CARGOCONNECT-AUGUST 2025 - Flipbook - Page 29
NEW URBAN EQUATION : COVER STORY
From a policy standpoint, Bansal credits the government’s proactive support in driving this transformation.
“Initiatives like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, the National
Logistics Policy (NLP), and the broader urban development
vision have received strong 昀椀nancial support. These
are steps the government should have taken much
earlier,” he states. Comparing India with developed
economies, Bansal adds, “When I was in Germany,
logistics losses were around 7% of the GDP. In India,
they are still between 12–14%. So, there is clearly room
for improvement.”
Bansal welcomes the move to grant logistics infrastructure status, noting that it has unlocked more
investment and accelerated development. “Overall, I’m
genuinely happy to see the growth happening in tier II
cities. It re昀氀ects a real shift in the logistics landscape
and signals a strong future for both infrastructure and
commerce in India.”
Adding a broader industry lens, Singhal, points
to the regional and global momentum behind this
transformation. He observes that Asia-Pacific now
accounts for nearly 30% of global warehouse real-estate
revenue, with distribution centres projected to grow at
a 10% CAGR through 2027. This expansion, he states, is
driving logistics hubs deeper into urban cores, especially
in India, where demand for high-throughput, in-city
distribution is rising rapidly.
Singhal spotlights, “Outdated industrial plots and
low-yield commercial sites are increasingly being
converted into next-generation assets—multi-storey
warehouses, vertical logistics infrastructure, and
mixed-use developments. In major metros like Mumbai,
Delhi-NCR, and Bengaluru, warehousing leases are
being signed at rates comparable to prime commercial
space, its growing importance in the commercial
real-estate mix. What was once a back-end industrial
function is now emerging as a frontline component of
urban infrastructure, in昀氀uencing master planning,
leasing dynamics, and even mixed-use real-estate
formats.”
Singhal also notes that this shift is blurring the
boundaries between logistics and commercial zones,
requiring city planners to re-evaluate zoning frameworks,
infrastructure capacity, and multimodal connectivity.
Across these perspectives, a common thread emerges:
industrial hubs are no longer passive back-end spaces, but
active participants in how modern cities are structured
and serviced. They are shaping not only the 昀氀ow of goods
but also the trajectory of urban real-estate, investment,
and infrastructure itself.
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT:
THE ACHILLES’ HEEL OF Q-COM
SCALABILITY
Speed of delivery may de昀椀ne the Q-com experience, but
it is inventory management that ultimately determines
whether that promise is met consistently—or missed
entirely. Behind every 10-minute delivery is a network
of supply chain operations that must operate with
precision. For many Q-com platforms, gaps in these
backend systems are emerging as the biggest roadblock
to scaling pro昀椀tably.
ANSHUL SINGHAL
Co-Founder and
Managing Director,
Welspun One
ALOK BANSAL
Founder, 13sqft.com
and Director,
BuildMyInfra
Strategically located in-city
fulfilment centres are critical
for Q-com companies.
Additionally, to meet a
