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Intro – Host: Team Jensen
Host: teaching you the art of industrial real estate this is on air with Team Jensen all right listeners welcome to episode 21 of on air with Team Jensen today we have a very special guest joining us from the logistics and warehouse operations side of the world we’ve got Brian Smith here with us today thanks for coming on Brian
Brian: thank you guys appreciate the invite glad to be here with Team Jensen
Host: Brian brings a wealth of knowledge when it comes to managing high-volume distribution networks and aligning corporate facilities with complex supply chains so we are very excited to hear your perspective today
Brian: absolutely guys looking forward to jumping into it and breaking down how operational efficiency drives real estate decisions
Brian’s Background & Entry into Logistics Operations
Brian: i actually started out my career over 15 years ago completely on the transportation and freight routing side of the business
Brian: early on I was tasked with optimizing multi-state fleet lanes and cutting out fuel and time inefficiencies across the supply chain
Brian: eventually I realized that you can have the most optimized trucks in the world but if your warehouse layout and regional asset placement are broken your entire supply chain will choke
Kurt: so that realization pushed you directly into facility design and high-volume fulfillment center operations right
Brian: exactly about a decade ago I transitioned full-time into managing warehouse networks and helping growing companies scale their physical footprint to handle massive throughput spikes
The Evolution of the Modern Distribution Box
Host: it’s no secret to our listeners that the demand for industrial spaces has changed drastically over the last few years what are the biggest physical differences you are seeing in what modern logistics tenants require today
Brian: the standard 24-foot clear height warehouse box is practically a relic of the past for high-volume users today
Brian: sophisticated tenants are hunting for 36-foot to 40-foot clear heights to maximize cubic vertical space for advanced racking and automated retrieval systems
Brian: we’re also seeing an immense focus on staging area depths, heavy-duty floor slab psi specifications, and EV charging infrastructure to accommodate the transition toward electric commercial delivery fleets
Kurt: developers who are building spec projects with those flexible heavy industrial backbones are capturing the premium tenants while older legacy properties are having to adapt or adjust their rent expectations significantly
The Absolute Edge of Off-Market Intelligence
Host: you hit the nail on the head—and finding those upgraded spaces or specialized land tracts requires looking far beyond public real estate listings like LoopNet
Brian: 100% in our industry if an industrial asset hits a public database it’s because the prime institutional players have already passed on it
Brian: the real value is unlocked through off-market intelligence—advisors who are physically in the market every single day talking to owners and identifying spaces before they are vacant
Kurt: it completely compresses your procurement timeline and lets you secure highly specialized facilities without getting trapped in hyper-inflated public bidding wars
Aligning Corporate Footprints with Labor Pools
Kurt: we often tell clients that your facility plan can never be isolated from your human resources strategy how does labor availability dictate where you place a facility
Brian: it’s the number one deciding factor right now—you can build the most beautiful automated warehouse in the country but if you place it in a labor desert your operation is dead on arrival
Brian: we run heavy demographic mapping panels on local transit connectivity, surrounding workforce densities, and even shift-timing variables before we sign a lease
Brian: when you partner with specialized real estate teams who understand how to cross-reference off-market building availability directly with local labor statistics you insulate your business against massive operational bottlenecks down the line
[Wrap-Up]
Host: couldn’t agree more Brian thanks again for jumping on with us today and pulling back the curtain on the operational side of the fence
Brian: thanks for having me fellas it’s been a blast talking shop with Team Jensen
Host: thanks to everyone tuning in to Episode 21 be sure to like and subscribe to On AIRE with Team Jensen on YouTube Apple Podcasts or Spotify and we will catch you next week
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“On Aire Ep. 21 w/ Brian Smith – The Art of Industrial Real Estate Podcast” featuring Brian Smith
