With our last mile delivery, our tenants have the opportunity to expand their reach into niche markets

Vikas Yadav

Director, FWS Logistics

How do you look at the scenario in the logistics and warehousing sector in the post-Covid times?

Like other businesses, the Indian warehousing segment was also impacted by Covid initially. However, the pandemic and the various changes it would perpetuate the world over, has helped this segment in India to grow manifold, in the medium-to-long term. The Government of India policies are also favourable for the industry.

What are the logistics and warehousing solutions offered by FWS Logistics?

FWS is the first in the country to come up with vertical warehousing where trucks can go up and down in the warehouse. We also have world-class infrastructures in many strategic locations across North India. With our last mile delivery, our tenants have the opportunity to expand their reach into niche markets. Our warehouses are based on plug-and-play strategies, which make it very convenient for our tenants to set up and do business in our facilities.

How is warehousing sector evolving in India? What are the latest technology trends?

Over the years, warehousing industry in India has evolved from just brick and mortar shelters for the purpose of storing goods to highly sophisticated stockrooms, where (thanks to advanced tracking mechanism), each consignment can be tracked on a real time basis at the click of a button. Without these state-of-the-art facilities it would have been a herculean task for companies to ship and deliver consignments to the designated consignee, and the rise of the e-tail in India would have remained but a  fairy tale.

Not just e-tail, in any industry segment, which deals with physical goods, warehouses play a vital role in the entire value chain from raw material to customer delight. Specifically in the manufacturing sector, with lean manufacturing becoming the order of the day, a significant part of the functions from scheduling to labelling and packaging are being outsourced to third-party logistics providers.

What are the technologies adopted by the company towards smart warehousing operations?

Smart warehouses rely heavily on robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to allow technology to perform tasks like managing inventory and locating products around the warehouse rather than having the job performed by humans. Other important components of a smart warehouse include: Radio-frequency identification (RFID), wearable technology, sensors, and warehouse management systems (WMS).

What is the way forward for making Indian logistics sector efficient and economical in operations?

Lately, the logistics infrastructure has achieved the much-needed attention from business companies as well as policymakers. With Government of India making policies favouring both warehousing and logistics companies in India, it has brought many positive enhancements in the industry. India is a trucking nation and is so widespread that the cost of transportation via road is higher than those of the developed nations. This can be reduced by increasing transportation by rail network. Railways needs to introduce more parcel trains, cargo bookings and delivery outlets and introduce a high-speed freight corridor. Unless that happens, logistics costs alone dent the profitability and competitiveness of Indian manufacturing.

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