Industrial real estate is changing — and so are operators' expectations.

"For many years, industrial real estate customers didn't have high expectations of their landlords," says Sonya Huffman, chief administrative officer at Link Logistics.

• "As the world has changed, so have the needs of our customers. They need a higher quality of service focused on trust, simplicity and speed so they can focus on their businesses."

Get up to date: For five years, Link Logistics has been a leading operator of last-mile logistics real estate.

• Now, it's driving to meet these increased customer expectations with innovative technology including its new all-in-one customer digital platform, Link+.

Why it's important: "Last-mile logistics operators are under a lot of pressure to deliver at speed near real time," says Link Logistics CTO Clark Ardern. "If the facility has challenges, they can't afford to have downtime; they need to be able to have things fixed quickly."

The goal: Link+ breaks the sleepy mold of industrial real estate by creating a platform that responds to common customer complaints.

• For example, documentation in the platform creates transparency that's unusual in an industry where tenants often don't even hold on to a copy of their lease.
• Link Logistics has built the platform with security at the core, since it is a major concern for customers. For instance, it partnered with Wells Fargo so customers can securely pay rent online. A secure messaging center also allows for safe communication amongst stakeholders.

The details: Link+ handles the nitty gritty of property operations through an always accessible, secure online portal. The platform includes:

• Access to a digital lease, which makes it easy to know who's responsible for what — everything from roof to parking lot repairs.
• Online bill pay, so rent and invoice payments are easy and don't incur massive fees.
• Direct work order management, which eliminates wait time, confusion and operating downtime.

• Secure messaging, to enable better communication.

The result: Link+ is optional for Link Logistics customers, but 85% have adopted it to better manage the tenant-landlord relationship.

• As of August 2024, just over a year after its launch, Link+ had already facilitated more than $230 million in bills paid and more than 1,300 service requests.

Looking ahead: Link Logistics, founded by Blackstone in 2019, is a relative newcomer that's reimagining industrial real estate — and the team uses that to its advantage.

• Link Logistics is constantly soliciting feedback and implementing new features and capabilities within Link+ based on customer needs.
• Being new also means the team has the ability to build modern technology without having to unwind previous systems or processes, making it easy to ensure users have a better experience while also being protected.

The takeaway: "The fundamental thesis behind Link+ and our broader approach to technology is to make working with Link easier for our customers so they can focus on their core business," Huffman says.

Learn more about Link+.