Fulfillment centers are built backward from November. The operator signs a lease, counts the weeks to peak season, and asks the builder how much of the building can be handed over, racked and staffed by then. Everything else follows from that date: which structure we use, when we order the dock equipment, and how many crews we have on the roof at once.
Fulfillment differs from storage in who is inside. A distribution warehouse may have forklift drivers. A fulfillment center has hundreds of people picking, packing and sorting, often on multiple shifts, and the building needs parking, restrooms, break rooms, lighting, air movement and fire exits to match. A building that suits pallets does not automatically suit people, and we plan for both.
Oklahoma has places where this work already clusters. Lariat Landing, directly east of Will Rogers airport along I-44, covers over 400 acres, including about 88 acres of industrial and commercial land, with tenants that include an online retailer, a package carrier and a regional airline. We build fulfillment, sortation and parcel facilities for operators who want that kind of access to roads and runways.
Labor, parking and the building around the people
Parking is often the surprise. A large operation may need a space for every worker on the largest shift, plus visitors and trailers. That can take as much land as the building. Zoning may count spaces by employees, not floor area, and the city's number may differ from the operator's. We ask early for staffing assumptions and test them against the site plan.
Inside, the details matter: restroom counts, break room sizes, clear egress, lighting levels, ventilation and heat in summer. Many fulfillment buildings include a mezzanine for pick modules or sorters, which adds structure, sprinklers and fire separation. Our fulfillment and e-commerce center service page lists the building features, and the rack-supported building option applies when storage is very tall.
Airports, turnpikes and where the workers live
Tulsa Airports lists more than 700 acres of development real estate on 4,000 total airport acres, with 14,000 on-airport employees. An operator that wants to ship by air will pay attention to that. The Oklahoma City airport is the other hub, and the Department of Commerce counts it and Tulsa International as the state's two international airports.
Labor and road access reward suburban sites. In Owasso, ODOT is widening U.S. 169 from two lanes each way to three between 66th and 86th Streets North, with traffic of around 60,000 vehicles a day in 2019 rising to about 75,000 today. The John Kilpatrick Turnpike runs 31 miles entirely inside Oklahoma City limits. The Greater Oklahoma City Partnership describes Chandler as having nearly 2 million people within a 60-mile radius. Look at Will Rogers Airport and Tinker and Owasso for details.
Phasing the building to the peak
We often split a fulfillment project into building turnover phases. Phase one is the dock, the main slab and enough roof to start racking. Later phases bring mezzanine, conveyor pits, offices and the final fit-out. This lets the operator install equipment while we finish the rest. It takes careful coordination because the racking installer, the conveyor contractor, the sprinkler contractor and the finishing trades all want the same floor.
We keep one schedule that includes the equipment vendors, and we hold weekly meetings during the crowded months. A weekly floor-access plan, with area-by-area turnover, prevents the most common problem: two trades trying to work in the same aisle. Operators who have a parent company engineering group often share their standard details, and we incorporate them when they fit the site.
The shell and what goes into it
The shell is usually tilt-wall or metal, with a high clear height and a wide column grid. We build slabs with the flatness the racking or automation vendor specifies. Dock walls tend to be dense, with extra doors for loading small-parcel trucks. Roof structure is designed for solar, mechanical equipment and added loads. Fire protection is sized for the commodity.
Electrical service is the other big scope item. Automation, conveyors, lighting and EV charging for staff or vans raise power needs. We coordinate transformer and switchgear orders early, since lead times can drive the start date. Compare this with the basic warehouse scope, which asks for less power and fewer people. Where space is divided among several users, flex space may be a better fit.
Who we build fulfillment for
Buyers include online retailers, third-party logistics firms, parcel carriers, brand owners shipping direct to customers, and developers building speculative space. Each has its own priorities. A third-party operator wants a flexible layout that can serve several clients. A brand owner wants fast turnaround and control over the interior. A developer wants a building that lets a range of tenants move in.
Our e-commerce fulfillment page describes the buyer side. We keep our buildings simple where we can, since a plain shell on a good site has the broadest market, and we recommend custom features only when a tenant has signed or a clear need exists.
Give us your go-live date
Send the target go-live, the staffing plan and the automation vendor. We will return a phased schedule, a parking study and a shell concept.
Common Questions
How much parking does a fulfillment center need?
That depends on the largest shift and the city's zoning. Many operators plan around one space per employee on the biggest shift, with additional visitor and handicap parking. Trailer parking is separate. We compare the operator's staffing plan with the city's code and show both on the site plan.
Can a fulfillment center share a site with an airport?
Yes. Airport-adjacent parks such as Lariat Landing, east of Will Rogers airport, mix aviation and industrial land, and the Tulsa airport lists more than 700 acres of development real estate. Height limits near runways, lighting rules and airport approval of plans can apply. We check them before the design is set.
How long does a fulfillment center take to build?
It depends on size, site and equipment. We work back from the operator's go-live date and flag the long-lead items. A clean shell may take months, and the fit-out adds more. We would rather give a realistic calendar than a promise.
What roads should I look at for a site?
Look at access to the interstates and turnpikes your drivers use, plus congestion on the local arterials. Owasso's U.S. 169 corridor is being widened because traffic has grown from about 60,000 to around 75,000 vehicles a day. We review truck routes and local road projects as part of site selection.
Do you build the automation?
No. Conveyor, sortation and robotics vendors do that work. We build the shell, slab, power and structure that the automation needs, and we coordinate access and schedule with the vendors.