Speaking: Maciej Madejak, Chief Development Officer and founder of MDC2
The warehousing industry is striving towards maximum energy efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions. Tenants are following this trend. Modern, eco-friendly warehouses are becoming more popular. Nowadays, virtually every retail business that sells offline also has an online store. E-commerce is stimulating demand for new warehouse spaces.
Evolution and future of logistics centers – how are logistics centers developing to meet the growing market requirements?
Certainly, the direction of development for logistics centers is set by ecology, as this is the future that some are not yet aware of. The warehousing industry will be striving for maximum energy efficiency and circularity. Modern facilities are also increasingly designed with the needs of employees in mind. Office spaces in warehouse areas are now designed to be as employee-friendly as possible. This aspect also affects the attractiveness of the workplace and motivation to work. This is also important in the context of employers who are increasingly encouraging employees to return to office work. The environment around warehouses is also changing. Biodiversity, green architecture, and outdoor relaxation and company meeting spaces are important. When it comes to processes within warehouses, automation and AI solutions will enhance their functioning.
Developers will deliver buildings with a focus on better quality and energy efficiency and sustainable development. From a business perspective, the needs of both the end customer and the investor are important to us. Many entities will not finance a building that does not meet the requirements of construction in line with the idea of sustainable development. Our role is to educate both sides (the investor and tenants) because the developer is responsible for the final product and project implementation. At MDC2 we use the motto “Building For Good”, which means that we are building for the sustainable future of our tenants, investors, communities, the environment, and our industry.
What are the trends and predictions for the future of the warehouse market in the face of the growing popularity of e-commerce?
E-commerce is a strong industry, and its development also drives demand in the logistics real estate sector. Until recently, the Polish e-commerce market had two main players: Zalando and Amazon, and today virtually every retail company that sells offline also has an online store. It can safely be said that online sales are constantly growing, which can be seen even by the increasingly dense network of parcel lockers. This will undoubtedly result in a greater demand for warehouse facilities, with a significant factor being the big difference in maintenance costs – retail spaces versus warehouse ones – the former are up to ten times more expensive to maintain than the latter.
The shortening delivery time is also significant. Today, when a consumer orders shoes, they expect the package to arrive the next day. To meet these demands and be closer to customers, companies will develop their warehouse networks for national and European distribution. Delivery from a single central warehouse will take too long. It can therefore be predicted that more warehouses will be established closer to large agglomerations, and central warehouses will be located not only in the center but also near the country’s borders to be able to serve European markets from them.
