Our goal is to achieve a development pipeline of 50 million sq ft within seven years

01 Jun 2018 Editorial Team

- Rajesh Jaggi, Managing Partner, Real Estate, Everstone Group A JV between the Everstone Group and Realterm, IndoSpace has been setting the benchmark for warehouse design by introducing global best practices, enabling efficient and cost-effective operations. Rajesh Jaggi, Managing Partner, Real Estate, Everstone Group, shares more on the logistics market in India and the company's offerings. How has demand from warehouse operators or clients changed? The logistics market in India was valued at Rs 5.6 trillion in 2010 (~$82 billion); according to the recent Economic Survey report, it is currently estimated to be at $160 billion and is likely to touch $215 billion in the next two years. For warehouses, currently the overall trend is for large-format modern industrial and logistics infrastructure spread across fewer strategically located parks across the country that are well connected to urban hubs, national as well as state highways, railways, airports, and ports. Infrastructure developers like us provide end-to-end services v we handle land acquisitions, statutory compliances and clearances. We also offer µbuild-to-suit' options where we build facilities that are completely customised as per client specifications. We have built such facilities for global companies such as Ericsson and IKEA in our Chakan park, located at Pune in Maharashtra. Tell us about the type of materials specifically used in the development of a warehouse. Our parks are constructed to address the needs of manufacturers, retailers, 3PLs and other enterprises with large-scale distribution or light-manufacturing space requirements. All parks are master-planned to allow for efficient movement, and loading and unloading of trucks. Facility design includes ample clear heights, optimised column spacing, flat and super-flat floors designed to support high cube racking, high dock-door ratios, and extensive concrete truck courts. Some of the cutting-edge features of our warehouses include standing seam roofs, precast walls and energy-saving T5 lighting, 5-tonne super flat floors and inventive use of natural light and ventilation. IndoSpace's standard buildings are of 10-12 m to manage multilevel racking systems with fire management systems. We have the distinction of building an FM global-approved fire sprinkler system including in-rack sprinklers for Adidas, managed by DHL, and a built-to-suit green building for Swedish telecom giant Ericsson. This 200,000-sq-ft space features skylights, solar-powered common areas, insulated glass, and natural ventilation. How is IT contributing towards the planning and operations of warehouses? We are witnessing a surge in the use of automation, robotics and supply chain management systems to increase management efficiencies in warehousing. There are many inventory-management software systems available that streamline movement of goods in a warehouse, facilitating efficient operations. Drones, self-driving vehicles and robots are being introduced to help manage and sort warehouse inventory, leading to increase in output. Please introduce us to the current warehouse projects being developed by the company. At the end of last year, IndoSpace launched five new parks across the Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru regions, along with expanding our Ranjangaon and Chakan plants in Pune, and Oragadam parks in Tamil Nadu. We also announced the acquisition of 5.5 lakh sq ft in the industrial hub of Sri City in Andhra Pradesh in March 2018. With all these recent developments, IndoSpace is on course to achieving its goal of a warehousing and light industrial parks' development pipeline of 50 million sq ft within seven years.