| |April 20188CIOReviewarehousing industry in India is still in its nascent stages. In the west, there are large consultative warehouses that are highly productive whereas in India there are small warehouses where everything is dependent on a few people present in the warehouse. GST would be a big enabler to ripe the professionalism of the warehousing industry. Now, the small warehouses could be converted into bigger warehouses with complex and modern technological facilities which will help in reducing inventory holding costs as well. Indian warehousing industry isn't a value addition to companies as warehouses are scattered. What needs to be changed here is that we need to take advantage of no boundaries within a state and invest in a bigger consolidated warehouse equipped with latest technological equipments and take warehousing to the next level. There is a dire need to invest in physical infrastructure as well as the software and the technology in the warehouse management systems. However, companies are still a bit reluctant to invest money in warehouses. If companies start investing in technology and take advantage of GST, the logistics cost could be saved by up to 2%.Challenges in WMSThe industry isn't without its own share of challenges such as up-gradation in the skill level of people, use of traditional technologies, having the right WMS model to master data. A lot of upgrade is needed in terms of skill levels of people because traditionally warehousing teams com-prised of people who had basic knowledge of the prod-uct and could speak basic English. This drawback has a direct correlation with the adoption of technology. Hir-ing people who are comfortable with modern technol-ogy and with a better skill set is just as important for a better future. Softwares for warehouse management systems need to be regulated. They are equipped with 70-80 mandatory fields which aren't really required for managing master data. Coming up with a right model and liberating the system is just as important. W IN MY OPINIONLEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY TOREDUCE INVENTORY HOLDING AND SUPPLY CHAIN COSTS By Rajasekhara Reddy, Vice President - Global Demand Planning and Logistics, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company that was founded in 1977 by Gracias Saldanha as a generic drug and active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer.Rajasekhara Reddy
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