The relocation industry in India is a vast, competitive, and unbound sector. The individuals, to avoid scams and mediocre services, look forward to contacting licensed, experienced, and expert relocation service providers. With the ever-changing market situation, the relocation industry often faces challenges pertaining to rising transportation costs, high order intensity ratio, talent shortages, tax compliances, and process lag due to the country’s socioeconomic conditions. But, these challenges, as per the record, have only proved Relocation Sector to be an unstoppable one, providing its clientele with maximum satisfaction in all changing situations.
Despite the challenges, the relocation industry is persistent due to the presence of expert industry players who understand the hardships faced by individuals and even organizations in the uphill battle we’ve come to know as relocating. Therefore, the success of the relocation service providers depends on understanding the pain points of the customers and providing them with seamless experiences through hassle-free services.
Here’s a look at six trends that are shaping the future of the relocation industry:
The desire of people to move
The people, in today’s scenario, want to move to Tier-2 cities and people from Tier-2 cities are wanting to move to Tier-1 cities. It’s majorly because families are becoming smaller. People are not living in joint families anymore. People want to leave and relocate to the cities where they can live for new growth, education, and job opportunities. We see a new transition in people’s perspectives about shifting from one place to another
Seeing on the other side, the people in Tier-1 cities are also wishing to relocate to Tier-2 cities. It’s because of the population size and pandemic, people are now wanting to live in spaces that are less crowded. Therefore, growth opportunities are cropping up in Tier 2 cities as well.
Bangalore used to be a big hub, but slowly, Pune took up the same pace. Soon, we might see places like Coimbatore & Indore picking up. Many companies have relocated their base to such cities. For instance, various FMCGs have headquartered in Bangalore. Some companies have based their centers in Hyderabad today which were previously in another metropolis like Delhi. Hence, there is a lot of city-to-city moves that is happening majorly because of the need to ensure industry growth and flexibility in generating job opportunities.
Post pandemic shifting is becoming a norm now
The impact of the pandemic has stalled several industries and the relocation industry was no exception. The employees and corporates did not relocate until it was absolutely important and also safe while more and more people moved from metropolitan cities to tier 2 and tier 3 towns. There had been a major break in the last two years. People had to stop for some time or shut down, even after not wanting to. They had to put a halt and postpone their plans if they were thinking to shift to some other place. Everybody was held up in some chaotic kind of socioeconomic conditions. But now after the lockdown and terror of Covid have been lifted up, everybody is executing their plans. This is helping them to make swift changes in their lives.
Employees are driving back to the metropolitan cities as the Work from Office pattern resumes. Various Tech Related Companies and MNCs that were following the Work from the Home sequence are now calling their people back to the offices. This is also leading the people to relocate in huge numbers.
Challenges faced domestically and globally
Owing to the past two years, Mobility Sector has faced a major challenge in Transport in India and Freight on a global scale because of the struggle between demand and supply. It has majorly impacted the Cost Structure of the Industry. The capacity of people to manage is also being challenged. The shipments are lying in the warehouses more than they were ever. There has been a huge backlog created, still in process of being sorted out. The huge and sudden demand has led to the lack of containers, workers at the port, vehicles to carry the goods, etc.
However, the industry is tackling all these challenges majorly through Expansions. They are seeking to upgrade their facilities and expand to meet the demands of their customers & clients. Also, by adopting various strategies and working towards them rigorously, there is an opportunity for a vast industry like relocations to outreach and growth.
India turning into a Hot Spot of Opportunities
With the advancing time, expectations are happening. People want to move to other countries aiming toward personal and professional growth. They are not expecting to do a 9 to 6 job, but rather reaching out to work beyond that. The corporates are setting up their head offices in fast-moving cities such as metropolis due to the availability of talent pools and other business resources
To talk about the country’s scenario, India is becoming a hot spot for such opportunities slowly and gradually. Cities like Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, Indore, Kochi, and more are becoming some of the best cities for people to work in. Turning into some remarkable tech hubs of the world, these cities are venturing to provide some of the best reasons for people to relocate. The access which used to lie with Japan and China is now shifting to India. Many global enterprises are now making headquarters in India because they see that kind of growth and potential in the country. At large, this has impacted the entire global relocation.
Holding People Back- the New Trend for every Industry
Looking back at the times of the global pandemic, which jammed everything at corporates and made people accommodate to the New Normal WFH Scenario, the concern for every industry has transitioned to a certain level. The Work from Home scenario had been the way of working for a long time. Various MNCs and organizations didn’t halt it even after the Lockdowns were lifted off. While for some it had been a really flexible way of functioning in an organization, for others, however, it brought inefficiency in their personal and professional lives.
Especially, as women, if you’re at home, no matter if you are working or not, you are supposed to take care of your household and provide for your family. The break you got from all your household responsibilities while you spent 8 to 9 hours at work is lost. There may be other kinds of distractions as well for any individual that worked from home. You get to lose the touch with people the way you used to interact when all were physically present together as if sitting and planning about future plans in a meeting or even celebrating the success of the company as a team. In such circumstances, it becomes next to impossible for a person to work efficiently and stay satisfied at a personal level with one’s own work
To address the problem and various other issues that tag along with it, companies have lately switched back to the Work from Office pattern again. MNCs which previously adopted the work-from-home methodology are now preferring to open offices, which has driven employees back to metropolitan cities. Enterprises have also understood that working from home has affected the workforce and hence they are curating employee-friendly policies to address mental issues. This is making organizations want to retain talent because the consistency of work and workforce is becoming a major challenge.
Human Touch and Technology together are the enabler of accessibility
Technology has affected several industries and sectors in the Indian markets and the relocation sector is not far behind. However, unlike other sectors, it is important to note that there is little role of technology plays in the relocation sector. The human touch while packing & moving plays a major role in this industry. The goods and valuables of clientele are of extreme importance to them and need to be handled and moved with the feelings they attach to them. Man-handling is so important in this industry that it tends to define the core of everything that goes around. This aspect cannot be replaced at any cost, no matter how innovative the technological approach is made in the market.
We can only put technology to use as and when it is possible. With the customer having a strong digital presence, Technological advancements have made the task of relocation a little outreaching, organized, economic, and accessible. Organizations are gradually investing in new software and ERP Systems. GPS tracking services have made it easier for the moving industry and customers to efficiently track long-distance transportation. Digital payments are replacing cash transactions due to better convenience. Hence, relocation industries are indeed bettering by using technology as a part of their work. However, the sector is still defined by the packing & moving professionals that make every move happen with the expertise and emotions they invest into it.
Summing up
With the paradigm shift in the relocation industry, organizations need to be more flexible and agile. This sector has also come forward to transform the challenges into opportunities to sustain itself through tough times. The laggards in the relocation sector need to adapt to new methods in order to keep themselves running. Several firms have embraced technology and are making full use of applications, barcode scanners, cameras, and smart labels for the oversight of details of the consignment.
Going forward, technological advancements and industry-supporting policies are bound to positively impact the relocation experience. However, the irreplaceable Human Element is still at the core of the Industry. As for the future, movers and packers will thrive to keep up with the demands of the people and provide reliable relocation solutions.