To meet the needs of empowered consumers
Booming e-commerce is creating new demand and new requirements for warehouses and distribution centers in the region, putting additional pressure on an already tight real estate segment, according to several speakers.
Being forced to compete against, or match, e-commerce giant Amazon's promise to provide same-day delivery has jacked up competition for the retail world, UPS and FedEx, as companies try to meet the needs of empowered consumers, panelists said.
"Everybody's got a point of sale in their pocket [referring to smartphones], we all demand pricing transparency, we all demand fast and free shipping, and that puts pressure on corporations," said Frank Petkunas, senior vice president and regional director for IDI Gazeley, Brookfield Logistics Properties, in Radnor, Pa.
"To get a customer, and more importantly, to keep one, it turns into a business of order fulfillment," he said. "Way back when, they used to look at warehouses as passive storage. But now, they're looking at them as contributors to top-line revenue."
The refrain during the daylong conference was that demand for industrial sites in North Jersey, with its proximity to New York City, was soon going to surpass the number of existing properties and those in the pipeline. Areas such as the Meadowlands have limited open space for construction of new facilities.