Opportunity
Just after its thirtieth birthday in 2016, SPI Group restructured its organisation into two separate subsidiaries: SPI Services, specialising in packaging, co-packing, kitting, co-filling, boxing and co-manufacturing, and SPI Logistic, specialising in warehousing, logistics and automated picking. SPI Logistic grew fast, quickly positioning itself as a player in the logistics industry and looking to invest in a new state-of-the-art warehouse in a premium location site. To supply this, it opted for Prologis, the leader in logistics real estate, as the firm had all the know-how to meet its customers’ needs.
Challenge
Since the years following the financial crisis, repeated studies have highlighted the speed of recovery and strong performances of the Rhône-Alpes logistics market. Result: a shortage of supply and available land. Aware of this market situation, in 2016, Prologis embarked on a 30,000 sqm speculative development, its second such project that year following the 75,000 sqm building in Le Havre. A double bet in one year on the prospects for the market!
Solution
SPI was right to choose Prologis to back its development, which meant the building could go on the market before delivery.
Prologis developed the platform using an innovative sustainable development approach that cuts the carbon footprint of logistics activity. The building is BREEAM “Very Good” accredited, compliant with a wide range of ICPE criteria, equipped with LED cell lighting and designed using dynamic energy modelling.
The building has 5 cells with an exceptional 12 metre clear height allowing storage of additional palettes above the usual 10 metre limit. These facilities, still far from standard in the market, were complete trailblazers in 2016. With this premium-plus grade building, Prologis delivered SPI Logistic its first fully proprietary warehouse.
“We couldn’t have hoped for better, in this top site, than what Prologis was offering. It is ideally positioned, and the standard-beating features and location next to the A43 motorway are the key qualities we need to develop our business, allowing us to add more value for clients by industrialising their logistics.”, says Emmanuel Bonnet, CEO of SPI Logistic.
True to its strategy of putting sustainable development and innovation at the core of its offer, Prologis has designed an intelligent building for its Prologis Isle d’Abeau DC 21 site, a first in the logistics real estate business.
The simple and intuitive EEGLE application uses Building Information Modelling (BIM) and artificial intelligence to give managers full control of the building. The warehouse has web-linked sensors so data on the building can be fed directly through to a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Users can navigate a 3D model of the logistics platform, pull up technical files and check resource usage for the warehouse. They can also manage and fine-tune the building's energy consumption and equipment, switching between operating modes or setting up a system of real-time alerts.
Takeaways
Prologis anticipated demand to meet the needs of current and future clients. It is the only player in real estate logistics to offer a new buidling with this floorspace to the Lyon market with an unmatched offer in the sector, putting sustainable development and innovation at the core of its strategy.
The platform meets the market's latest premium standards and comes with significant technical improvements.