Category Archives: Warehousing

Strategically located on Durgapur Highway, National Highway – 2, Safexpress has launched its ultra-modern Logistics Park in Kolkata. Kolkata is a hub for various industries in India, and several well-known brands have their manufacturing plants located here. Being one of the largest industrial hubs of West Bengal, Kolkata is a crucial location from supply chain & logistics perspective. Keeping this in mind, Safexpress has established its state-of-the-art Logistics Park at Kolkata. This facility will serve as a nodal point for supply chain and logistics in the region. This facility is based at a strategic location and has strong connectivity with all Indian states. The company has made a significant investment to set up this world-class Logistics infrastructure in Kolkata. The development of Safexpress Logistics Park in Kolkata has been done on a land area of over 2.75 lakh square feet. This Logistics Park is enabled with state-of-the-art transhipment and 3PL facilities. It will boost the industrial growth of this region. Supply chain & Logistics has a very crucial role to play in the development of numerous industries spread all over West Bengal. Safexpress Logistics Park at Kolkata will help greatly in minimising the infrastructure gaps and serve the supply chain & logistics requirements of the entire West Bengal region. The Logistics Park enables loading & unloading of over 100 vehicles simultaneously, which ensures smooth and uninterrupted movement of goods. Operations at the Logistics Park are highly streamlined, which ensures the country’s fastest transit-time from Kolkata to across India. The Logistics Park has state-of-the-art fire-fighting equipment and trained manpower to deal with any emergencies. This facility is a perfect mix of nature-friendly initiatives and technology. Safexpress has taken special environment-friendly initiatives …

Mahindra Logistics (MLL) has added more than 7.5 lakh sq. ft area to its existing ‘Built-To-Suit’ warehousing capacity in Hyderabad and Chennai. The facilities are developed to sustainable standards and allow MLL to provide flexible and scalable fulfillment and integrated distribution solutions. Phase 1 of these sites is focussing on integrated solutions for e-commerce, consumer and engineering industries. In addition to this, with the anticipation of strong demand during the forthcoming festive season, MLL has set up nearly 10 lakh sq. ft. of flex warehousing solutions for supporting customers in anticipation of the upcoming festive season. A considerable size of this space is also catering to large Pharma companies during the pandemic. MLL is already gearing itself with a massive last-mile delivery roadmap to cater to the highly anticipated COVID vaccine for its pharma clients across India. Rampraveen Swaminathan, Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra Logistics, says, “Continuing our efforts in growing the non-Mahindra business, MLL continues to expand its warehousing capacity and is focused on tapping the huge potential in warehousing spaces across all regions. With the launch of these large spaces, we look forward to continued business growth from existing as well as potential customers from all regions. We have also deepened our focus by launching new solutions like returns processing, pop-up sort centers and integrated distribution services for our clients.” Mahindra Logistics has been steadfast in its efforts to be more inclusive. The company has actively employed differently abled persons and employees from the LGBTQ+ community, at its warehouses across the country. Similarly, MLL is bridging the gender diversity gap by hiring more women from various backgrounds and experience.

Witnessing a surge in deliveries across sectors, Raag Technologies & Services (RTS) has reported a 32% Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) growth in revenue in Q2 FY 2020-21. With its complete suite of services and solutions, the company has empowered large-scale manufacturers and distributors, enabling them to resolve the logistics challenges in the new normal. Commenting on the growth, Narasimhan Raghavan, Director, RTS, states, “We have seen remarkable growth in Q2 and continue to witness a strong growth largely driven by the rebound in the Automotive, Industrial, FMCG, and Energy & Infrastructure sectors. While in Q1, we saw apparent hiccups in terms of infrastructural challenges, non-availability of the fleet, and so on, most of the issues vanished beginning May.” “The use of technology and our expertise over the years has proven to be a cornerstone of our success. This not only supported our organic growth but as a result, we also saw a significant increase in new customers in the first half of this financial year,” he adds. The company has taken extensive precautionary measures and has ensured the most stringent health protocols for the entire team to operate in the new normal. Consequently, RTS has successfully been able to support and manage business continuity for all its clients and has been able to deliver services to them in a seamless manner even during these challenging times. Over the last decade, RTS has successfully demonstrated service value and cost reduction to OEMs in Tier-1 and Tier-2 markets. It leverages home-built technology tools and best of breed external software to provide best-in-class logistic solutions to sectors such as Automotive, Industrial, FMCG, Energy & Infrastructure, etc. Early this year, Spoton Logistics, India’s engineering & technology-driven …

Snowman Logisticshas announced that the company is reserving average 500 pallets (approx. 35 lacs doses of vaccine) in every location and in some locations more than 500 pallets. In total, the company will be offering around 10000 pallets (approx. 7 crore doses of vaccine) space. The company can increase this availability, within short notice and can significantly expand capacity over a short period to meet evolving domestic and global demands. Snowman has also mapped other cold storage operators with whom the company can partner on a need basis. This can further help Snowman to create similar amount of space, if required. “Snowman is already managing vaccine distribution of Influenza/swine flu and Typhoid vaccines. This experience of ours will come handy while managing covid19 vaccine storage and distribution,” states Sunil Nair, CEO, Snowman Logistics, in adding, “We have worked out solutions for small volume locations where there are no cold storages (Small towns, Taluka, Village etc.), and how we can use refrigerated containers, reach in freezers, etc for the delivery. We also have mapped out, as our partners transport capacities and how we can use them in short notice. We can dedicate close to 200 trucks for this purpose, nationally” “The task is mammoth, as it is not just about vaccine, but associated ancillary kits (syringes, needles, alcohol swabs, etc.) should also be distributed concurrently. This will need robust distribution planning and involvement of multiple players.” Sunil added. The company runs 31 temperature-controlled warehousing facilities across 15 locations in the country, offering combined capacity of 108,375 pallets and has a fleet of about 300 refrigerated trucks that will further augment its vaccine delivery capability.

Warburg Pincus-backed logistics real estate firm ESR India has signed an agreement with Maharashtra government to invest Rs4,310 crore to set up 11 industrial and logistics parks around Mumbai and Pune. This affiliation with the Maharashtra government is aimed at encouraging industrial development in the state with streamlined land acquisition and administrative processes. The policy and regulatory reforms unveiled in recent times has accentuated the entry of international institutional players and has set new benchmarks for industrial developments in the country. Abhijit Malkani and Jai Mirpuri, Country Heads, ESR India, says, “The Government of Maharashtra and the MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) have been very supportive of our efforts to develop world-class industrial and logistics infrastructure in the state, and these MoUs will fast-track investment into these projects, accelerate their development, and help attract more multinational and national companies to Maharashtra.” These parks, once fully operational, have the potential to create over 35,000 jobs in the state.

IndoSpace has been awarded Platinum certification by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for its logistics parks at Luhari I and II near NCR. IGBC rating systems recognizes achievement in green design, construction & operations and Platinum rating benchmarks applicants with international standards. IndoSpace Logistics Park Luhari I is the first logistics park in India to receive Platinum certification under the IGBC logistics parks and warehousing rating system. Founded in 2001 by CII, IGBC is the first Green building certification body in India. It is part of the World Green Building Council since 2004 as a ‘Founding Member’. The World Green Building Council is a global network of over 70 Countries. Rajesh Jaggi, Vice Chairman – Real Estate, Everstone Group, says, “We are delighted to receive these coveted certifications from IGBC which testify our conscious and responsible efforts towards creating sustainable facilities at our parks. As an industry leader, we have pioneered ‘green design’ and are committed towards protecting the ecosystem we operate in by employing better building design and highly efficient resource use.”

International Finance Corporation (IFC) is planning to invest around $75 million (Rs 550 crore) in Indospace Logistics Parks III LP. The funding will provide Indospace long-term finance in these times of the Covid-19 pandemic to continue investing and developing select projects envisaged under the fund over the next two years. IFC anticipates that its commitment will provide a significant positive step forward to the Indian warehousing and industrial property market, which is in its evolutionary phase and now going through a severe slowdown due to Covid-19. Indospace Logistics Parks III LP is a $580 million 2018 vintage fund for developing logistics and industrial parks across India. The fund invests in warehousing and industrial property assets through various special purpose vehicles.

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Government of India has virtually laid the foundation stone for country’s first-ever multi-modal logistic park in Assam. The park will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 700 crore at Bongaigaon district. “The government is planning 35 new multimodal parks across the country. The Rs 693.97 crore park will provide direct connectivity to air, road, rail and waterways to the people. It will be developed under the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana of the Government of India,” states Gadkari in his address. The multi-modal logistic park will provide direct connectivity to air, rail, road, and waterways to the citizens of Assam and other parts of the North East. The fund for the logistic park will be spent on three components- railway and road connectivity as well as infrastructure and building work. An MoU will also be signed to implement the project successfully. The event was presided over by the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and was attended by and Union MoS Jitendra Singh, Gen (Retd) Dr V K Singh and Rameshwar Teli, Ministers from the State, Members of Parliaments, MLAs and senior officers from the Centre and the State.

In order to create an enabling environment for its growth, the West Bengal government is providing benefits of an industry to the warehousing sector. Speaking at a webinar organised by ICC, Industry and Commerce Department Secretary Vandana Yadav said, “West Bengal is one of the leading states in the country to recognise the importance of logistics and warehousing sectors. Though the warehousing sector has not been given an industry status yet in the state, it is getting all related benefits. West Bengal has a unique locational advantage which cannot be taken away in terms of connectivity. The government does not interfere and has not put the warehousing and logistics sectors under any regulation.” UP has already accorded industry status to the warehousing sector. Yadav, also Managing Director, West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, said, “The other big driver behind the growth of the warehousing sector is the improvement in infrastructure catering to logistics in the state. Logistics cost is an important aspect of determining the viability of any business. Benefits of volume and efficiency should also accrue to small players and not only the big ones.” The small players need to be connected to the e- commerce platforms for which good logistics infrastructure is required, she said. Another official of WBIDC said it is expected that the space utilisation in warehouses to go up in West Bengal. He said the state is targeting investments of Rs 12,000 crore in the logistics and warehousing segments, adding that the government has identified 500 acres of land for logistics development in the state.

Assam is all set to have country’s first international multi-modal hub, informs Chandra Mohan Patowary, Assam Industry and Commerce Minister. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to fund the project at an estimated cost of around Rs 600 crore. “The Government of Assam is planning to develop Jogighopa, a small township near Brahmaputra river, as a logistics hub or trans-shipment point for cargo moving from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland to Bangladesh,” the minister informs. In addition, the Munshiganj River Terminal in Bangladesh will be used as a customs station to handle third-party export and import cargo via Kolkata Port. “To bring about a significant reduction in logistics cost and faster delivery of Bangladesh export cargo, the Indian side has raised the point regarding permitting a third country export-import trade under the coastal shipping agreement and protocol on inland water transit and trade (PIWTT) by allowing trans-shipment through ports on the east coast of India. The Bangladesh government agreed to hold stakeholder consultations and revert on the matter,” Patowary said. “Increasing connectivity through air, water, rail, road offer a mutually beneficial opportunity for enhancing economic cooperation between Bangladesh and the Northeastern states of India and beyond. Standard operating procedures for the use of Chattagram and Mongla ports for movement of goods to and from India, particularly to and from the Northeast of India have recently been concluded and it is expected that it would create a win-win situation for both economies,” he adds.