CARGOCONNECT JULY2024 - Flipbook - Page 24
COVERSTORY
WAREHOUSING ADVANCES
With the burgeoning e-commerce industry
and continuous technological advancements,
the warehousing and distribution sector is
expanding. In developed economies, this
crucial segment is continuously evolving
with ongoing infrastructure improvements,
leading to enhanced efficiencies. Notably
in India, the sector has transformed from
a traditional focus on transportation and
storage a decade ago to a specialised role
encompassing comprehensive product planning, end-to-end management, value-added
services for last-mile delivery, and predictive
analytics. This transformation leverages available resources and adopts globally recognised
warehousing norms and practices.
India’s industrial real-estate sector is
on the rise, o昀昀ering a plethora of exciting
opportunities. A favourable economic outlook
and huge pent-up demand combined with
rising a middle class population and income
and buoyant consumer sentiments is fuelling
this impressive growth narrative. This is
driving an exceptional growth trajectory,
with demand for box spaces surpassing
supply and realisations surging. Branded
and organised developers are especially
bene昀椀ting from this paradigm.
E昀昀orts by businesses to enhance overall
e昀케ciency and e昀昀ectiveness highlight the
practical benefits of efficient warehouse
management. Improvements in inventory
accuracy, reduction in labour costs, increased
昀氀exibility, enhanced customer service, and
responsiveness all contribute to boosting competitive advantage. Streamlining
operations results in e昀케ciency gains such
as reduced time spent on warehouse 昀氀oor
navigation, improved inventory accuracy, and
minimised hidden costs. E昀昀ective warehouse
management models provide supply chain
managers with continuous visibility, facilitating seamless coordination of operations and
logistics for timely delivery to retail outlets
or customers’ doorsteps. These integrated
warehousing and distribution operations
are crucial in today’s business landscape.
For manufacturing enterprises, e昀昀ective inventory management is vital for
maintaining a healthy bottom line. Despite
24 | CARGOCONNECT JULY 2024
experienced sta昀昀 involvement in warehouse
and ful昀椀lment activities, coordinating and
planning warehouse operations while integrating supply chain processes remain
challenging. The disruptions caused by
the pandemic prompted manufacturers
to re-evaluate processes and prioritise cost
reductions, including outbound delivery,
shipping, and transportation expenses. In
the current landscape, organisations seek
enhanced predictability and control over
warehousing services to navigate the new
normal e昀昀ectively.
Due to rapid industrial expansion driving
the establishment of modern sophisticated
logistics parks, India’s warehousing industry
is poised to surpass the 300 million sq ft
milestone by 2025, up from its current
inventory of 216 million sq ft, as per a joint
report by CREDAI-CRE Matrix. The report
for the 昀椀rst quarter of 2024 indicates a 5
per cent increase in rentals, highlighting
the persistent demand-supply gap in India’s
warehousing sector, with an absorptionto-supply ratio of 1.4 during the quarter.
The robust fundamentals of India’s
real-estate sector re昀氀ect its economic growth
trajectory, exempli昀椀ed by the rapid growth
with determining the size, scalability, role
evolution, and ecosystem of warehouses.
These are:
* Transformation of business models and
expansion of product ranges necessitating warehouses to adapt and accommodate diverse product assortments.
* Emphasis on balancing speed and
efficiency through mechanisation,
automation, and robotics in advanced
warehouses, enhancing competitiveness
in pricing and delivery speed.
* Increase in institutional logistics investments amidst challenges such as land
scarcity, driving the development of
larger and more sophisticated warehouse
facilities forward.
“The warehousing industry in India is
undergoing a signi昀椀cant transformation,
driven by the shift in consumer behaviour
towards digital trade and the formalisation
of sectors such as retail and FMCG. This
evolution is characterised by the development of modern logistics and supply
chain ecosystems, which are increasingly
incorporating advanced technologies like
arti昀椀cial intelligence (AI), machine learning
(ML), robotics, and automation to enhance
India’s industrial real-estate sector is on
the rise, offering a plethora of exciting
opportunities. A favourable economic
outlook and huge pent-up demand
combined with rising a middle class
population and income and buoyant
consumer sentiments is fuelling this
impressive growth narrative. This is
driving an exceptional growth trajectory,
with demand for box spaces surpassing
supply and realisations surging. Branded
and organised developers are especially
benefiting from this paradigm.
of specialised segments like warehousing.
Recent government policies, including granting infrastructure status to logistics, GST
implementation, and allowing 100 percent
FDI in warehousing and storage, have played
a crucial role in attracting investments to
this sector.
Driven by this renewed vigour and
determination, industry stakeholders are
setting higher goals, striving tirelessly
to achieve new levels of excellence for all
parties involved. In its report titled ‘Building
Warehousing Competitiveness: Unlocking
Growth through Intelligent Warehousing’,
Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) clearly highlights
three pivotal factors driving the transformation of warehousing infrastructure along
e昀케ciency and reduce operational costs,”
states Rajesh Jaggi, Vice Chairman – RealEstate, Everstone Group.
“This growth is poised to continue as
companies invest in new markets and infrastructure, ensuring that the warehousing
sector remains at the forefront of the digital
and formal economy,” he a昀케rms.
Jaggi highlights the emergence of builtto-suit (BTS) facilities and smart warehouses
as a testament to the industry’s commitment to innovation and customer service.
“These state-of-the-art infrastructures are
designed to support the growing demand
for last-minute delivery options, catering to
the new consumer expectations for speed
and convenience.”
