Four green warehousing trends to shape Indian logistics, supply chain

Switching completely or partially to a sustainable source of energy can help curb the carbon footprints of a space largely. Leveraging solar panels for partial or complete energy requirements of warehouses is set to be one of the most prominent aspects of green warehousing.

Effective and thoughtful use of resources can go a long way in reducing wastage, cutting costs and optimising operations. For example, replacing plastic and single-use materials with reusable solutions is also a good shift.

Apart from a well-structured WMS, emerging tech like AI, ML and IoT-based innovations can be integrated with WMS to ensure specific green operations are working smoothly and can be monitored around the clock to ensure maximum efficacy and results.

Effective planning and consolidating involve route optimisation, real-time tracking and tracing and ensuring the half-empty trucks or containers are not rushed off but instead are used smartly to club deliveries.

"Smaller everyday changes like going paperless or choosing to smartly utilise storage space by leasing out to unused space to smaller 3PL vendors, combining shipments with similar storage conditions and routes, replacing combustible forklifts with electric ones, replacing lights with LED’s and effective use of insulation doors, are all small but very effective modes of sustainable business practices."