Key points
- Modern logistics centres are data-driven operations that depend on stable, fast and scalable IT infrastructure.
- The IT-Label makes visible what a property delivers on four points: connectivity, internal infrastructure, smart readiness and scalability.
- Not every logistics property needs those provisions — a storage function has different requirements than robotic picking.
- What matters is that the user knows in advance what the building offers, and the owner knows what they are offering.
- The classification is a measure, not a target.
Logistics increasingly runs on data
For years, logistics real estate was mainly a matter of location, clear height, floor loading and accessibility. Close to motorways, ports or airports — that determined the value. For part of the market, that is still true.
But a growing share of logistics service providers work with AI-driven inventory optimisation, real-time route planning, robotic picking and IoT sensors for tracking. In those operations, orders are processed in real time and robots communicate continuously with central systems. Without stable and scalable connectivity and network redundancy, that process comes to a halt.
Two kinds of logistics property, two kinds of requirement
An automated distribution centre is something other than a storage facility. In the first, software, hardware and robots work together, data is collected continuously and systems run around the clock. That calls for bandwidth, low latency, redundancy and room to scale.
A storage facility does not ask for that. There, a basic provision is sufficient, and heavy digital infrastructure would mean paying for capacity nobody draws on.
Both are legitimate. The problem arises only when a user expects one and gets the other — and that is precisely what the IT-Label prevents.
What the IT-Label shows about a logistics property
The classification clarifies what a property offers on four points.
External connectivity: the number of fibre connections, whether links are redundant and what capacity is guaranteed. Internal infrastructure: the type of cabling, the layout of server and technical rooms and the segmentation of the network. Smart and automation readiness: whether the property supports robotics, IoT integration and automated systems. And scalability: whether data traffic can grow without the building becoming the constraint.
What comes out of that is not a grade for the building. It is a description that lets a user determine whether the property fits their operation.
The question is not whether a logistics property scores well. The question is whether it delivers what the operation inside it needs.
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Request IT-labelWhere existing properties come from
Many existing logistics properties were designed around physical efficiency: long spans, high docks, efficient routing. Digital infrastructure historically received less attention, simply because the users at the time did not need it.
That does not make those properties obsolete. It makes them suitable for a different type of user than an automated distribution centre. For an owner, the relevant question is which tenants they want to serve — and whether the property matches that today.
What this means for value and lettability
A tenant investing millions in robots and software has requirements for the property it all has to run in. If a building matches those, it comes into view for that tenant. If it does not, it comes into view for another one.
The IT-Label does not determine which of the two is worth more. It ensures both parties know what they are negotiating about. See also what the IT-Label means for the value of your real estate or the label categories and what they cover.
