Warehouse Grades And What They Mean

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FYI, most of India's warehousing was Grade C till about a decade ago. Over time and with increasing demand for higher quality storage space, Grade B and Grade A dominate the market today.

But what in the world of fork lifts do these grades mean? 

It's Muddy Water

One of the most common ways of benchmarking an international form of standardization is through the construction and use of ‘Grade-A’ warehouses - yes, the term all logistics folks drop more than names. 

We found out that despite ‘Grade-A’ being the hottest term around, there is no standard definition available to clearly categorize a warehouse into various grades such as A, B or C. 

But There's Cost. . .

Essentially, Grade-A spaces facilitate efficient operations of the supply chain of any business, meaning warehouses with the lowest Total Cost of Ownership. 

📌 Because a shortcoming in any element of the warehouse multiplies inefficiencies in operations, these can negatively impact business and increase costs. 

And Scale

Scale and complexity also seem to be driving the need for Grade-A warehouses. 

Meaning;

• if there is no scale (scale means a minimum size of 100,000 sq. ft.),
• and there is no complexity (an absence of supply chain processes such as automation or cool robots humming as they carry packages), 

there is principally no need for a Grade-A warehouse.

It Can't Be All Notional

No it isn't. Despite the blurry lines, there's a shopping list of items that make a Grade A warehousing facility. 

A minimum eave height of 11m,

The building aspect ratio of a Grade-A park would range from 1:1.5-1:3.

The number of docks in such a park is 1 per 10,000 sq. ft. of plinth area or lesser

The warehouse flooring is at a level of FM2 with a minimum floor load of 5T/SQM

A concrete apron with a length of minimum 25.5 m

Should support at least 40-foot trailers right through the compound 

Must have 2-4 road lanes, depending on the size of the warehouse

Amenities like fire-fighting systems, CCTV surveillance, building insulations, LED lights, security system and others must be pre-planned and provisioned for.

Now To Decipher Some News

Per JLL, with the increased activity in sectors like e-commerce and 3PL/logistics, the warehouse inventory in the country is expected to reach over 380 million sq. ft. by 2024. 

Also, 27 million sq. ft. of Grade A and B 😉 warehousing stock was added in 2021, as of September, bringing the total inventory to 265 million sq. ft.