The Amazon Effect has notonly ramped up industrial activity and demand, but it hascompletely changed industrial logistics and warehouse design aswell. Logistics today are already totally different than they were10 years ago, and in the next decade, it will continue to changerapidly. The changes include the need for larger warehouse spaces,multi-story warehouses and infill properties that can accommodatesame-day shipping.

“Warehouse space design is already different than it was five to10 years ago. For example, prior to the e-commerce evolution,industrial developers would maximize every square foot of aproperty and build the largest building possible on a parcel ofland, leaving little room for employee parking,” JonPharris, president of industrial developers and ownerCapRock Partners, tells GlobeSt.com. “However,e-commerce tenants require significantly more parking availabilityfor their employees, especially during the peak season,approximately Aug. 1 through Dec. 31. E-commerce users generally donot use as many dock high doors as a typical industrial tenant.They are converting their unused truck courts to expand parkingavailability and create employee amenity areas.”

In the next decade, these needs will continue to change at arapid pace. First, more industrial space is needed to accommodatenot only demand but the ecommerce use, which requires more space.“More industrial space will be required. NAIOP recently published areport stating that for every square foot of retail space that islost due to the e-commerce evolution, three square feet of newindustrial space will be required,” Pharris says. “The AmazonEffect is trickling down into companies that might not appear to bee-commerce retailers. As customers prefer shopping online insteadof at brick and mortar locations, some non-consumer facingcompanies are taking another look at their business plan andfinding opportunities to become third-party fulfillment centers forconsumer-facing brands.