Logistics space-sharing startup Warehouse Exchange will expand its real estate footprint into California, Oregon, and Arizona through a new deal with charitable donation organization The Salvation Army, which said today it has adopted the software platform to rent unused warehouse space to other companies.
The Los Angeles-based Salvation Army will use the technology marketplace and online platform to fill under-utilized warehouse space in some of the 13 states that make up its Western Territory. Set to roll out in the coming months, the platform will allow Salvation Army to “monetize unproductive warehouse assets” by allowing others to use their facilities in California, Oregon, and Arizona.
Los Angeles-based Warehouse Exchange will add these locations through its “Partners Program,” where it historically fills space in four to six months, with a waiting list thereafter, the firm said. Calling itself “the Airbnb of warehouse space,” Warehouse Exchange is an artificial intelligence (AI)-led marketplace that matches buyers and sellers in the logistics space with a focus on warehousing.
The deal follows reports that e-commerce adoption and higher inventory levels accelerated by the pandemic could generate millions of square feet of additional demand for industrial real estate. In addition to the development of new industrial real estate sites, that increased demand is also being met by warehouse-sharing startup firms such as Flowspace and Flexe.
The move is the latest expansion by Warehouse Exchange, which hired a new CEO in January, and raised $2.2 million in funding in May. With this announcement, the firm has facilities throughout California, Oregon, and Arizona, extending its current operations in Southern California; Portland, Oregon; Tucson, Arizona; and to include the California cities of Modesto, Anaheim, Pasadena, Santa Ana, San Bernardino, and Hesperia.
“We are excited to be part of Warehouse Exchange’s Partners Program and look forward to benefiting from their technology and logistics expertise,” the Salvation Army’s Commissioner Douglas Riley, territorial commander for the USA Western Territory, said in a release. “At a time of great humanitarian need, it’s terrific to know our excess warehouse space will be used to help support local businesses while generating revenues that will advance our organization’s mission—to rebuild lives.”
