PL

Proptech in the warehouse and logistic market

Report
PropTech is a trend that has recently stormed the real estate market – and commercial properties have been no exception. It has undoubtedly set the course for the future development of the sector. New technology is now being used not only in the operation of buildings, but is also crucial at the design stage. Such systems as LED lighting, cloud utility monitoring and automatic licence plate recognition have been included as standard in Segro logistics parks for some time now.

PropTech pioneers

The use of innovative technology means greater efficiency for the developer and the manager at both the construction stage and during the managing of warehouse buildings. For clients, on the other hand, innovation results in greater usability when operating the space and contributes significantly to the optimisation of their costs.

We are pleased to present the ‘PropTech on the Warehouse Market’ report, based on a survey of a representative cross-section of Polish companies working in such sectors as production, logistics, retail and services – and mainly international operators. We set out to gauge how many companies know and use PropTech systems as well as their level of knowledge when it comes to the benefits of using such technology.

The study shows that although companies do not always initially know exactly what PropTech is, the vast majority of those surveyed rightly associate the term with innovative technology. Furthermore, almost three out of four of the companies already employ PropTech – since most of them use LED lighting and almost half use lighting control using motion sensors. The pleasing thing is that many companies plan to introduce new technology to their warehouse space in the near future.

This shows that PropTech represents the way forward and so it is important for developers to make clients aware of the many benefits of using it their premises. We are proud, as sector pioneers, that we install systems that are still innovative for the market as standard in our logistics parks – and that help our clients to optimise their work and increase the energy efficiency of the warehouse space they lease.

We hope you find the report interesting and informative.

Waldemar Witczak, Segro regional director

Creators of change

What exactly is the mobile phone we keep in our pocket? We take pictures with it, so it’s maybe a camera; we use it listen to music on the way to work, so it’s also a record player; we check our work emails and reply to them, so perhaps it’s also a computer; we use it to pay for our lunch, so then it’s a credit card... and, sometimes, we even make calls on it, so is it actually some kind of phone? Is anyone still surprised when, say, a kettle or an iron breaks, instead of going to the shopping centre, we sit down with our mobile phones or in front of the computer, and a courier knocks on our door with the replacement on the next day? We can barely remember a time before these obvious conveniences, but things were actually rather different as little as five years ago. That was when a revolution was taking place to make this entire purchasing operation was as smooth as possible. Modern technology has also been making it mark on the warehouse sector – and not only to improve e-commerce as its popularity grows. Which systems are already used by tenants of warehouse and industrial space, and which would they like to use in the future? A survey of a cross-section of business people – users of warehouse space – has now been carried out to assess this phenomenon, with the result being the ‘PropTech on the Warehouse Market’ report. When we asked market experts what was going to shape the real estate market in the near future, modern technology always appeared in the top three answers. However, the point is not only to follow the market trends but also to set them. And this is what Segro, the co-author of the analysis, has managed to do. Innovative systems such as LED lighting, utility monitoring systems and automatic licence plate recognition are now standard in this developer’s facilities. The company is fully conscious of the fact that the modern technology used in the real estate market, commonly known as PropTech, optimises processes, thus generating measurable savings – in terms of time or in the more tangible form of money. However, the use of technology needs to be considered from a variety of aspects, and not merely in terms of the financial benefits. Sustainable development, including care for employees and environmental protection, is also an important feature of these types of systems, as is now recognised by company executives as well as the warehouses’ users. We hope the report will give you some invaluable insights.

Ewa Andrzejewska, editor-in-chief, Eurobuild CEE

A closer look at the sector

The research was conducted by means of a survey both online and over the telephone of a representative group of Polish business people (88 pct of those surveyed were from small and medium-sized companies, while 70 pct used at least 5,000 sqm of warehouse space). A total of 36 pct are employed in the production sector, 22 pct work in logistics, 20 pct in retail and 14 pct are from the service sector. Around 56 pct of those surveyed were from companies with international operations. Of those surveyed 26 pct occupied senior management positions, 26 pct were middle managers and 22 pct were company directors.The survey was carried out by the publishers of monthly publications ‘Logistika a Jakość’ and ‘Nowoczesny Magazyn’.











Smarter than the average warehouse

Smart warehouses are the future of the logistics market – they enable us to improve the supply chain, achieve savings and reduce our environmental impact. According to the report, the vast majority of those surveyed can see the direct benefits of PropTech systems – usually those that are economic or environmental.

Segro is one of the leaders on the warehouse space market in Poland when it comes to introducing PropTech systems. In addition to that, BREEAM certification is obtained as standard for all our new developments. Not only does this confirm the environmental qualities ​​of the building but it also assesses such areas as facility management, employee comfort and the innovativeness of the technology employed.

In all our locations, we install an access control system that automatically reads the licence plates of vehicles entering the premises. Thus we provide our clients with greater security and improved access for employees and their companies’ regular suppliers.

Our buildings feature a comprehensive utility monitoring system designed to gauge the utility consumption in real time. Our clients can access the data this generates to view their regular consumption and modify it in the future if necessary. So they are provided with a valuable tool that can be used to achieve savings in specific areas – something that is of increasing importance in a time of rising electricity prices.

External LED lighting is fitted as standard in our new parks. Through the use of this, electricity consumption can be reduced by up to 30 pct. We also use lighting control systems such as DALI to generate additional savings. We are also gradually installing LED lighting inside existing storage space.

Since electric vehicles are regarded as the future of the automotive sector, we provide electric chargers in our parks – a total of 26 such devices have already been introduced in 2019.

The other modern systems we next plan to introduce include roof deflection monitoring, which has already been installed in our park in Nadarzyn, as well as intelligent benches with solar panels.

Bearing in mind the trust that clients have placed in us for many years, we want to meet their expectations and lead the way in this sector by pioneering innovative systems in Segro parks designed to optimise processes.

Joanna Janiszewska, Segro regional director

A time of stately progress

Real estate professionals generally hold the view that modern technology is set to transform the market and open up new directions of development, according to the conclusions of the report, which gives us the opportunity to take a measured look at their actual impact and how they might be applied in the future. From the very first question of the survey it becomes clear that the familiarity with the term ‘PropTech’ is not very strong among business people, which is not to say that they do not use these systems; they are simply not so aware of it as a concept. More than half of those surveyed were unable to assess its significance despite the fact that they are involved with real estate issues on a daily basis, since these are enterprises occupying large areas of warehousing – more than 5,000 sqm in each case. The larger part of the survey also reveals that although 74 pct of respondents use PropTech systems, the technology of this kind that is actually widely put into practice are the lighting systems for warehouses. Around 66 pct use LED lighting while 44 pct use the sensors for running these systems. Other developments in PropTech have yet to be introduced to the same extent, including remote reading and utility control systems as well as systems that automatically recognise licence plates, which are only employed by every fifth respondent. It is probably a matter of opinion whether this represents a lot or a little – but it does nonetheless seem to be an interesting fact that there are still relatively few Polish businesses considering introducing PropTech systems other than modern lighting – from 4 pct (building automation) up to 22 pct (licence place recognition systems). Therefore we can conclude from this that the market will change but probably not to any dramatic extent. Grounds for optimism, however, are given by the fact that the benefits of PropTech have been noted by businesses. As many as 68 pct believe that it can be used to achieve environmental protection targets (under their CSR strategies), as well as those for corporate governance (56 pct), work practices (34 pct) and honest operational practices (26 pct). Its economic (60 pct) and environmental (46 pct) benefits as well as increased security (40 pct) were also appreciated. Thus it can be concluded from the report that the Polish PropTech revolution, or evolution, in the warehouse sector is underway, although it will remain a rather slow and steady process over the next few years.

Rafał Ostrowski, journalist, Eurobuild CEE

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