Category Archives: Warehousing

In order to manage its fulfilment operations for the Western region, FM Logistic India has been awarded a contract from Pepperfry. FM Logistic India will carry out warehousing operations at one of Pepperfry’s largest warehouses located in Bhiwandi which is spread across an area of 2,85, 000 sq. ft. The 3PL service provider will not only manage storage but also undertake a rigorous process of quality control as per prescribed guidelines and fulfil Pepperfry’s omni-channel orders. These goods will then be delivered to Pepperfry’s Studios for display and distribution centres across India, using Pepperfry’s last-mile delivery network. “Pepperfry is one of the most recognised furniture brands in India,” says Ashish Shah, Co-founder & COO, Pepperfry. “What started as a pure play online furniture store in 2012 has evolved as India’s leading furniture and home décor marketplace, both online and offline. The partnership with FM Logistic India will further help us serve our customers better thanks to a faster, most cost-effective supply chain and a continuous improvement orientation that FM Logistics brings to the table.” “We are committed to helping our customers develop their e-commerce and omni-channel strategies. A fast supply chain is critical for brands to strengthen their identity and relationship with end customers. Therefore, we are delighted to help Pepperfry manage their fulfilment operations for the Western region,” says Alexandre Amine Soufiani, MD, FM Logistic India. The Indian furniture market is segmented on the basis of: Material – Wood, Metal, and Plastic and Other Furniture Type – Home Furniture, Office Furniture, Contract Furniture, and Other Furniture Distribution Channel – Supermarkets and Hypermarkets, Specialty Stores, Online, and Other Distribution Channels The furniture industry in India, which currently stands at $17 …

Driven by a robust growth in e-commerce and manufacturing sectors as well as rising demand in emerging tier I and tier II cities, the industrial and warehousing space absorption is expected to grow by 83 per cent to 47.7 mn sq. ft. in 2021, as per the report released by Savills India, a global property consultancy firm. The 3PL and e-commerce sectors continued to drive warehousing demand accounting for 60 per cent of the total absorption in 2020, followed by manufacturing sector at 24 per cent. The growing numbers of firms in these sectors and the huge Indian consumption market have whipped up the investment prospects of India’s warehouse sector. In 2020, the industrial and warehousing market witnessed investments in excess of US$1 billion. Among the major cities in India, NCR led with the highest absorption in 2020 at 25 per cent followed by Pune at 15 per cent. Mumbai and Chennai saw absorption at 13 per cent each while Kolkata stood at 12 per cent. The Tier II cities such as Ludhiana, Lucknow, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur and Patna witnessed around 3 mn sq. ft. in 2020. These cities are likely to gain momentum in 2021 with e-commerce and 3PL firms capitalising on consumption-driven growth and pushing the demand for warehousing space. On the supply side, Savills India expects a 113 per cent increase in supply to 47.9 mn sq. ft. in 2021. Despite construction activities getting affected due to the lockdown, the top-8 cities of India witnessed a fresh supply of 22.4 mn sq. ft. last year. NCR accounted for 22 per cent of the total supply witnessed in 2020 followed by Chennai (20 per cent), and …

Thermo King, by Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), has launched its expanded portfolio of cold chain solutions in India, which can keep vaccines at temperatures from a range of +25 degrees Celsius to as low as -70 degrees Celsius. The company’s advanced cold chain technologies will help address the unique challenges of COVID-19 vaccine distribution in India, whose large population is spread across vast and varied geographies, from densely populated cities to far-flung rural communities. “Safety and reliability of the cold chain is critical to meet the urgent need for everyone to have access to vaccines,” said Allen Ge, President, Trane Technologies in Asia Pacific, in adding, “Our recently launched SuperFreezers were initially developed to flash-freeze high-end seafood. Our teams quickly adapted and developed a good solution for COVID-19 vaccines transport, which require ultra-cold temperatures to prevent degradation. We’re proud to support this historic effort in India and around the world with our technologies and cold chain expertise.” COVID-19 vaccine distribution is expected to start in India in the coming weeks, following the central government’s announcement of guidelines for states and Union territories for distribution of vaccines once they become available. The first approved COVID-19 vaccines must be kept at deep-frozen temperatures down to -70 degrees Celsius, and will be shipped in dry ice. A container using dry ice may require re-icing if it sits for an extended length of time, such as during a long haul or on the airport tarmac, or if the contents are exposed to ambient temperatures during transfers. Thermo King’s refrigerated solutions can extend the life of dry ice or even eliminate the need for it. Now, Thermo King products are being used by transport companies …

The Indian warehousing sector is largely dependent on various sub-sectors for its development. Retail, e-commerce, logistics and technology are the major driving force for the growth in warehousing. In 2020, however, the pandemic became another reason that catalysed this transformation and allowed businesses to explore more opportunities in the domain. The growing demand for online shopping is encouraging ecommerce players to set up their warehouses at locations which could fast track the delivery process for their consumers. Moreover, the government is also promoting local businesses and manufacturing with a digital support that is directly proportional to the growth of warehousing in the country. The warehousing and logistics market in India has been mainly concentrated in top eight cities namely Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune. This is primarily due to the majority of demand being witnessed from these cities. In 2021, these locations will remain the crucial, however, the industry will witness a shift in demand from the customers. Transportation routes/last mile capabilities to support ecommerce orders is a key differentiator in this industry. Companies have begun to integrate last mile capabilities into existing warehouses and fulfilment infrastructure and thereby benefiting from high speed and good customer experience. The companies seeking warehousing facilities, will be willing to work with the trusted players who could offer them customised properties with Grade A services at perfect locations. Tier 2 and 3 cities will gain momentum and will see more traction owing to the ecommerce and 3PL players which are capitalizing on consumption driven demand in these micro markets. The cities like Coimbatore, Vapi, Guwahati, Ludhiana, Surat, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Siliguri and Lucknow have and will continue to witness increase …

FM Logistic has announced its plans to double its warehousing space to 1.2 crore sq ft in three to four years from 60 lakh sq ft at present. According to Alexandre Amine Soufiani, MD and CEO, FM Logistic, “The demand for such facilities will increase in the aftermath of the pandemic. We expect sales to return to pre-COVID levels by March 2021 as 90 per cent of the business has already recovered by December.” With its plans to set up Grade-A facilities in all metro cities and dynamic economic areas, especially multi-customer units, and focus on urban logistics, FM Logistic looks to attain leadership position in the sector. Grade-A warehouses are categorised on the basis of construction quality, available space, location, amenities and clients, among others. In March 2019, FM Logistic had outlined its plans to invest US$ 150 million over the next five years to set up new warehouses in India, with focus on multi-client warehouses. “When we acquired Spear Logistics in 2016, there was only 20 lakh sq ft space and four warehousing units. Today we have 60 lakh sq ft in four years and we want to double this to take it to 1.20 crore sq ft under our operations in the next 3-4 years,” Soufiani said. The company has already announced its plans to add 40 lakh sq ft warehousing space in the next three years that will take its total space to 1 crore sq ft, he said, adding that it could add another 20 lakh sq ft. He said the company has added a total of 10 lakh sq ft space in the last six months, all for multi-customers facilities, including omni channel, pharma, …

Singapore based GIC and ESR Cayman have entered into an 80:20 strategic partnership to establish a US$750 million joint venture to develop and acquire industrial and logistics assets in India. The JV will develop and own institutional-grade, state-of-the-art industrial and logistics facilities as well as acquire core assets, focusing on Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities across India and will be seeded with a ~2.2 million sq. ft build-to-core asset, located in close proximity to the large consumption hubs of Mumbai and Thane. Lee Kok Sun, Chief Investment Officer of Real Estate, GIC, says, “We are pleased to establish this Joint Venture with ESR, a leading integrated logistics platform, to develop and acquire high-quality industrial and logistics assets in prime locations in India. GIC has been investing in India for more than a decade, and this investment is a testament to our confidence in the long-term potential of this market.” Kishore Gotety, Co-Head (Asia ex-China) of Real Estate, GIC, states, “Continued e-commerce growth in India over the long term, reinforced by rising internet penetration, is expected to drive strong demand for industrial and logistics assets. This is further supported by the emphasis on infrastructure development, changing supply chains, and low vacancy levels. This JV is well-positioned to benefit from these tailwinds, bring institutional-grade assets into this market, and generate resilient returns.” “We are very excited to extend our partnership with GIC as it firmly demonstrates ESR’s capability and track record of developing best-in-class, strategically located industrial and logistics facilities in prime locations across India. This strategic partnership provides us with immediate scale to capitalise on the early growth stages of India’s rapidly modernising industrial and logistics landscape and tap high …

Amid an increasing demand for quick deliveries by online customers, Pune-based FM Logistic India is looking to set up intra-city warehousing units across Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, including by converting some abandoned mills into such facilities. The company is in discussion with a closed mill owner in Mumbai, while exploring the possibility of such projects in Delhi and Bengaluru. However, along with this, FM Logistic is also open to set up completely new intra-city warehousing facilities as well, informs Alexandre Amine Soufiani, Managing Director, FM Logistic India. “In the post-COVID-19 scenario, having an intra-city warehousing facility is a must to be able to deliver the goods to the end-customer within hours of placement of an order. But, the land in the cities is costly. We are scouting for warehousing facilities inside the cities of Mumbai and Delhi to either build new multi-story warehouses or to refurbish abandoned cotton mills in Mumbai within the city,” he adds. He said he has to partner with e-commerce and other omni-channel retail companies and offer them multi-customer facilities with intra-city warehouses. FM Logistic India has presence in over 90 locations, and it provides warehousing and distribution logistics services for the FMCG, retail, automotive, e-commerce, engineering, telecom, pharma and other sectors. Soufiani said Mumbai has many closed mills and the company was thinking of partnering with owners of those mills and transforming them into intra-city warehousing. “In Mumbai, we are in talks with one of the mill owners, we are carrying out due diligence and looking at how we can make it safety-compliant, as we do not want to compromise on the safety aspects at all,” he said. He further explains that there are two …

Roca Parryware has announced the strengthening of business tie-up with TVS Supply Chain Solutions (TVS SCS) by the expansion of their area of operations covering the factories, warehouses and import/export logistics. Roca Parryware roped in TVS SCS to support the Supply Chain operations during the year 2018 and since then both the partners have worked together to delight the vast network of more than 2000 customers across India. Roca Parryware operates in India with 8 manufacturing facilities and 12 warehousing stations. Apart from this the company also exports to over 15 countries including USA, Brazil, Australia, China and many parts of Europe. The company continues to import many containers from several countries to meet the growing demands for global products in India. R. Dinesh, MD, TVS Supply Chain Solutions comments, “We are delighted to further extend our partnership with Roca Parryware in India, cementing on the great relationship we had built over the last 3 years of our association. TVS SCS offers the best-in-class digitally led integrated supply chain solutions. The vast network of dealers of Roca Parryware today are a lot more demanding on SCM. With dynamic demand situation and consumers wanting products in a fast and efficient manner, our systems and processes must be digitally integrated to deliver an elevated experience.” Roca Parryware is one of our key customers in this sector not only in India but also globally. We look forward to continuing our mutually beneficial association and help them grow their business consistently” K.E. Ranganathan, MD, Roca Parryware says, “We are extremely happy with our partnership with TVS Supply Chain Solutions over the last 3 years. TVS SCS has added in good measure to our persistent …

With an aim to make the postage cheap and easy, Gxpress is all set to launch an operating system called Ecomgistics for e-commerce for small parcels in India, starting from 50 grams. The sellers also have an option to consolidate the small parcels in a single box and send to the desired location. Sellers will get the lowest shipping prices with free small parcel tracking, without sacrificing the quality of service. Its vision is to empower small to medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs so that they can really focus on their business instead of worrying about operational activities such as shipments, custom clearances and other challenges when are shipping internationally. Gxpress’ easy-to-use website will enable them to book a pickup, estimate cost, and track their packages and more. “The logistics industry has been completely standstill since the start of the beginning of the unprecedented crisis of Covid-19 and lockdowns, ensuring that the supply chains remain intact. Due to the shortage of labour and the restrictions being imposed on the movement of goods and businesses, the supply chain has been disrupted in the past six months. Now, as the businesses started opening, we have planned to launch Ecomgistics for small businesses because we at Gxpress understand the obstacles faced by companies especially when they have to ship small parcels from India but cannot due to high shipping costs. We will focus on empowering small to medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs in the growth of their customers by giving them the option to consolidate the small parcels in a single box and send to the desired location” said Praveen Vashistha, Founder & Director of Gxpress. Gxpress has a mission to build the …

Third party logistic (3PL) service provider FM Logistic India has entered in a contract with Welspun One Logistics Parks to lease warehousing space at Bhiwandi. As per the agreement, Welspun One will lease out about 9 lakh sq ft of warehousing space to FM Logistic India at its Bhiwandi facility for a tenure of five years. The company is investing Rs 900 crore to develop its 110-acre industrial park project at Bhiwandi in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The project has a potential leasable area of 3.2 million sq ft. Welspun One Logistics Parks is in advanced discussions to lease another 1.5 million sq ft with other e-commerce and 3PL companies. “We are committed to solving the location needs of our clients with solutions that are driven to achieve the highest levels of compliance, safety, operational efficiency and innovation,” says, Anshul Singhal, Managing Director, Welspun One Logistics Parks. Despite the ongoing pandemic and the resultant lockdown, FM Logistic India added 10 lakh sq ft of warehousing space under its operations this year. Alexandre Amine Soufiani, MD, FM Logistic India, says, “We are committed to providing our customers with the best-in-class warehousing infrastructure. Our association with Welspun One Logistics Parks will help us further enhance our service offering to our valued customers.”