Category Archives: Warehousing

The development of the Safexpress Logistics Park has been done on a land area of 25,000 square feet. The establishment of this Logistics Park will drive the economic growth in the Punjab region. Vineet Kanaujia, Vice President – Marketing, Safexpress said, “Amritsar is one of the largest and most rapidly growing cities of Punjab. It is also a very important center from the perspective of supply chain and logistics. The growth trend in Amritsar is likely to improve significantly in times to come as the government is planning numerous initiatives around the city. Punjab Government is taking various steps to provide fiscal incentives to investors in Amritsar to speed up the industrial development of the belt. Amritsar is industrially developed, but still has a lot of scope for further development, provided its logistics falls in place.”

Samir J Shah, Chairman, FFFAI believes, “The recent bold steps from the government pertaining to fiscal discipline, restructuring of tax regime, capacity building through setting up of appropriate infrastructure and connectivity have further been strengthened by the Budge 2017-18 announcements. For instance, budgetary allocation of Rs 2,41,387 crore for multimodal transportation sector, increase of allocation for highways from Rs 57,976 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 64,900 crore for 2017-18, identifying 2,000 kms of coastal connectivity roads for construction and development, more emphasis on agro- based produces through NABARD and appropriate logistics facilities for them, emphasis on MSME sector, port connectivity, Greenfield ports, airports in Tier-II & Tier-III cities through PPP mode, logistics parks, etc would have long-term and significant effects on India’s manufacturing and merchandise trade.” “Remarkably, the finance minister has announced the government’s decision to set up 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes across the country. For these, Rs 1,700 crore has been allotted for FY 2017-18. This highlights the government’s firm commitments towards adding value to capacity building in a larger perspective. FFFAI, in its pre-Budget memorandum had urged the Finance Ministry to address the micro issues related customs clearance. We are optimistic that the finance minister’s commitments on ease of doing business would resolve those in the days to come,” he states.

Says Oliver Bohm, CEO, Schenker India, “There are both transformational decisions from last year that deserve a mention along with key industry recommendations. GST Bill; a long-held industry demand, would truly be a game changer for the logistics sector and would make us internationally competitive from the perspective of inventory holding and transaction cost. We anticipate the government to consider providing a blue print to resolve the pending issues of stakeholders before the budget.” “Warehousing & Transportation is still not a recognised sector by the financial institutions and is deprived of the basic support. We look forward to having an industry status to be awarded to the sector along with tax benefits for investment in the warehousing sector, which should be on par with other sectors. Apart from this there should be a special incentive for use of solar energy in our warehouses. Special tax holidays of up to 5 to 10 years for warehouses constructed in rural area can also be considered. The treatment to warehousing for non-agricultural commodities on par with infrastructure projects is to encourage investment in the warehousing industry and additionally creating multi-modal logistics hubs will give transporters the choice of best modes and help in the efficient movement of goods,” he endures. Land acquisition has been a challenge that needs immediate attention which required speed approval process for change of land title. There are significant parcels of land in and around metro cities under agricultural land category. If there is no agricultural activity over the past eight to 10 years, they should be allowed to be converted into commercial use. This will create ample space available for construction of quality warehouses and significantly reduce storage …

At the FFFAI convention, Stanley Lim, Chairman, FIATA Congress Committee & Past President FIATA, expressed the need of logistics cost to be cut down. He said, “No matter in which industry you are, you need logistics and in logistics we are talking about from farm to fork and the number of steps and the cost involved. Moreover, for globalisation one needs to involve all government agencies in one platform to facilitate trade. Hence, logistics cost needs to be cut down to make country’s import and export competitive. Once the number of steps will get cut down, security will be enhanced and there will be less human error.”

The Federation of Freight Forwarders Association in India (FFFAI) convention showcased the role and efforts undertaken by the government to elevate the industry. Ashish Pednekar, Chairman Elect, FFFAI & Convenor Kochi Convention, highlighted how the government has been taking initiative optimally. “The government is bringing lot of changes in the Exim trade and FFFAI is the important link. Change is eminent and we have to be with the change to take the industry to the next level. Moreover, with initiatives like ‘Make in India’ logistics has a very important role to play. Most importantly, now government has realised the significance of logistics industry and started taking the fraternity suggestions seriously,” he said.

While enumerating the necessity of skill required in the field of logistics, Shankar Shinde, Vice Chairman, FFFAI, opined at the 23rd convention of the Federation of Freight Forwarders Association in India (FFFAI): “We always try to convert challenges into opportunities. One of the most important challenge is skill. We are trying to focus onto skill development through this convention. Hence, we are looking for training and adapting international practices for better upliftment.  Our idea is to make logistics as a choice of first profession. For the next generation, the decision to become a logistician should not come by default, but, by choice.”

The FFFAI convention held in Kochi, saw eminent industry persons come and deliberate on crucial elements of the logistics sector. Highlighting the same, Samir J Shah, Chairman, FFFAI, said, “We are working on three important issues. One of the most important issues we are targeting is skill; we understand with technology, domain knowledge of the broker is going to become important. Secondly, our focus is on gender equalisation and thirdly, we are creating a platform where FFFAI member can adopt the changes that are coming in the future. The Indian custom broker is capable of doing everything. Hence, any importer or exporter does not need to go to anybody else; the entire supply chain will be looked after by them.”

DHL Express has expanded its Gujarat operations with the launch of a new service centre in Vadodara. The 8,500 sq ft facility caters to Vadodara city and the surrounding areas of Savli, Halol, Waghodia, Por and Padra covering a radius of approximately 45 km. RS Subramanian, Senior Vice President & Country Manager, DHL Express India, said, “For DHL, the state of Gujarat represents a huge growth opportunity. Our continuing investments in Ahmedabad, the recent facility in Surat and now this new service facility at Vadodara – are testimonies to its potential. Vadodara is also strategically located to take advantage of the developing golden quadrilateral highway network that will connect Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi.”

DHL invested in the industrial hub of Madhya Pradesh with the opening of its first facility in Indore. This service centre will cater to Indore and its nearby towns such as Dewas and Pithampur – a major Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and one of the largest hubs for the manufacturing industry in the country. Covering an approximate radius of 15km, this will reduce the transit time for the import and export of shipments. Additionally, the service center’s proximity to the airport will warrant early deliveries and accommodate to later cut offs times.

Gati Kausar initiated its first temperature controlled warehousing facility in India near Delhi, on National Highway 8. It is a state-of-the-art facility developed with superior technology and high quality design elements, in line with ISO 22000 standards. The new facility is spread over 4 acres, and currently has a capacity of more than 5000 pallets. It has multiple chambers that cater to temperature requirements ranging from -25 to +25 degrees C. K L Chugh, Chairman, Gati said “The launch of our first Refrigerated Express Distribution Center opens up an entire new world of business opportunities for Gati. This facility is the first in a network of cold stores planned across the country. As this network takes shape in future, Gati-Kausar will evolve into a formidable end-to-end Cold Chain Solutions company.”