Higher Accuracy, Faster Dispatch: An FMCG Brand Success Story Introduction: When We Saw the Problem Before It Became a Crisis As one of India’s leading FMCG brands continued to scale, IP Integrated Services Pvt Ltd (IPISPL) was closely managing its warehouse operations. Month after month, SKU complexity increased, volumes grew steadily, and peak seasons became more intense. During this period, our operations team began to notice a repeating pattern that needed attention.
Every peak season brought pressure on space. The issue was not that the warehouse was undersized. The real challenge was that vertical space was not being used effectively. Storage height remained underutilized, material handling lanes became congested, and operational strain increased as volumes peaked. This was not an execution failure but a structural limitation in the existing warehouse layout. Expanding the warehouse footprint was neither efficient nor necessary. What was required was a smarter way to unlock capacity within the same space. From years of managing FMCG supply chains, IPISPL understood that many warehouses in India still rely heavily on floor-based storage and fail to optimize height. This insight triggered
a focused innovation effort. Instead of reacting during peak stress, we decided to redesign the warehouse to support future growth. This FMCG brand success story explains how IPISPL, a leading warehousing company in India identified the challenge early, analyzed root causes, invested in applied research, and redesigned the warehouse using vertical storage and system-driven processes. The result was a stable, accurate, and scalable operation without expanding the facility.
IPISPL’s Objective: Redesigning the FMCG Brand Warehouse for What Was Coming Next The objective was clear. The warehouse needed to perform at a higher level within the same footprint. As the best warehouse company in India, IPISPL aimed to optimize vertical storage and improve material handling efficiency to support increasing SKU complexity and throughput. The redesign also needed to reduce handling-related damages and strengthen FIFO compliance. Rather than waiting for peak-season pressure to force changes, the goal was to build a warehouse model that could absorb demand surges smoothly. Space utilization, processes, and systems had to work together so that performance remained stable even as volumes grew. This objective shaped every decision that followed, from research and design to system deployment and execution.
Looking Deeper: Understanding the Root Causes Instead of applying quick fixes, IPISPL observed how the warehouse actually functioned daily. The assessment showed that space and manpower were not the limiting factors. The real issues came from layout gaps and a lack of system enforcement.
Raw Material Challenges Raw materials entered the warehouse without batch identification. There was no ageing visibility, no sequence control, and no system-led FIFO enforcement. Once materials were stored, ensuring the correct consumption order became difficult.
Finished Goods Challenges
Finished goods carried batch codes, but those codes were not enforced during picking. There was no barcode scanning or verification process. Picking depended on convenience rather than FIFO, which caused mix-ups, delays, and inventory inconsistencies. Without digital controls, FIFO relied entirely on manual discipline, which became unreliable at scale.
The Turning Point: Research Before Redesign IPISPL recognized that solving these challenges required more than rearranging racks or adding software. The solution had to work under real FMCG operating conditions. A twelve-month applied research initiative was launched to design a customized Nestainer-based vertical storage solution tailored specifically for FMCG cartons. The research focused on key operational questions: ● How mixed FMCG cartons behave under vertical loads ● How to ensure stability across multiple stacking levels ● How to improve accessibility for material handling equipment and pickers ● How to strengthen safety while increasing storage density ● How to support quick deployment during seasonal surges ● Whether a two to three-tier vertical storage could be reliably implemented
This phase ensured that the final solution would be practical, safe, and scalable.
The Solution: Redesigning Space, Systems, and Discipline Based on research insights, IPISPL implemented a three-layer solution covering infrastructure, systems, and process control.
1. Vertical Space Optimisation The warehouse was redesigned using Nestainer-based vertical storage to fully utilize height.
Storage capacity increased significantly within the same footprint. Aisle movement improved, congestion reduced, and handling became safer even at higher volumes. Vertical optimization unlocked additional capacity without expanding the facility. Handling and storage-related carton damages were reduced by 35 to 45 per cent due to better load stability and reduced rehandling.
2. System-Driven FIFO and Batch Management To eliminate FIFO failures, IPISPL implemented WMS-led control. For raw materials, unique batch codes were auto-generated at inward. Barcodes were applied immediately and batches were mapped to specific locations. For finished goods, FIFO became system-enforced. Picklists were generated based on batch sequence, barcode scanning became mandatory, and incorrect batch selection was automatically blocked. Manual judgment was replaced by system discipline.
3. Real-Time Visibility and Process Automation Operations shifted from manual tracking to fully system-led workflows. Supervisors gained real-time visibility into raw material and finished goods movement. Batch-wise dashboards, ageing reports, and alerts enabled proactive control. Traceability became end-to-end, from inward receipt to dispatch.
The Results: A More Controlled and Efficient Warehouse After implementation, improvements were visible across operations. Space utilisation increased significantly within the same footprint. Vertical usage, earlier limited to around 60 per cent, rose sharply, enabling the warehouse to support higher volumes and more SKUs without expansion. Handling and storage damages were reduced by 35 to 45 per cent due to improved stackability and smoother material flow. On-time delivery performance remained stable at 98 per cent even as throughput increased, proving that efficiency gains did not disrupt service levels. Inventory accuracy consistently reached 99.99 per cent through system-driven batch management and enforced FIFO. Manual dependency reduced and stock visibility improved at every stage.
Per-box operational costs reduced by 25 to 30 per cent as productivity increased and rework declined. Overall, the warehouse transitioned from a reactive setup to a predictable, controlled operation capable of supporting growth with lower stress.
Safety and Compliance: Strengthened Alongside Scale As volumes increased, safety systems were reinforced through regular training, audits, inspections, and mock drills. CCTV monitoring, risk assessments, and near-miss reporting ensured that improved efficiency went hand in hand with compliance and safety.
Conclusion: When Observation Leads to Innovation This FMCG brand success story highlights a simple truth. Most warehousing challenges are solved not by adding space, but by understanding how existing space is used. At IPISPL, early observation revealed a repeating peak-season struggle. By identifying root causes, investing in applied research, and redesigning vertical storage and system controls, the existing warehouse was transformed into a stable and scalable operation. The results were clear. Better space utilization, stronger FIFO compliance, reduced damages, and consistent accuracy without expanding the footprint. If your FMCG warehouse faces pressure during peak seasons, IPISPL can help redesign and optimize it through practical, research-driven innovation. Let us help you unlock capacity where you already operate.
