In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, leading occupiers have been strategically rethinking their supply-chain operations in an effort to more effectively meet the sustained global demand for ecommerce products. A primary component of this new operational strategy, for firms such as Amazon, UPS, Walmart and others, is investing heavily in high-tech equipment and processes, including robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and other forms of automation within their warehouse facilities. To support these modern requirements, many large-scale occupiers are turning to build-to-suit (BTS) development where they can fully customize properties to support a faster, more complex and more automated supply-chain infrastructure.
These tenants prioritize specific design features, including higher clear heights, high-capacity floor loads, a robust power infrastructure and even floor flatness to the degree of millimeters to accommodate today’s advanced robotics. They are also focuse