The design of warehouse and logistic centers is speculated to undergo a vertical evolution. As Autonomous Mobile Robots are implemented within warehouses and logistic centers they can take over tasks that require heavy lifting which creates the potential for warehouses to increase their verticality. This is likely to trend as land for industrial property close to urban settings becomes more and more scarce.
Georgetown Crossroads is a first of kind multi-story logistics property to be developed in the United States. Completed in 2019 by ProLogis Inc, the 590,000 sqft (approx. 55,000 sqm) warehouse is a three-story fulfilment center located in Seattle and has both Amazon and Home Depot as its first tenants (Smith, 2019).
One factor enabling the cost effectiveness of multi-story warehouses is automation and robotics. Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) such as Amazon robots Ernie and Bert (Feiner, 2021) have been used in Amazon’s facilities since 2012 and has helped improve efficiency and safety in their warehouses. These types of AMRs can take over the tasks of heavy lifting to leverage the increased verticality within a multi-story warehouse. The use of AMRs in this space reduces the safety concerns associated to these types of vertical operations by conventional methods such as human operated forklifts. In addition. AMRs could enhance the efficiencies within the warehouse as they could safely transport stock and inventory at an optimally faster speed.
Developers in the industrial real estate business should take note that an autonomous revolution may start to impact the way that warehouses may be designed in the future. The existing demand which may drive the need for innovation which may be witnessed through automation that may be one of the key disruptors in the industrial and logistics real estate sector in the short to medium term. Developers should ensure they are aware of such changes and are able to adapt quickly to stay competitive.
