Kochi, formerly known as Cochin is a major port city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala. Throughout history, this port city has been recognised as a prominent trade centre. Besides trading spices, fish, and seafood, the city is fast growing as a major industrial region.
In recent times, many industries, particularly in agriculture, chemical oil-refining, tourism, shipyard and other sectors have paved their way to Kochi. These industries need infrastructure to store goods, process orders, and deliver or distribute them to clients. As a result, the city of Kochi is also developing as a major logistics hub in South India.
Factors That Support Kochi To Emerge As A Logistics Hub
In the last few years, many logistics companies in Kochi have expanded their services from warehousing and distribution to air and sea freight, customs clearance, project logistics, and more. This proves that the logistics companies in Kochi are in high demand because of the growing industries and manufacturing units.
Besides being one of the major ports along the western coast of India, there are many factors that have proven advantageous to Kochi’s growth as a logistics hub. Let’s discuss a few of these below:
1. Booming IT hub
The Government have made significant changes in recent years to support Kochi in becoming a major IT hub. Development of IT parks, improved transportation, modern office spaces, etc. have made big companies open branches in the port city, providing opportunities to professionals.
Logistics companies in Kochi help these IT companies track inventory, streamline processes, shift work spaces, transfer valuable equipment, and more.
2. Infrastructure Development
The focus on developing roadways, improving accessibility, and overall infrastructure have made way for logistics companies to rent or build warehouses for storing goods. Special Economic Zones (SEZ) have come up to encourage commercial activities. Also, with an improved connection of roadways, it’s convenient for transporters to move goods quickly to different parts of the city as well as to other parts of Kerala.
3. Developed Manufacturing Units
The seaport of Kochi has many shipyards which have also built international cruise terminals and marinas to provide berthing facilities to yachts and ships. The presence of ship docks and marinas has supported a surge in the shipbuilding and repairing industry. This means sourcing products and parts from different parts.
Besides the shipping industry, Kochi is home to many chemical, retail, and organic industries which have large manufacturing units. With more manufacturing units coming up, proper storing and distributing facilities are also on the rise. Logistics companies in Kochi are making the most of this growth.
4. Strategic Location
One of the primary reasons why Kochi can serve not just different cities in India, but also other countries is because of its strategic location. The Queen of the Arabian Sea is well connected to the Middle East, West Asia, Singapore, and Colombo by sea routes. So, Kochi serves as a gateway to international trade.
Besides the international route, the city is surrounded by important cities of Kerala, including Alleppey, Munnar, and Kozhikode, among others. And the seaport is also well-connected by roads, railways, and air. So, logistics companies in Coimbatore, Thrissur, Chennai, Madurai, and other places can make day trips to Kochi to make deliveries and pick up goods.
5. Connected To Waterways
One of the primary advantages of being a port city is transportation won’t be limited to roadways or railways. The seaport allows the import and export of products through sea routes. For this reason, many logistics companies in Kochi offer sea freight services.
In addition, Kerala has backwaters and Kochi also has a reputation of being one of the most famous destinations with backwaters. This along with the inland waterways also boosts the logistics sector as it provides inter-city transportation.
6. Cost-Effective Solutions
For transportation and deliveries to be cost-effective, there should be a demand. Since the port city is booming with manufacturing units, IT sectors, industries, and improved infrastructure, there is always demand for more goods and products to be transported. Also, the city has many efficient logistics service providers, so to run their business successfully, it is crucial for them to offer reduced shipping rates.
Conclusion
In future, Kochi has the potential to become one of the most prominent trade centres of modern India. Its favourable government policies, climate, location, everything works in its favour.
If you are a business trying to find your footing in the busy city of Kochi, we suggest you partner with third-party logistics service providers. If you do not have an immediate requirement for a warehouse and only need transportation service, then hire reputed transport service providers.
Vahak is India’s largest online marketplace that can connect businesses with lorry drivers, owners, and transport service providers from different parts of India. If you are a logistics company in Coimbatore trying to move your products to Kochi, or you are based in Kochi and want to move your cargo to the remote areas of North East, you will get the right solution for you.
About The Author
