How can logistics real estate support third-party logistics providers?

Abstract

In recent years the logistics outsourcing market has significantly expanded, driving also the growth of the logistics real estate sector. However, these subjects have been investigated separately, without empirical evidence on the assessment of warehouse features, nor studies matching those with 3PL providers' needs. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing a deeper understanding of the alignment between the 3PL industry's needs and the logistics real estate offering. An extensive literature review was used to investigate the characteristics of the logistics real estate industry and define the present and future challenges for the 3PL industry. Afterwards, 3PL warehouse features were analysed through data collected on 75 logistics buildings located in Italy. Results indicate that the logistics real estate seems relatively prepared to support the 3PL industry's needs. However, such alignment could be further strengthened through investments by the logistics real estate towards environmental sustainability and warehouse automation.

The “Perfect” Warehouse: How Third-Party Logistics Providers Evaluate Warehouse Features and Their Performance

“…Specifically, in line with [32], the size and layout of warehouses are attractive for 3PLs to optimize the building's productivity and utilisation. On the other hand, if a 3PL wants to be flexible and be able to organize the internal spaces according to the specific customer needs, the warehouse should not have structural constraints (e.g., size of the building mesh), which limit the possibility of being adaptable [28]. The building should also be characterised by a regular layout and a height suitable for the activities carried out inside to potentially dedicate spaces for added value activities or increase the productivity of the warehouse itself.…”

“…Warehouses have also evolved from simple facilities to more complex buildings [28]: their primary role as a repository for inventory has turned into a multi-functional logistics hub hosting more complex activities such as product marking, labelling and packaging, customer services, intermodal services, and reverse logistics services [29]. According to the work of [10], four main areas can be distinguished in a warehouse: (1) location, (2) external spaces, (3) technical/construction specifications, and (4) internal areas and utilities (see Table 2).…”

Assessing the environmental impact of logistics sites through CO2eq footprint computation

“…Environmental sustainability can also create a strategic opportunity for differentiation, but challenges emerge when introducing logistics‐related initiatives into corporate sustainability actions (Baglio et al, 2021; Ozbekler & Ozturkoglu, 2020). In fact, the financial benefits of sustainability practices often accrue only in the long term, with financial concerns related to potential cost increase in the short term (Colicchia et al, 2013).…”

“…For instance, growing investiments have characterised the real estate industry, with reference to green building projects such as improving building thermal insulation and utilities, for example, photovoltaic and solar panels (IEA, 2019, 2020). Green building rating systems, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), have also become available as sustainability assessment methods to be applied during both building design and construction (Baglio et al, 2021; Chiarini, 2014). Besides, energy‐efficient solutions and technologies are becoming more and more widespread, for example, LED lighting, lithium‐ion batteries, and energy‐saving fast‐chargers (Rai et al, 2011; Rajput & Singh, 2020).…”

“…systems, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), have also become available as sustainability assessment methods to be applied during both building design and construction (Baglio et al, 2021;Chiarini, 2014). Besides, energyefficient solutions and technologies are becoming more and more widespread, for example, LED lighting, lithium-ion batteries, and energy-saving fast-chargers (Rai et al, 2011;Rajput & Singh, 2020).…”