Gaurav Varma Managing Director

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In what ways the logistics sector can improve by leveraging the emerging patterns? The Indian logistics industry is in the middle of a technological evolution. The sector has been witnessing a multi tude of changes ever since it woke up to the reality of e-commerce a decade back.

However, the industry needs sig nificant consolidation over the next 4-5 years with an increase in supply of lo gistics capacity. Right now, the market is competitive from the rate perspective, but the same cannot be said from the service side of things. The situation could change in the future, as with more capacity, the quality of services would be expected to gain centre stage, leading to a more efficient logistics ecosystem.

The sector would need an integrated and coordinated approach in which de velopment of – railways, waterways and roads- is matched to the needs and the existing assets are better utilised. In particular, India needs to increase its use of railways and realise the potential of its waterways.

Where does Aveny stand in creating a competitive warehousing market in India? As India’s warehousing and logistics landscape is transforming, the need to have an efficient supply chain is grow ing exponentially. Smart organisations like Aveny stand tall in addressing the need for specific, tailor-made built-tosuit solutions for industrial and logistics parks in India.

As location plays the most critical role in developing efficient multimodal link ages for the seamless flow of goods for a logistics park, the warehousing spaces are being developed as a strategic advantage.

Further, Aveny, through its partner companies offer solutions for businesses that have land requirements for new or expansion of ventures, storage facilities, or for meeting specific business needs. Ded icated services in hospitality, leisure, agrotourism and realty are also tailored so as to meet client’s specific requirements. Warehousing is a horizontal development and not a verti - cal one like other commercial spaces. The right shape of land is important, so is the right zone with access to road and rail networks. Similarly, the only way to survive and thrive in this omnichannel, contactless era lies in looking into non-traditional fulfilment methods that can provide flex - ible and cost-effective solu- tions to the issue at hand. In an exclusive interview, Gaur av

Var ma, Managing Direc - tor , Ave ny Industr ial

& Ware housing apprises Upamanyu Borah, about mini warehousing complexes or micro-fulfilment centers for on-demand fulfilment that are expected to come up across India, and how they are look - ing at smaller cities more favourably to reap the benefits of better contracts with their trading partners.

Focus on regional fulfilment is crucial in the face of COVID-19

Today, Aveny is one of the fastest growing organisations, in the field of Industrial and Logistics Parks in India. To cater to the surge in demand for ware housing space, Aveny is developing industrial, logistics and warehousing Parks in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Presently, with around 1.5 mn sq ft space already leased to MNC clients, Aveny is working towards its vision to develop 7.5 mn sq ft industrial and warehousing spaces by 2022, at prominent locations across India.

What makes your services different? Are there value-added benefits compared with offerings from other competitors? At Aveny, we believe in commitment, innovation and quality. While designing the master layout, we consider each and every aspect which helps clients to opti mise efficiency. We develop fully compliant Grade A warehousing parks at strategic locations with easy accessibil ity of transportation, labour availability, and round-the-clock security. We also offer state-of-the-art common facilities centers, best planned utilities, and land scaping inside our parks. Our facility team is always available to further sup port our services and respond to queries straight away.

Aveny’s technical team is in a posi tion to design and deliver standard PEB/ RCC buildings or customer specific structures to meet individual require ments. The structures are of exceptionally high standards and offered at the most economical prices. Besides, Aveny renders comprehensive end-to-end ser vices to its clients for property selection and acquisition through leasing, and follows the best possible real-estate prac tices. The diverse experience enables us

to assist clients in handling both short and long-term assignments.

From a practical perspective, how will a warehouse or logistics center emerge in terms of meeting the common challenges? In the post-COVID-19 era, we are already starting to see what we anticipated; the mix of warehouse and logistics centers evolving. Earlier, the consideration was GST that started the process of consoli dation of warehouses, resulting in consequent savings on cost. Now, the factor of last-mile delivery has come in. The network has to change to meet the new requirements arising due to the crisis.

Pop-up distribution centers, or mi cro-fulfilment centers, are emerging as one option that can remove significant friction from the fulfilment process and ensure consumers are getting the goods they need in a timely fashion. Tradi tional distribution centers and fulfilment strategies often are aligned with costly rollouts and long-term commit ments, while pop-ups offer many retailers the flexibility to quickly and costeffectively set up a distribution center operation in a location experiencing in creased demands. This focus on regional fulfilment is crucial in the face of COVID-19 to shorten the supply chain and make sure products are as close to end consumers as possible.

How far has Aveny been successful in its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives? Aveny is committed to green initiatives as one of its corporate responsibility practice. With a strong determination to minimise the carbon footprints, Aveny follows most modern practices like smart landscaping, solar energy saving, rain water harvesting, appropriate waste disposal, etc.

What trends you see will shape the growth of the warehousing sector post-pandemic? The modern warehousing industry is seeing multiple new trends emerging. The penetration of technology in opera tions, new and innovative business models and strategies, increasing supply chain efficiencies, increased warehous ing demands, varied funding avenues; favourable government policies and geo graphical expansion in tier II and III

cities are together playing an instrumen tal role in preparing the sector for the next phase of development.

The development of strategic infra structure in line with mega new and upcoming projects such as the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the North–South–East–West Corridor, as well as modernisa tion initiatives such as Dedicated Freight Corridors along with upgradation of ports and terminals on both the east and west coasts of the country, will result in in creased growth of the warehousing sector. Apart from that, the infrastructure proj ects will also create the need for setting up multimodal logistics parks.

With around 1.5 mn sq ft space already leased to MNC clients, Aveny is working towards its vision to develop 7.5 mn sq ft industrial and warehousing spaces by 2022, at prominent locations across India.

How should companies prepare to adapt to the new normal while keep ing a check on their well-being while businesses realign their marketing strategies to unlock rapid recovery? Businesses will not go back to the way we knew before the pandemic, but will reinvent themselves to be more resilient, adapting their operational models to the ‘new normal’.

The short-term impact for occupiers is proving to be significant as their busi ness-as-usual activities are affected with changes occurring on a daily basis. The immediate shock and realisation of the outbreak is now over and the majority of occupiers are in response mode after a short phase of preparation and imme diate actions. Occupiers are preparing for re-entry of their facilities and send ing their workforces back to work.

This phase is complex to navigate, requiring some restructuring and cour age from business leaders and their workforces. Occupiers must determine the level of modification required to re turn to business: prepare, redesign and fit-out workplaces ready enough to in vite employees back to the office, combined with remote working capabilities and a robust triage approach.

Where do you see the role of the government in fast-tracking the development in the sector? The government has reiterated its firm commitment to modernising the func tionalities of Indian logistics with a key focus on infrastructure development. With a view to improving supply chain efficiencies and enhancing connectivity to support logistics players tap the un der-leveraged markets in the country’s hinterlands, key infrastructure develop ment projects have been rolled out. Upgrading India’s infrastructure will not only boost the economy but will also provide a boost to the logistics sector.

The last few years have seen a strong build-up, thanks to efficient policy rollout such as Make in India, GST, giving infrastructure status to logistics and ini tiatives such as setting up a logistics department, headed by a special secretary under the aegis of ministry of commerce.

Now, the next phase is likely to see differentiated demand growth based on quality.

The government both at the nation al and the state levels has to play an even more proactive role. It needs to implement the policy reforms with an increasing zeal and it needs to complete the large infrastructure development plans on time. Unless an efficient infra structure and a sustainable set of policies are in place, the consolidation of the supply chain will happen slower than expected, and the wider migration of companies, from Laggard to Smart warehouses, will decelerate.