LOS ANGELES—Where companies locate, how they leveragedifferent-sized facilities and how inventory is held back fromstore shelves to reduce markdowns are just a few of the wayslogistics will continue to shape theindustrial sector, experts tell GlobeSt.com. Wespoke exclusively with several logistics and industrial executivesin the know about what we can expect as this sector continues tomature. Stay tuned for an in-depth feature on how logistics isinfluencing industrial development in an upcoming issue of Real EstateForum.

GlobeSt.com: How do you see the industrial sectorchanging and developing as logistics becomes increasingly moreimportant?

Adam Mullen, managingdirector, CBRE: What has already changed is that thedesire to make it easy for consumers, whether ecommerce oromni-channel or industrial supplies, has made it very complex onthe back-end. The laser focus on supply-chain design (rightlocations, doing the right things with the right capacity) willcontinue, especially as companies position for the future.Finding ways to increase the speed to market for space, increasethe flexibility of that space and ensure that power, sprinkles,egress, etc., are right is also new. Of course, clear heights,parking, labor ramp-up/ramp-down, etc. will remain part of theconversation—that is a default now. Going forward, supply chain andlogistics are driving a greater degree of sophistication inselecting locations. Once companies have determined the optimalbalance between supply-chain costs and service,the real heavy lifting begins around all of the location-relatedfactors to ensure long-term success. Specifically, this sector ishighly dependent on not only the proximity to customers, ports,rail infrastructure, etc., but also on labor or talent. The bestindustrial space in the wrong location is costly, especially ifquality labor at the right cost over a long-term period is notavailable.