Warehub, the technology platform building the operating system for industrial real estate, announced today that Founder and Executive Chairman James Holbrook is the featured guest on Season 4, Episode 14 of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association’s Inside CRE podcast.
In the episode, Holbrook joins CREDA President and CEO Marc Selvitelli for a wide-ranging conversation about the structural inefficiencies embedded in industrial leasing, the growing need for flexible warehouse capacity and how AI, trusted data and connected workflows can fundamentally change how industrial space is discovered, leased and activated.
Drawing on more than two decades in industrial real estate, Holbrook argues that the next evolution of the sector is not simply about digitizing transactions. It is about creating infrastructure capable of operating at the speed of modern supply chains.
“Industrial real estate isn't really about the buildings themselves. It's really about the business operations,” Holbrook said. “Companies lease warehouse space not because they love real estate, but they're trying to manufacture products, fulfill orders, shorten delivery times and support the growth of their operations.”
That distinction is central to Warehub’s approach. While logistics networks, fulfillment operations and customer expectations have become increasingly dynamic, the real estate supporting them continues to rely heavily on disconnected emails, spreadsheets, phone calls, inspections, legal reviews and independently maintained records.
As Holbrook explains in the episode, the opportunity is not to replace the professionals responsible for industrial transactions, but to connect them.
“The industry's biggest opportunity wasn't replacing people, as many technologies try to do. It was really just about aligning the process and making it more efficient for all the participants that are in the environment.”
Warehub is building that connected environment by bringing verified property information, inspections, documentation, leasing workflows and activation into a single platform spanning the lifecycle of an industrial lease.
The difference can be dramatic. Holbrook notes that coordinating a portfolio of 30 to 50 short-term industrial leases through traditional processes can take approximately 12 weeks. With Warehub, he said, the same process can be completed in as little as one day.
“It's 20 to 50 times the throughput that's possible in the traditional leasing environment, and it creates an environment that's trusted and transparent that allows it all to happen.”
From Platform Development to Market Adoption
That thesis is increasingly being validated in the market.
Between May and July 2026, Warehub grew activated platform users from 21 to 123, a 485% increase. Qualified tenant requirements increased from 8 to 37, while properties identified against those requirements increased from 28 to 184. During the same period, Warehub moved from zero fully onboarded suites to 160 transaction-ready suites.
The platform now has 292 industrial suites in its activation pipeline, with 160 live and another 132 moving through inspection and onboarding.
The acceleration supports Warehub’s broader objective: connecting demand, inventory and execution through a common digital infrastructure rather than forcing each participant to navigate a separate process.
For brokers, Holbrook emphasized that technology is designed to amplify expertise rather than disintermediate it.
“It was designed by brokers for brokers to make their jobs more efficient and to yield increased revenue for their landlords and operationalize faster for their tenants. And that's its purpose.”
For landlords, the opportunity extends beyond faster leasing. Holbrook sees flexible occupancy becoming another strategic tool for improving asset utilization and reducing the economic drag of vacancy.
“Historically, they viewed vacancy as a cost. Tomorrow in the Warehub platform, it becomes an opportunity.”
And for occupiers, the implications extend directly into supply chain strategy. As inventory levels, consumer demand and distribution requirements change more rapidly, Holbrook believes industrial portfolios must become capable of responding just as quickly.
“At Warehub, we created the environment for supply chain operations to optimize their real estate portfolios really at the speed of business,” he said.
Building the Operating System for Industrial Real Estate
During the conversation, Holbrook also draws an important distinction between Warehub and conventional real estate marketplaces.
A marketplace connects buyers and sellers. Warehub is designed to coordinate the broader leasing ecosystem, including landlords, tenants, brokers and other participants, through the entire lifecycle of the transaction.
“It is not just a marketplace that ends at lease execution. It is a full lifecycle operating system for leasing in itself.”
Looking ahead, Holbrook expects AI to eliminate much of the repetitive administrative work surrounding industrial transactions while giving brokers, owners and occupiers access to better information and more time for higher-value decision-making.
The result, he argues, is not a less human industrial real estate industry. It is one in which talented professionals are no longer constrained by infrastructure that was never designed for the speed at which their clients now operate.
“Transactions will move faster,” Holbrook said. “AI will end up eliminating the majority of administrative work that's repetitious today. And having access to greater information will really provide a level of excellence to the market that's just not possible today.”
Season 4, Episode 14 of Inside CRE, featuring James Holbrook, is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts >> https://www.credaglobal.org/education-and-career/podcast
Warehub is building the operating system for industrial real estate, connecting demand, inventory and execution through a single intelligent platform. By standardizing property data, digitizing leasing workflows and coordinating the participants required to activate industrial space, Warehub enables landlords, tenants and brokers to move from requirement to occupancy with greater speed, transparency and efficiency.
More Deals. Less Friction. Faster Payment.
For more information, visit Warehub.com.
SOURCE: WAREHUB
