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The top names of the India warehousing and logistics sector gathered to discuss and deliberate on the sunrise segment of Indian real estate and challenges and opportunities, which it presents.
Giving a motivating start to the knowledge sharing conclave the eminent thought leader of Indian real estate Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, Vice-Chairman of NAREDCO and MD of the Hiranandani Group addressing the audience. In his Keynote Address of the day he elaborated on the government’s initiatives to boost the logistics and warehousing in India. According to him, E-commerce has been the biggest driver of warehousing demand and hub & spoke model is becoming popular especially after the Covid. Moreover, GST has boosted the organized warehousing in the country and which is now attracting significant domestic and foreign investments.
CONVERGENCE OF GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
The first panel discussion on, ‘Warehousing Sector Re-Defined By E-Commerce & 3PL’ was moderated by Shyam Arumugam, Managing Director, Industrial & Logistics Services, Colliers. The Speakers were - Aditya Sikri, President, IndoSpace, N Sridhar, CEO - Greenbase Industrial and Logistics Park, Rajat Garg, Head of Investments - ESR India, Rahul Pandit, CEO, Horizon Industrial Parks and Richard Theknath, Chairman & MD, JetFrieght Logistics. The discussed the challenges facing the sector especially the land acquisition, rising cost of construction and transportation as well as what will be the factors that will contribute to the growth of still nascent sector.
The exclusive fireside Chat discussing Tier 2 Cities: The Warehousing Growth Hubs' had eminent speakers Amit Goenka, MD & CEO, Nisus Finance Services, Nirav Kothary, Executive Director, Godwitt Construction Pvt. Ltd, and Pratiik Jalan, Director, Jalan Builders, who concurred that the future of warehousing growth is in smaller towns, mainly due to lower land costs and the low concentration of Grade-A warehouses.
The next exciting conversation was on the subject of ‘Risks & Rewards of Investing in India’s Warehousing Sector’ that was chaired by Abhishek Bhutani, Managing Director - Logistics & Industrials, Cushman & Wakefield (I) Pvt. The panel speakers were - Anay Shukla – Chief Customer Officer, Welspun One Logistics Parks, Ashish Joshi, Founder and CEO, Landmark Capital Advisors, Rahul Virmani, Director, Operations & Business Development, S. M Logistics & Warehousing Co P Limited, Sandeep Narayan Singh Deo, Senior Director & Head - Industrial Investment Services, Savills India and Tapan Bhatt - Head Of Investment - Ascendas Firstspace. The speakers were unanimous when they expressed the need for standard regulations for the sector and reducing the approval times from the government. They also suggested forming an industry body that can represent the sector and share concerns with the government agencies.
The conclave concluded on a high note with a stimulating talk on "Scope for Value Added Services & Customization". The speakers were Shobhit Agarwal, MD & CEO - ANAROCK Capital, Ashish Shah, Head Leasing & Business Development, Logos Property and Mitesh Kaul, Country Head – Integrated Services, Embassy Services Pvt Ltd. They deliberated on the needs of the occupiers and readiness of the warehousing providers to cater to the same. From space customization within the standard format to health, safety, and environment conservation and technology tools, the scope of warehousing operations is constantly evolving.
The conclave was a huge success as it not only offered solutions to the industry's existing problems, but also shared the reasons for the Indian warehousing market's bright outlook and growth potential. Not surprisingly, the experts predict the sector’s total revenue growth reaching INR 2243.79 billion in 2026, expanding at a CAGR of 10.90%.
