Smaller cities become new hubs in the Indian warehousing landscape. India’s warehousing industry is ready to see a new future which is smart and one of the biggest in the world. With the government policies supporting the manufacturing activities in India, warehousing becomes the next big thing. India’s warehousing market, currently $12.2 billion, is expected to increase to $19.5 billion by 2025 according to a report by ResearchAndMarkets. The space requirement for warehousing is expected to reach 483 million square feet by 2026, growing at 12.77% CAGR.   Opportunity drivers Covid-19 has ..read more

Port-Centric Logistics (PCL) is a newly developed concept wherein the logistics and distribution services are located at the port. This is being seen as an alternative to inland logistic channels comprising distribution centres. The integration of the supply chain has resulted in more optimised systems. The ports are no more just the receiving points. They serve as the hubs for storing goods that are being delivered to different parts of a country. Shifting future of logistics operations Traditionally, the hub-and-spoke model was successful as the logistic networks were not very complex and le ..read more

Many organisations are aiming to become carbon neutral by reducing the carbon footprints through various environment- positive strategies. This means, any carbon released as a waste by any of the business activities would be balanced by removing equal amount of it from the environment. With the increase in the complexity of supply chains, organisations need to get into the details of their processes to find ways for doing this. 3PL service providers form important part of supply chain systems. They too, need to plan for an eco-friendly future that could support their partners to achieve carbon ..read more

Any organisation works well and produces desired results in the long term, only when it strives for regular improvement. Basic principles of Kaizen, a Japanese philosophy of “continuous improvement”, has been continuously used as an important tool by many organisations to achieve the same. Warehousing and supply chain management are no exceptions. With processes that need co-ordinated working of many departments with different functions under each of them means chances of errors remain high and perfecting any process is really hard. The concept of continuous improvement by making small changes ..read more

Any organisation works well and produces desired results in the long term, only when it strives for regular improvement. Basic principles of Kaizen, a Japanese philosophy of “continuous improvement”, has been continuously used as an important tool by many organisations to achieve the same. Warehousing and supply chain management are no exceptions. With processes that need co-ordinated working of many departments with different functions under each of them means chances of errors remain high and perfecting any process is really hard. The concept of continuous improvement by making small changes ..read more

Warehouse management has witnessed many technological advancements. The digital solutions and automation have optimised a lot of processes which has made operations easier and smoother. Amongst all these changes, this one thing still remains the most relevant and important one, which is ‘leadership’. Inter-departmental communication Leadership in managing a warehouse facility or network remains crucial for proper functioning and consistency in required output. This determines the strength of the teams working together for a common goal. In a warehouse, interaction and co-ordination between ind ..read more

Hiring a 3PL service provider could be the best decision for a business today! 3PL services can help you save logistic cost and reduce the supply chain complexity. With the increase in the number of options available for a product in the market, the amount of inventory is increasing day by day. The transportation and logistics is becoming more and more expensive. A lot of businesses are struggling in managing supply chain with in-house logistics. Hence, out-sourcing these services can reduce the load and make logistics cost-effective. 1. Public warehousing –shared spaces The warehousing spaces ..read more

Supply chain Network Design can be explained as the strategic planning of the supply chain in order to measure the cost and the time required to bring the goods and services from manufacturers and suppliers to the market. This ensures the optimum usage of resources available with the organisations. The designing of this network could help in bringing the finished goods from the raw-material-stage to the ready-to- consume stage in a more efficient way. Supply chain network design as a whole is the planning and implementation of supply chain operations in the most optimum way for long term benef ..read more

“Warehouses are complex structures that need to be co-ordinated well. Active communication becomes crucial to maximise operational output.” Challenges faced The traditional warehousing has been fragmented and unorganised in terms of operational procedures. The average size of warehouses increased from 10,000 sq. ft. in 2000 to 75,000 sq. ft. in 2017, giving way to modern warehousing. The logistics and industrial space leasing has increased by 45% in 2018 as reported by the leading real estate firms. E-commerce, retail, manufacturing and 3PL have been amongst the major organisations who leased ..read more

Customer expectations have gone much ahead of product quality and features like convenience, personalisation and privacy have become equally important. Hence, customer – centricity can create competitive advantage for businesses across industries. It has become more important, as the customers have platforms for directly voicing their experiences and feedbacks. Organisations need to plan and build systems to enhance customer experience by on-boarding their company staff and other stakeholders. Certain gaps that are created while the execution of these plans can hinder this process. Customer ex ..read more