Guest blog by Guy Douetil, Managing Director, EMEA, HICKEY

Europe, along with many markets around the world, is currently experiencing massive labour shortages in distribution, primarily driven by the boom in E-Commerce and the increasing requirement for additional warehousing.

Presented with this monumental challenge, logistics operators, retailers, developers, and investors need to be equipped with the data, knowledge, and strategic vision as to where best to locate their new distribution centres. No longer is finding the optimal location based solely on supply chain and real estate. Instead, companies are now leading their location decisions by finding sustainable labour pools and formulating strategies to tap into it.

In an era of unprecedented full employment and an increasing demand for their services, logistics employees are now in a position to work for an employer of their choice by selecting where and for who they work.  Further, workers have greater expectations for competitive benefits and amenities, flexibility, and a healthy work-life balance.

Recognising these challenges, we embarked on a study where we spoke with numerous occupiers, 3PL’s, employment agencies, and developers/investors, to understand how they are reacting, and the best practices being deployed across the marketplace. Our key findings included:

  1. Commute times & ease of commute matters – Choosing an optimal location with reduced commute times (+/- 30mins) by one mode of transport is critically important for attracting employees, not just to meet supply chain demands.
  2. Companies need to be an employer of choice – In a highly competitive environment, employees are increasingly being selective who they work for.
  3. Employees are demanding / expecting more benefits / amenities & flexibility – seeking similar perks traditionally bespoke to their office-based colleagues.

We’ve recently taken these findings and released a report on European logistics trends. We encourage our readers to visit the CoreNet Global Knowledge Center to download and explore the robust findings of the report.