Turn your building challenges into business advantages

Your real estate portfolio is likely your second-largest expense after payroll. That means it’s both a major challenge and a significant opportunity. Smart companies are revolutionizing their approach to their real estate, gaining an edge over the competition while fixing costly inefficiencies that quietly eat away at profits.

Most organizations don’t realize how much money they’re losing within their real estate holdings. Here’s some of what we see:

You’re paying top dollar for warehouse space while nearly a third sits empty. Meanwhile, your offices sit half empty as people work from home several days a week. That translates to millions wasted every year.

That outdated building that you’ve never renovated is quietly draining your finances, while modernizing it could reduce energy expenses and eventually pay for itself. Our data shows that cutting energy use by 35% in a typical 100,000 square foot warehouse saves between $22,000 and $78,000 annually.

When equipment suddenly breaks down, it creates cascading issues throughout your business. Our facility management experts find that companies that only fix things after they break typically spend 3-5 times more than those who prevent problems before they happen—not to mention the costly business disruptions.

Real savings become possible once you look at the big picture within your buildings and across your entire portfolio. By bringing together information from different data systems, patterns emerge that show you how money is being wasted. From simple sensors that monitor building systems to advanced analytics that spot ways to improve, technology creates a foundation for running all your properties better.

Good information leads to smarter decisions. For example, in office spaces, studies of how people actually use the buildings give you insights that go beyond assumptions.

When you combine hard numbers with feedback from your employees, you learn not just how much space you need, but what types of spaces will best support your workers. The choices you make about your workspace could mean the difference between growing your business or falling behind because you can’t attract or keep the right people.

Transforming your real estate from a cost center to a value creator requires looking at the bigger picture and connecting your buildings to your business goals.

Too often, the old way of handling leases often leaves companies stuck with spaces that don't work as their needs change. As how and where people work evolves, many companies find themselves trapped in rigid leases that hold them back from growing or making necessary changes.

A smarter approach begins with understanding what really matters for your workplace locations. What is most important to your organization? Do you want to be in a city that’s a magnet for top talent? Is reducing environmental impact a priority to employees and shareholders? By using market insights and information, you can create plans that ensure your business has the right space.

For rapidly growing companies, flexible workspace options can be ideal since they let you expand without getting locked into long leases too soon. For more established organizations, combining locations can cut costs while helping teams work better together. In all cases, modern tools analyze locations, available talent pools and commute times and can help you find the best spots to support what your company needs.

Our research shows many workplaces are missing the kinds of spaces that would make employees happier and more productive. As how we work changes, outdated layouts often fail to support teamwork, new ideas and what employees really prefer.

This is why looking at real data about your workspace matters. These projects usually start by seeing how people actually use your current space. Through careful analysis of which areas people use and when, organizations can move from giving everyone their own desk to creating shared spaces that anyone can book when needed, which frees up room for other useful areas.

For example, one global clothing retailer we worked with increased their processing efficiency by 80% and needed 30% less storage space when they combined their headquarters locations. After looking at the data around how its space was used, they transformed their inefficient portfolio of offices and warehouses into a lean machine that helped them succeed despite the clothing industry’s notoriously slim profit margins.

Smart facilities management combines skilled people with helpful technology to keep your buildings running at their best. When trained technicians regularly check equipment and perform routine maintenance, your building works the way it should and the people using it don't face unexpected disruptions. New AI systems can make things even better by spotting potential problems before equipment fails, keeping everything running smoothly while making your systems last longer. This technology changes maintenance from simply reacting to problems into a smarter approach that uses information to prevent issues, making buildings more reliable for owners and keeping the people who use them satisfied.

While facilities management focus on keeping equipment running, effective property management looks at how the entire building is performing. This complete approach ensures that day-to-day operations support what the building owners want to achieve over time.

In one success story, a large government agency created a detailed property management plan that included a new system to track maintenance across more than 9,200 sites nationwide. They saved more than $26 million over six years while actually improving how they served their teams.

When you improve every aspect of how your buildings run - from vendor management to preventive maintenance and occupancy planning - you make sure your properties deliver the most value possible to your organization.

When you tackle all your building challenges with a coordinated plan, you uncover value that’s been hiding in your real estate portfolio all along. This creates environments that help your business perform better, support what your organization wants to achieve and sets your company up for long-term success.

Your real estate can work much harder for your business. Instead of seeing your offices and manufacturing facilities as unavoidable costs, look deeper and discover how they can be true models of efficiency that actively help drive your vision forward.

JLL’s commercial real estate services combine a global platform with trusted local experts across every sector and asset class. Our multi-disciplinary approach includes leasing, design, portfolio optimization, project management, facilities management and other workplace solutions that help you unlock business value through real estate.