Intralogistics has been considerably disrupted during the last decade. End-market changes like e-commerce-driven rise in B2C volumes in courier, globalization, and urbanization have resulted in increased business for intralogistics automation providers. Furthermore, low-cost data plans and reliable connectivity have boosted e-commerce sales in India's tier II and tier III cities.
Warehouses were once thought to be nothing more than dimly lit storage facilities. However, due to Covid 19, the term ‘warehouse’ is being rediscovered and redefined. It is now being conceptualized and built more than ever before. With state-of-the-art amenities accompanied by essential worldwide standards, and well-ventilated, large, and optimized warehouses, the future of logistics looks optimistic. Material flow and analysis have become critical components of industrial manufacturing and production for a variety of reasons. This includes efficiency and cost. In addition, automation is increasingly being utilized to mitigate the disruption produced by these developments. Since it is seen as the greatest approach to increasing dependability and efficiency, meeting the ever-increasing expectations of end customers is becoming more viable.
“India is becoming an important market for material handling equipment as the number of warehouses and container freight stations have grown. India's $850 billion retail industry is predicted to develop at 8% in the next decade, followed by a 20% increase in the $110-$120 billion organized market. Traceability and consistency in intralogistics are helping the business get closer to this aim. Manufacturers are emphasising scalable, multipurpose, productive, and cost-effective products. Newer technologies, such as the Internet of Things, are being implied to improve reliability by ensuring that maintenance is completed before a catastrophic failure. The industry intends to continue investigating equipment automation in the following decade to reduce manual labour, remove repetitive jobs, and reduce human dependency," stated Hemaraju Vasanthkumar, Head of Facility Design, Industrial Design, Automation and Packaging design at Udaan while speaking at the webinar hosted by Godrej Material Handling.
As online transactions become more popular, e-commerce has changed every component of the supply chain, including material handling equipment (MHE) and fleet services. Because of the shift from brick and mortar to online firms, this sector has a lot of room for growth. The high demand for warehousing is expected to continue in the near future. Inventory transportation and handling requirements are evolving as more businesses strive to extend their e-commerce capabilities.
“MHE industry is closely linked to the performance of manufacturing and logistics sector in India. The Indian market has seen a growth trend since 2016-17 on the back of increased manufacturing, logistics, and e-commerce activities. After a brief period of shock from lockdowns imposed during Covid-19, the demand bounced back as penetration of e-commerce increased exponentially during the last 2 years.Godrej Material Handling has equipped itself with automated technologies, digitally integrated machines and inspection rigs that have helped us in reducing defects due to human error to meet the propelling demand triggered by the e-commerce boom,” said Anil Lingayat, Executive VP and Business Head, Godrej Material Handling.