Key takeaways: A new survey conducted jointly by Prologis (NYSE: PLD) and Harris Poll shows that 91% of corporate executives say retailers and logistics service providers "urgently" need more decentralized fulfillment networks to meet delivery time requirements.
The share of companies planning to maintain their existing global footprint has declined, falling 14 percentage points from last year to just 36%. As consumer expectations continue to rise, faster delivery has become the top priority for businesses.
Inside a vacant industrial warehouse, shelves and pallets are neatly arranged along marked central aisles. This distribution facility represents logistics, inventory capacity, supply chain operations, order fulfillment, and warehousing infrastructure.
Large-scale centralized warehouses will still retain some market demand, but the push for faster delivery and growing requirements for stable energy supply are prompting companies to rethink warehouse locations.
A new survey conducted by Prologis (NYSE: PLD) in partnership with Harris Poll found that 91% of corporate executives believe retailers and logistics providers "urgently" need more decentralized fulfillment networks to meet delivery expectations. The survey covered more than 1,800 business managers across the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, China, and Mexico.
Prologis CEO Dan Letter said: "We focus on the consumer side. That's why we concentrate on the world's most vibrant consumer centers and population clusters, while also carefully screening submarkets within cities. The core logic is to be as close to the end user as possible."
The survey shows that the proportion of companies intending to maintain their current global business footprint has declined further, dropping 14 percentage points from last year to only 36%. As consumer expectations continue to rise, the top goal for businesses is to improve delivery speed. Achieving same-day delivery has become an industry target, with the share of companies offering this service having doubled since 2019. The survey notes that delivery speed has now surpassed price in importance for building competitive advantage.
Driven by these trends, companies are adjusting their relocation and layout strategies: more than half are simultaneously pursuing diversification and regionalization, while about one-third are adopting near-shoring or reshoring strategies.
Letter explained: "This is why we pay close attention to our own asset portfolio. People often discuss the total scale of our assets, but over the past 15 years we have also disposed of a large number of properties. These were assets that clients clearly indicated no longer fit their long-term development plans. So while we hold 1.3 billion square feet of warehouse assets, we have also sold more than 200 million square feet of properties that did not meet client needs."
Energy infrastructure has also become a key factor driving corporate strategy. Partly due to the influence of artificial intelligence development, energy resilience has become a core concern. Power reliability is the number one consideration in logistics site selection. Slightly more than a quarter of surveyed executives said they expect industrial property owners and developers to take the lead in funding on-site resilient energy infrastructure, including solar power, energy storage, and fleet charging facilities.
"About five years ago, we increased our investment in the energy sector and developed it into a standalone business," Letter said. "Our solar and energy storage business has already exceeded 1.4 gigawatts of installed generation capacity. At the same time, we are also researching how to help clients complete their fleet electrification transition."
Artificial intelligence is enhancing corporate competitiveness, particularly in logistics and warehousing. Respondents believe that within the next three years, demand forecasting and AI-powered agent systems will be the most "transformative" technologies reshaping supply chains. Three-quarters of respondents plan to make large-scale investments in AI demand forecasting and inventory replenishment systems.
"Clients are deepening their exploration of AI, and we are following suit," Letter said. "We invest alongside our clients to anticipate the next direction of industry evolution. This empowers our entire business line and allows us to anticipate our clients' potential needs in advance."
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