Category Archives: Warehousing

CargoTalk is all geared up to host the fourth conclave on August 25, 2020 from 10 am to 12:15 pm. The virtual summit is divided into two one-hour sessions and will have eminent speakers from Ministry and trade. The summit will discuss the significance of going contactless in logistics industry and how warehousing industry is withstanding the e-commerce boom, especially in this hour of need. Speakers will include Pawan Kumar Agarwal, IAS, Special Secretary (Logistics), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, Cyrus Katgara, President, Air Cargo Forum India, V Raju, Senior Vice President – CL – Chemical, Pharma & Food Sector, Avvashya CCI Logistcs (All Cargo Group), Satish Lakkaraju, Chief Commercial Officer, Agility Logistics and John Thomas, Group Director, Realistic Realtors & Reach Promoters and Director at CIRIL (Commercial Real Estate Advisors)

With a total investment of Rs 6.5 crore, Robinsons Global Logistics Solutions has recently set up a new 1,50,000 sq ft warehousing facility. The facility has 25,000 sq ft of temperature controlled area with a spectrum of +4 to -25 degree Celsius at Bhiwandi in Thane district of Maharashtra. This is the first such warehouse of the four such facilities the company plans to set up by the first quarter of 2021 in the country. This warehouse is part of a larger expansion plan for RGL that includes the introduction of value-added services like transport brokerage and document storage, along with the addition of four more warehouses across the country in the coming months. The warehouse is designed to create cost-efficient systems that leverage machine learning and Internet of Things for surveillance and people management.

DB Schenker has started operations at the Red Lion warehouse in Singapore, a regional hub for automated high-speed logistics. The warehouse worth is 101 million euros and is the single largest investment in any site globally in Schenker’s corporate history. Strategically located in the Airport Logistics Park of Singapore (ALPS) at Changi Airport, the site sets a new standard in combining the world’s most advanced technological developments with the highest levels of sustainable warehouse management for its customers. Jochen Thewes, Chief Executive Officer DB Schenker, says, “Our new logistics hub makes us even faster and more reliable for our customers. The record investment in Red Lion marks an unparalleled milestone for our corporate history of almost 150 years. We are happy and proud to reinforce our commitment to Singapore as the heart of our logistics operations in Asia.” Red Lion solidifies Schenker’s position in Singapore as the largest and most advanced third-party logistics provider in the ALPS. Combined, the mechanized air freight hub and contract logistics warehouse extend over 51,400 square meters on five floors, equal to the size of seven soccer fields. A next generation Warehouse Management System and a synchronized IT platform bridging the various automations enable Red Lion to increase warehouse productivity by up to 100% compared to manual processes, and to reduce lead time for customers by 40% compared to non-integrated facilities.

To expand its operation in Indian market, ESR – the Hong Kong-based logistics developer has announced that the company has acquired a 39-acre land in Chennai for Rs 332 crore to tap into the growing demand for warehouses and logistics facilities. Located on SH-48, close to Oragadam junction, the park would be connected by air, road, rail and ports. Abhijit Malkani and Jai Mirpuri, Country Heads of ESR India states, “Due to its strategic location and connectivity to the world through ports, business environment, infrastructure and strong workforce, ESR Oragadam will be well-positioned to cater to the needs of the expanding industries across automobile, auto-ancillary, R&D centres, 3PL’s, E-commerce, electronics, energy, aerospace and defence. This investment is in synergy with ESR’s goal to build a significant portfolio of modern industrial and logistics infrastructure across the country.”

86 per cent of APAC retailers looking to increase investment in intelligent automation by 2022, says, 12th Annual APAC Shoppers Study by Zebra Technologies. With the businesses reopening and rebuilding from the COVID-19 pandemic, the resiliency of retailers and supply chains are being tested more now than ever before. One monumental shift relates to the concept of ‘economy at home’, which addresses the way consumers have completely changed their shopping habits. To meet rising customer expectations, retailers need to rethink the safety of the customer journey, whether it is in store or via delivery. Click-and-collect, or buy online, pick-up in store (BOPIS), are becoming preferred methods of shopping, with 55% of consumers requesting more retailers to offer mobile ordering options. This is forcing businesses to rethink their fulfillment strategies given that only 36 per cent of respondents agreed that their stores are equipped to fulfil web orders. The study expects this trend to continue, while retailers implement additional solutions that minimize in-store contact and improve customer convenience at the same time. “COVID-19 has significantly altered the retail sector, forcing both essential and non-essential retailers to assess their Omni channel fulfilment capabilities and quickly adapt their operating models in a matter of days – some implementing changes within hours,” said Deep Agarwal, Regional Sales Director of India, Zebra Technologies. “We’re seeing how retailers are transforming ‘dark stores’ to serve as temporary distribution facilities inside their establishments. Retailers should prioritize the expansion of click-and-collect service offerings and invest in technologies that increase shopping capacity and speed. This reduces in-store traffic and aids in social distancing efforts, while providing retailers with inventory visibility across every corner of the shop floor.”

In order to enhance the efficiency of ULD operations in the global network of their customers, Unilode Aviation Solutions and dnata have signed an agreement to equip all dnata warehouses with Unilode’s Bluetooth readers. Unilode’s digital solution transmits data on the geolocation of the ULDs and can also share other relevant information such as temperature, humidity, shock and light, using ULDs equipped with Bluetooth digital tags and a network of bluetooth readers and mobile devices. Benoit Dumont, CEO, Unilode, said, “Unilode is currently digitising its entire ULD fleet of 140,000 units with tags and is rolling out a bluetooth reader network infrastructure in over 250 locations worldwide. Our new agreement with dnata will help us accelerate the creation of Unilode’s digital ecosystem and enable us to increase ULD visibility, data accuracy and asset stock control, in addition to providing our customers with important information on their cargo.”

Amazon India has announced its plan to open 10 new Fulfillment Centres (FC) across the country. These new FCs will be set up in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Patna, Lucknow, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ludhiana and Ahmedabad. All new fulfillment centres will be operational before the festive season. With this expansion, Amazon.in will have more than 60 FCs in 15 states, with a total storage capacity of over 32 million cubic feet. The new additions include the specialised network of FCs for large appliances and furniture category and receive centers. “With the expanded network of more than 60 fulfillment centres, we look forward to creating thousands of job opportunities with competitive pay,” said Akhil Saxena, VP, Customer Fulfillment Operations (APAC, MENA & LATAM), Amazon India.

Calling digitalising the complete supply chain a need of the hour, Nihar Parida, Industry Expert & Supply Chain Consultant, says, “Data at every point should be captured as much as possible. Also, data analysis should happen at a single point and not in silos.” He continues, “During the change in tax from local sales tax to VAT, most organisations opened warehouses in every state. The moment GST was declared; the finance and logistics fraternity started exploring how they could consolidate their stocks in few warehouses as the state borders became obsolete from the tax point of view. For the first time, the logistics people started thinking of inventory from a logistics cost saving perspective rather than a tax saving perspective. But again most were guided by the common thought of consolidation. The LSPs also started selling the idea to ensure they could save cost in their multi-user facilities. The distribution factor was side-lined. The transporters and the courier companies were in the limelight.”

With a leasable area of 3.2 million sqft and an estimated investment of Rs 900 crore, Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP) has launched its maiden 110 acre Grade A warehousing park in Bhiwandi, Maharastra. The company has also entered into an MoU with the State Government of Maharashtra under the ‘Magnetic Maharashtra Initiative’ for this project, which is in advanced stages of receiving necessary approvals under the Integrated Logistics Parks (ILP) policy of the state of Maharashtra; making it one the first of its kind fully compliant projects in Bhiwandi. This development will create an upwards of 2700 multi-level job opportunities. Anshul Singhal, Managing Director, Welspun One says, “Our park in Bhiwandi is well suited to meet the requirements of a large number of end users including e-commerce, 3PL, FMCG/FMCD, modern retail, pharma and thus far has been very well received by large occupiers. We are also seeing significant interest from international and private equity investors, both at the project and overall platform level.”

Snowman Logistics has announced capacity expansion by adding to their pallet capacity across the country. The company has commenced construction at the Siliguri facility and is further adding pallet capacity to Taloja and Krishnapattanam facilities taking the total pallet capacity to 1,13,208 with a presence in 16 cities catering to the key markets of Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. Snowman will add 4200 pallets at Siliguri and will expand Taloja (Mumbai) and Krishnapattanam facilities by a total of 3000 pallets. All these facilities are scheduled to be up and running before this financial year-end. The company caters to its comprehensive network of reputed clients, which source and consume temperature-sensitive products in bulk amounts.