Asim Behera, CEO, Daifuku Intralogistics India Pvt Ltd.

What is the current status of automation in material handling and intralogistics operations in the industry today?

Automation is a broad term and what it encompasses should be clearly defined. Speaking specifically in the context of what Daifuku offers, here's a high-level timeline of how the landscape has evolved:

1995-2010: This period marked the early adoption of ASRS (Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems) in India, primarily within the pharmaceutical and automotive sectors. These initial systems were relatively small—typically under 5,000 pallet positions and with low throughputs, often less than 120 pallets per hour.

2011-2020: Adoption of automation grew significantly during this phase. Industries such as Food & Beverage, Paints, Petrochemicals, and Tyres began embracing ASRS technology. These systems demanded much higher throughputs, in some cases exceeding 500 pallets per hour. We also began seeing taller systems—some over 40 metres in height.

From around 2015 onwards, e-commerce emerged as a major sector requiring extensive conveying and sorting solutions. The demand surged. In 2014, Daifuku's Intralogistics Automation Division formally entered the Indian market. By 2019, we had acquired Vega Conveyors to establish a local manufacturing presence in India. Then came Covid-19.

2021 onwards: Covid was a huge deterrent to many businesses and our way of life. Because of the restrictions such as social distancing, limiting the number of workers and their availability, automation suddenly became the knight in silver armor. It became the need of the hour. Anyone who questioned the RoI for automation earlier, now found the answer.  Everyone needed it and this truly became the turning point for intralogistics automation in India. From 2022 onwards we see a growing appetite for intralogistics automation, however it remains a very cost sensitive value proposition. We at Daifuku have a long-term vision on this and in 2025 we launched India's largest ASRS factory. Our vision is to 'Make everything in India, for India.' We want to be the enabler for Make in India.

What are the key challenges companies are currently facing in warehousing and logistics?

India has one of the highest logistics spends as a percentage of GDP. Given the size of the country, the industry remains highly fragmented. While addressing local needs, we must also benchmark ourselves against countries where warehousing and logistics sectors are more mature, and adopt global best practices.

This includes establishing a standard pallet size for India, using pallets consistently for truck shipments, and adopting pallet pooling practices. One key warehouse best practice is ensuring that goods leave the warehouse and are loaded onto trucks with the least number of touches. This is crucial because it directly impacts packaging quality, pilferage control, hygiene, and overall manpower productivity.

Another critical issue is the lack of uniform safety standards. We need a strong compliance body that mandates a minimum level of safety to ensure industry-wide adherence. Currently, there are instances where some providers offer cheaper services simply because their warehouse standards are lower than others. The need of the hour is a robust compliance authority to enforce consistent standards across the sector.

Realistically speaking, what are the technologies widely adopted by the industry that have matured and provide a good RoI?

Manual racking, multi-tier shelving, ASRS, Warehouse Management System (WMS), etc., have all found niches among warehouses in various segments. We have seen that when there are constraints of space, environment (such as high heat over 50 degrees or cold storage below zero degrees), labour availability and dependability, together with the need for high throughputs—say, more than 250 pallets/hour—ASRS, when designed right, gives a good RoI. In the e-commerce sector, case conveying, sorters, spirals, etc., have matured and have met the RoI threshold.

How has the post-pandemic era changed customer expectations around warehousing and last-mile logistics?

Absolutely. I've alluded to this earlier. During the pandemic, companies that had invested in intralogistics automation truly had an edge. They faced no issues complying with mandates such as social distancing and managing labor shortages.

Post-pandemic, we're seeing a clear shift in mindset toward automation. Even though the RoI isn't always straightforward, companies are now more willing to invest in automation to ensure they're better prepared for the highly unpredictable geopolitical environment we live in today.

What are the top emerging technologies or innovations that will shape the future of material handling and warehousing? How is the role of AI and data analytics evolving in this space?

A lot is happening in this space. The adoption of ASRS (Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems) is on the rise, particularly with new cold storage facilities being built around this technology. The e-commerce segment is demanding more advanced sortation solutions, and some players are already experimenting with AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots). We're also seeing inquiries for facilities with pallet storage capacities reaching as high as 100,000 pallets. In our own experience, we're now deploying projects where the total automation value exceeds ₹100 crore.

What progress can one expect towards fully autonomous warehouses or 'dark warehouses'?

Dark warehouses, where there are minimal people managing/orchestrating large operations have become a reality in developed markets as the labour cost is high. So, while the technologies exist, its adoption in India isn't justified as labour costs are still low. In India we are focusing on how best to tailor the global solutions to make it viable from a capex perspective.

(The views expressed in interviews are personal, not necessarily of the organisations represented.)