Championing a ‘no size fits all’ approach, John Clements, Verdion’s European Development Director, put forward the case for prioritising clients’ requirements above dated institutional standards, speaking on warehouse design and specification at EG’s Industrial & Logistics Summit on 21 November.

Verdion will only undertake a project having fully considered the location, size, characteristics and longevity of the scheme. Only then, he argued, can the developer deliver a project which best suits both the occupier and end investor. For this reason, Verdion offers both speculative development to cater for time critical occupier requirements and build-to-suit opportunities for more bespoke client needs.

Innovative technologies are already greatly improving the delivery time of client-side goods, and so the occupier is right to demand a service which has all of the latest technical benefits at its core.

Future proofing and derisking is also important – among other things Verdion always ensures there are readily available sources of electricity to power machinery and autonomous technology and broadband to deliver crucial connectivity and wherever possible two sources to deliver diversity of supply. And with automation set to make delivery more efficient throughout the industry, developers must keep an eye to the future if they’re to continue to react in a flexible and agile way to meet occupier requirements.

Verdion was joined on the panel by Peter Ward of United Kingdom Warehousing Association (UKWA) and Julie Barlatier-Prieuret of Barjane International Group.