) is privileged to be entrusted by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to update and publish the E-Handbook on Warehousing Standards. The E-handbook was officially released at the launch of the National Logistics Policy by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 72nd Birthday. The E-handbook defines the best practices in Warehouse construction & maintenance, Palletisation & Racking Standards, Standards for material Handling, transportation, Product Specific standards as well as trends in Warehouse Automation and Artificial intelligence. This is indeed an excellent e- handbook which will benefit all the stake holders of the industry and go a long way toward standardisation and facilitate the development of world class warehousing infrastructure in India. Modern Warehouses that deploy automation and mechanisation will achieve improved productivity and throughput thereby helping reduce the warehousing and logistics costs. We will continue to update this document annually and it will be our endeavour to include the latest developments, practices and technologies in the Warehousing Industry from time to time.

Ecom Express Limited announced that it has expanded its footprint to over 4 Million sq. ft. across its network to manage the high demands of e-commerce shipping during the festive season. Additionally, the Company has added automation to the majority of its sort center facilities thus increasing its parcel processing capacity to over 6 Million per day. A significant portion of expansion and investments into automation, including enhancement, has been activated in 14 cities, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Surat, Jaipur, Indore and Bhubaneshwar. This massive capacity augmentation has been done to bring greater supply chain efficiencies to Ecom Express’ already existing pan-India network that serves over 27000 PIN codes using approximately 3000 last mile delivery centers. T.A. Krishnan, Founder & CEO, Ecom Express said, “We are seeing tremendous growth in tier III and beyond markets and these have been at the forefront of e-commerce growth. In the past two years, we have witnessed the demand almost double with 80 per cent of our deliveries happening in tier III and beyond. With rising disposable incomes, growing internet penetration, and emerging D2C brands, there is a huge amount of growth yet to be realized here. We continue to build robust networks and infrastructure that offer smart supply chain solutions, as well as efficient delivery services, to help small businesses unlock new opportunities as the frontiers of e-commerce advance.”

DHL Supply Chain (DHL) announced a EUR 500 million investment in India over the next five years. DHL will own and operate wholly owned large multi-client sites in India because of this transaction, adding twelve million square feet of warehouse space to the Group’s existing portfolio, says official press release. The expanded warehouse capacity is intended to better serve rising industries such as e-commerce, retail, consumer, life sciences, technology, engineering, and manufacturing, and automotive. “Majority of investment will go towards construction of large warehouses and logistics centers. In India, we will have a multiple customers facility, which means we can deploy people across multiple customers or bring in economies of scale,” said Vikas Anand, MD, DHL Supply Chain India.

The much-awaited national logistics policy is likely to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 September to promote seamless movement of goods across the country, said industry officials. The policy is being brought in tandem with GatiShakti National Master Plan that was launched to build robust infrastructure, fill the missing gaps in logistics and draw more investments into the country. It is expected to draw focus on broader policy issues of warehousing, and giving thrust to digitisation, officials said. The policy has been in the works for the last few years. However, it never saw the light of the day due to lack of consensus among other government departments.

Anshul Singhal, MD, WOLP said, “We have plans to develop Grade-A warehouse parks on land parcels in high demand that would be leased for an extended time to tenants with AAA credit ratings from industries such as e-commerce, FMCG, 3PL, pharma, and auto-ancillaries.” He added, “We have plans to extend our portfolio and have a budget of Rs 2,000 crore to build and lease a portfolio of 7-8 million square feet of grade-A warehouse space across India. We have targeted high-growth markets with the intention to negotiate with landowners in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Kolkata to acquire land parcels ranging from 40 to 75 acres. To serve as many pin codes as possible, we are concentrating on tier II cities such as Ludhiana, Ghaziabad, Indore, Siliguri, Guwahati, and Visakhapatnam. Our warehouse growth is focused on technology, guided by the 3S principle: smarter, faster, and sustainable. Lastly, we are contributing to a sustainable future by utilizing ecologically friendly alternatives when developing our logistics parks.”

V-Logis, part of V-Trans (India) Ltd, has launched its world-class facility with the state-of-the-art technology called CHEMSTORE. CHEMSTORE is a super-specialized chemical storage solution that provides the best safety standards at the global level. This world-class facility is amongst the top warehouses in the country which is fully compliant with National Building Code (NBC) 2016 and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The facility is a state-of-the-art infrastructure with strict compatibility for storing various chemicals of various hazardous classes. As per the norms, the facility is strategically located away from the Highway, residential, school, and river body at NH-3 Mankoli-Bhiwandi. The facility accommodates a total area of 2,18,350 sq. ft to store precious haz-chems with utmost safety measures. We have partnered with VED Hospital for emergency services at the facility which is at a distance of 12kms. The fire station is located 20km from Chem Store. The chemical industry is engineered with high compliance standards to store all categories of hazardous chemicals comfortably and securely. The facility shelves are built with a heavy-duty racking system in a systematic arrangement to store an optimum quantity of material. The layout of the warehouse is designed with a height of 46 ft at the center efficiently utilizing the space.

Mahindra Logistics has unveiled 1 lakh sq. ft. of warehouse today designed with a sustainable warehousing architecture including multi-client capabilities, renewable energy, resource conservation and green cover. This state-of-art warehouse will be an important part of MLL’s pan-India network of multi-user facilities that support customers inbound to manufacturing and fulfilment operations. The facility will support e-commerce, consumer, and manufacturing & engineering industries. The built-to-suit (BTS) facility is designed in line with MLL’s sustainability standards, including usage of recycled construction material, liquid discharge management, renewable energy and waste management requirements and state-of-the-art automation. The facility has onsite solar power generation capabilities to cater to the entire energy requirements and is equipped for solar charging for cargo vehicles and personal mobility.

Wiz is all set to organise a conference on Cold Chain Unbroken 2022 (CCUB) on 15 – 16th September 2022 at the Novotel Hyderabad Airport, India. The key highlights will be Telangana emerging as the pharma hub, new airport infra, new routes and new initiatives bolstering Pharma & perishable trade for the country and cold chain industry of the future. The event will provide a platform for the industry stakeholders to meet and discuss the issues plaguing the industry. The event will provide an excellent knowledge-sharing and networking opportunity for the stakeholders.

Maersk India inaugurated its brand new warehouse in Bhiwandi on the outskirts of Mumbai. Present at the inauguration of the new facility were Ryan Best, Head of Logistics & Services, Maersk West & Central Asia, Darryl Judd, Head of Products, Maersk South Asia, Anuj Kathuria, President (India), JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., Rajesh Gupta, Head of Supply Chain, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., along with leadership teams of both companies. As an integrator of logistics, Maersk is developing and providing solutions ranging from ocean transportation to landside and air transportation, contract logistics including warehousing & distribution (W&D) and depots, custom clearances, visibility solutions and so on. When supply chains were impacted due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic, Maersk’s resilient end-to-end solutions ensured customers’ cargo kept moving. The integrated solutions allow Maersk to have greater control over the movement of the cargo at multiple stages of its journey and thus bring resilience to the supply chains. With the expansion of W&D facilities, Maersk is strengthening its position further by providing a larger array of services through a single window to its customers.

KSH Logistics, expands its warehousing footprint by opening a new Multi-Client Facility (MCF) warehouse in Bhiwandi, Mumbai. The warehouse, spread across a 100,000 sq. feet area, with a capacity of over 1000 pallets, is well equipped with modern infrastructure and provide real-time visibility of the supply chain along with complete integration of WMS & TMS solutions with clients’ ERP systems. With this expansion, KSH Logistics has expanded its MCF business to two key markets of Pune and Mumbai and taken its current capaity to over 300,000 sq, feet of warehousing space with a capacity of over 3000 pallet positions. Over the next 12 months the company plans on expanding its MCF network to 6 cities and take up the total area to 7,00,000 square feet with over 7000 pallet positions.