FlexSpace Logistics, part of the publicly traded StorageVault Canada organization, has continued to grow and provide warehouse, logistics and fulfillment services for businesses of all sizes since it was founded in 2021.
“The idea was building on a service that we’re already providing and getting more people aware that self-storage is a great solution for businesses, especially smaller startups, with lower costs and lower risk than renting a warehouse and taking on a big lease,” the company’s business leader Lucas Koren told RENX.
FlexSpace Logistics has access to facilities comprising more than 15 million square feet of storage space, with 11.8 million of that total belonging to StorageVault and the remainder to the growing network of more than 500 partners it works with.
FlexSpace Logistics offers a wide range of storage options, including:
- large warehouse space ranging from 1,000 to more than 100,000 square feet;
- small warehouse space ranging from 25 to 999 square feet;
- self-storage space in a variety of unit sizes;
- portable storage containers that are delivered to clients;
- outdoor storage and parking facilities for vehicles, equipment and other assets;
- and records storage and management for physical and digital documents through sister company RecordXPress.
“I would challenge you to find any business that could offer the same reliability and service and product that we can, just because of our tie-in to StorageVault and the network that we’ve built,” said Koren.
FlexSpace Logistics’ business model
Clients tell FlexSpace Logistics what their space needs are and how long they’ll need to lease it. The company will then see what it has available internally, as well as through its partner network, to come up with the best solutions.
There’s no upfront fee and clients are only charged when they move their goods into a space.
“Usually, we provide a client with one, two or three different quotes,” Koren said. “We let the customer decide what makes the most sense to them.”
Space, maintenance, tax and utilities are included in the quoted cost.
There’s no typical FlexSpace Logistics client, according to Koren and like its StorageVault parent, the company offers month-to-month occupancy contracts to allow flexibility in scaling up or down. Koren said the average length of use for a particular space is two months.
“We have some clients that we’ve been in contact with for over a year and we’ve also had some clients who have contacted us and we’ve moved them in within 24 hours,” Koren said.
Toronto’s Rogers Centre recently underwent major renovations and its main tenant, the Toronto Blue Jays, rented 35,000 square feet of storage space while that work was ongoing. Koren said the baseball team is still leasing about 20,000 square feet.
Greater Toronto Area is the biggest market
FlexSpace Logistics is currently renting 146,000 square feet of space in five provinces. The Greater Toronto Area accounts for 62 per cent of that total, with Etobicoke, Brampton and Mississauga being particularly popular.
“We have a number of e-commerce clients from overseas that are very interested in the Brampton area and it seems to be a hot market on the e-commerce side,” Koren observed. “I’d say our biggest area of success and growth is in the Etobicoke area.”
FlexSpace Logistics is also seeing demand and doing business in markets including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Ottawa.
When StorageVault acquires a new self-storage facility, the property sometimes also includes additional warehouse space FlexSpace Logistics can tap into and lease to new occupants.
While some of FlexSpace Logistics’ growth is dependent on StorageVault’s expansion, it’s also consistently building the size of its partner network.
“The more space we have access to, the more services we can provide our clients,” Koren said. “The good and the bad is when we get a new site, we are filling it fairly quickly and then we no longer have space available to offer in that site.”
Logistics and fulfillment services
In addition to providing storage space, FlexSpace Logistics also offers logistics services, working with over 90 transportation and trucking companies that can move goods across Canada and the United States.
This not only includes transport trucks for large freight but also handling small parcels for last-mile direct-to-consumer delivery.
“A client doesn’t want to start to try to learn and understand the complexities of dealing with trucking companies and booking loads and understanding what specific machinery is needed to load a specific product,” Koren said.
“Customers are always really grateful that they didn’t have to be bogged down by the difficulties of that piece.”
FlexSpace Logistics also offers several fulfillment solutions, including: order processing; inventory management; e-commerce integration; custom packaging; pick and pack services; omnichannel sales; and returns management.
“In e-commerce, a lot of these businesses don’t even see their own product and they’re just selling it online,” Koren noted. “They don’t want to actually deal with the process and they pay handsomely for someone else to take care of that.”