The
year 2017 has smashed all records in the field of logistics property
. Never before has so much logistics space been brought into use:
three million square metres.
Investing in logistics property is therefore popular, but not without
risk. After all, logistics tenants are increasingly demanding sustainable and
flexible solutions, as revealed during the Logistics Property Conference
2018. “A sustainable warehouse is more than just a
building with LED lighting and a BREEAM certificate.”
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Nedcargo is investing heavily in sustainability. The
logistics service provider has put its first electric inland waterway vessel
in service, whilst the second and third are under construction. The
distribution network consists – following the commissioning of
a new facility in Willebroek at the end of 2017 – of three multi-customer
warehouses. “Sustainability is more than just a building with LED lighting and
a BREEAM certificate. We look for sites with a multimodal
terminal, so that we can utilise inland waterway transport. In the
warehouses at those locations, we group customers with as similar a
the same distribution profile as possible, so that we can consolidate flows,” explains
Roderick de la Houssaye, CEO of Nedcargo. He gave his presentation in
Roosendaal at the Logistics Property 2018 conference,
organised by Spryg
.
De la Houssaye puts forward one key argument in favour of all investments in sustainability:
De la Houssaye puts forward one key argument: customers want it.
From its warehouse in Alphen aan den Rijn, Nedcargo
, for example, handles Heineken’s export shipments. “Heineken
wants to achieve fully energy-neutral logistics in the long term. Our
operations play a key role in this. We are part of
our customers’ sustainability agenda. For that reason, we feature in the
annual reports of clients such as Heineken, Remia and FrieslandCampina.”
Energy transition
Nedcargo is keen to invest in sustainability,
but this is only possible if customers commit to
the logistics service provider. This calls for a break with the prevailing
trend where contracts lasting one,
two or three years seem to be the norm. “Take the electric
container ship we use to transport Heineken’s export shipments to Rotterdam
. A ship like that costs 3.5 million euros. To make investments of that kind
, we have signed a ten-year
contract.”
The energy transition is not limited
to inland waterway transport, but also extends to the entire
logistics operation. De la Houssaye calculates how much energy is required
for the building, internal transport and transport
via inland waterways and by road: 30,000 megawatts in Alphen aan den
Rijn, and slightly more in Willebroek. “If we cover the roof with
solar panels, that will generate more energy than we
. With a wind turbine, we could power a warehouse of
60,000 square metres. The question is how we store that energy.
We could build a small hydrogen plant for that, but it has an
efficiency of no more than 30 to 60 per cent. I’m more in favour of storing it in
batteries. To keep the warehouse in Willebroek
for a week, we’d need two tonnes of batteries
. That’s not too bad.”
Warehouse-as-a-service
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Naomi Landman of Gefco cites flexibility
as the most important property theme. Her clients’ demands are changing
at an ever-increasing pace. “One moment they’re busy launching
an online shop, which involves lots of small consignments.
The next thing you know, they’re receiving extra bulk stock for which they need to
solution. This means we don’t need the same amount of
square metres. It also means we don’t want to rent
want to rent the same amount of square metres every month. Ideally,
we’d only pay for the space we actually use. That also calls for
a property manager who is willing to work with us on this,” says the managing director
of Gefco Forwarding Netherlands.
Philippe van de Beken, managing director
at Goodman, recognises the growing demand for flexible property solutions.
He introduces the term ‘warehouse-as-a-service’. “We, as
property players need to start thinking much more in terms of infrastructure
rather than in terms of fixed tenants.” Landman adds yet another aspect
to this: the working environment. As it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit staff
, it is important that logistics service providers such as Gefco
present themselves as attractive employers.
“That calls for a warehouse with plenty of natural light and, for example,
opportunities to sit outside during breaks in the summer. We are
rely on what you build for us in that regard,” said
Landman told the property developers.
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Startups
New start-ups are responding to the demand for
sustainable and flexible logistics solutions. One example is City Hub,
which is opening mini-warehouses on the outskirts of cities. Retailers can
transfer their goods there using environmentally friendly,
electric vehicles. “A company such as Nike has
in Amsterdam with us. This has made it possible to
retail space to grow by thirty per cent. Turnover has also
subsequently risen by thirty per cent,” says Jeroen
van der Kraats, founder of City Hub.
Stockspots has developed an app that brings together demand
and supply of storage space. The app also provides
insight into stock levels in the external warehouse.
Founder Coen de Lange: “We are currently in talks
with a flowerpot supplier that experiences a peak period for four months of the year.
The rest of the year, there isn’t much going on in that warehouse. We
ensure that there is constant activity.”
