Category Archives: Warehousing

UPS and Guidance, the Government of Tamil Nadu’s nodal agency for investment promotion and single window facilitation signed an investment Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to open more tech centers in India. The technology centres in India will continue to collaborate closely with UPS’s global tech teams for in-house technology development – solutions that make the company a world-class logistics provider with the best digital customer experience. This latest expansion builds on an initial investment announced in 2023, when UPS unveiled a strategic investment plan of $15-$20 million in its technology centres in India. In August 2023, the company opened its first technology centre in Chennai. The technology centres also show UPS’s commitment to the advancement of women and people from rural areas, including providing them opportunities for fulfilling careers in technology. o As part of its upskilling initiatives, students from the rural areas of Tamil Nadu have already joined the UPS technology centre as interns under the state government’s Naan Mudhalvan scheme. o The Women in Engineering Program, one of the Business Resource Groups at the technology centres, supports the representation of women in engineering through training, mentoring and development programs. o The technology centres also offer UPS ‘Returnship Program’ or ‘Paalam’ (meaning a bridge) – a unique opportunity for experienced technology professionals to re-join workforce after a career break. “Chennai can power innovation for the world as a world-class technology and innovation hub. It’s fueled by India’s ability to scale up talent pools and support innovation for global businesses and economic acceleration. We’re thankful to the Tamil Nadu government and the Guidance team for their support in developing a high-tech future powered by digitization, data analytics and automation. The …

Snowman Logistics has initiated operations at a newly leased multi-temperature-controlled warehouse in Guwahati, Assam. The total capacity of the warehouse is 5,152 pallets and this facility features eight chambers and four loading bays, equipped with the latest infrastructure. Specifically designed to accommodate products from ambient temperatures to minus 25 degrees Celsius, the warehouse will primarily focus on providing storage, handling and transportation services for ice cream, poultry, ready-to-eat food, dairy products, confectionery, bakery products, seafood, fruits and vegetables. Other products include pharmaceuticals, specialised chemicals and various commodities. Sunil Nair, CEO, Snowman Logistics said “The inauguration of our latest facility in Guwahati signifies a momentous achievement for Snowman Logistics. This establishment marks our initial venture into a fully leased cold storage facility, aligning with our strategic move towards becoming asset-light. With this expansion, our overall pallet capacity has soared to an impressive 1,41,000+ pallets, strategically distributed across 20 cities, thereby expanding our foothold in Northeast India.

The industrial and logistics sector witnessed significant growth both in terms of absorption and supply. In 2023, the sector witnessed absorption of 49.4 mn sq. ft. indicating a 6.7% increase compared to the 46.3 mn sq. ft. absorption in 2022. Notably, tier I cities witnessed 75% of the absorption while tier II and III cities accounted for the remaining 25% according to International real estate advisory firm, Savills India. Tier II and III cities are growing significantly as sourcing hubs, aiding efficient distribution. The absorption is being led by a surge in demand from the manufacturing and retail sectors, as well as continued sustained demand from the 3PL sector. The report suggests that the sector witnessed a fresh supply of 62 mn sq. ft. in 2023 of which 46.2 mn sq. ft. (75%) was from tier I cities and 15.8 mn sq. ft. (25%) from tier II and III cities. The surge in supply was due to the delivery of projects across the cities by major developers in response to growing demand. Absorption (mn sq. ft) across cities Note: Tier I city includes Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Pune. Tier II and Tier III cities include Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Hosur, Coimbatore, Rajpura, Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Surat, Indore, Kochi, Hubli, Vizag, Belgaum and Anantapur. The overall Grade A space accounted for 53% of the supply in 2023 up from 48% in 2022, while overall Grade A absorption accounted for 54% in 2023 up from 42% in 2022, indicating a significant increase in the supply and demand for graded and compliant buildings. “Fueled by rising domestic demand and expanding distribution networks in tier II and III cities, the industrial …

Horizon Industrial Parks, a portfolio of Grade A logistics parks in India owned and managed by Blackstone Real Estate funds, has welcomed Flyjac Logistics to its new built-to-suit logistics space. Flyjac Logistics, a 3PL service provider company, will be maintaining leading electrical and electronics company V-Guard’s warehousing operations in Horizon’s facility at Farukhnagar, Gurugram. Horizon Industrial Park Farukhnagar is a state-of-the-art, 108 acres grade A facility near IMT Manesar and Gurugram. It is an emerging premier gateway to North India’s logistics and warehousing market. The new facility of Flyjac will encompass 330,000 square feet in area alongside Amazon, LF Logistics, Rhenus and Reliance within the Industrial Park. Urvish Rambhia, principal at Blackstone, said: “Our commitment is building exceptional logistics space in prime locations so our tenants can better serve their customers and stay competitive.” AV Ravikumar, MD, Flyjac Logistics, said: “We have seen tremendous demand from customers who are increasingly going online and want faster deliveries. We are excited to expand our presence in India through Horizon Industrial Parks’ new state-of-the-art facility in Farukhnagar and continue to deliver excellent service to our tenants and their customers.” Antony Sebastian K, executive director, SCM, V-Guard Industries, said: “We are impressed with the facility provided by Horizon Industrial Parks to Flyjac for maintaining V-Guard warehousing operations. The operations are smooth, and it will help us to strengthen our business.”

As per the recent ‘India Warehousing Market Report – 2023’ by Knight Frank, top 8 markets in India registered a historic high in warehousing demand space, reaching 51.3 million square feet (msf), in the financial year 2022-23 (April 2022 – March 2023). The report also states that this growth is driven by a surge in activities from the third-party logistics (3PL), manufacturing, and retail sectors. The 3PL sector has seen the highest rise in demand at 34% compared to the previous year, and have emerged as the linchpin of the logistics and warehousing industry in India. The Knight Frank report attributes their success to their ability to adapt to industry best practices and processes, thereby enhancing efficiency and reducing operational costs. The 3PL service providers have also played a pivotal role in addressing the challenges faced by the warehousing sector, such as the lack of modern facilities, infrastructure bottlenecks, and the need for advanced technology adoption. Their expertise and investments have elevated industry standards, ensuring that warehousing facilities in India are increasingly aligned with global benchmarks. *****

Welspun One, an integrated fund and development management platform, will be investing over Rs 700 crore to develop an industrial and logistics hub spread across 55 acres within the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Navi Mumbai. For this, Welspun One has entered into a strategic collaboration with JNPA to jointly develop this project. The investment includes both land as well as construction cost. This marks the second deployment from Welspun Ones’ latest alternative investment fund that has a total corpus of Rs 2,000 crore. This project will be financed through a mix of debt and equity. “By empowering businesses and fostering employment, we are driven to generate significant regional and economic influence. The JNPA project is a declaration of our commitment to industrial excellence and the future of India’s industrial framework,” Balkrishan Goenka, Chairman, Welspun World.

Supply chain firm Prozo has leased 99,771 sq ft warehouse at Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. Chennai is one of the most important trade hubs in India, and the ports in and around the region receive shipments from around the world. With rising e-commerce logistics needs in the area, there is also a very high demand for enterprise-grade warehousing and integrated logistics support. Prozo focuses on integrating technology and automation into the supply chain to provide end-to-end logistics support. They oversee supply chains for over 100 enterprises, including leading e-commerce players. The latest addition is the 4th facility for one of the enterprises that is a leading player in asset pooling in Prozo’s extensive fulfillment network of over 34 centers across 12 Indian locations, covering 1.7 million sq. ft. “The Chennai region is one of the most important trade centers in India. Our strategically located warehouse will facilitate easy storage and transportation of goods from and to the rest of India due to the excellent logistics connectivity in the area,” said Ashvini Jakhar, Founder and CEO of Prozo. The services include fulfillment centers, D2C freight, Part truck load freight, full truck load freight, in-house built tech stack (OMS, WMS, TMS, planning & analytics tool, control tower) and retail as a service. The company operates in more than 10 categories and serves several large enterprises such as Reliance JioMart, Urban Ladder, Hyundai, Tata Consumer Services, McGraw Hill, Hisense, Marico, TMRW (an Aditya Birla Unit), HIL, and more.

The Warehousing Association of India (WAI) organised a workshop on Empowering Women in Logistics which Unveiled Strategies for Inclusion and Excellence on Empowering Women in Logistics. There was another workshop on Standardisation, Grading, and Rating of Warehouses in India. Inaugural ceremony had speakers, including Hoe Yun Jeong and Sumita Dawra, who gave insightful welcome remarks and a unique address. Hosted in Delhi by ADB, DPIIT, and WAI, the event aimed to shed light on the challenges faced by women in logistics and presented strategies to overcome them. Sanjam Gupta, Founder of Maritime SheEO, provided a comprehensive overview of the workshop. The workshop’s objectives included addressing gender diversity challenges, fostering inclusive work environments, and introducing the Survey on Diversity & Inclusion.

Panattoni, a global industrial real estate developer, has launched its inaugural project in India with its Grade A warehouse park in Delhi, NCR, with an investment of ₹110 crore in the first phase. Phase 1 of the project covers an expansive 717,000 square feet, with a potential built-up area of 360,000 square feet, said the company. This investment emphasises the company’s commitment to contributing significantly to the country’s industrial growth. Further, the construction is scheduled to commence in March 2024 and is expected to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of FY25.

Marking a significant investment of USD 100 million in Hyderabad’s economic landscape, FedEx Express (FedEx) inaugurated its first Advanced Capability Community (ACC) in Hyderabad today. At the forefront of this milestone is FedEx’s commitment to leverage exceptional talent in India to support digital transformation and innovation. The FedEx ACC is envisioned as a hub for technological and digital innovation, aligned with the Telangana government’s strategic emphasis on nurturing a thriving pool of tech talent. In addition to boosting employment opportunities, it will also contribute to the development of new capabilities and meeting the technological requirements of FedEx operations worldwide. Raj Subramaniam, President and CEO of FedEx Corporation, said, “This investment in talent and innovation is part of our broader plan to drive excellence and deliver unparalleled smart logistics solutions worldwide. By leveraging an exceptional talent pool, we are accelerating digital transformation and delivering innovative solutions to our customers.” The first FedEx ACC becomes a pivotal step in the company’s global strategy, initiating a network of such communities worldwide. Furthermore, it will fuel the company’s growth and expansion and bring added value to the global supply chain ecosystem.