The logistics sector in India is on an upward trajectory especially since past two decades. According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the logistics industry of India is currently estimated to be around US$ 160 billion. The Economic Survey 2017-18 states- ‘with implementation of GST the sector is expected to benefit and touch US$ 215 billion approximately over the next two years. According to the Global Ranking of the World Bank’s 2018 Logistics Performance Index, India stands at 44th rank in 2018 in terms of overall logistics performance. The Logistics Performance Index report also showed that India’s logistics sector has improved its performance on all the six parameters used in the ranking. This is clearly an indication of the growth of this sector.
In India, a very popular exhibition of the Logistics industry takes place every year in the form of India Warehousing Show. The 9th edition of India Warehousing Show was organized by Reed Manch Exhibitions India Pvt. Ltd. from 20-22nd June 2019 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Over 264 exhibitors from India and the world are taking part in this 3 day exhibition which brings various stakeholders of the logistics sector of the globe at one place. The Exhibition was attended by over 264+ exhibitors from India and the world.
In his message, Mr. Anuj Mathur, COO Reed Exhibitions India says- “India Warehousing Show has always been the perfect mix of buyers coming to the show. The show hosts buyers from 3PL/4PL/5PL companies, automobile, OEM, FMCG, electronics, warehouse owners & consultants, manufacturing units, retail companies, Government departments, e-commerce, textiles, pharma, Importers & Exporters, architects & consultants.”
The Exhibition also saw several enlightening conferences, panel-discussions and special addresses on a variety of themes like:
Skilled manpower deterrents – A pressing issue
Best practices – need of the hour
Global investments – snowballing
Attracting investments in last mile delivery
Challenges and opportunities in Last mile logistics
Some of our key observations at 9th India Warehousing Show, 2019:
A sui-generis exhibition in India.
The exhibition has witnessed a constant growth in terms of number of exhibitors participating-
A sharp rise in number of Chinese companies taking part in India Warehousing show, 2019, as compared to 2018.
The number of genuine buyers has also increased significantly.
The diversity in the companies of various sectors has also gone up, leading to a more holistic coverage of logistics industry. This features companies ranging from bar-code scanning to steel building, Artificial Intelligence to Supply-chain management, automobile to FMCG, electronics to e-commerce etc. In our coverage of the event, we had interacted with several exhibitors, visitors, service providers etc. and took their valuable feedbacks regarding the exhibition.
Exhibitors’ feedback – Most exhibitors were regular participants of India Warehousing Show, participating from 3-7 years on an average. Some of them also took part in all the 9 editions of India Warehousing Show. Almost all of them unanimously agreed to classify this
India Warehousing Show as the sui-generis i.e. only of its kind, especially in India. Most exhibitors feel that the Exhibition organizers should focus more the focused publicity and visibility of the exhibition. This will lead in fetching more number of visitors, genuine buyers, researchers inter-alia. According to Mr. Rajiv Dhami, Owner, Rajkamal Bar Scan and Systems Private Limited, “Reed Manch has been doing excellent job since they started this India Warehousing Show as a concept. There have been
improvisations. There are new companies and new segments being
introduced. But with all these things, I would also like to communicate
one point to Reed Manch – They need to improve on the conferences they do because the conferences are not very well organized as of now. Also, the show needs to be marketed well”.
Visitors’ feedback – Although many visitors appeared satisfied and gave positive feedback regarding the India Warehousing Show 2019, however, some expressed their disappointments too. Their unanimous suggestion was organizers should give make sincere efforts in intense publicity and visibility of the show. Some of the visitors also complained about the ‘Promise-Reality Mismatch’. According to them, the organizers have promised regarding the presence of some prominent stalwarts of the logistics industry in the advertisements circulated. However many of them were actually not present in the show, leading to a huge disappointment to visitors. Increased number of Chinese companies- According to several visitors and exhibitors, this year i.e. the 9th edition of India Warehousing Show also saw a surge in the number of Chinese companies participating as compared to 2018.
This also reflects the growing desire among Chinese companies to increase their footprint and investment in India. Especially amidst the global headwinds of protectionism and increasing stress on globalisation, this is being considered a welcome sign indeed. The 9th India Warehousing Show, 2019 has witnessed large-scale participation from a plethora of sectors ranging from bar-code scanning to steel building, Artificial Intelligence to Supply-chain management etc. The three day event acted as a cornerstone not only for the logistics sector in India, but also for a variety of other sectors as well. Increased number of global participation in terms of both exhibitors & visitors belonging to diverse backgrounds acted as a catalyst in making it a true global congregation of logistics professionals.
