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Grocery Sector Outpaces Ecommerce in Major Warehouse Lease Deals

| Mike O'Brien

Fueled by continued growth in e-grocery and the sector overall, food and beverage saw more growth in terms of major warehouse leases in 2019 than did ecommerce, which slipped a bit, according to a report from CBRE on the 100 largest deals. The number of 3PL deals stayed the same, while the square footage dropped from 2018.

Hourly Workforce Trends to Watch in 2020

| Adam Roston

With historically low unemployment, the competition for reliable hourly workers has never been so stiff. Traditional employers are further hampered by gig companies luring workers with promises of flexible schedules. Here are some hiring and workforce trends to watch out for in 2020 that can impact your business.

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Warehouse Giant Prologis to Acquire Rival Liberty for $12.68 Billion

| Mike O'Brien

Warehouse and fulfillment center giant Prologis will acquire rival Liberty Property Trust in an all-stock merger valued at $12.68 billion, the companies announced, greatly expanding Prologis’ U.S. logistics holdings as demand continues to ramp up. This is in addition to Prologis’ 2018 acquisition of DCT Industrial Trust for $8.4 billion.

Smaller Fulfillment Centers Seeing Greater Demand vs. Large Boxes

| Mike O'Brien

Multiple factors are driving continued greater demand for smaller warehouse facilities vs. big-box fulfillment centers, as companies scramble to position inventory closer to customers and trim ecommerce supply chain costs, according to a new report from CBRE. Vacancy rates are dropping further and rents growing faster for smaller FCs.

Prologis warehouse

Amazon, Home Depot Leasing Space in Three-Story Warehouse in Seattle

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon and Home Depot will become tenants of a new state-of-the-art, three-story warehouse and fulfillment center in Seattle from logistics giant Prologis, part of the huge push to fulfill ecommerce within a day in major urban markets, according to the Wall Street Journal. Three other such buildings are going up in New York City.

Capabilities, Adoption Growing for Ecommerce Fulfillment Robots

| Mike O'Brien

Ecommerce fulfillment robots are trending up. The entry point for ecommerce companies is now in the hundreds of thousands of dollars instead of multiple millions, and can be scaled up as needed. This report from MCM examines the players, the state of the art, advancing capabilities and results being seen by ecommerce companies.

Pace of Demand for Ecommerce Fulfillment Center Space Slowing

| Mike O'Brien

After years of hyper growth, demand for industrial space, especially ecommerce fulfillment centers, will slow between now and 2023 as supply has caught up, according to a new report from the Deloitte Center for Financial Services. The availability rate of industrial space is projected to rise from 7% in 2018 to 10.3% percent in 2023.

On-Demand Warehouse Provider FLEXE Raises $43M in New Funding

| Mike O'Brien

On-demand warehousing and fulfillment firm FLEXE has raised $43 million in Series B funding, led by Activate Capital and Tiger Global Management, with participation from Madrona Venture Group and follow-on investments from Redpoint Ventures, Prologis Ventures and others. Clients include Walmart, Staples and Toms.

3 Projects to Offset Ecommerce Fulfillment Center Labor Costs

| Brian Barry

This may be the perfect storm: A tight labor market insufficient for growth and holiday hiring. Are your ecommerce fulfillment center operations becoming efficient quickly enough to offset these labor increases? For most companies the answer is a resounding NO. Here are three projects to help you drive more productivity.

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15 Considerations for Ecommerce Fulfillment Center Space Planning

| Brian Barry

As you define your company’s ecommerce fulfillment center requirements for the future, you need to find a facility that meets most of your requirements needed for growth. This 15-point checklist will help you identify your current fulfillment center space use as well as future growth requirements.