Category Archives: Warehousing

Industrial and warehousing space absorption stood at 44 mn sq. ft in 2021 to include 35.1 mn sq. ft from Tier I cities and 8.6 mn sq. ft from Tier II & III cities. Inspite of Covid restrictions and lockdowns impacting construction activities, India witnessed a fresh supply of 45 mn sq. ft. in 2021 where 36 mn sq. ft was from Tier I cities and 8.9 mn sq. ft from Tier II & III cities, as per data released by International real estate advisory firm Savills India. Similar to 2020, 3PL and e-commerce sectors continued to drive warehousing demand accounting 62% of the total absorption in 2021, followed by manufacturing sector at 14%. Among the major cities in India, Delhi NCR led with the highest absorption in 2021 at 18% followed by Pune at 15%. Mumbai and Bangalore saw absorptions at 14% and 11% respectively, while tier II & tier III cities accounted for 20%.

Lodha Group has signed a deal with third party logistics firm Flyjac Logistics, a subsidiary of Hitachi Transport System Group, to sell a 22.3 acres land parcel at the Palava industrial park. Real estate major Lodha Group, or Macrotech Developers said it has closed a deal with an affiliate of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI) to develop 1.9 million sq ft at Palava Industrial and Logistics Park (PILP), near Mumbai. This would entail an investment of about ₹600 crore to build grade-A warehouses across 72 acre at PILP. Mumbai-based Lodha Group would be the project development manager, and will be responsible for leasing, project development, and asset management. MSREI is the private real estate investment management arm of Morgan Stanley. “Our marquee acquisitions and key partnerships for PILP have helped us establish a solid track record in the logistics sector. Through this formidable collaboration, we will leverage our development expertise along with MSREI’s industrial know-how as we continue to expand and enhance this best-in-class industrial park. These are exciting yet crucial times for us as we expect more such strategic partnerships in the near future,” said Shaishav Dharia, CEO, Townships, and Rental Assets, Lodha Group.

The center plans to introduce a warehousing policy laying the roadmap for developing exclusive warehousing zones through public-private partnerships to ease transportation and logistics costs. To be set up with proper storage facilities the zones will be on the outskirts of major cities to avoid traffic congestion within city limits. The policy will be framed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) that will also be the implementing agency. NHAI member Manoj Kumar said the policy is at the final stages and will be out in the public domain before the year-end. The zones will use land banks along highways and expressways available with the NHAI. Under the public-private partnership (PPP) model land will be offered to private developers for constructing warehousing zones on a revenue-sharing basis or for a fixed fee. The terms of the agreements will be finalized later. The fast-moving consumer goods companies along with steel and cement makers will benefit from the warehousing zones as they will be able to stock inventory efficiently near major hubs.

Atmos Systems, leading name enabling widespread warehouse automation, has introduced Atmos A42N – an autonomous case handling robotic (ACR) system that can significantly enhance both inbound and outbound efficiency of a warehouse. Following thorough research and development, the A42N robots comes with an increased load capacity of 150 kg and is engineered to support cases of various size and material. The system is loaded with easy to use features, thereby providing higher flexibility for warehouse location. Speaking about the innovative product, Atmos Systems co-founders Khursheed Alam and Faraz Alam said, “The idea behind the development of Atmos A42N is to boost the storage density of a warehouse by at least 80-130%. It connects with the warehouse’s business management systems, it supports both operations and analytics. Also, as it is based on reinforcement learning and deep learning, it ensures optimized scheduling of multiple robots along while ensuring real-time monitoring and pre-alert malfunction.”

Redefining logistics to explore new business opportunities, India Warehousing Show (IWS), concluded on a suuccessful note with an overwhelming response from the visitors from the industry. Happening after a forceful break of two years due to pandemic, it is more than India’s leading exhibition on logistics and supply chain. India Warehousing Show in this edition offered all its participants an enriching business platform with a wider networking opportunity. The show offered a unique platform to find insights, seek relevant information, explore advanced technologies, network and generate valuable contacts, all under one roof. The event showcased highlights of the business calendar for the entire Supply Chain industry in India in the Logistics & Transportation industry.

Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP), announced that it has acquired 40 acres of land, located on the Malur-Hosur road, to set up a large-scale warehousing facility. With a development potential of ~1 million square feet and a total project cost of INR 300 Cr, the facility will service the Bengaluru Metropolitan region’s (BMR’s) industrial and warehousing demand for space. Bengaluru has historically been a warehousing supply starved market with limited institutional developer presence in the Grade A space; however, demand has witnessed a significant uptick on the back of the post COVID E-Commerce boom. As per research estimates by various International Property Consultants (IPCs), demand for both warehousing and industrial space in Bengaluru is expected to be ~15-20 million square feet over the next 3 years. This acquisition comes at an opportune time giving WOLP an early mover advantage while helping the firm capitalize on the shifting customer preference towards Grade A warehouses.

Mahindra Logistics (MLL) and LOGOS have announced a long-term lease agreement for 1.4 million square feet (mmsf) of warehouse facilities at the LOGOS Luhari Logistics Estate in Delhi-NCR. The transaction represents India’s largest warehousing facility in a single park. Under the agreement, LOGOS will develop three Grade-A warehouses totaling 1.4 mmsf for MLL at the LOGOS Luhari Logistics Estate. The first 0.5mmsf warehouse, which was completed in mid-2021, is fully operational and the other two warehouses are currently under development with delivery in late 2021 and early 2022 respectively. The new warehouses will be an important part of MLL’s Pan-India network of multi-client facilities that manage the fulfillment and distribution of its clients’ services within the e-commerce, consumer and engineering industries. The facilities are designed in line with MLL’s sustainability standards, including Liquid Discharge Management and Renewable Energy and Waste Management requirements and state-of-the-art automation. MLL will employ over 2,500 employees and third-party associates across these facilities.

The covid-19 pandemic brought a paradigm shift in consumer behavior from offline to online shopping leading to increased activity in sectors like e-commerce and third-party logistics, in turn leading to increased logistics and storage requirements in urban settings which is expected to take the warehousing stock in India to 380 million sq ft by 2024, according to JLL report. The total stock of Grade A and B warehousing space in the top 8 cities increased at a CAGR of 16% from 2018 to September 2021. “Growth in the supply of Grade A spaces over the years is due to high demand for spaces with high specifications, citing increased inclination for high-grade structures and introduction of new players in the market. The Indian market has now firmly established itself for a more predominant position in Grade A space as opposed to Grade B spaces,” said Yogesh Shevade, Head, logistics and industrial, India, JLL

Landmark Capital, managing real estate investments through SEBI registered alternative investment funds (AIFs) and managed accounts, announced the launch of Landmark Warehousing & Logistics Fund. The fund is targeting a corpus of INR 500 crores, including a green-shoe option of INR 200 crores. Landmark Capital presents avenues to invest in the warehousing and industrial space in India. This is a unique opportunity presented by the changing landscape of logistics industry in India due to regulatory changes like GST, infrastructure development, and rise of digital platforms to buy goods and services. The fund is launched with an objective to generate superior risk-adjusted returns by investing in high-quality Grade-A warehousing and logistics opportunities. Landmark Capital is focusing on non-speculative built-to-suit assets and diversification across geographies to ensure effective risk mitigation. The fund’s deal pipeline accounts for over 400 acres of land with marquee names as potential anchor tenants.

IndoSpace announced its partnership with KSH infra to develop a portfolio of grade A warehousing and logistics parks over the next five years across the country. To develop these assets spread over 10million sq. ft., IndoSpace will be investing Rs 1,000 crore in this new alliance. The primary focus of the joint venture will be the tier I premium micro-markets including Pune, Mumbai, Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), and Bangalore. In this venture, KSH Infra will take the responsibility of identifying and developing the assets and will also be co-investing in the assets along with IndoSpace. “The demand for warehousing and logistics space is high and the opportunity is enormous. As a market leader in this space, we are always looking to support India’s growth by enhancing our reach. With an established partner like KSH Infra, we are confident of tapping into the market potential,” said, Rajesh Jaggi, Vice Chairman, Real Estate, Everstone Group.