Accessibility on several counts tops the list of secrets to success in e-commerce. That was the determination of a session on e-commerce site and building selection at NAIOP’s second annual E.Con e-commerce conference, held late last week in Atlanta. Moderator K.C. Conway, senior vice president of credit risk management at SunTrust Bank, led the spirited discussion among attendees and panelists Scott Belfer, senior vice president at CBRE Inc.; Amy Gerber, executive vice president with JLL; Michael Mullis, senior vice president of real estate for J.M. Mullis Inc.; and Hugh Williams, principal with Avison Young. The top seven drivers were determined to be: Proximity to customer demand clusters. While e-commerce consumers currently accept an average delivery time of three to five days, next-day deliveries are growing in popularity. Developers that can offer their e-commerce tenants fulfillment centers with cost-effective same-day and next-day delivery will have an advantage. Access to high-quality labor. Community colleges and universities become increasingly important as tenants seek sources of quality surge labor. Proximity to 3PLs. Ground and air hubs are still the life source of e-commerce. Avoiding driver vacuums. Ground transportation is in a precarious state. The nation is facing a projected shortage of 240,000 truck drivers. While this issue is sorely overlooked, panelists agree that any city or state that manages to address this concern would be appealing. Opportunities for infill buildings. While 1 million-square-foot distribution centers for Amazon and Walmart have recently grown in popularity, panelists foresee a high demand for smaller DCs within metropolitan areas. This will facilitate faster and less expensive delivery options for consumers. Automation may also decrease the need for large footprints, since there will be fewer humans and personal vehicles to accommodate. Heavy power and life systems. Large numbers of employees, an increasing amount...

The NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association recently held its second annual E.Con in Atlanta, a conference dedicated to e-commerce innovation. During the two-day event, last mile delivery stayed at the forefront of conversation. As the nation faces a shortage of 240, 000 truck drivers, e-commerce companies are actively seeking alternatives to traditional delivery methods. Panelists and attendees discussed four current trends: Unmanned vehicles The lack of CDL drivers and the high costs of employing them are leading e-commerce retailers to seek other ways of getting products from distribution centers to the homes of consumers. Removing drivers altogether could be the solution. That’s one approach that has been tried in Europe and Asia. Those programs started 10 years ago. Unmanned vehicles still haven’t caught on because studies (and many companies) suggest that automated trucks are most suitable for interstate conditions. The last mile in urban and suburban areas has risks associated with pedestrians, frequent construction and redirects, varying laws, and erratic behavior from human drivers nearby. More research and innovation will be needed to make companies and consumers comfortable with unmanned delivery vehicles in heavily populated areas. Uber-style delivery systems Independent delivery services are also popping up across the nation. Drivers for hire (those with a standard non-commercial license) can carry out deliveries from urban and suburban distribution centers to doorsteps. They do not require the pay or hours of career truck drivers. Start-ups and smaller e-commerce companies are exploring these options. They may become more prevalent in the future. There is one major problem. Currently, there is no software that coordinates product size, weight, and shipping distance with these drivers for hire. Everett Steele, CEO of Kanga says, “There is this idea, ‘I want to be the Uber for delivery,’ but one of...