DELIVER Asia 2026 Conference Recordings

The logistics industry is entering a new phase where infrastructure must adapt to rapid technological and operational change.

At DELIVER Asia 2026 in Singapore, Charlie Chang, CEO and Co-Founder of Ally Logistic Property (ALP), shared how logistics facilities must evolve to support automation, robotics, and new supply chain models.

Chang emphasised that warehouse developers must think in long time horizons. Facilities built today will likely remain operational for 30 to 40 years, meaning they must be designed to accommodate future technological shifts.

From labour shortages to automation and artificial intelligence, the logistics landscape is changing quickly. Infrastructure must be flexible enough to support those changes.

Traditional warehouse design has largely been centred around human operations.

Most warehouses built over the past several decades have been designed for forklift operations and manual handling processes. This approach typically limits warehouse height and prioritises horizontal movement.

Automation changes this equation.

Chang explained that automated systems achieve greater efficiency when warehouses are built vertically. While human-operated facilities often reach heights of around 10 to 13 metres, automated systems can operate more effectively in facilities reaching up to 40 metres in height.

Designing warehouses with this future in mind allows infrastructure providers to create facilities that remain relevant as automation adoption accelerates.

According to Chang, warehousing performs two fundamental functions: storage and handling.

Storage focuses on how much inventory a facility can hold, while handling involves sorting, processing and distributing goods.

Historically, these processes have been built around human workflows and horizontal layouts.

ALP’s approach instead considers how automation, robotics and data systems can reshape logistics operations.

This includes designing infrastructure that supports vertical logistics flows, industry-specific warehouse formats, and flexible capacity that can adapt to different types of clients.

ALP’s response to these changes is a new facility model called Omega.

Omega warehouses combine real estate infrastructure with automation systems, data integration and digital platforms to create a new type of logistics ecosystem.

These projects represent a major infrastructure investment, with individual developments costing more than $300 million and requiring approximately 900 days to complete.

The concept has already been implemented in Taiwan and is now expanding into other markets including Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

Each Omega facility integrates automated storage and retrieval systems at the core of the warehouse, allowing goods to be stored vertically while surrounding areas support handling operations.

One of the most distinctive features of the Omega model is its ability to generate more storage capacity within a similar footprint.

Instead of traditional multi-floor warehouse layouts, the Omega design replaces internal floors with automated storage systems.

This creates significantly higher pallet density while freeing up surrounding areas for operational activities.

Clients can lease both operational space and pallet capacity, giving them flexibility to scale their storage requirements as their business grows.

For example, a retailer might begin with 20,000 pallet positions and expand to 30,000 positions several years later.

Chang also introduced the concept of digital transport, designed to reduce unnecessary logistics movement.

In traditional supply chains, goods are frequently transported between warehouses, adding cost, time and risk.

In the Omega model, different companies can store inventory within the same automated storage system. Instead of physically transporting goods between locations, ownership of pallet positions can be transferred digitally.

This eliminates redundant transport steps and reduces operational complexity while improving efficiency.

The Omega model is designed to support a shared logistics ecosystem involving retailers, brands and third-party logistics providers.

For example, consumer goods manufacturers supplying large retailers could store their inventory within the same facility, allowing faster distribution and reduced handling steps.

Third-party logistics providers can also operate within these facilities, managing inventory flows for clients using the shared infrastructure.

This ecosystem approach helps reduce duplication across supply chains while improving asset utilisation.

Beyond automation hardware, Omega facilities integrate digital platforms that connect with customer warehouse management systems through API integration.

The system also supports:

• real-time monitoring dashboards

• predictive analytics through digital twins

• automated stock verification through image capture

• predictive maintenance for equipment reliability

These tools help companies manage inventory more effectively while reducing operational risks.

ALP has already invested more than $1.5 billion in logistics infrastructure in Taiwan and plans to invest billions more across Asia.

Large-scale Omega projects are currently being developed across the region, including major facilities in Thailand and new developments in Singapore.

According to Chang, the goal is not simply to build bigger warehouses but to create future-ready logistics infrastructure that supports automation, data integration and shared supply chain ecosystems.

As logistics technology continues to evolve, these next-generation facilities could play a critical role in shaping the future of global supply chains.