Due to the scarcity of land for new warehouses, Flemish logistic groups see an alternative in high-rise buildings. Joseph Ghazal, managing director of Dutch Prology in Europe, has his doubts about this.
“Of course it is difficult to find land for new logistics sites in Belgium,” says Joseph Ghazal, Managing Director of Prologis Europe. “But this does not prevent us from finding them, if the client wants to invest. This also applies to our projects in the Netherlands. Finding the land is our business. So we find the land for each project. The logistic player who cannot do that must think carefully.”
We spoke to Ghazal on the sidelines of the afternoon conference The Logistics at the MIPIM property fair in Cannes. Gazelle bears in mind the appeal of its Flemish competitors for help with the scarcity of land, which will increase due to the shift in construction. Flemish sector counterparts Montea and WDP are therefore highly involved in “smart” and highly automated warehouses in high-rise buildings.
“Automation is a big topic,” Ghazal acknowledges. “But it’s also expensive. It requires a change of staff. Building at height isn’t an obvious choice either. It’s not only twice as expensive as a traditional warehouse, but it also requires a completely different management. Automated goods flow in, out and out of warehouses must be thoroughly rethought. Most customers hate Tall buildings. One day we will build smart warehouses around cities like Brussels and Amsterdam, but only if there is no real alternative.”
Raimund Paetzmann, who is responsible for logistics and real estate investments for online textile distributor Zalando, points out another reason for choosing these modern logistics buildings: “Not only a lack of land, but also a shortage of people is forcing companies to automate their warehouses. Full employment and migration of foreign workers threaten to put Warehouses in the UK are in trouble, so automated logistics for new locations will become an alternative.”
Automation is also causing companies to rethink their ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) strategy. When a logistics company puts workers on the street to replace them with robots, there is a problem with S for ESG. “This is definitely not the case,” Ghazal says. “Our customers prefer working with people over expensive robots.”
James Fisher, director of real estate at BRE, who monitors the sustainability label for BREEAM properties, will also consider far-reaching automation of logistics in the certification. “It seems that better trained people will be deployed to these projects,” he said. “The social environment is likely to improve. However, re-development of new logistically polluted land is more sustainable than opening new land.”
Fisher also launched the idea of supplementing the ESG with the letter D for democracy. “Recent events prove that this must also be a point of interest,” he asserts.
“Of course it is difficult to find land for new logistics sites in Belgium,” says Joseph Ghazal, Managing Director of Prologis Europe. “But this does not prevent us from finding them, if the client wants to invest. This also applies to our projects in the Netherlands. Finding land is our business. So we find land for every project. The logistic player who cannot do it should carefully contemplate.” We spoke to Gazelle on the sidelines of the afternoon logistics conference at the MIPIM real estate fair in Cannes. Gazelle bears in mind the appeal of its Flemish competitors for help with the scarcity of land, which will increase due to the shift in construction. Flemish sector counterparts Montea and WDP are therefore highly involved in “smart” and highly automated warehouses in high-rise buildings. “Automation is a big topic,” Ghazal acknowledges. “But it’s also expensive. It requires a change of staff. Building at height isn’t an obvious choice either. It’s not only twice as expensive as a traditional warehouse, but it also requires a completely different management. Automated goods flow in from, and out of and warehouses must be thoroughly rethought. Most customers hate it.” Tall buildings. One day we will build smart warehouses around cities like Brussels and Amsterdam, but only if there is no real alternative.” Raymond Bitzman, Logistics & Real Estate Investments for online textile distributor Zalando suggests another reason to choose these modern logistics buildings. : “Not only a lack of land, but also a shortage of people is forcing companies to automate their warehouses. Full employment and migration of foreign workers threaten UK warehouses in the quandary Automated logistics of the new inland Farms will then become an alternative.” Automation is also making companies reconsider In the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) strategy. When a logistics company puts workers on the street to replace them with robots, there is a problem with S for ESG. “This is certainly not the case. Our customers prefer working with people rather than expensive robots,” said James Fisher, director of real estate at BRE, which monitors the real estate sustainability label BREEAM, the far-reaching automation of logistics in consideration. “It seems that better trained people will be deployed to these projects,” he said. “The social environment is likely to improve. However, redevelopment of new logistically polluted land is more sustainable than opening new land.” Fisher also launched the idea of supplementing the ESG with the letter D for democracy. “Recent events prove that this must also be a point of interest,” he asserts.
