Transforming
over time from godowns to warehouses, warehouses have grown to become the
backbone of the manufacturing and the service industry. Traditionally
warehouses meant humongous spaces managed by a huge manpower. There have been
businesses that have been solely dependent on managing warehouses. Today, the
very nature of handling such space is changing.
With
supply chain getting advanced and evolved over time, warehousing is on a continuous improvement process. The volume
of material handling these days, demands use of automation instead of a large
workforce. This is to meet the expectations of accuracy and on time delivery.
In today’s world speed is everything, it can be your competitive edge.
Specially
in the manufacturing industry, with lean manufacturing and lean inventory
becoming the aim, having sophisticated material handling systems has become the
need of the hour. Similarly, growing consumerism especially with modern retail
and ecommerce in particular has led to ever increasing amount of logistics
handling in the service sector, for which proper warehousing stands crucial for
survival.
Warehousing in India
India- The changing scenario
Demand for modern and
sophisticated warehouses has witnessed a tremendous increase in India in last
few years because of influx of multinational companies as well as
export-oriented companies who are ready to invest in the warehousing
infrastructure.
Need for large scale
warehousing or dedicated logistics parks is fast catching up in India. The
industry is mostly fragmented and unorganized; dominated by many small players.
Also, the role of
warehouses has increased due to wider product range, emphasis on shorter lead
times and constant changes in customer demand with changing dynamics of the
country.
In a recent study done
by World Bank, India has jumped 19 positions in the Logistics Performance Index
(LPI) which means India is on the growth path as far as the Logistics handling
capacity is considered. Also, in 2017, India made the highest ever jump to come
within the top 100 countries in the “Ease of Doing Business’ index of the World
Bank. This indicates that, India is becoming a preferred destination for global
companies.
Although India is on the path of technological
advancement, more needs to be done. Out of the many fields, warehousing and
logistics management is one such important field that needs attention. The
warehousing industry in India is growing at a rate of 10 percent every year.
Considering the current scenario, the growth in Indian warehouse industry is
led by various factors, prominent amongst them are:-
➢
growth in manufacturing, engineering and
service industry;
➢
growth in e-commerce, modern retail,
digitization, government thrust on cashless economy;
➢
growth in domestic consumption;
➢
fast growing exports and international
trade;
➢
growth in private and foreign investments
with government’s Make in India Campaign;
➢
introduction of GST integrating India
into a unified market;
➢
increase in trade through foreign
investments in the SEZs(Special Economic Zones)
➢ growth
in openness of the Indian economy and market integration;
According to studies, Indian logistics market is expected to
grow at a CAGR of 12.17% by 2020 driven by the growth in the manufacturing,
retail, FMCG and e-commerce sectors.
Why innovating in warehousing is
crucial?
In today’s globalized world the cost of manufacturing a well
specified product is pretty much the same anywhere in the world. Then there is
the market price which is determined by the consumer base. So with the input
and output prices being controlled by external influences, one of the few areas
where companies can leverage competitive advantage is their supply chain of which
warehousing is a part. So innovation in the warehouse become not only crucial
but necessary for survival. Some other issues specific to industry and India are
as follows:
Labour Problems- Labour in India though available in
large number as well as cheaply, its not easy to manage them and they are
highly unskilled. Compared to other countries, labour in India don’t receive proper
training and thus lack industry knowledge. Hence, there are issues of labour
union, regulation issues and differences between labour unions and company’s
management.
Bulky Material- Industries like textile, iron and
steel industry etc. handle huge quantity of bulky material everyday. A large
workforce is required to handle such huge quantity and managing such a large
workforce requires more management and safety is always a concern.
Environment issues- With mass productivity being the
prime moto today, industries face problems of space availability, land issues
etc. Sometimes challenging environment to work in like in cold storages, high
work temperature areas also hinder the productivity of workers. In such cases
replacing man with machines can be a boon .
Solution to problems of Warehousing
Automation and optimization are key to Innovations in
warehousing.
Harnessing the power of technology and maximizing a
facility's potential can be a competitive edge. This demands companies improve
their warehousing facilities and advance their logistics handling with
efficient supply chain management environment. One such expert in materialhandling solutions and logistics management is Daifuku.
Daifuku, provides its expertize in utilizing the warehouse
space optimally with its custom-made solutions. Daifuku’s AS/RS helps pace up
the movement and use the right amount of space with the least human dependency
in a safe way.
A final word
Innovations in warehousing will most certainly help achieve
improved operating efficiency, cut cycle time, prevent material handling loss
and provide controlled access. Daifuku’s products such as AS/RS, Unit Load
AS/RS, Mini Load AS/RS, Racking Systems help deliver speed and effciency for
today’s supply chain management (SCM) environment. Daifuku caters to all types
of customer needs and designs and builds ensuring high quality and long-term
reliability.
About the author
Mr. Asim Behera is presently the COO at Factory Automation
and Distribution Automation; Daifuku India. With his esteemed direction and guidance,
Daifuku has become the fastest growing ASRS Company in India. He is a business veteran,
a guest speaker at various industry platforms such as CII, ASSOCHAM, CEMAT,
IWS, and Symbiosis University and an expert in automated storage &
retrieval systems and material handling systems. His experience in varied
markets such as India, US, Europe, & Japan helps companies set up market
entry strategy for new technologies and services.
About Daifuku
Since 1937, Daifuku has been world-class Automated
Materials Handling Company – conveying, storage, sorting, picking and controls.
We have a global network of offices and subsidiaries that offer design,
engineering, sales, installation and commissioning of an Automated Storage and
Materials Handling System.
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