CARGOCONNECT-JANUARY2025 - Flipbook - Page 81
PLUG-AND-PLAY : FEATURE
P
lug-and-play warehouse solutions o昀昀er
e-commerce businesses a transformative way to optimise operations, reduce
costs, and drive long-term growth. By
streamlining inventory management
and enhancing customer experiences,
these solutions o昀昀er on-demand warehousing space, allowing businesses
to rent storage and services on a temporary basis.
Additionally, they provide tools and functionalities that
simplify distribution and logistics, making the entire
process more e昀케cient and 昀氀exible. With quick deployment
and scalability, these solutions serve as an e昀케cient and
cost-e昀昀ective alternative to traditional ‘Own and Operate
the Warehouse’ approach, requiring minimal e昀昀ort
from clients. Standard integrations further simplify
the logistics process, improving e昀케ciency, 昀氀exibility,
and scalability. Ultimately, the plug-and-play model
helps reduce costs, save time, and boost productivity,
leading to improved business agility.
Handling the Festive Season Hustle
Drawing from her expertise in warehousing and
distribution management, Pooja Malik, Head of
Leasing at Horizon Industrial Parks, explains that
during the festive season, e-commerce businesses face
a multitude of challenges, many of which are related
to the unexpected spikes in demand. “Supply chain
disruptions, including inventory shortages, delays
in shipment, ful昀椀lment, and last-mile deliveries, are
common during this period,” she notes. “In addition,
customer service teams are under pressure as they
deal with increased queries, returns, and complaints.
This situation is further complicated by the challenges
of managing additional seasonal human resources.”
Given these challenges, plug-and-play warehouse
solutions provide e-commerce businesses with the
tools to stay agile and responsive. “These solutions are
designed to support the surge in demand by o昀昀ering
昀氀exibility in space utilisation,” Pooja continues. “They
also reduce setup time and costs, allowing businesses to
deploy infrastructure quickly without the usual delays
associated with traditional warehouse setups. The
modular systems are engineered to integrate seamlessly
into existing logistics networks, ensuring that businesses
can scale operations without major disruptions.”
Aditi Kumar, Executive Director, TVS Industrial
and Logistics Parks (TVS ILP) that specialises in
industrial and logistics infrastructure, further highlights the speci昀椀c ways plug-and-play solutions can
bene昀椀t e-commerce businesses during peak seasons.
“E-commerce companies often face overwhelming order
volumes during festive periods. Inventory management
becomes a signi昀椀cant challenge, especially when trying
to prevent stock-outs, while shipping delays are inevitable
with increased volumes. Additionally, the shortage of
labour during such periods makes it even more di昀케cult
to maintain smooth operations.”
Aditi points out that plug-and-play warehouse
solutions are ideal for handling these challenges and
equips e-commerce businesses to e昀昀ectively handle
the festive season’s demand surge.
Pooja stresses on the agility
factor that helps in responding
to changing consumer demands
The plug-and-play
during peak periods. She highmodel helps reduce
lights that this is reflected in a
costs, save time,
company’s ability to accurately
boost
productivity,
forecast demand using data driven
and business agility.
insights, track inventory in real
time, maintain strong logistics
It serves as an
partners, and strategically plan for
efficient
alternative
additional space and manpower to
to
traditional
‘Own
avoid bottlenecks.
and Operate the
As a real-estate developer
working closely with e-commerce
Warehouse’
and logistics companies, Pooja
approach.
explains that they recognise the
importance of e昀昀ective and timely
communication with tenants, a
deep understanding of their sales roadmaps, proactive
expansion into target markets, and scalable plug-andplay warehouse solutions. These factors, she attests,
are crucial for helping e-commerce businesses remain
competitive during the high-demand holiday season.
Kumar couldn’t agree more. “Demand forecasting
is vital. Analysing historical data and market trends
helps businesses anticipate surges, ensuring optimal
inventory levels for popular items, minimising stockouts,
and avoiding overstocking. Scalability is also key;
plug-and-play solutions with flexible capacity and
temporary labour can support higher demand,” she
asserts.
Both experts agree that one of the key bene昀椀ts of
plug-and-play warehouse solutions is their ability to
integrate automation into operations. “Automation not
only speeds up the entire process but also minimises
CARGOCONNECT JANUARY 2025 | 81
