How Warehouse Now is digitizing the warehousing industry in India

In 2020, the Indian warehousing market was estimated to be worth Rs 1,050 billion. Between 2021 and 2025, it is predicted to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.86%, reaching a value of Rs 2,028.86 Bn. In India, the warehousing sector is likely to expand in the next years.

The country has seen a rapid surge in the pharmaceutical, e-commerce, and manufacturing sectors are driving growth in the Indian warehousing market. The market's rapid expansion can also be ascribed to government policy assistance and increased institutional investment. Other variables, such as technical improvements like warehousing automation and robotic mechanization, are projected to transform the market in the near future.

The use of the warehouse system has grown significantly in recent years. From 2019 to 2020, warehousing and cold storage space occupations increased by 77% in India.

In India, 3PL (third-party logistics) is booming as it is a specialized company that offers customers distribution, storage, transportation, and fulfillment services. These customers outsource these types of operations to 3PL companies and rely on them to provide end-to-end management of specific services.

The 3PL market is growing and it is expected to grow at a rate of more than 11.5% between 2020-2025. Growth in the manufacturing, FMCG, retail, and e-commerce sectors is expected to drive the market. Warehouse Now is one of the top Indian players in this market.

Industry breakdown:

• In India warehousing and logistics is expected to grow by 15% CAGR by 2025.
• $360 billion has been already spent in the industry in India.
• It is moving towards becoming the third largest eCommerce industry in India.
• The industry is going to witness a 24% CAGR growth in the market of warehouse management systems till 2024.
• Job prospects worth $350 million are to be added by the year 2025.

Some positive triggers of the industry are as follows:

It has 100% FDI in B2B e-commerce and marketplace models. Even in Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities, there is a high level of digital penetration. Retailers are enhancing their Omnichannel capabilities. Because of the covid-induced lockdown, e-commerce is becoming a more popular shopping channel.

Overview:

Warehouse Now offers flexible and on-demand warehousing space, pay-per-use logistics and manpower solutions customized packing and infrastructure, fulfillment, and last-mile delivery services across the country. It collaborates with vendors across the supply chain industry to provide best-in-class services to its clients across industries. It is solving the problem for D2C brands, SME's, and large corporates by providing a tech platform for both demand and supply on the supply chain function.

What is Warehouse Now

Warehousing and its associated activities are part of a sophisticated sector known as logistics management. Procurement, inventory management, and distribution are all aspects of logistics. It is included in the supply chain, which also encompasses product development, marketing, sales, and other product-related disciplines.

However, the lack of viable lands, expensive land purchase prices, and a lack of adequate warehouse infrastructure in the country are some known challenges that are limiting market growth and expansion.

The warehousing and fulfillment sector is currently inefficient and fraught with many problems faced by both the clients and the suppliers.

Challenges faced by the clients are that there is no clarity and transparency around the pricing. There is no flexibility in the supply chain. Idle assets/resources are used, and no long-term commitments are entered into.

The Inception

Founded in 2019 by Tarun Saraf, Bengaluru-based Warehouse Now claims to be the first digital platform in India working in the warehousing space and other supply chain services by leveraging technology and solving all these problems.

Before launching Warehouse Now, Tarun had worked in many other logistics firm, and by the time he identified all the defects in the system, he noticed that there were not enough manpower when needed during sales spike and there were delays in order processing and way too many locks in's.

When he tried to find someone that will help him fix all the gaps he found no one. So he came up with his own venture to mend the broken system.

The startup says it has warehouses ranging in sizes from 100 to lacs of square feet. It provides a flexible workforce and completes fulfillments within stipulated timetables. They also provide warehousing, fulfilment, and last-mile services in any city within a day and for as little as a week.

With its tech-enabled solutions, Warehouse offers a Vendor Management system (VMS), Warehouse Management System (WMS), Pay'd a platform made for timely salary payments for the employees, a Warehouse listing app for the landlords, and a warehouse discovery app for its clients.

A platform for landlords to list their warehouses:

Through its listing app, Warehouse Now allows landlords to list their property without any hassles. The platform algorithm then matches potential clients to the warehouses listed on the platform.

The team oversees everything from end-to-end transaction steps, lease documentation, and compliance checks to money transfers, and everything that comes in between. Now if we look at a landlord’s journey with WHnow, the steps are extremely simple so that it can be decipherable for everyone.

The landlord is simply required to list his property on the app which is easily available in the app store. Now the WHnow team after a rigorous verification process takes it from there completely and oversees all the aspects from transactions to money transfers. After all the documentation process is finished the team then connects the property listed with potential clients looking for something just like that.

How does it benefit the customers

Now if we take a look at the customer’s perspective towards its journey to find the perfect property for their business. The interface is extremely easy to understand and use thus making the process seamless and without bumps.

The customer at first needs to share its requirements through the WHnow app of what they require for their business to run smooth. The warehouse discovery app then curates and floats the RFQ on the vendor portal of the platform.

Vendors then need to bid digitally on the RFQ and then WH Now shares the final proposal with the customer. The WHnow team takes care of the whole process right from the start to the end. The platform is on its mission to bridge the gap between the landlords and the business owners.

How does the worker body benefit from the platform

WH Now have also things set up for the worker body. The workers get access to Pay’d it is an application solely for keeping maps of salaries. Using Pay’d the workers can get access to their earnings on a real-time basis.

Now if we look at how Pay’d works after the deal is done with the customer the team gives access to salaries to the workers. Then the workers need to download the pay’d application and complete their KYC to further continue.

The workers get paid on daily basis and everything is transparent the HR marks their attendance and then the amount for the day is transferred to their payroll. The platform also allows workers to withdraw money on a real-time basis by paying small convenience fees also they can track their eligible balance after every transaction. The client gets billed every once a month at the end of the pay cycle.

Future plans

WH Now wants to make its services available across 500+ cities and towns in the country. The startup also plans to expand its services in other countries as well.

At Warehouse Now, we are building a largest digital platform for supply chain needs of businesses. Warehouse Now is the Amazon for supply chain needs of any business. We have in the last one year shipped more than 100 Mn products from our managed warehouses.

said Tarun Saraf

"We are solving supply chain problems of 20+ industries from a Pharma business to an FMCG business. Our clients include Fortune 500 Companies and D2C brands which are using our shared/managed warehousing to reduce their logistics cost and deliver to their customers in less than 4 hours," Tarun adds.

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