Does the e‐commerce development affect the warehouse and logistics market?

Sammanfattning:   “Property owners who start to understand the new demands from the e--‐commerce companies and start handling the risks it implies can probably have a lot to win.” Johan Franzén, Catena The e--‐commerce sector is growing rapidly as a result of the current digitalization,changing the society's day--‐to--‐day consuming patterns. E--‐commerce companies have a unique set of  characteristics, creating new demands within the warehouse and logistics segment in the leasing market. Leases with durations between 10--‐15 years have traditionally been  common for warehouse and logistics properties. However the current trend is towards lease agreements with shorter lease duration. This report intends to analyze how the e--‐ commerce expansion affects the warehouse and logistics market, and to  determine if the statement regarding if there is a gap between different players in the market holds. The selection of participants in the study consists of e--‐ commerce companies, property owners and third--‐party logistics companies. In addition to this, interviews have been held with a variety of property consultants as well as with a professor in retail and logistics. Using a Qualitative method, the aim to examine the different market participants’ views and perceptions on the subject. The result of the study clearly shows there is an asymmetry between the different participants active within the segment.  The e--‐commerce companies demand lease agreements with shorter lease duration, whilst the property owners prefer longer lease durations in order to decrease the risk. Furthermore, shorter lease duration affects the transaction market and property value considerably. The demand for city logistics is increasing and the demand for central warehousing will remain. Finally,  it becomes more common with automation in the warehouse and logistics  space.