MIAMI—Despite all the hot spots in industrial real estate, challenges remain. Bill Waxman, executive vice president of CBRE's Global Port Logistics Group, has his finger on the pulse of the hotspots and the sore spots.

GlobeSt.com caught up with Waxman to talk about the challenges that remain and how investors and owners are dealing with those challenges in part two of this exclusive interview. You can still read part one: Why the Industrial Market is Getting White Hot.

GlobeSt.com: What challenges remain for the industrial sector?

Waxman: I consider the major challenge for the industrial sector to be what's known in the industry as 'the last mile.' Last Christmas, UPS and FedEx were overwhelmed by the huge demand from companies like Amazon and Target and, as a result, weren't able to deliver packages on time.

Consumers, however, are demanding quick and reliable service. Think about when you go the grocery store and you breeze through the aisles and fill your cart quickly but get to the checkout and find only two cashiers and very long lines.

That's the comparison for the issue that logistics and delivery services today are faced with. If consumers get in that line and it's a negative experience, they either won't come back or will purchase less goods the next time around. However, 'the last mile' issue is being addressed and many companies, including our clients, are working hard to improve the process.

The other big industry challenge is planning for the unknown. This includes accounting for fuel prices, labor strikes at the ports, government regulations, terrorism, etc.

GlobeSt.com: How are investors and/or owners dealing with those challenges?

Waxman: It's not so much an issue for the investors and owners as it is for the occupiers. However, developers and owners have done a good job of taking older buildings and converting them to meet the standards needed to be a key player in the e-commerce world.

Similarly, new buildings that are being constructed are thought of in terms of e-commerce capabilities. In this day and age, development is not just about bricks and mortar, but also about how the building and layout will “perform” for different types of users.

Developers and owners are doing a great job of thinking from the perspective of the occupiers and really taking into account the end use. Instead of just acting as landlords, many owners are serving as partners not just landlords to their tenants, which is an integral part of real estate health.