If you’ve spent any time in the warehouse industry these days, you’ve probably heard someone use the phrase ‘logistics parks’—but what are they, and how could they help you?

As you might’ve guessed from the name, a ‘logistics park’ is a gathering of businesses that all deal in logistics. Similar to industrial parks or office parks, logistics parks typically consist of businesses placed very close together to serve a similar purpose and make it more convenient for the workers to access and work together.

Typically, in logistics parks, you’ll see businesses that offer services among each step of the supply chain—a warehouse here, a distribution center over there, at least one outbound trucking/shipping company, and so on. Where the big difference (and advantage) of logistics parks comes in, however, is the idea that the different businesses involved are all serving the same goal: namely, our old friend the supply chain.

Think about the last time you saw an office park. It’s usually just a loose gathering of unconnected businesses and offices, many of whom don’t know each other and don’t work together. Logistics parks offer the distinct advantage of all more or less serving the same spaces of industry. Warehouses store the goods, distribution centers process the orders, trucking and logistics providers get it to their destination—it’s not a bad system!

As a result of this interconnectedness, logistics parks have been growing in popularity. Once more commonly seen overseas in more population-dense areas, more metropolitan areas in America such as the suburbs of Chicago have begun adopting the logistics parks style of organizing and laying out these buildings.

With this in mind, it might be time to consider opening a warehouse in a logistics park near you. So long as there’s one within an area you service that’s within your budget, opening a satellite location inside a logistics park may wind up saving you money in the long run.

There are, of course, a few steps to take first. You’ll want to make sure you still have easy access to your vendors—breaking a contract with your current trucking/logistics specialist to save some money on gas and rent might come back to haunt you in the long run.

You’ll also have to make sure any onsite facilities are outfitted with the things you need to store and retrieve items. Setting up a whole new warehouse with pallet racks, wire shelves, and industrial shelves may be too much up-front cost even if the long-term savings will help—but as with any big change in your business, there’s surely a lot of math to be done before making these decisions.

As logistics parks spread throughout the country, however, the time may come where it makes more sense for your business to move into one—and when that time comes, your customers, staff, and bottom line may very well thank you for it.