New paradigm of logistics space reorganization: E-commerce, land use, and supply chain management

The burgeoning electronic commerce has contributed to enormous demand for developing new logistics facilities dedicated to processing online shopping orders. However, how logistics land uses have been reshaped to accommodate the e-tailing demand has not been adequately studied. By examining the trajectory of logistics space development during the last decade in Shenzhen, an e-tailing hub in China, this study reveals a less common trend of logistics space restructuring that has been identified in a series of existing studies. Results from spatial data analysis indicate a more clustered logistics space across the city, in spite of a slight decrease in the total number of facilities. We argue that e-tailing has acted as a catalyst for determining how logistics facilities are designed, redeveloped, relocated, and utilized to match with changing requirements in supply chain management. Development of new multi-story facilities, renovation of obsolete facilities, and reorganization of existing facilities at regional level, are the major types of land-use efforts to fill in the supply-demand gap in logistics space in this rapidly-urbanizing city with shrinking land availability. The findings could help the governments reconsider the interactions between e-tailing, logistics demand, and sustainable land use patterns in policymaking.