It’s a quiet morning, starting with coffee and music. As you reach for your earpods, a mishap occurs—one falls into your coffee. Disappointment looms, but a one-day delivery service saves the day. While brewing another cup, you quickly order new earpods. By the time your coffee is ready, the replacement order is confirmed. In the afternoon, a knock on the door announces the arrival of your new earpods, brightening your day.
This incredible convenience has been made possible by the transformation of warehousing. The omnichannel inventory is available in these warehouses/dark stores across cities and towns.
Warehouses have become the beating heart of operations, where careful coordination of inventory, efficient order processing, and value-added services come together to make everything run smoothly. In essence, warehouses are the linchpin that ensures a perfect balance between what’s available and what’s needed, ensuring that products reach customers when they’re required.
Warehousing in India: Trends and Opportunities
India’s logistics sector LPI Index, growth is being fuelled by “Make in India,” PLI schemes, and China +1 strategies, leading to a surge in demand for warehousing. Government efforts through the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), and Multi-Modal Logistics Parks (MML) are also in the direction of reducing logistics cost as a percentage of GDP from 12 to 14% to 8%.
Prem Ramchandran, Regional Head – Fulfilled by Maersk for India, Middle East and Africa says, “India needs to improve in the quality of logistics parks to match the global standards and to support the economic pace to be the 3rd largest economy.”
Industry status and the national logistics policy accelerated progress, while technology adoption (WMS, automation) soared. Innovations such as 4PL, control towers, AI, and Cold Box delivery reshaped operations.
Hub-and-spoke transport increased competition and fostered start-ups. Capacity building, consolidation, and MMergers and Acquisition trends emerged. Evolving consumer behaviour required adaptation to omni-channel retailing, cross-border trade, and direct-to-consumer trends.
Maersk: Exemplifying Expertise in Logistics Solutions
India aims to be in the top 25 of the Logistics Performance Index and to reduce logistics costs from 13% to 8% of GDP in five years. The support of the warehousing industry is critical to the demand for logistics infrastructure, which includes parks, cold chain facilities, and eco-friendly practices to achieve these ambitious goals.
Maersk has been working to address the pain points of the integrated supply chain and to create a network of assets to support the market demands. Maersk is setting up strategically located grade-A sites to serve as hot spots of production zones, consumption centres, and logistics efficiency-based locations.
Their emphasis lies in developing cutting-edge infrastructure, using technology for fast turnarounds, and adapting to the demands of omni-channel distribution in today’s Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) world.
To facilitate these requirements, Maersk has partnered with large developers like IndoSpace – a reliable steadfast partner that has 51 Parks with a portfolio of 58 million square feet across 11 cities fostering growth and reliability. The partnership extends across three strategic clusters – West, North, and South.
Amit Gourwar, FbM Delivery Head IBS, Maersk says, “Having quality developers helps to match the compliance standards and sustainability goals, the sharply designed park layouts and warehouse features enable a better quality of operations.”
Maersk’s Commitment to Expansion
Maersk is committed to expanding its presence in India by venturing into tier 2 and tier 3 geographies. The launch of the Nagpur warehouse marks the company’s entry; plans extend to northeast, central and southern coastal parts.
Prioritising sustainability, Maersk is working on electric vehicles, and ammonia-based cold storage, and aims to have all all-green warehouses by 2028. Women empowerment, LGBTQ-friendly spaces, and decarbonisation are key priorities.
Maersk’s approach- to warehousing in India’s embodies strategy and sustainability. Technology adoption, infrastructure solutions, and sustainability are driving its role in shaping the future of warehousing in India, fostering industry growth and competitiveness.
