JUST-IN-SEQUENCE! HOW TO PREPARE FOR 2016

By: Mike White, SIOR, CCIM, Broker-in-Charge

Greetings from Dusseldorf! Having spent a fascinating week in one of Germany’s most beautiful and productive cities, I have seen a glimpse of the future. Accompanied by two very professional and hard-working CRDA recruiters, we had the distinct privilege of touring factories and meeting a number of German manufacturing companies.

In archetypal fashion, the precision and timing of all things German is stunning. Efficiency is pervasive throughout all aspects of modern manufacturing, aided by a mature and clearly skilled workforce. When they are at work, they are working. No idle chatter, standing around, laxness is not in character. When at play, they play hard. The “altbiers” were flowing along the Rheine.…

I witnessed an ongoing paradigm shift in manufacturing appropriately termed “Just-in-Sequence”. No mundane mass production, each vehicle is highly specialized and the supplier base is expected to keep pace with the assembly schedule, sometimes with less than four hours notice. A specific set of parts is required to be on time and on station. Since everything produced is a direct result of a customer order, inefficient parts inventory is reduced and the costs of managing one’s supply chain are pushed back to the suppliers! Wunderbar!

What does this mean for our Charleston Industrial market in 2016? Future suppliers will require less space given their efficient methods, but there will be more of them. Proximity to the parent plant will be paramount. The interiors will be high-ceiling, well-lighted with flowing fresh air. All tenant improvements will be designed to keep workers focused on their work. Maneuver areas should be deep to support multiple truck runs. New construction will be preferred and premium rents will be paid.

If you’d like to discuss your site and how to best design your facility for the future, please call upon us… Mit freundlichen Grüßen !