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bstracts of major presentations of the International Development Research Council (IDRC), the world’s preeminent corporate real estate association.
“Digital Darwinism: Strategies for Evolving, Adapting, Surviving and Thriving in an e-Business World,” Florida World Congress, Nov. 6, 2000:
The companies that evolve the quickest and adapt to the new e-business landscape will be the ones that survive the current Darwinian shakeout and thrive well into the future. That was the central message of Fall 2000 IDRC World Congress keynote speaker Evan L. Schwartz, author of the book Digital Darwinism.
Schwartz told IDRC attendees that in order to compete in the future, they must integrate digital commerce into every aspect of their company’s business while adding new value to all transactions between buyers and sellers. “The infrastructure implications of this shift toward the New Economy are enormous,” he said. “Traditional companies are now outsourcing everything from procurement to logistics and distribution.”
In the end, said Schwartz, the best-run companies will be those that “internetwork” all of their customers and suppliers into one
seamless web of real-time commerce.
“Just-in-Time Real Estate: Opportunities for Creating a Dynamic Corporate Real Estate Portfolio,” Florida World Congress, Nov. 6, 2000:
The concept of “just-in-time” delivery of corporate workspace is a great idea, say most corporate real estate executives. Finding a way to get that done is the hard part.
Steven D. Scruggs, president of the Corporate Services Group of Grubb & Ellis, said that the existing “structural impediments” to delivery of real-time space are a lack of ready availability of space, a time-intensive delivery cycle, lack of an ease of exit and an inability of contractors to provide delivery of comprehensive space. “The No. 1 problem holding up just-in-time delivery of workspace is the capital structure of most of our real estate holdings,” said Scruggs. “Most projects are highly leveraged with minimal flexibility for the tenants. There is a lot more securitization of real estate today, and the commercial mortgage-backed securities are even more concerned about flexibility. Plus, the REITs (real estate investment trusts) want higher FFO’s (funds from operations).”
Parkash Ahuja, executive vice president of corporate services for Charles Schwab Corp., said the entire problem would be made simpler if the real estate industry could agree on some form of standardization of workspace definitions.
“Logistics and Real Estate in an e-Business World,” Florida World Congress, Nov. 7, 2000:
In the distribution business, there is a relatively simple formula for going broke: “Failure to deliver equals business failure.” Those were the words of Julie Benezet, whose job is to make sure that every book ordered at Amazon.com finds its way to the doorstep of the Internet customer who placed that order.
Benezet, director of global real estate operations for Amazon.com in Seattle, told IDRC attendees that the secret to success in the logistics business is to make sure that your company always has enough real estate in the right locations to guarantee expeditious delivery of every product sold.
Also, she said, distribution centers today must be “very, very smart” because they must account for a host of variables and data. Ultimately, she noted, the corporate real estate executive in charge of logistics space must remain constantly informed of the changes taking place in the realm of e-commerce and be prepared to adapt on the fly.
“My advice would be to work lithely with the landlords, be the data king or queen of your company and think beyond the next step,” she said.
