Warehouse types

The everyday godown: a secure, covered shed for stock that needs no special conditions. General storage warehouses range from 1,000 sq ft roadside sheds to 50,000 sq ft RCC or PEB buildings inside industrial estates, and they are the most widely available format in every city.

Sheds built for production as much as storage: crane bays, heavy floors and high-tension power. Industrial and manufacturing warehouses sit in notified estates such as MIDC, HSIIDC or KIADB, where the land use already permits factory activity.

Grade-A boxes designed around truck movement: high clear height, rows of docks with levellers, wide yards and fast highway access. Logistics and distribution warehouses are the backbone of 3PL operators and regional distribution networks.

Fulfilment centres trade storage for speed. They need flat floors for conveyors and pick systems, many docks, heavy power for sortation and space for a large workforce, close to the customers they deliver to.

Insulated, refrigerated space for products that cannot leave a temperature band: frozen, chilled or ambient-controlled. Cold storage warehouses depend on reliable power above everything else, so backup generation is part of the specification, not an extra.

Godowns for grain, pulses, fertiliser and other agri produce, usually close to mandis and farming belts. Ventilation, pest control and protection from damp matter more here than clear height.

Clean, temperature-mapped space built to good-distribution-practice standards. Pharma warehouses need controlled temperature and humidity, seamless floors, monitoring and documentation that will stand up to an audit.

Fast-moving consumer goods need distribution space close to where they are consumed, with quick truck turnaround and good security. FMCG warehouses are typically 20,000–1,00,000 sq ft near city edges and highways.

Compacted hardstand yards for storing empty and laden containers, usually near ports, ICDs and expressways. Ground strength, stacking height and equipment access define what a container yard can handle.

Walled, secured open land for material that does not need a roof: steel, pipes, construction material, vehicles and equipment. Open yards are quick to occupy and cheaper per square foot than covered space.

When nothing on the market fits, build it. A built-to-suit warehouse is constructed to the occupier's exact size, height, docks, floor and office on land the developer owns, then leased back on a long-term agreement.