LOGISTICS

Urban logistics and the shift to uncharted B2C territory

The retail model is changing – the one-size-fits-all ‘big box’ warehouses still serve a fundamental purpose, but are not strategically located to fully cater for online demand. Here are ten key points from our Future Gazing: Logistics – The Last Mile report, analysing heightening customer expectations, supply chains challenges and changing land values
Written By:
Stephen Springham, Knight Frank
1 minute to read
Categories: Property Sector Logistics

The Key Points

  1. Ongoing evolution of the online retail market will continue to drive the pursuit of the ‘last mile’ logistics solutions.
  2. Online sales accounted for 18% of all retail sales in 2018, a share that is projected to hit 28% by 2024.
  3. Consumer expectation is heightening complexity to an expanding array of fulfilment models.
  4. Urban logistics heralds a transition to a business to consumer (B2C) model.
  5. A network of physical stores is increasingly emerging as a key competitive advantage in a wider multi-channel offensive.
  6. The search for industrial development or investment opportunities needs to be more forensic and discriminating than the current ‘gold rush’.
  7. Not all industrial sites are created equal – some are more equal than others.
  8. Successful urban logistics sites need to cross Five Great Divides – Consumer Demand, Supply (Imbalance), Labour, Infrastructure, Technology
  9. Appropriate data and analytics at a local level is key to understanding site viability and ‘last mile’ potential.
  10. In a consumer-driven market, the goal posts will continually shift – nothing stays the same for long.