{"id":1004596217,"date":"2022-08-10T03:28:23","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T11:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004596217"},"modified":"2022-12-08T23:30:34","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T07:30:34","slug":"is-flexible-warehousing-the-next-step-for-industrial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/is-flexible-warehousing-the-next-step-for-industrial\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Flexible Warehousing the Next Step for Industrial?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Compared<\/a>

Alex Morrison, CEO Portal Warehousing. Image courtesy of Portal Warehousing<\/p><\/div>\n

The sharing economy has been touching different areas of people\u2019s lives during the past two decades, from lodging to transport and office work. The pandemic has bolstered the success of some of the platforms in the sector and played against others, but the shared model is here to stay.<\/p>\n

Following in the footsteps of coworking, shared warehouse space seems to fill a gap and serve the needs of small e-commerce companies. Private equity company Capstone Equities<\/strong> has recently launched Portal Warehousing<\/strong>, a flexible logistics platform for small e-commerce businesses. Compared to traditional industrial space<\/a>, flexible warehousing provides tailored workspace arrangements for tenants, with common-area amenities similar to those in coworking.<\/p>\n

Capstone developed the concept in 2021 as part of its initiative to provide industrial space for starter brands, which had been confined to using improvised spaces, such as garages or self-storage units. The platform not only provides tailored space and short-term leases, but helps with assessing the best shipping rates and accessing capital.<\/p>\n

The first Portal location, offering nearly 30,000 square feet, opened in July 2022 in Salt Lake City, offering spaces that range between 250 and 2,500 square feet. On-site amenities include high-speed internet, reception services, community events, as well as shared common areas, such as coworking and conference spaces. Alex Morrison, CEO of Portal Warehousing, shared details about his vision of this industry sector and the company.<\/p>\n

How would you define flexible industrial space and what are the main differences between regular and flexible warehousing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Morrison:<\/strong> Flexible warehousing is a new product type that provides the flexibility and amenities that are common in coworking, with the critical logistics infrastructure that you can only find in an industrial setting.<\/p>\n

Flexible warehousing allows tenants of all sizes to access high-quality industrial space<\/a> without the need for long-term leases. Tenants can occupy space that suits their current needs and scale up or down in size as their business needs change.<\/p>\n

What are the main drivers behind the need for such facilities in today\u2019s industrial market? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Morrison:<\/strong> There are a few factors at play. First, people and companies have become used to the ease and convenience of flexible office space. Coworking\u2019s post-pandemic boom has shown the value that flexibility can provide. This is not the case in the industrial market, which still operates on three- to five-year leases through the traditional brokerage model.<\/p>\n

Second, the growth of e-commerce<\/a> and rise of technologies like Shopify has made it easier than ever before to start an online business. These entrepreneurs need access to logistics space just like Amazon, but find themselves boxed out of the market due to their size.<\/p>\n\n\n