India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world today and this is largely attributable to its manufacturing and service sector. These two sectors have shown steady growth, especially in the last decade, on the back of the easy availability of skilled manpower. This scenario has also necessi-tated the strengthening of back-end infrastructure which includes investments in processing, manu-facturing, distribution, logistics and warehousing.
In view of the above, it’s worth looking at the ways in which warehouse construction has trans-formed in India in the past few years.
Size and Location Matter
There has been a marked increase in the preferred size of the warehouse spaces over the years. Large-sized warehouses which can make space for longer conveyor belts, automatic retrieval, and larger sorting facilities have become the standard now. They facilitate faster movement of larger volumes of orders and real-time tracking of consignments, from pick-up and packaging to shipment, transforming the way warehouses functioned formerly.
There has also been a surge in demand for warehouses near urban locations and satellite townships due to their consumption and distribution advantage. Moreover, these locations have lower capex cost and more available land. The e-commerce boom has resulted in strong demand for large ware-houses in Tier 1 as well as a number of Tier 2 cities, like Jaipur, Ludhiana, and Coimbatore. Compa-nies are racing to expand their e-commerce distribution networks to reach as many customers as pos-sible in a given period of time.
In this context, the large-sized logistics parks in Haryana, are a case in example. Being spacious, well-equipped and strategically located, they cater to the high volume of demand and supply in the national capital region as well as the northern region of India, advancing the rationale behind the large size and thought-out location.
Well-equipped with amenities
Earlier, warehouses in India essentially used to be run by transport companies to offer supply chain services such as transportation or warehousing services only. The growth of e-commerce has effec-tively re-oriented warehousing spaces into customised next-generation logistics hubs.
Today, e-commerce retailers need a large number of workers to help in packing, sorting and shipping large number of packages in warehouses and distribution centres. In order to retain workers’ produc-tivity, they are favouring sophisticated, well-equipped warehousing facilities. So, warehouses are now expected to have built-in amenities like fully functional kitchen, food vending machines and comfortable lounge areas for workers’ time-out breaks.
Tighter schedules for construction
Nowadays, new and prospective warehouse owners want to make their facilities operable as soon as possible in order to start putting in equipment and scale their operations. Therefore, builders have to get the job done right the first time and fast. This requires a special level of skill and expertise and only a well-trained team can help meet the requirements in exacting timelines.
In the construction of complex warehouse centres, critical parts like electricity, plumbing, and HVAC must be delivered first. For this, warehouse construction managers need to coordinate close-ly with the material-handling provider at every stage of construction. What’s more, warehouse con-struction managers are now beginning projects even without having an already booked buyer be-cause the overall demand for these spaces has become so high and the time-limit given for construc-tion is so limited. This was unthinkable till a couple of decades ago.
Stronger infrastructure
More and more importance is given these days to stronger load bearing capacity in order to hold and run large machines etc. in super-sized warehousing spaces. Investing in strength and safety of warehouse construction reaps dividends in the long run. Therefore, construction firms need to beef up floors, walls, and roofs to accommodate heavy equipment. The warehouse space for rent in Pune comes with robust construction in spacious site locations. This makes them suitable for wide scale, heavy-weight logistics or automobile & auto parts industry that is widespread in the region.
These are some of the aspects which are reshaping the outlook of warehouse construction in the country today. With the support of structured governmental reforms such as the implementation of the GST Act and granting of infrastructural status to warehouse construction, the warehousing sec-tor looks poised to expand further in the coming years.
