Abhijit Malkani
Real estate as an industry has been doing a lot of catching up on technology, and this crisis is making things develop even more quickly. After this situation is over, technologies which enable more efficient operation and communication will be an essential element of a good organisation. Abhijit Malkani, Co-CEO & Country Head, ESR India informs Upamanyu Borah, how data and analytics have proven to be a saviour for stakeholder interests and purposes and aided in retaining business continuity, and innovations that are set to change the way they transact business post-crisis.
ESR India has already digitised its parks to adapt to the 'new normal'
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ow hard has the corona crisis hit the real estate industry? COVID-19 has hugely impacted the real estate sector, however industrial and logistics segment are perceived to be more resilient and is expected to recover faster post the pandemic. Construction has resumed in most of our sites across the country, although deliveries will be delayed. There has been an inflow in demand and this creates a positive impact on recovery in the near future. The real estate industry was in an over-supply state even before the lockdown. Have things gone worse now? We had noticed a steady demand for Grade A spaces even before the lock32 |
July 2020
down, and the pandemic has pushed the demand for Grade A spaces even further. Companies seem to be more eager to adopt automation to further increase their efficiency, consolidate their businesses and increase safety initiatives, along with supplementing contactless business processes. Additionally, Grade A spaces are more adaptive for such implementations.
How concerned are you over the continuing deceleration in the economy? Deceleration in economy has been a major concern across sectors. However, the pandemic has boosted e-commerce, cold storage, FMCG, and pharmaceutical businesses. This is poised to lead to an increase in warehouse absorption in the next three to four quarters.
Any sort of new liabilities or challenges you have developeddue to adopting a decentralised work model? Has it affected your real estate portfolio? Being smart has always been a key positioning for ESR India. We launched the ‘ESR app’ during the pandemic to help us manage our parks digitally and follow contactless business processes. It has enhanced our portfolio and will help us deliver smart parks with increased safety and security measures, going forward. Could you elaborate on the ESR India’s quality focus that permeates all its activities and functional areas? ESR India is here to deliver next-gen industrial and logistics spaces. Our spaces are smart, sustainable and human-centric, designed to enhance our park experience and productivity of the users. ESR parks are managed through the ESR app, the app is enabled with contactless visitor management, wayfinding to direct trucks to assigned docks, amenity bookings for clients to book common facilities, live
