Punjab Eyes Investments to optimize Logistics & Warehousing Infrastructure by E-commerce Companies

No. PR- 237

February 26, 2021

New Delhi

Punjab Eyes Investments to optimize Logistics & Warehousing Infrastructure by E-commerce Companies

“Punjab has great potential for logistics and warehousing companies” stated Mr. Sibin C, IAS, Secretary, Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of Punjab while addressing a Video Conference on Punjab Logistics & Warehousing Connect – Forming Future Collaborations organized jointly by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) and Punjab Logistics Infrastructure Limited here today. The objective of the Session was to discuss the collaboration opportunities for industry and government to modernize the infrastructure and the factors impacting the changing requirements of logistics & warehousing infrastructure along with supply chain strategy to meet the emerging demand of end to end delivery within tier 2 & tier 3 cities.

Addressing the Session, Mr. Sibin C stated that logistics is very important sector for Punjab as it is a landlocked state. However, the presence of excellent road and rail connectivity in the State compensates for this drawback. Logistics is a thrust sector and Punjab ranks second in ease of logistics.

Mr. Sibin added that the State has a separate Logistics Cell to provide land and assist the logistics companies. Punjab is part of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor that runs from Ludhiana to Calcutta. Besides, there is an ICD in Amritsar and Mega Industrial Parks are coming up in Ludhiana, Bathinda and Rajpura. Moreover, the State has a business friendly Industrial Policy that offers numerous incentives to investors. Punjab has also implemented multiple Reforms at State and District level across various sectors. The presence of over 2.6 lac MSMEs offers great potential for warehousing and logistic sector and makes Punjab an attractive investment destination for warehousing and logistic companies.

Mr. Sibin invited warehousing and logistic companies to invest in Punjab and assured all support to them.

Speaking on the occasion, Sh. Yashanjit Singh, IRTS, Managing Director, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation noted that Punjab has a major share in ecommerce in the region and has good road, rail and air infrastructure and is strategically located as far as logistics is concerned. It is part of Eastern Freight Corridor. It has a multi-modal park with lot of potential for logistics and warehousing sector. The State has surplus power along with surplus land. He also invited industry to invest in logistics and warehousing sector in the State.

Presenting the Industry Perspective, Mr Ramesh Agarwal, Chairman, Agarwal Movers and Packers said that consolidation of warehousing was triggered by GST but Covid-19 has necessitated decentralization of the same. He informed that the need of warehousing space is not same throughout the year. While it rises during the peak season but during the lean period the space remains unutilized. As the warehousing space involves huge cost, there is need to optimize the use of space. He shared the model being adopted by his company to reduce the space cost by use of mobile containers for temporary storage during the peak season instead of permanent covered space. He added that the transportation, packaging and loading/unloading cost are also be saved in this process.

Mr Achal Paliwal, CEO, Tata Motors Distribution Co. Ltd shared that post covid, the demand for vehicles has gone up but manufacturing is still low. He said that to save on costs, their company is working on JIT Model as logistics and warehousing are a major cost for auto sector. He mentioned that they are catering to the entire north region from Karnal where they have a big warehousing facility.

Mr. Paliwal suggested that the unused land of railways and Punjab Government can be used for building warehousing facilities with Industry-Government collaboration.

Mr Satyam Choudhary, Senior Director – New Supply Chain Capabilities, Flipkart said that post GST, their goal is to optimize the warehousing cost along with cost of service to customers as this forms a major expense for e-commerce companies. He said now speed of delivery is a major parameter for customers. Therefore, they are decentralizing the warehousing facilities to be closer to the customers.

Mr. Chaudhary added that as now their customer base is expanding to tier 2 and tier 3 cities, the lack of quality warehousing is a major bottleneck for e-commerce companies. He said mechanized warehouses and digital supply chain are the present trend in industry as these provide cost effective and efficient solutions.

Mr Puneet Mehndiratta, Vice President, Adani Logistics shared that their company has commissioned silo storage facilities in Punjab and M.P. for scientific storage of food grains to reduce their wastage. In H.P. they have created an integrated cold supply chain – Adani Agrifresh for storage, packing and supply of apples. He said there is great need for scientific storage facilities in Punjab to minimize the wastage of perishable farm produce. He said that Punjab has great potential for Container Depots which can be built on PPP mode.

Earlier, welcoming the speakers Mr. Madhu Sudan Vij, Chair, Chandigarh Chapter, PHDCCI appreciated the setting up of State Logistics Committee by the Punjab Government to address the concerns related to logistics infrastructure and process barriers in time bound manner.

The Session was moderated by Mr. Himanshu Rattan, Partner, KPMG.

Thanking the Chief Guest, Mr. Sibin C, Guest of Honor, Sh. Yashanjit Singh eminent Speakers from Industry and participants, Ms. Madhu Pillai, Regional Director, PHDCCI hoped that information shared during the Session would be helpful for the industry players to shape up their future supply chain strategy and also bring new investments in State of Punjab.

Ends

Media Division

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry