Site visits from home

Italy is one of the hardest-hit countries battling COVID-19, with its citizens weeks into quarantine.

As people increasingly rely on online shopping, demand for warehouse space is rising. But with real-life tours on hold, Faustino Musicco and Domenico Marino, part of JLL’s Logistics & Industrial Agency in Milan, got creative. Using a variety of tech tools, they built their own version that allows clients to view facilities from home.

“Logistics providers and grocery chains are searching for space, but there’s a complete lockdown on site visits,” says Domenico. “Turning to a range of existing tech tools and footage from drones and videographers, we’ve been able to keep some sense of normality to our work.”

While virtual tours are a necessity right now, the team believes they could become a more permanent feature when the coronavirus pandemic is over.

“The sector has always prided itself on the importance of interaction and personality, so that will hopefully not be impacted by this long period of isolation and social distancing, but some of the changes we’re going through now could reshape the way we work in the future,” says Faustino.