According to industry experts, increasing returns stresses have reshaped the global reverse logistics landscape, as shippers must now seek the best size of space at the right time to get the right space in the circular economy.
However, it is fair to say that stores in the United States have been hit the hardest by the pandemic this year. Reverse logistics, which many multinational logistics administrators once ignored, has now emerged as a premium differentiator.
Some social critics argue that the “reverse loop quest” has been harmed, if not destroyed, by the consumerism and entitlement hysteria. Members of the mission are now recalibrating towards a more sustainable industry by reinstating the mission’s ideals. Meanwhile, there is a shortage of warehousing space.
As per Sciarrotta, several U.S. retailers are yet to “catch up” to companies’ progress, including Nike and Patagonia, which repurpose their goods for sale in a continuous loop.
Dr Dale Rogers, an ON Semiconductor business professor at Arizona State University, agrees, pointing out that the COVID-19 pandemic has left the reverse logistics industry more fragmented than ever.
This means that manufacturers are producing new goods at an unprecedented rate, giving consumers more choices. With new items arriving regularly, retailers are bringing more inventory than they know what to do with this “unlimited shelf” of products.
According to JLL’s latest industrial market snapshot survey, the nation’s manufacturers and retailers defied the odds by having a record-breaking year in 2020, thanks in large part to the booming reverse logistics field. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, industrial fundamentals have proven their strength and are thoroughly equipped for increased market demand in 2021.
The same report also said industrial space occupation demand remained surprisingly robust in 2020, with total leasing volume reaching 524.2 million square feet, up 26.9 percent from 2019. Indeed, net absorption continues to rise, surpassing the 250-million-square-foot mark and outpacing totals for 2019 by 47.6 million square feet.
Furthermore, despite widespread demand across all sectors this year, e-commerce will dominate the leasing industry in 2020, accounting for over 16 percent of total leasing.
Rogers concludes by acknowledging that more warehouse space is still in short supply in urban and suburban areas. Yet, more generous use of micro-fulfilment and “nano-warehousing” would relieve many of the burdens on logisticians looking to incorporate smaller, flex-node operations into their reverse logistics network.
