A new warehouse under construction. The occupancy rates for warehouses in HCM City and Hanoi reached 90% in the first two quarters of 2022. (Photo doanhnhansaigon.vn) Cushman & Wakefield, a global commercial real estate servicescompany, reported that the occupancy rates for warehouses in HCM City and Hanoireached 90% in the first two quarters of 2022.
The rates are expected to hit 100% in the following months as retailers havebegun to fill their warehouses ahead of late-year peak sales.
"Retailers have looking for new warehouses since June to prepare forholiday sales. Unfortunately, warehouses are in tight supply in the twocities", said Trang Bui, General Director of Cushman & WakefieldVietnam.
A representative from the ecommerce platform Lazada said that it is normal foran ecommerce platform to have their warehouses stretched at the end of theyear.
He said Lazada has leveraged technology edges to enhance its warehouseefficiency, easing the pressure on its logistics management.
"We have a large number of self-driving vehicles and over 300,000 sqm ofAI-powered warehouses and sorting centres, which enable us to cut delivery timein peak seasons," said the representative.
A representative from the ecommerce platform Shopee revealed they recentlylaunched 10 new storehouses and upgraded its existing ones to expandtheir warehousing capacity.
"We are developing an express delivery service that would help sellerskeep up with the mounting consumption demand during peak season," therepresentative added.
TikiNOW Smart Logistics, a logistics firm affiliated with the ecommerceplatform Tiki, went so far as to deploy robots to execute tasks. The roboticautomation improves its warehouse efficiency significantly.
"Technology allows us to perform the most complex tasks on the platformand saves the sellers between 30 to 40% of their costs", said a Tikirepresentative.
Le Thi Ngoc Diep, Commercial Director of the SLP Vietnam, remarked thatwarehouses in Vietnam are not of high standards and scattered unevenlythroughout the country.
She said the under-representation of warehouses in the North has been amajor hindrance to the movement of goods nationwide, adding costs to supplychain management.
"Warehouses have been built predominantly in the south and only 30% are inthe north. Such uneven geographical scattering is a setback for thetransportation of goods across the country," she said.
A report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that more than 70% of warehousesin Vietnam cluster tightly around economic centres in the south.
As the demand for warehousing space is on the rise amid tight supply,rental rates are soaring. Some firms have had to use townhouses as a substitutefor warehouses even though the former are not cut out for cold storage.
Trang Bui said the deployment of robots, drones and sensor systemswould considerably improve inventory management and fire safety inwarehouses.
She also underscored the tight supply of professional warehouses as a greatopportunity for firms to invest in ready-built warehouses to pick up the slack.
"Firms who have read-built warehouses, robots, drones and sensor systemsin hand, as well as the capability to make accurate calculations along thesupply chain, are the winner," she said.
A CBRE study showed that every 1 billion USD of ecommerce revenues in Vietnamrequires 93,000 ha of warehousing space. That means the country willneed over 2 million ha of warehousing space by 2025 for the focastrevenues of 39 billion USD./.
VNA
